THE PARISH CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS’, HARBURY
ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
Prepared for the Annual Parochial Meeting On Sunday, 21[st] April 2024
Priest-in-Charge: Rev Andy Batchelor Churchwardens: Liz McBride & Andy Dean
Bank: HSBC
Independent Examination: Peter Wilson
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Worshipping God – Growing in Faith – Working in Community
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Registered Charity Number: 1150990
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PCC MEMBERSHIP:
The PCC is a registered charity. Members of the PCC are either ex officio or elected by the annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.
Since the last APCM held on 23[rd] April 2023 the following served as members of the PCC:
Priest in Charge : Rev Andy Batchelor Assistant Ministers: Rev Ann Mulley: Rev Barry Coleman: Rev Bob Clucas Churchwardens : Liz McBride & Andy Dean (Vice Chair) Treasurer: Liz McBride Safeguarding : Amy Pedvin-Lewis PCC Secretary : Kelly Jones Readers: Julie Batchelor Deanery Synod Rep : John Eld Elected Members : Elaine Barnden: Sarah Brooke-Taylor: Emma Browne: Lin Hayes: Brian Jones: William Jones: Philip Mayer: Amy Pedvin-Lewis: Sally Stringer: Gemma Took: Michael Vincent
COMMITTEES:
Standing Committee: the only one required by law. It has the power to transact the business of the PCC between its meetings, subject to any directions given by the Council.
Ministry Leadership Team : considers all issues concerning the worship of All Saints and the nurture and discipleship of its people. Members: All staff that hold the Bishop’s Licence (Clergy, Readers)
Fabric Committee: oversees all issues concerning the maintenance of the church building. Members: Clergy & Churchwardens and Philip Mayer. We co-opt the service of others when needed.
Tom Hauley Room : Supplies: Michael & Ann Vincent; Bookings: Moira Rollason, ongoing repairs and other: Liz & Mike McBride
Parish Safeguarding Officer: Amy Pedvin-Lewis
VICAR’S REPORT: HARBURY, LADBROKE & UFTON: Rev Andy Batchelor As I look back over the past year and look forward to what is to come, I tried to think about how I am feeling about where we are as parishes, Deanery, and indeed where the wider church of England is. There is no doubt that the issue of LLF and same sex weddings in church has split the Anglican communion in two, and there is a very real danger that we are approaching a time of schism. I pray that this is not the case, and a way can be found to allow us to continue to worship and minister together, across the broad spectrum of tradition and theology, but times seem very precarious indeed in the wider church, and sadly, our Bishops have failed to set the lead we may have expected of them.
Across our Diocese we have seen both our Bishops leave in quick succession, and we have welcomed Bishops Ruth and Saju in an interim role until a new Diocesan Bishop is selected. Please pray for all involved in this process, as it is more important than ever that the right person is appointed according to the leading of the Spirit.
Last year I was elected to Bishops Council, and that has given me a valuable insight on wider diocesan issues, and I have tried to give input from the perspective of our rural context which can sometimes be overlooked as priority is given to urban mission and priorities.
In our Deanery last year, we saw the retirement of two of our priests, leaving the Bridges group and Offchurch group in interregnum. One of the responsibilities I have as Rural Dean is to make sure ministry continues in the parishes in vacancy, and I have been so grateful to have the support of
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Revs Barry, Bob and Ann as we have endeavoured to cover the gaps. Of course, there have been other requests too for other events which have taken place, as well as Weddings, funerals, and Baptisms particularly in the Bridges group which have also been a demand on my time.
I continue to have meetings with Jonathan Jee the leader of the new Mission Hub, as we work out how the hub can resource and support our rural parishes.
I have continued in my role as Assistant DDO, and have completed my work with one candidate, who will be attending the National selection panel soon. At present I have not been assigned someone else to work with, which is probably for the best, given my other commitments.
The process of closing Ufton church continues, although this needs to be pursued more vigorously with the diocese this coming year.
As my focus moves on to Harbury and Ladbroke there is much to be thankful for. We have seen the completion of the Heating and Lighting elements of our building project at Harbury, which seem to be working well, and have received a number of positive comments. It was great to have a warm church over the winter period! The ASAG project at Ladbroke has also completed and I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Jackie, and to the team at Harbury, led by Phillip who have made all this possible. We now need to press on to the repairs to stonework at Harbury, and the installation of an updated Audio-Visual System.
As you know, I had a knee replacement operation just before Christmas, which has gone very well, and I am now much more mobile than I was. It was strange however, to be out of action over Christmas, and once again I am grateful to the team here for covering during my six-week recuperation.
We have seen Messy Church and Muddy Church continue to attract good numbers, and the Collective has now been running for over a year and is a valuable means of reaching out into our community. There will be reports from a number of other groups in the Annual Report, including home groups, Mothers Union, Bumps and Bundles, and Meeting point and I am grateful to all who offer their time and talents to help these groups continue. Last year we saw the re-establishment of the ‘Little Saints’ toddler service and breakfast, which has yet to find its feet, but is greatly enjoyed by the few families that come.
We are currently assessing our Communion practice in Harbury with particular reference to the return of a common cup for those who would like it, but it is already clear that there is a substantial majority at both churches who wish the individual cups to remain. Although the use of individual cups has yet to be approved by Synod, they are quite commonly used, and many Bishops have allowed this to continue, including Bishop Christopher.
We were able to offer a wide variety of services over Easter, including Tenebrae, ‘Voices from the crowd’, and a sunrise service on Easter Sunday, which, although complicated by the clock change still attracted a faithful eleven (quite symbolically).
Everyone at Ladbroke was saddened by the death of Bill Bosworth, the choirmaster who would have been arranging the usual Good Friday choral service, and he will be greatly missed.
We continue to offer help and support to needy families in our communities; this has been helped by useful input from Harbury school. Please let us know if you are aware of particular needs we could help with.
We continue to have a strengthening relationship with Harbury school; Open the Book or myself take an assembly every week, the school are coming into the church regularly, and I have been appointed as Deputy chair of Governors.
