THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF T14E ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF HEADLEY WITH BOX HILL Charity Number 1151029 ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OFTHE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL For the year ended 3151 December 2024 Incumbent: The Revd. Henry (Harry) N L Latham The R¢¢tory Breech Lane Walion on the14ill Surrcy. KT20 7SD Bankers: CAF Ejank l.td 25, Kings I lill AvL'nue Kings Ilill We51 Molling Kenl Mf.19 4JQ Independent F.XAnilner: Mr siuurt Kn¥. ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2024 Objettives and ActlVRties The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Headley with Boxhill (PCC) is a Registered Charity with the Charities Commission, Number 1151029 and Inland Revenue Charity Number X83572. Structure, Governance and Management The Parish of Headley with Box Hill is a separate parish within the United Benefice of Headley with Box Hill and Walton-on-the-Hill. The PCC is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the Rector in promoting in the ecclesiastical Parish the whole mission of the Church. pastoral, evangelistic. social and ecumenical. The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish. including deciding on how the fund5 of the parish are to be spent. The PCC has a Standing Committee which meets to consider matters that are to be brought to the PCC for decision. The PCC also has the responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep of two churches (St Mary the Virgin, Headley and St Andrew'& Box Hill). It has acquired the former school buildings adjacent to St Mary's, which are let to commercial tenants and occasionally used for overflow car parking when not being used by the current tenants. We have also acquired the Hooper field for car parking and as an extension to the churchyard. Certain elected members of the PCC are also Trustees of two related Trusts: The Mary Freeman Braithwaile Trust (Charity Commission Number 800588) and the St. Andrew's Brodie Trust (Charity Commission Number 1090820). Administrative Information Members of the PCC are either elected at th¢ Annual Parochial Church Meeting or are ex officio or CO•OPted in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. All those ivho attend our serviccs are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for ¢leciion to th¢ PCC. New members receive initial traing into th¢ workings of the PCC. During the year the following served as members of the PCC:. Revd, Harry Laiham Revd Leah Bates Rev Karen Wheatley. Mr Ro&yer Kitley. Mrs Janet Curtis Mrs Ann Golding Mrs Sue Boswell* Rector Benefice Ciirat¢ (left April 2024) Benefice Curate (from July 2024) Treasurer DLanery Synod Deanery Synod Safeguarding oificer Datc ofrclircmcnt Rclircd 2024 2028 2029 2030 2030 2030 2030 Mrs Adrieiiiic l.loyd-williain5 Nlr Pliil I Ic)Iliiibidulc' Mrs I'hcliii.i Jackson Mrs Celia I'oiiis Mr William Donnelly Mrs Sally 14unl Mrs Georgie Mimicopoulou *Indicates meinbers of the Standing Committee The major risks to which the the PCC is exposed have been reviewed and systems and procedures designed to manage those risks have been established. Achievements and Performance Church Services in the Parish 2024 was a difficult year with the dcparture of Christopher Hancock who left at the beginning of the year to become the Rector of the Octagon Parish in Compton, followed by Leah Bates who left after Easter to become Rector of Fetcham. However we welcomed Karen Wheatley (our new deacon) and husband Rob at Petertide and they have come to live in the Rectory at Headley. With help from various visiting priests Sunday services continued as usual. At St Mary's, Prayer Book Communion was celebrated at 8.00 am on the first, second and fourth Sundays. At 9.30 am Family Communion was celebrated on the second and fourth Sundays. the second Sunday being a joint service with St Andrew's. At 10.30am Parish Communion Service was celebrated on the first and third Sundays. Livestreaming of St Mary's main moming services continued. At St Andrew's at 9.30 am a Contemporary Worship Service was held on the first Sunday, an Infornial Family Communion on the third and a l Oam Morning Praise on the fourth. On the fjfth Sunday of a month a Joint United Benefice Family Coinmunion took place at each of the three churches of the Benefice in rotation. The evening Explore & Connect gathering (meeting in the Octagon and Rectory) was paused with the departure of the Bates family. Ascension Day was celebrated again at the Viewpoint on Box Hill - with many thanks to Jan Curtis for her bacon samies. Ilarvest festival services look plac¢ as normal wilh generous contribiiiions of provisions for 14ead Start and the Nig)ht Shelier. Remembrance Day services took place in the normal way. Chri%liniry% 11.1% Lelcbrilied niid bi)Ili C'liurL'IIc8 lu()kcd bcllutiful. I,'sihcr Joncs and thc Cc)ii)iiiiinil)' C"li{)ir pn)dilli￿ ilic NiiiL, I,c%8(Ins aiid C'orols lllong%id¢ Si Mary's Church choir, and ilie C"arols b>, C"aiidlLligl)I IiM)k plnLC UI St Andrcw'4. Church At￿ndanCe lThe numbcr of pcoplc oli tlic Church Ilcctoral Roll at 31, Dcccmbcr was 80 (2023 - 83). lThc ai'crnge Sunda> allciidancc ovcr boili churclics was slightly lower than thc previous year, but has ni)t )'ct rccovered to prc-covid levels. Aiiendancc ai specific services were as follows. 