2023-12-31-accounts

==> picture [430 x 84] intentionally omitted <==

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST AND SAINT LUKE THE EVANGELIST, CLAY HILL, ENFIELD

Registered Charity number 1151418

==> picture [392 x 51] intentionally omitted <==

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

CONTENTS

	page A. Independent Examiner's Report 2 B. Receipts and Payments Accounts 3 C. Statement of Assets and Liabilities 4 D. Notes to the Financial Statements 5 E. PCC Annual Report for 2023 10

V1.1 8 January 2023

page 1

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

A. INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT

To the Members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) of the Parish of St John and St Luke, Clay Hill, Enfield

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023, which are set out on pages 3 to 9.

Responsibilities of the PCC and the Independent Examiner and basis of the report

As the charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s Statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

• 1) accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or

• 2) the accounts do not accord with those records

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

==> picture [458 x 82] intentionally omitted <==

Roger J Seaton FCA 23 Greenhill Park Barnet, Herts EN5 1HQ

Dated

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 2

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

B. RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS

==> picture [436 x 372] intentionally omitted <==

Detailed analyses of both receipts and payments are contained on pages 8 and 9 of these accounts.

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 3

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

C. STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

==> picture [435 x 169] intentionally omitted <==

==> picture [458 x 42] intentionally omitted <==

Approved by the Parochial Church Council and signed on its behalf by:

==> picture [448 x 115] intentionally omitted <==

……………………………………………… ……………………………………….. Rev, Mitzi James (Vicar) Churchwarden Dated: 1 February 2024

The notes on the following pages form part of these accounts

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 4

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

D. NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. Basis of Financial Statements

The financial statements have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis under with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 in accordance with applicable accounting standards and the current Statement of Recommended Practice Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP 2005). The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The financial statements include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. They do not include the accounts of church groups that owe their main affiliation to another body or those that are informal gatherings of church members.

2. Funds

Unrestricted or General Fund are funds available to be spent on the PCC’s general purposes.

Designated Funds are general funds set aside by the PCC for particular use in the future for administrative purposes only. However, they remain unrestricted and the PCC may re-designate part of all of these funds for other purposes. During 2023, three Designated Funds were operated - for Improvements to St Luke’s Church, for Improvements to St John’s Church and Hall and for Legacies (closed at the end of 2023).

Restricted Funds comprise revenue, donations or grants for a specific PCC activity intended by the donor. During 2023, three Restricted Funds were operated, for Collections and Gifts with Restricted Purposes, for St John’s Church projects (organ) and for St Luke’s Night Shelter (closed at the end of 2023).

==> picture [384 x 210] intentionally omitted <==

In addition, all fees received from third parties for, and then paid to, organists and choristers for attendance at weddings, funerals and interments of ashes and for scripting entries in St Luke’s Book of Remembrance were accounted as Agency. These transactions were not included in the parish accounts as the PCC merely acted as a conduit of the fees. This Agency account had a zero balance at the end of 2023.

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 5

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

3. Sequestration Agency Account

A vacancy in the parish commenced on 12[th] July 2021 when the former vicar, Rev Peter Godden, was instituted to a new living. The accounting policy adopted for Sequestration accounting was based on the advice received from Theresa Moses, Diocesan Financial Advisor.

During the vacancy, the following financial transactions were collected in a Sequestration Agency Account:

• Diocesan Fees received for occasional services (Weddings, Funerals and Interments of Ashes)

• Fees paid to retired clergy for Sunday, weekday and occasional services and all expenses claimed by any visiting clergy

• Vicarage Expenses - costs incurred in maintaining the vacant vicarage including gas, electricity, telephone and minor repairs, excepting during the period when the vicarage was occupied by a tenant installed by the Diocese on a short-term tenancy when all costs apart from the telephone line were paid by the Diocese.

The Sequestration Agency Account was closed on 11[th] June 2023 when Mthr Mitzi James was instituted as the new vicar of the parish. A claim was submitted to the Diocese for the whole of the vacancy period and the settlement was used to clear the balance of the Sequestration Agency Account.

4. Staff Costs and Payments to PCC Members

PCC members are considered the key management personnel of the church. Some members of the choir and one organist were also members of the PCC. They withdrew from all discussions by the PCC about the services they provided and did not participate in any vote by the PCC related to those matters.

No remuneration was paid directly to key management personnel other than detailed below, although the church contributes to the Diocesan Common Fund. The Vicar, who has overall responsibility for promoting the whole mission of the church, is remunerated directly by the Diocese.