From a family perspective we were joined last year by Latisha, a vibrant and active 3, now 4-yearold, who has bonded well with our family, although she will be adopted probably sometime this year. She has been a real joy (and also sometimes a real challenge). Julie’s mum Carol has a terminal cancer diagnosis, and is gradually deteriorating. Although Carol has regular carers, she still relies on Julie a lot, and this is a real demand on Julie’s emotional wellbeing and time. Please bear them both in your prayers.
As a family we are still grateful that God drew us here, and has blessed us in so many ways.
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A particular word of thanks from me to our wardens, Liz, Andy, Sue and Peter, who offer both tremendous support and are the voices of ‘critical friends’ when required. I also greatly appreciate all the work that Laura, our administrator does, and I have greatly valued her organisational and technical skills.
So I hope you can find joy and encouragement as we look back over the past year, and that together we can continue to be Jesus’ hands and feet in our communities.
CHURCHWARDEN’S REPORT: Liz McBride & Andy Dean
It doesn’t feel like this time last year we were still meeting in the Tom Hauley room whilst the church was a building site with the new heating and lighting being installed. We’re sure you will agree that both have made a huge difference. This is all down to Philip Mayer and we thank him for both his tenacity and project management skills. We also thank our local electrician, James Davis, who undertook all electrical work sensitively and with a great deal of care for the building and the people who use it.
The heating seems to be very effective, with gas use being 25% lower than with the old heating, comparing usage in 2018 and 2019. The new lighting, not only enhances the stonework of the church but is also saving on energy as it uses LED fittings. It’s also great fun playing around with the app and the lighting levels in different zones. We didn’t mean to plunge the church in total darkness just before the village carol service but it did effectively shut up the congregation.
It was joyful returning to church on Pentecost Sunday and later being able to hold both the Remembrance service and the village carol service in a warm church. Christmas services, this year, were all the better for being held in a warm and welcoming church. We’ve noticed coats are being taken off sometimes!
The PCC has also recently been discussing the Vision of the church, in particular starting to think about the actions coming out of that. In the coming weeks we will be looking to communicate these, including a new evening service, bringing back links with the wider community including welcome packs, and reviewing and revitalising homegroups.
As Rev Andy is also Area Dean there has been a need over the last year to support other parishes in vacancy. In this he has been supported by all our ministers, Ann, Bob & Barry. To them all we give thanks for their ministry both here and the wider community.
Sally Stringer took over the role of bookings secretary of the THR from Liz Bunting a number of years ago. Sally has now gracefully retired from that role. We are most grateful to Sally for all her work in that role and also to finding her replacement. Moira Rollason is now the booking secretary and we welcome her with open arms!
FABRIC REPORT: Philip Mayer
HEATING
The Heating project has been completed and performs according to the design criteria in both the THR and the Church. Both boilers had their annual maintenance earlier this year. Although gas prices have increased during the past 2 years - we are using less gas than we used with the previous gas heating systems.
LIGHTING AND REWIRING
This project has been satisfactorily completed using our local electrical contractor. The LED lighting in the church is in four dimmable zones and will consume considerably less electricity than the old fluorescent tubes. Numerous power sockets have been installed around the church in suitable locations and all dangerous wiring has been removed.
GRANT APPLICATIONS AND FUND RAISING FOR WORK STILL TO BE DONE
Further work to be done includes:
- Installation of the improved audio-visual system
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Repairs to the external stonework and installation of the Memorial Garden Door (subject to award of Faculty)
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Decoration of the THR and hanging new curtains
AUDIO-VISUAL SYSTEM
The recent PCC meeting agreed the next major item should be to install an improved audio-visual system in the church and THR. The faculty has been approved and we have sought 3 competitive quotations. The current estimated cost is c£60,000 but this may increase as time passes.
FACULTY UPDATE FOR EXTERNAL FABRIC
This has not been progressed since last year. We understand our application has been approved by the full DAC committee but requires further discussion on the angle of the access slope related to the proposed Memorial Garden Door and the type of glass in the door. The estimated cost is c£120,000-150,000 depending on when we can afford to carry out this major task. The Quinquennial Report is due to be carried out this year which may detail further work to be done
Recently there has been a water leak in the roof above the vicar’s vestry which has been repaired by a local Ladbroke based contractor.
FUND RAISING
It is not sensible to apply for further major grants until we can show matched funding in our current account. Therefore, there is an urgent need to raise local funds within the Village Community.
SAFEGUARDING REPORT: Amy Pedvin-Lewis
Safeguarding continues to be of paramount importance to the PCC and all at All Saints Harbury. I am delighted to say that all our work within our Parish has meant that we are now a level 3 safeguarding parish which the Diocese are extremely happy about!
Our fantastic volunteers have undertaken their safeguarding training when required, which we are extremely grateful for.
Training is still carried out largely online, although we try to offer in person training every few months to allow all to participate. Further training sessions on other aspects of safeguarding including Domestic Abuse will be upcoming this year and I will make sure that this is shared with the congregation.
ELECTORAL ROLL OFFICER’S REPORT: Liz McBride (temporarily)
The electoral roll stands at 114 (2023: 121) with three people having passed away and one, now the Reverend Alison Abbott coming off the roll. (Those who have been ordained cannot be on a church electoral roll.) A further three have moved away.
VERGER’S REPORT: Fliss Harris
SACRISTANS
This is a ministry that has become increasingly complicated for the small team that remains. I am very grateful to Sally Heigl; to Ann & Michael Vincent for washing the communion linen; to Liz McBride for laundering the altar linen and to Tony Brunton who has organised a rota for those administering the wine.
Once the issue of returning to the chalice and/or retaining the individual cups has been resolved, it will be time to review the situation, and it is very probable that we shall be looking for more volunteers.
CHURCH CLEANING
Thank you to those who have been cleaning the church and its brass for so long and who continue to do so. Unfortunately, their number is reduced. One way forward is to follow Liz McBride’s suggestion that we should periodically set aside a morning and invite all members of the congregation to give a couple of hours to the task. A select band met in March. A greater number of future volunteers would receive an enthusiastic welcome.