2019 figures are included for comparison:. 2024 39 98 79 66 22 127 NIA 47 , 2023 71 70 72 81 22 2022 2019 41 89 70 107 94 118 86 91 51 NIA 176 87 24 51 27 51 Moihering Sunday Easter Day Remembrance Services Nine Lessons and Carols Carols by Candlelight Crib Service & Carols Midnight Mass Christmas Day 53 41 Occasional services were held as follows:_ 2024 2023 2022 2019 Baptisms Weddings & Blessings Funeral & Memorial Services 12 Review of the Year The Pilgrim Group continued to meet in the Octagon on a Friday morning, and Prayer & Pastries in St Andrew's. Monthly Healing Communions have taken place in St Mary's on a Wednesday Morning. First Friday ColTee continued in the Octagon. The Prayer Network daily emails have continued and many thanks to Charlie Holme for all his work on this and to the team of contributors. An especial 'Thank you" again to our vital but diminished volunteer teams. We are so grateful to those who clean our churches, provide refreshments, help as vergers and sidespeople, oversee streaming, arrange flowers, and look after candles. A continuing challenge in 2024 has been the lack of volunleers and a shortage of new helpers. We have a pressing need for people to volunteer to help clean, to join the Coffee Team. to help as sidespeople and vcrgyers. to sing in the choir and to arrange flowers- as well as to come on the PCC. 2024 was also the year in which the post of warden was vacant. LooklnR Toiillrds 202.$ Tlic l)e.IllLri' c)I' I',psc)111 LiIILr.s ill %Lx()17d L'xpcricncc of ihc Purish Nccd5 Process - a rolling lil'() X'C¢lf pn)b)niii iliiil Pllt% %lriilLg?y at ilic lop of tlic lisl for ihc Archdeacon's Visitation. The PCC 1141% bl{)ixI I()IlTid4ilii)n.% li) biii Id 011 and lias updutcd our Church dcvclopment plan based on ihL prinLiplcs Iroiii tlic LYCIG malLrials {Lcadingi Your Church into Growth). ljnder ihc Ileading of Groii,Ing Dlsclple5hlp ivc continue to run Prayer & Pastries, to build our Pilgriiii coursc. and cncouragiL prayLr and biblL readingi, and baptism and confinnation. Under thc Heading of Growing Diversity we need to connect with younger people. Undcr thc Heading of Growing Community we will continue the Community choir and special musical cvcnls at St Mary's. We run First Friday Coffees and welcome hirers to the Octagon. At St Andrew's we support ihe Good Neighbour's monthly meetings, Warni Hubs, and ihe Coinmunity Fridge. We continu¢ our August Cream tea and Songs of Praise as well as our Carols by candlight for the wider community. Reaching out into our unique local communities, and amongst our neighbours and friends of all ages. in appropriate ways remains vilal. Developing a culture of Invitation remains a key part of our future. Continuing to serve all who come to us for baptisms, weddings. and funerals remains very important. We look to connect with people beyond our existing contacts and friends. We also look to keep growing in faith and in our connection to God as we develop our spiritual l ives in prayer, Biblc study. worship and service. Treasurer's Report The year has seen a slight decrease in altendances at services, although voluntary income {excludin&y donations and gifts) has remained constant. Voluntary income and donations are a vital part of our total income slream, and regular donations are extremely important as they provide a source ofincome that is both regvular and predictable. We have provided a varity of platforms for ihese donations to be made. alloiving ih¢ rttovery ofGift Aid, which is also an importani part of our income. We would encourage all regular donors to use one of these platforms, as our ability to recover Gift Aid from cash donations is always subject to staiutory limits. The Parish Giving Scheme has attracted a groii'ing niiniber of regiular donors, and we encoura&)e all new and regiilar donors io .join this schLmL. as il greliily slr¢amlines our adminislraiion, as well as the reportin&T and colleciion of Gitl Aid. ThL Pcis scheme also offers tl)e advaniakie of operatingj at zero cost io the piirish. online and credit card donalions do allraci a small commission. We therefore iirg)e yoii to revi¢iY hoiv you contribute to the work ol"Ilie church and consider joinin&? thL Parish Giving Sch¢in¢, I'hc averii&ye donalion by T¢&iulur d()nors to one or InorL of oiir iiiain regiiilar biivinb platforms was £16.37 pL'r wL'L'k, vLry LlosL' to lasi year's libiiire, liowever, Ihe niiinber ofreb)Iilar donors has incrLuscd slibiliily io 49. IIIC ii'i)Iild likL Ic) Iliiqiik lill c)Iir rL'giiliir doiiors for iliclr invaliiablc siipport, but wc do urLFC Ihi)sc li li() arc lic)t rl'biilllr d()Ilc)r$ 10 .jI)ill c)iie of tlicsc rcgular givinbi schcmcs to hclp finance Ihc ii'ork. ol'tlic cliiirll). I'liilL c)ur ()iiliiic g)iviiib Iil.lili)nii nnd LrLdit card lacilily arc providing uscful additional inic)IllC. i)artiLiII,Irl>' lft)iii ii()n-rcgiiilar aiicndcrs ut 5crvicLs, or at 5pcLial scrvices such as 'eddinbis 4qiid bapti$11ls, iiicoiiic Iroiii tlicsc soiircL'S was £1,424 in thc ycar, a