The financial interests of the Vicar and other PCC members were limited to reimbursement for minor operational expenditure including materials for minor repairs or improvements, postage, stationery, communion wine and candles. Reimbursements were made after receipt of signed claim forms detailing the expenses with original receipts. All identifiable expenditure including stationery, postage and phone calls were coded to the appropriate heading.

All fees received from third parties for and then paid to organists and choristers for attendance at weddings, funerals and interments of ashes and for scripting entries in St Luke’s Book of Remembrance have been accounted as Agency. None of these people received £5,000 per annum or more. The organists at St Luke’s church and St John’s church provided services to the PCC as selfemployed contractors and invoiced the PCC monthly in arrears for the services provided.

Income from donations includes £10,158 received from PCC members.

5. Receipts

All receipts are recognised when they are received. VAT reclaimed under the Listed Places of Worship Scheme, refunds from the Diocese for water and local authority garden waste bins used by the tenant of the vicarage and from Nursery on the Hill (Enfield) Ltd for insurance of St Luke’s Hall were offset against corresponding payments. All other receipts are accounted for gross.

6. Parish Halls

The parish operates two halls - St Luke’s Hall, located in Morley Hill, Enfield, Middlesex, EN2 0BL and St John’s (Jean Price Memorial) Hall, in Strayfield Road, Enfield, Middlesex, EN2 9JF. Both buildings are held by the London Diocesan Fund as Diocesan Authority (formerly known as Custodian Trustee) with the PCC having the role of Managing Trustee, with day to day responsibility for the properties. Commencing on 1[st] March 2021, St Luke’s Hall was leased to Nursery on the Hill (Enfield) Ltd on a 20 year Lease.

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 6

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

The sums insured for these buildings for buildings and contents cover in insurance policy schedules dated 25 December 2023 are shown in the following table:

Insured by Trinitas Church Insurance	Services
St John’s Church	£3,712,500
St Luke’s Church	£14,819,000
St John’s (Jean Price Memorial) Hall	£209.375
Insured by Ecclesiastical Insurance	Office
St Luke’s Parish Hall	£4,800,566

7. Rounding

Any minor summation errors in the tables in this report are due to all numbers having been rounded to the nearest pound with zero decimal places.

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 7

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

DETAILED ANALYSIS OF RECEIPTS

==> picture [431 x 596] intentionally omitted <==

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 8

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

DETAILED ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE

==> picture [438 x 527] intentionally omitted <==

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 9

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

E. PCC ANNUAL REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

CONTENTS

		page
	Report of Mthr Mitzi James	11
1.	Aim and Purposes	13
2.	Vacancy	13
3.	Objectives and Activities	13
4.	Achievements and Performance	14
5.	Financial Review	20
6.	Reserves Policy	21
7.	Risk Management	22
8.	Thank You!	22
9.	Structure, Governance and Management	22
10.	Administrative Information	23

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 10

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Report of Mthr Mitzi to the AGM of St John’s and St Luke’s, Clay Hill

It is good to be here!

I am finalising this report on Friday 19th January and the sun is streaming through the window of my train to Truro. This is the start of my post-Christmas break, and my sister is back in Clay Hill decorating the vicarage. God willing, I will finally be able to occupy the vicarage by the end of this month.

It was so good to spend the Summer and Autumn getting to know you all; visiting you at home and at our local care homes, and especially worshipping with you at the daily office and prayer groups and growing in discipleship and learning with you at the Advent Course and House Group that you have maintained these past couple of years. And how wonderful it was to have our two beautiful churches full over the Christmas period for worship, concerts and nativity plays. My first Clay Hill Christingle was such a joy.

My thanks to the Churchwardens and the members of the PCC for trusting me to lead you as your vicar and so much gratitude to Fr Jeremy and Fr David for taking care of you pastorally and practically during your - too long - interregnum and the first six months of 2023.

This last half year has been full of challenges including the IT failure resulting in the loss of all my emails and contacts and it has not been easy commuting from Tottenham, but this has not overshadowed the many, many blessings that we have been showered with. It is a great privilege to lead a church which has such dedicated and competent church officers and a church family that is clearly very open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. I am so pleased that Fr Jeremy and Julia have discerned that they would like to remain with us here in Clay Hill and grateful for the love and ministry of Fr David and Bridget Nash. Together, with our pastoral assistant, Michael Mansfield, I feel so privileged to serve alongside such an exceptional Ministry Team.