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DE-CLUTTERING
Over the years we have been given or have acquired furniture and other items, which, though welcome and well-used at the time, have now outlived their usefulness. It therefore seems appropriate to carry out an informal furniture audit to decide what we should keep and how we could best dispose of what is surplus to requirements.
DEANERY SYNOD: John Eld
What happens at Synod meetings?
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We open with a Devotional – a sort of scripturally based “Thought for the Evening” – led by various church representatives.
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Financial report – looking at the Parish share (contribution to clergy expenses) and who has difficulty meeting their share and what can be done about it. There are separate Treasurers’ meetings where the individual parish treasurers get together to discuss details, so this is usually just an update for Synod members of their discussions and talks with Diocese.
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Hot topic at each meeting this last year – Parish vacancies and how we cover the lack of clergy. This is really where we (the individual churches of the Deanery) have to work together to cover the gaps so that everyone can have at least some communion services and clerical oversight. You will have noticed that sometimes we have gone without clergy and have had a visiting preacher from one of the other churches – well that’s the reason.
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News from each parish. Here we learn of things happening in other parishes, such as new services tried out, work done in schools, special services coming up which may be of interest to members of other congregations to visit etc, and how problems have been solved.
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We also have visitors come to give presentations. In the last year or so we have received:
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oRob Harrison, who spoke about how the Diocese is opening up work that can be done by lay members of congregations without formal licensing or permission from the Diocese (although training may be needed for some jobs). All that’s needed is the vicar’s permission and, hopefully, the support of the congregation. -
Rev. Esther Peers – the new Dean of Women’s Ministry, whose job is to encourage women in ministry. She’d be glad to hear of any women thinking of ministry, in whatever capacity, or experiencing difficulty in getting recognition of their work to contact her (revestherpeers@gmail.com.) – apparently she’s been given a budget for coffee!
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Right Rev Ruth Worsley, Interim Bishop of Coventry, who came to meet us. This was an open meeting to which all members of the churches’ congregations were invited and it seemed well received by all who came.
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Deanery Mission Team. This used to provide concerts and activities that would be difficult for any one church in the deanery to put on. Some were intended for people to bring a friend to hear a very low-key presentation of the Gospel, while other events were intended for church members to boost their confidence. However, since COVID, we’ve never really got going again. This is partly due to the fact that, being the only church in the community, village churches are not used to working with other churches, partly because there seems to be little appetite to do so (already too busy? Don’t see the point?),
The deanery system may have been set up to enable the diocese to communicate with the churches and vice-versa, but with a little vision and imagination the churches can use it for so much more and make it a powerful tool.
FURTHER REPORTS
BUMPS & BUNDLES: Carol Jackson and the Bumps Team
Bumps and Bundles got off to a great start in the New Year. It was good to welcome back little ones that know us and watch them confidently go to the toys that they remember. Also, to welcome some new Mums, Dads and Childminders with their little bundles.
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The group is a drop-in and an outreach from All Saints’ Church. Although we ask the adults to sign in there is no need to “join”; they just come along to the Tom Hauley Room (behind the church) any Tuesday morning between 10.30 a.m. and 12 noon. (Term time only). There are plenty of toys for the children to play with and the helpers are there to make a cup of tea/coffee and supply them with biscuits and/or cake (often homemade).
We have a good band of volunteers and so the rota is not too onerous. It can be hectic sometimes as the children grow and become more independent.
We have a small Christmas Party and this year we had The Good Fairy to give out the Christmas gifts. This term we celebrated Mothering Sunday and the little ones gave their adult a bunch of daffodils.
CHURCHYARD: Bob Sherman
The churchyard maintenance volunteers remain the same as last year. Gillian Hare looks after the Memorial Garden, Heather Rogers looks after the paths and cleans out the gulleys during the year, Bob Sherman and Ron Rogers keep the grass mown. There are other tasks, such as trimming off the epiphytic growth round the base of all the lime trees twice a year, clearing ivy growth and brambles off the walls and gravestones, removing fallen twigs and branches in spring and the Great Churchyard Rake Off in late summer after the conservation area is cut by Bob Clucas and his ankle biter motorised scythe. The Rake Off managed to draw in an effective crowd of rakers and carters again, leaving me with a handy pile of mulch material to take to my allotment over the winter.
The spring flowers in the churchyard are an uplifting and joyous sight. Primroses have now spread across the entire area and into any free space. They can survive the mower and the flowers remain unaffected by the blades on a high setting. Equally profuse are the delicate cyclamen that pop up every autumn in increasing profusion. Yellow rattle is an important plant for creating conditions for other wild flowers to take hold. It is semi-parasitic on grass, reducing the vigour that otherwise crowds out more delicate wild plants. From initial sowings 4 years or so ago we can now see it spreading steadily through the conservation area of longer grass without any further help from us.
Gill Barber carries out regular butterfly surveys of the area and records them for us. It is a sad fact that the number of butterflies and species has decreased bit by bit over the years.
Each year we appeal for volunteers ready to support and eventually replace us. Without that the churchyard will not be the beautiful, maintained space it is now.
FLOWERS IN CHURCH: Gillian Hare & the Flower Fairies
As I write, the group are very much looking forward to decorating a warm Church for Easter for the first time in four years. Following a promotion in the spring, we have welcomed six new members, which makes it easier to cover when the unavoidable health or family crises occur. May I take this opportunity to thank those of you who have supported us, either at our coffee mornings or with donations. These are especially welcome now that prices have increased so much, at the same time as, sadly, weddings, and the donations from them, have noticeably decreased.
LITTLE SAINTS: Fliss Harris
Little Saints was relaunched in November 2023. We meet in Church on the first Sunday of the month at 10.30am to hear a Bible story, engage in a craft or activity, after which we move into the Tom Hauley Room for bacon butties and other delights.
I am very grateful to the storytellers, the team of cooks and the families who have been so supportive.
Numbers are fairly small as yet, but we hope to build up to pre-Covid levels in due course.