substantial fall tri)ni lasl )'ear. riindraising and doiiations lo charity included donations to The Meeting Room, Leatherhead Siart. and St Pcter's Lifclinc in Kenya during the year. Summary We have recorded an excess of income over expenditure in our general account for 2024 of £8.910. Minor repairs to the fabric of our buildings were carried out during the year, but there were no items of significant expenditure. This has largely contributed to the surplus of income over expenditure generated this year. The intrusion of ground water into the basement at St Mary's. continues to be an issu< but the recently installed sump pumps are keeping the boiler room reasonably dry. All works identified in the Quinquennial Review of our two churches, which was carried out in May 2021 by our Inspecting Architect, have now bcen acted upon. We have fully paid our Parish Share of £49,287, bul we have been advised of a substantial increase of 6.50/0 in 2025. Recent budget changes lo employers National Insurance contributions will also negatively impact Parish Share, although we have not yet been advised of the extent of this. We continue to use the Parish Buying scheme that takes advantage of the combined purchasing power of a large grouping of parishes. This has led to substantial cost savings, particularly with oil purchases and olyice and church supplies. One of the great concerns to us all is the increase in energy costs, althoiigh prices have now stabilised. Unfortunately, our 3 year fixed price contracts for gas and electricity supply ended in December of this year. Our new conlract prices are substantially higher and we will see a sharp increase in energy costs in 2025. We do not have a similar arrangement for our oil supplies, oil prices have fluclualed during the year, but were generally about the same as in 2023.. The annual cost of running our two churches in 2024 was £93,869. This figure excludes fundraisinLY CJ)Sts, chariLqble donations, trading costs and Old School insurance cosls. The rentsl income froin Thc Old School has again been an extremely important part of our revenues. Re&iular L)iving is an ¢sseniial source of income and we would like to thank ¢veryone who regularly donates to ihe Parish by committed giving through Parish Giving. stsnding orders and coloured &)ift aid envelopes. The Parish Giving Scheme has been a very efficient means of sustaining our incoming resources and has proved to be particularly inip()rl.1T)I diiriilb) Iliis liiii¢ of grcai unccrtuinty. Wc arc olwllys in nccd of new committed gii'crs li) liclp n141illtaill iqiid grow our incoinc and wc would urge our regular givers to keep their conlribulioii Icvcls under rcvicw. In 2020. Il'e cslablishcd a Curate fund to cover our 500/0 share of the cost of having Leah Bates as ihc Bencfice's Curale in Training, resident in the Rectory. Now that Leah has moved on and has been replaced by Rcvd Karen Wheailcy, the need to maintain and support a Curate Fund will continue for the foreseeable fulure. This is a substantial cost. but we feel it is essential to continue the life of the Parish. Hoii'cver, the fund required a transfer of £3,240 from the general Fund to achieve a break- even for the year. On current forecasts, an even greater sum will be required in 2025. We therefore have an urgent need to increase our donations to this fund, we encourage those already donating to this fund to continue to do so, and those not donating to consider helping to fund this important post. IAJoking to 2025 While we have recorded a surplus for 2024, we are projecting a deficit in 2025 of as much as as £15.000, depending upon the exlent of any necessary maintenance works. The rnain drivers for this rather pessimistic forecast are:. The large increase in the Parish Share, previously referred to Increased utility costs Continued inflationary pressures This forecast serves to highlight the pressures on parish finances, and the ever present need for donors to continue to support the work of the church and to maintain our beautiful buildings. Statement of Financial Affairs and Reserves Policy Cash PosltAon At31$1 December. our cash balance in the General Accounts stood at £62,018. Our investment in the Atomos PCC Fund was valued at £28,865 on 31, December. this represents a rise of £639 (2.3 %) in the value of our investment over the year. This PCC Fund also yielded interest of £638 (2.3 % ) during the course of the year. We do face great uncertainty for next year and there are no guarantees that ive will receive financial support going forward. However, w¢ do have strong cash reserves and we continiie to r¢ceive wonderful support from our regular donors, for which we are exlr¢m¢ly gratefiil. Reserves Pollcy In sep￿Mber 2021. the PCC adopted a forinal resoluiion io hold a minimiim of £30.000 in rcscrves, approximately 34 montlis of normal expendiiiire. This figiire is to be review¢d nnniinlli hnil inircfi4NI iihrn Prni11LfihlL, In N4i1weml*i 2n24. Ihe PCC agreed that our min irniim ri-¢eii'r< *hiyiilil fil ihcit Illttcnl leTrcl i)f É l%.(KKI. (hit t<)tal net curreni liquid h4M"l< ni I I" l)i'i'i"rnl*i* Il't-ri £I¢A.244 IC7A.l)11S Al 11" I)eLem￿t 2(Tr2.1). we are therefore vili