We are blessed with a dedicated PCC, our Trustees who give up their time and expertise to the stewardship and governance of our church buildings and parish activities.

Our excellent Treasurer, John Wright, has kindly agreed to continue in his role until a successor can be found from our church community. We are so grateful for everything that John does which extends far beyond the role and responsibilities of a church treasurer. He will be an excellent and cheerful mentor for whoever comes forward to take over this role.

Good Churchwardens are the bedrock of a well led church and all three of our churchwardens have shown exceptional kindness and support to me in these first few months of my incumbency.

Ian Buswell continues to be a superb churchwarden with responsibility for St Luke’s building; his quiet kindness, prayerfulness, practical skills, attention to detail and careful stewardship of our buildings and resources are great gifts to us.

Marion Berry has held the significant responsibility of caring for the building of St John’s building alone and her quiet pastoral care of the vulnerable members of the community, generosity, tenacity in applying for grants to benefit the whole parish, and faithfulness, combined of course with her military background ensures that she runs a very tight, efficient, and orderly ship.

We are delighted that Doreen Addy has agreed to support Ian as our newest Churchwarden to care for St Luke’s building and we are grateful for her devout faithfulness, prayers and cheerful kindness, generosity, and willingness to learn all the legal and practical skills, whilst at the same time raising a young family and working full time.

Special thanks must go to Mary Englefield, our Administrator, who has done so much to support Fr Jeremy and the churchwardens during the vacancy and who continues to support me and facilitates the smooth running of our church. So much paperwork is involved in the Church of England and Mary has done all this quietly in the background, as well as taking and dealing with all the parish phone calls ever since Fr Peter moved to his new parish in Buckinghamshire.

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 11

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

In the gospel of Luke, we hear of Jesus appearing to the disciples on the beach and sharing their breakfast. Like the other appearances of the risen Christ, the disciples don’t recognise him immediately, but as they relate with him, they come to see who he is as he draws them closer to God and fullness of life. Whilst the future is likely to be challenging for us with regards to our finances and resourcing everything that we would like to do, when in the history of the church hasn’t it been?

With changes in the leadership of the church, rising costs for us all, and the need to cut costs to make the little we have to go further, we must remember that God not only accompanies us, but is with us right in the middle of it all, teaching us new ways to be church and proclaim his Gospel message.

I am so encouraged by the faith of longstanding members of the church and the conversations with new and returning members of our church family and your willingness to give up your time to ensure that the many activities detailed below can take place.

You have all worked so hard to keep our churches going and keeping your hearts and minds fixed on Jesus during challenging times without a parish priest, so let’s continue to be of good courage; let’s rise, and be on our way together as Confident Disciples in the Parish of Clay Hill – seeking to follow Jesus Christ and share His love with the world.

With the assurance of my prayers,

Mother Mitzi Vicar

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 12

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

1. Aim and Purposes

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of the Parish of Clay Hill has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent in promoting the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical within the ecclesiastical parish. The PCC is also responsible for the maintenance of St. John’s church, St. Luke’s church and St John’s Hall.

2. Vacancy

Since July 2021 the parish was in vacancy and since November 2021, Father Jeremy Foot, a nonstipendiary minister, provided stability for the parish. Father David Nash, a retired priest also provided help leading on some of the services.

The Parish Profile was updated and agreed by the PCC at the meeting on 17 November 2022. It was agreed that the position of vicar would be advertised in the Church Times in early January 2023. Four applications were received and all four were interviewed on 28 February 2023. The interview panel consisted of the Bishop of Edmonton, Rob Wickham, the Archdeacon, John Hawkins, the Area Dean, Stephen Gallagher, our Patron, Steve Griffiths, the Vicar of St Andrews Enfield, and three parish representatives, who were Cheryl Graham, Doreen Addy and Peter Livermore.

At the end of the interviews, there was a thoughtful and engaging discussion and the panel all agreed to offer the post to Mthr Mitzi James. We were all delighted when she accepted the role as our next Vicar.

On Sunday 11 June 2023 Mthr Mitzi James was Licenced by the Rt Revd Rob Wickham as vicar of the Parish of Clay Hill St John’s and St Luke’s church.

3. Objectives and Activities

The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship in our churches and to become part of our parish community at Clay Hill. The parish’s Mission Action Plan provides the following framework for current and planned activities to achieve this objective:

• In Worship and Prayer, we aim that all who participate in the Eucharist will feel that they have been drawn into closer contact with God and that their spiritual journey has been accompanied by a supportive church community.