MEETING POINT: Fliss Harris
We meet for lunch on the first Friday of each month at the Crown Inn. We have 24 members: attendance varies, but in general we number 15 and upwards. We are very grateful to the PCC for continuing to subsidise this outreach to people who live alone or have
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suffered some kind of loss: to John Mortimer and his team who provide a safe and welcoming space and to Gemma Took who gave so much to the group before retiring as co-organiser at Christmas.
MESSY CHURCH: Julie Batchelor
We have had a busy year at Messy Church, with several new families attending month on month. Our numbers go up and down depending on what is going on in the Village, which makes catering difficult for Liz McBride – but she is now very experienced in stretching food if needed! We started a new way of planning back in September, with a year’s worth of themes. This helps us in forward planning. We use the Messy Church national materials but adapt them to our situation.
We have lost some of our helpers notably Dorothy along with Liz, Abi, Jess, Stephanie & Charlie Kitchener but we thank them so much for supporting us over the years. We have welcomed Cathy and occasionally Gill. If you are interested in seeing what we do, please do pop along on the second Sunday from 3-5pm. And if you would like to join the planning team then we – Ruth, Fliss, Liz and myself – would welcome you with open arms.
Messy Church is a national/international expression of church, especially devised for families. We start with craft activities, a cooking/food related activity and sometimes a game (all related to a Bible theme). Then we go into church for a time of celebration and a short explanation of the theme for the month. We pray together and say grace and then go back into the THR for food. Families from the Village say they enjoy their time with us, and the children are always happy and engaged. This is an important link between church and community and bridges the gap for those who find traditional church difficult with young ones.
MONDAY HOME GROUP: John Stringer
The core of our group meets on Monday afternoons to read, discuss and pray. Conversation, currently about our Lent book, is always open and lively.
MOTHER’S UNION: Chris Rutherford
Mothers’ Union continues to operate with a small but faithful committee who work uncomplainingly for our members. We have followed our usual programme of interesting talks, all bearing in mind that we are part of the Church of England, and met the branch at Southam for tea and inspiration. We do like tea, although a small glass of sherry is available at the post-Christmas event, to go with the general celebration. We have a special service for MU in September, give out the flowers for Mothering Sunday and give bibles at weddings. Our diocesan members’ meetings are often online as well as in person, making it easier for the less mobile. We have been concerned for the women of Azerbaijan, delighted with Kath’s Ukrainian eggs, staffed the toiletries stall at the Christmas Fair (we are going to have a change this year), and collected Christmas cards for prisoners and gifts for their children among other things. Mothers’ Union is as relevant here and across the world as it was 119 years ago, when the branch in Harbury began. All are welcome.
MUDDY CHURCH: Andy & Jenny Dean
Muddy Church has continued to happen on the 3[rd] Sunday of the month over the last year. We have run it in all sorts of weather and we’ve found it a great way to introduce teaching to young people in a different environment.
We continue to start each session by having hot chocolate, toasting a marshmallow on the fire, some mindfulness noticing the surroundings that we’re in and then activities based on a theme.
Numbers have fluctuated but we have had 15+ young people at some sessions and a number of families have started to come regularly which is really encouraging.
We have also loved having some of the church youth helping us to run Muddy Church. We have been really conscious that due to the demographics, by nature the content is largely focussed on primary age children but we’ve been grateful to Amy, Jamie and Henry for being part of the team that facilitates it. Thanks to all the adults that help to run activities too. As we get more children
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along, we will be looking for more help to be able to run the activities safely so please do let us know if you’d like to get involved.
OPEN THE BOOK: Lesley Jones
This last year has seen a change in the way Open the Book is run throughout the country. It has grown a lot since it first began and is also expanding into Africa and Latin America. The resources have been rewritten with 90 stories covering key events in the Old and New Testaments. We had to decide whether we wanted to continue – given the change involved – and if so, whether as individuals to opt to be full members (£20 each per year) or associate members (£5 per year). We are grateful that this is being funded by All Saints as it is significant local outreach in the community. We felt it right to leave it to individual members to donate if they wished towards this, without feeling obliged to cover their own cost. We also hosted a Saturday THR coffee morning in December to help with the funding.
At the end of summer eleven of us decided to go with this new set-up. It involved retraining online, which just happened to coincide with us all needing to update our safeguarding training. So, I do thank everyone for sticking with it during the changeover process. Thanks too to Jenny & Julie who decided to step down for understandable reasons – Jenny in particular had been in the team for
many years.
In the Spring Term of 2024, we began using the new materials and are currently working through NT stories until the summer break. As well as a song at the end with Lynne on accordion, we now introduce each assembly with the Open the Book song, with Gillian leading us in Makaton signing. The children continue to enjoy the stories and engage with enthusiasm in the interactive bits. As a result of this ongoing contact with the school, one or two of us were involved with the setting up of a series of interactive prayer spaces during Advent; some were in school but most were in church. This was an idea put out by the Bible Society and taken up with enthusiasm by Mrs Bosley. During the first few days of Advent the whole school came, class by class, into church to engage with and consider themes of Light, Love, Hope, Waiting, Peace, Joy, Gifts & Good News. Although not actually Open the Book, it proved a valuable crossover event between church and school. If anyone would like to consider being part of the Open the Book team, do get in touch; it is very rewarding to do.
PLEASANT PASTIMES & KNITWITS: Sue Field, Barbara Thistlethwaite & Carol Meredith
Sadly, Bunty Smith, one of our leaders died last year. Two of our current leaders have health concerns and may be unable to continue in their roles after August 2024.
We meet on the 2[nd] & 4[th] Wednesdays each month from 2 to 4pm. Numbers vary between 12 to 23age, illness and holidays affect how many come each session. All adults are welcome. Coffee, tea and biscuits are provided twice in the session. Donations given pay for this as well as a supply of wool for the Knitwits who support local and national charities.
Some bring their own sewing and craft projects to do; many play board games, dominoes or cards or just enjoy meeting for a chat on all subjects and hearing the laughter of others. Those who live alone can keep up with news of the village and the wider world. We give a warm welcome and provide a friendly atmosphere for all who come along.
Any monies accrued after expenses is donated to the church; we donated £300 last year and will be making another donation shortly.
We hope to recruit a couple of leaders but this is proving a little difficult. Pleasant Pastimes began in 2012/13 and Knitwits joined us in October 2021.
QUIET SPACE: Jill Winter
Quiet Space has been running for eighteen months, although the name was changed from Contemplative Prayer in December, when it was opened up to the wider village community. From that point on we decided to offer refreshments prior to the twenty minutes silence. We now have an average of nine people attending. It certainly seems to serve a purpose and there are now non church people coming along too. Gill Guilford and Jill Winter take it in turns to lead. It is very informal and there is a general feeling that it is very special to share in the silence with others. We now use the smaller of the Tom Hauley Rooms as that is better suited in size for us.
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SATURDAY COFFEE MORNINGS: Sarah Brooke-Taylor
The Saturday coffee mornings in the Tom Hauley Room remain popular with the local community and host groups alike, though it's getting harder to initially find groups to volunteer to host. Asking host groups for their preferences twice each year seems to be working well as you don't have to look too far ahead but the PCC had to step up and cover several Saturdays last Summer and it looks like this Summer will be no different. Cake donations always welcome!
THE COLLECTIVE: Gill Guilford
The Collective is an initiative that was brought to the Diocese by Gareth Fitzpatrick, Evangelism Enabler, and is intended to give an opportunity for people to explore what the Christian faith has to say about everyday issues that affect us all.
We were the pilot of this initiative for the Diocese and have received some funding for the purchase of equipment to support these events. We have just reached our one-year anniversary and during this time we have continued to develop our own subjects as well as using the resources provided.
There is a great team in place from both Harbury and Ladbroke and we appreciate the ongoing support and encouragement from both Rev Andy and Gareth.
The Collective meets monthly in the Shakespeare pub and the evening consists of a quiz, a short talk followed by conversations around a number of discussion starters. It has been good to see some of our church family come along, and we also have a small number of regular guests who come that have no other contact with the church. We are developing these relationships and having some profound conversations.
Please do pray for the Collective and maybe come along to find out more. Information can be found ahead of the monthly event on the pewsheet, posters, social media and announcements in church
THURSDAY AFTERNOON BIBLE STUDY: Gillian Hare
We continue to enjoy our time together, meeting in homes to share insights into God's word. We are currently following a video course which offers an overview of The Bible, from creation to revelation. I think we have all been humbled by how much we didn't know!
THURSDAY EVENING HOME GROUP: Elaine Barnden
We are a core group of about 10 who meet every Thursday at 7.30pm until about 9-9.30pm, with the occasional social thrown in. However, not all of us make every meeting and we usually have a core of about 6 who attend each week. People do come and go of course, for various reasons, and we warmly welcome new people to join us. We are drawn from different churches – Harbury and Warwick and usually meet in Harbury, though sometimes, Southam. Our meetings cover a wide range of worship and study activities from more formal bible study, to listening to last week’s sermon and discussion, to the sharing of something that has moved us or concerns us either as a group or as individuals – and of course we have a regular prayer session at the end of every meeting, which can be open or silent. The group does not have a leader as such - we are very much self-managing, which seems to work well. There is no pressure on anyone to lead individual sessions but there is always someone who comes up with an idea for upcoming meetings. Over the years we have all benefitted greatly from rich learning and spiritual development, and the fantastic personal support given to and received by each one of us. I believe I speak for all when I say that being part of a Homegroup is a joy and a blessing.
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FINANCE REPORT for the year ended 31[st] December 2023: Liz McBride
The financial statements are in the usual format of 4 pages.
Page 1 is a summary followed by page 2 giving a breakdown of the income; page 3 a breakdown of the expenses and page 4 shows the bank account balances, the debtors and creditors, the movements on all the funds and finally the details of our outward giving.
Income:
We had 69 people/families giving regularly by standing order. The amount given ranges widely from £50 a year to £7,200 a year. The average giving is £63 per month.
We received 2 legacies - £1,000 and £15,000. They were from the estates of Vivienne Humphries and Anthony Bugg respectively.
Not much use, so far, has been made of the payment machine in church but, hopefully, this will be used more this year. We can claim gift aid back on any donation under £30 that is made on this as well as cash left on the plate.
The THR donations have increased year on year from £2,896 to £4,149.
Fees totalled £7,599 but £4,609 of this is assigned to the Diocese – theoretically reducing the deanery/parish share at some point in the future.
Interest income of £3,067 was received on funds held in the CCLA (Church of England deposit fund)
Expenditure:
The parish share, of £48,850, was paid in full by the year end.
Ladbroke pay a portion of costs paid by us, i.e. rector and pa expenses and the cost of some copying and printing.
And we had some heating this year so we had some gas costs! At least the cost dropped from 1[st] October with the new contract which was when we really started to use the heating in church. It was 8.5862p per kWh and is now 5.0624p per kWh. We have saved some standing charge by only having one meter for both church and THR from 30[th] April 2023. We do, however, have a flow meter which measures the usage of the THR only. (When I remember to take a photo of it at the end of the month)
Electricity was more expensive year on year but also dropped with the new contract from 1[st] October – from 34.053p per kWh to 25.9027p per kWh (it was half this cost in 2018).
Both energy contracts continue to be negotiated via Parish Buying and are with Total Energies.
Major repairs of £24,707.36: All the major repairs showing in the unrestricted column are relating to the heating and lighting. £15,000 is the use of the discretionary fund and £9,707.36 is the amount we had to use from the general fund to finish the church heating, re-wiring and lighting projects. This was lower than expected when the PCC voted earlier in the year to do this.
Following the accounts I have added a breakdown of the HLS appeal in total – funds raised and used – and what is now required. I have also added a forecast of 2024.
Thank you to Peter Wilson for once again carrying out the Independent Examination of the accounts and to Tony Brunton for promptly retrieving the gift aid on all donations.
11 | P a g e
| INCOME&EXPENDITURE | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted Restricted |
TOTAL | Unrestieted | Resticted | ||||
| Funds Funds |
2023 | Funds | Funds |
||||
| Note | L t |
€ | IL | ||||
| INCOME | |||||||
| Voluntaryincome | 1(a) | 88,530-751,382.00 | 89,912.75 | 75,094-24 | 2,627.63 | 77,721.87 | |
| Church activities | 1(b) | 11,748.60 | 11,748.60 | 10,730.50 | 10,730.50 | ||
| Fundgeneratingactivities | 1(c) | 154.6012,850.36 | 13,004.96 | 2098921 | 20,989.21 | ||
| lnvestmentincome | 1(d) | 3.067.14 | 3,067.14 | 1.435.90 | 1,435.90 | ||
| Other income | 1(e) | 2,118.4181,602.73 | 83,721.14 | 1.081.17 | 37.681.95 | ||
| Total income | 105,619.5095,835.09 | 201,454.55 | 88,341.81 | 60.217.62 | 148,559.43 | ||
| EXPENDITURE | |||||||
| Church activities Mission giving,grants&donations Costof fund generatingactivities Other expenditure Totalexpenditure |
2{a) 2(b),5 2(c) 2(d) |
(102,024.49)(180,039.84) (2,434.85)(677.00) (4.78) (240.50) - (s0.00) (104,464.121(181,007.34) |
(282,064.331 (3,111.85) {245.281 (s0.00) (285,471.461 |
(71,561.40) (1,702.2s) (1s.00) (73,282.65) |
(86,289.54) (683.80) (144-00) 30- (87,147.34) |
(157,850.94) (2,386.05) (163.00) (160,429.99) |
|
| Netincome/(expenditure) | 15,059.16 |
| 31-Dec-23 | 31-Dec-22 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | € | t | ||
| CURRENT | ASSETS | |||
| Debtors | 14,559.97 | 14,108.57 | ||
| Cash at bankandin hand | 71.171.95 | 143.731.38 | ||
| 85,731.92 | 157,839.95 | |||
| CURRENT | LIABILITIES | |||
| Accruals | (24,641.671 | (12,7s2.83) | ||
| NETASSETS | 61,090.25 | 145,107.12 | ||
| COMPRISING: | ||||
| funds | 45,724.59 | 44,569.21 | ||
| Restricted | funds | 15,365.66 | 100,537.91 | |
| 61,090.25 | 145.107.12 |
| MOVEMENTIN FUNDS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UnrestrictedRestricted | TotalUnrestricted | Restricted | Total |
||
| Funds Funds tt |
2023 Funds f |
Funds | 2022 | ||
| forwarda11Jan2023 | 44,569.21100,537.91 | 145,'107,1229,510.A5 | 127,467.63 | 156,977.68 | |
| incomefortheyear Carriedforwardat31Dec2023 |
1,155.38@5.172.25\ 45,724.59 15,365.66 |
(84.016.87)15.059.16 569.21 61.090.25 |
1 | 929.74 '.91 |
01.870. 145.107.12 |
| 1 | Analysis ofincome | Unrestricted | Restricted | TOTAL | Unrestricted | Restricted | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funds E |
Funds € |
2423 e |
Funds t |
Funds € |
2022t | ||
| 1(a) | Voluntarylncome | ||||||
| Planned Givinq: | |||||||
| Giving via standing order and weekly envelopes | 52,405.00 | 60_00 | 52,465.00 | 54,625.00 | 54,625.00 | ||
| lncomeTax(Gift Aid) | 13,827.38 | 815.00 | 14,642.38 | 13,457.99 | 543.83 | 14,001.82 | |
| Other Givinq: | |||||||
| Collections at all Services | 3,410.53 | 3,4',t0.53 | 4,095"45 | 4,095.45 | |||
| Sundry giving | 1,698.34 | 477.O0 | 2,175.U | 611-30 | 6$s;_ | 1,295.10 | |
| GivingthroughBIue Envelopes | 330.00 | 330.00 | 954.50_ | 954.54 | |||
| Gift days | |||||||
| Legacies | 16,000.00 | 16,000.00 | 1,000.40 | 1,000.00 | |||
| Donations&appeals | 859.50 | 30.0; | 889.50 | 1,350.A0 | 400.00 | 1,750.00 | |
| 88,530.75 | 1,382.00 | 89,912.75 | 75,094.24 | 2.627.63 | 77,721.87 | ||
| 1(b) | Church activities | ||||||
| TomHauley Room('THR")donations | 4,149.60 | 4,149.60 | 2,896.50 | 2,896.50 | |||
| Weddingfees | 1,612.00 | 1,612.00 | 2,724.00 | 2,724.00 | |||
| Funeral fees | 5,987.00 | 5,987.00 | 5,110.00 | 5,110.00 | |||
| THRlunches, prayer breakfasts&teas | |||||||
| Harvest Supper | |||||||
| Holiday at Home | |||||||
| Wallpanels | |||||||
| 11,748.60 | 11,748.60 | 10,730.50 | 10,730.50 | ||||
| 1(c) | Fund generating activities | ||||||
| Christmas Fayre CoffeeMornings |
- 154.60 |
1,621.68 | 1,621.68 154.60 |
- - |
1,556.771,556.77 157.60 157.60 |
||
| Heat, Light&Stone appeal | - | 11,228_68 | 11,228.68 | - | 19,274.84 | 19,274.84 | |
| Other miscellaneous fundraising | |||||||
| 154.60 | 't2,850.36 | 13,004.96 | 20,989.21 | 24,989.21 | |||
| 1{d) | lnvestmentiname | ||||||
| Dividends /Wayleave | |||||||
| Bank interest | 3,067.14 3,067.14 |
3,067.14 3,067-14 |
1,435.90 1,435.90 |
- - |
1,435.90 1,435.90 |
||
| 1(e) | Other income | ||||||
| Grants Contribution to expenses (Ladbroke &Deanery) WightSchool fund |
600.00 1,518.41_ |
80,826.73 - 776.00 |
81,426.73 ,t,518.41 776.00 |
- 1,081.17 - |
35,824.78 - 776.00 |
35,824.78 1,081.17 776.00 |
|
| 2,118.4',t | 81,602.73 | 83,721_14 | 1,081.17 | 36,600.78 | 37,681.95 | ||
| TOTALINCOME | 88,341.81 | 60,217.62148.559.43 |
| For th | eperiod1stJan to 31st December 2023 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Analysisofexpenditure | Unrestricted | Restricted | TOTAL | Unrestricted | Restricted | TOTAL | |
| Funds € |
Funds € |
2023 € |
Fundsf | Funds € |
2022f | |||
| 2(a) | Churchactivities | |||||||
| Ministrv: | ||||||||
| Parish Share | 48,850.00 | 48,850.00 | 48,178.00 | 48,178.00 | ||||
| Assigned fees | 4,609.00 | 4,609.00 | 4,345.60 | 4,345.60 | ||||
| Rector's expenses | 561.97 | 561.97 | 467.53 | 467.53 | ||||
| Curate's expenses | ||||||||
| Outreach expenses | 1,153.31 | 't,153.31 | 957.53 | 607.22 | 1,564-75 | |||
| CelebratingMinistry | ||||||||
| Lay pastoral expenses | : | |||||||
| Youthwork | 66.6; | 627 09 | 6S3.76 | 878.01 | 878.0; | |||
| Other clergy expenses | ||||||||
| Other expenses | 155.71 | 155.71 | 376.95 | 376.95 | ||||
| Church Management&Administration: | ||||||||
| Rector's PA | 3,982.29 | 3,982.29 | 3,105.88 | 3,105.88 | ||||
| Printing&stationery | 1.432.59 | 1,432.59 | 1,327.09 | 1,327.09 | ||||
| Legal fees & bank charges | 721.75 | 721.75 | 723.41 | 965.60 | 1,689.01 | |||
| Training & development&website maintenance | 508.39 | 508.39 | 390.00 | 390.04 | ||||
| Miscellaneous expenses | 189.90 | 189.90 | ||||||
| Upkeeo of Church: | ||||||||
| Running expenses-insurance | 2,976.54 | 2,976.54 | 2,654.50 | 2,654.50 | ||||
| Running expenses-gas | 2,103.50 | 2,103.50 | 196.57 | 196.57 | ||||
| Running expenses-electricity | 2,789.47 | 2,789.47 | 1,599.28 | 1,599.28 | ||||
| Maintenance of organ & piano | 401.00 | 401_00 | 536.00_ | 536.00 | ||||
| Major repairs, installations and fees - HLS | 24,707.36 | 177,278.6; | 201,985.97 | s3,284.6; | 83,284.62 | |||
| Furniture&furnishings | 409.25 | 409.25 | ||||||
| Routine maintenance | 55413 | 1,791.60 | 2,345.73 | 955.02 | 168.00 | 1,123.02 | ||
| Minor repairs | 228.00 | 228.00 | 146.45 | 90.0a | 236.45 | |||
| Upkeep of Churchvard(incl.Memorial Garden): | 114.54 | 114.54 | 296.49 | 296.09 | ||||
| Upkeep of services: | ||||||||
| Music Altarrequisites |
1,080.00 625.05 |
1,080.00 '525.05 |
1,469.38 697.15 |
1,469.38 697.15 |
||||
| Leaflets&service sheets | 41.49 | 4'. | .49 | 384.49 | ||||
| Service books | 30.00 | 30.00 | ||||||
| Other | 73.96 | 73.96 | ||||||
| Upkeep of theTomHaulev Room: | ||||||||
| Caretaking | 1,430.00 | 1,430.00 | 1,430.00 | - | 1,430-00 | |||
| Supplies, Maintenance & repairs | 442.69 | 442.69 | 459.68 | 459-68 | ||||
| Gas | 1,644.55 | 1,644.55 | 811.64 | - | 811.64 | |||
| Water | 309.92 | 309.92 | 225-25 | - | 22s.25 | |||
| Windowcleaning | 174.40 | 174.OO | 128-00 | - | 128.A0 | |||
| Totalcost of church activities | 102,024.49 | 180,039.84 | 282,064.33 | 71,561.40 | 86,289-54 | 157,850"94 | ||
| 2(b) | Misslon Giving,CharitableGrants & Donations | |||||||
| Home Mission & Charltable Giving | 425.00 | 477.00 | 902.00 | 252.25 | 683.80 | 936.05 | ||
| Overseas Mission & Charitable Giving | 639.20 | 639.20 | ||||||
| Pastoral Discretionary Fund (designated) | 1,370.65 | 200.00 | 1,570,65 | 1,450-00 | 1.450.00 | |||
| 2,434.85 | 677.00 | 3,'t11.85 | 1,702.25 | 683.802,386.05 | ||||
| 2(c) | Cost of fundgenerating activities | |||||||
| Christmas Fayre costs | 240.50 | 240.50 | 144.00 | 144.00 | ||||
| Other fundraising costs | 4.78 | 4.78 | ||||||
| Publicity/community | 1g.oo | 19.04 | ||||||
| 4_78 | 240.50 | 245.28 | 19.00 | 144.00 | 163-00 | |||
| 2(d) | Other expenditure | |||||||
| WightSchool insurance | 50.00 | 50.00 | 30.00 | 30.00 | ||||
| 50.00 | 50.00 | 30.00 | 30.00 | |||||
| TOTALEXPENDITURE | 2 | 181 | -34 | ,147, | 160,429.99 |
| 3 | ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS | Unrestricted | Unrestricted | Restricted | TOTAL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | Funds |
||||||
| €€ | E | ||||||
| CunentAssets | |||||||
| BankAccounts: | |||||||
| HSBC currentaccount | 34,155.28 | 34,155.28 | |||||
| CCLA accounts | 4,469.20 | 32,547.47 | 37,016.67 | ||||
| Total cash at bank | 38,624.48 | 32,547.477',t,17',1.95 | |||||
| Debtors | 14,034.9752500 | 14,559.97 |
|||||
| Total CurrentAssets | 52,659.45 | 33,072.4785,731-92 | |||||
| CunentLiabilities | |||||||
| Creditors & accruals | (6,934.86)(17,706.81)(24,641.67) | ||||||
| Fund balance | 45,724.59 | 15,365.6661,090.25 | |||||
| 4 | FUND DETAILS | Opening balance |
income | expenditure | surplus (loss) |
Closing balance |
|
| as at 1.1.23 | as | at31.12.23 | |||||
| Restricted funds: | E | E | € | L | |||
| Lighting | 2,621.36 | (2,621.s6) | |||||
| Belfry fund | 4,116.53 | (2,019.60) | 2,096.93 | ||||
| Children&Youth ministry | 597.09 | 30.00 | (627"0e) | ||||
| Sprawson Trust Fund | '1,654.21 | (114.54) | 1,539.67 | ||||
| Holiday at Home | 121.11 | 121.11 | |||||
| "Thinking Allowed" /Mission | 480.35 | 480.35 | |||||
| Julian Group | 79.90 | 79.90 | |||||
| Christian Fellowship Fund | 200.00 | (200,00) | |||||
| Memorial Garden | 667.09 | 667.0S | |||||
| WightSchool | 5,140.14 | 776.O0 | (50.00) | 5,866.14 | |||
| AVprojectorfund | 4,278.94 | 2,254,0A | (2,514.47) | 4,AM.47 | |||
| THR decoration | 500.00 | ,500.00 | |||||
| Collectionsreffuneral | 477.00 | (477.00) | |||||
| Heat,Light&Stone | 80,581.19 | 91,802_09 | fi72.383.28| | i0.00) | |||
| Restricted funds movement | {00,537.91 | 95,835.09 | (181,007.34) | - | 15,365.66 | ||
| Unrestricted | |||||||
| Generalfund | 27,658.96 | 17,026.03 | 44,684.99 | ||||
| Designated - Heat, Light & Stone | 15,000.00 | (15,000.00) | |||||
| Designated-wallpanels | 178.85 | 178.85 | |||||
| Designated parish discretionary fund | 1.731 .40 | 500.00 | (1,370.65) | 860.75 | |||
| 44,569.21 | 500.00(16,370.65) | 17,026.03 | 45,724.59 | ||||
| HLS | 4,514.47 | ||||||
| 5 | DETAILS OF OUTWARD GIVING | ||||||
| € | |||||||
| DEC-Turkey-Syria Earthquake appeal (lent | lunches) | 639.20 |
|||||
| imo Pat Summers-Air Ambulance | 477.00 | ||||||
| Children's Society | 425.00 | ||||||
| 1,541.r0 |
| lndividual donors | 83866.19 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Group donors | 2838.47 | ||
| Charitabletrusts | 42s00.00 | ||
| Churchfundsblf | 6904.30 | ||
| Legacyand IMO | 4726.40 | ||
| Fundraisingevents | L2L92.8s | ||
| Fundraising costs | -1191.89 | ||
| Grants received | 118901.s1 | ||
| Allocated discretionary fund | 15000.00 | ||
| FUNDSRAISED | 2857?7.83 | ||
| Phase | 1 | HeatingTHR | -34133.0s |
| HeatingChurch | -21.5278.59 | ||
| Doorre MemorialGarden | -2973.64 | ||
| Collective-avequipment | -25L4.47 | ||
| Phase | 2 | LightingTHR | -3793.92 |
| Lighting Church&Churchrewiring | -31236.82 | ||
| TOTALSPEND | -290930.4s | ||
| deficit | -5L92.62 | ||
| AVfundcarriedforward | -44L4.74 | ||
| THRdecoration fund carriedforward | -s00.00 | ||
| financedfromchurch unrestricted | 9707.36 | ||
| BalanceofHLSfundasat 31stDec2023 | 0.00 |
| 2024forecast | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| f. | € | ||
| lncome | |||
| Plannedgiving | 50,500 | 52,465 | |
| Tax | 11,000 | 13,827 | |
| other-sundry | 4,000 | 6,298 | |
| legacy | 0 | 16,000 | |
| Fees(net) | 2,500 | 2,990 | |
| Bankinterest | 1,200 | 3,067 | |
| Ladbrokecontrib | 1.,300 | 1,328 | |
| Ordinary income | 70,500 | 95,975 | |
| Expenditure | |||
| Parishshare | 50,903 | 48,850 | |
| Clergyexpenses | 1,000 | 7L7 | |
| Outreach | 1,500 | 1,153 | |
| Youthwork | !,200 | 67(rest out of restrictedfund) | |
| 54,603 | 50,787 | ||
| PAtoclergy | 4,24O | 3,982 | |
| printingetc | 1.,500 | 1,432 | |
| legalfeeslicences&bank charges | 769 | 722 | |
| website etc | 525 | 508 | |
| sther | 0 | 190 | |
| 6,994 | 5,834 | ||
| lnsurance | 3097 | 2,977 | |
| Gas | s435 | 2,1o4 | |
| Electricity | 2375 | 2,790 | |
| Organ andpiano | 400 | 40L | |
| Maintenance and repairs:- | 963 | ||
| fireextinguishers | 26s | ||
| hearing loop | 800 | ||
| alarm? | s00 | ||
| roofrepairs | 1500 | ||
| other | 1000 | ||
| 75,372 | 9,235 | ||
| Music,services,altaretc | 2,000 | 1,850 | |
| THR: | |||
| lncome | 4,2OO | 4,150 | |
| Caretaking | 1560 | 1,430 | |
| supplies | 500 | 443 | |
| gas | L20o | 1,64s | |
| water | 320 | 310 | |
| windowcleaning | 174 | L14 | |
| THRcosts | 3754 | 4,O42 | |
| NetTHR | 446 | L48 | |
| totalincome | 70,500 | 95,975 | |
| totalexpenditure | -79,4t5 | -68,854 | |
| -&91s | 27,12t |
| Report to thetrustees/ membersof |
,AliSarntsChurchHarbury | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | ||||
| Onaccountsfortheyear ended |
i31 December2A23 l___ |
, | Charityno tltanvlI |
\A.:.{iler |
| Setout onpages | 1to3 fea**"c) I |
|||
| i |