• In Teaching and Nurture, we endeavour to provide members of our congregations and of the wider parish with opportunities to grow in their ability to understand, reflect on and articulate the Christian faith through the provision of teaching at a level that is appropriate.

• In Care and Service , we endeavour to offer pastoral care in particular to people living in the parish, enter into creative partnerships with the community and other groups and encourage and support individual members of the congregation in the roles of active service that they undertake .

• In Mission and Outreach , we endeavour to find creative ways to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to our parish and to invite people into the life of the Church.

When planning activities, the PCC has considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and the supplementary guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. To facilitate this work, it is also important that we maintain the fabric of all our parish buildings.

Safeguarding

The PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 in relation to having due regard to the House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. The updated Parish Policy Statement was approved by the PCC and is displayed in both churches and available from the Safeguarding Officer and on our website. The Safeguarding Self Audit and Safeguarding Action Plan were also approved by the PCC. No Safeguarding Issues were raised in 2023 that required reporting to the Charity Commission. The PCC has submitted to the Diocesan Safeguarding Team its response for the Past Cases Review 2 into known historic cases of abuse involving clergy or lay church officers as requested by the Bishop of London.

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 13

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

4. Achievements and Performance

During the vacancy a single Eucharist service has been held in the parish each Sunday in St Luke’s church on the first, third and fifth Sundays and in St John’s church on the second and fourth Sundays at the standardised start time of 10.00am. A service of Evening Prayer is presently held on Sunday evenings in St John’s church hall and a service with the URC Lancaster Road once a month. This has carried on as Mthr Mitzi was unable to get into the vicarage and had to commute to Enfield. The PCC has discussed the pattern of weekly services and it is hoped that in 2024 once Mthr Mitzi is living in the parish more services will be provided.

4.1. Deanery Synod Report

One member of the PCC sits on the Deanery Synod. This provides the PCC with an important link between the parish and the wider structures of the church. The Deanery Synod met three times in 2023. The first meeting in March 2023 was held at Christchurch, Cockfosters, there was a musical devotion for Lent, led by David and Nikki Hooke. There was a summer BBQ in July, which followed the Synod business meeting at St Peter and St Paul’s and in November 2023 there was an introduction to the Grow Course by Katy Lysak at St Alphege church. The meetings are open meetings preceded by refreshments and sometimes a Eucharist. In addition to the three usual Synod meetings there were two additional events – in March at St Stephen’s church there was Bishop Rob’s Farewell Pilgrimage Service for the Deanery and blessing of the Parish of St Mark and St Stephen’s Bush Hill Park. In September St Luke’s hosted a Deanery Quiet Day “At the Waters of Silence” which was led by Bishop John Ford.

4.2. Worship and Prayer

Festivals: The PCC is keen to offer a range of services that our community find both beneficial and spiritually fulfilling. For example, our evening prayer with discussion on a Sunday evening provides a quiet, intimate, and reflective environment for worship, whilst opportunities are provided for people to engage in our sung Eucharist service on Sunday mornings.

On Palm Sunday we had our usual walk-through Hilly Fields from St John’s church to St Luke’s church. In St Luke’s on Maundy Thursday there was the Last Supper service with foot washing and Good Friday started with Children’s Liturgy in the morning, Liturgy in the afternoon and Tenebrae at St John’s in the evening. There was a vigil on Easter Eve with the lighting of the Paschal candle in St Luke’s and on Easter Day a lovely service in St John’s.

In June we held the Patronal Festival of St John the Baptist with the yearly Flower Show in the same weekend. In July we had a special National Bereaved Parents service. In September, St Luke’s held the Deanery Quiet Day. We held our annual St Luke’s the Evangelist Patronal Festival service in October with our former vicar, the Archdeacon of Hastings, Fr Edward Dowler, who kindly came back to preach at the service. We had a Bring and Share lunch afterwards. That evening to round off the day we had a sung Evensong with our friends from URC Lancaster Road. Also in October we had a wonderful Harvest Festival service with the scouts on parade. The scouts were also very prominent during the Remembrance Sunday service in November. December was a busy month with lots of different services including Advent Lights, Blue Christmas, Nine Lessons and Carols, Christingle, and Christmas Midnight services as well as a Christmas morning service. We were also able to hold a few concerts in St Luke’s and St John’s churches.

Attendance: The average attendance at Sunday services in St John’s church has been approximately 35 adults and six children and in St Luke’s church approximately 40 adults and six children. During the year there has been three funerals, two interments of ashes and one Baptism.

Junior/Childrens’ Church: Children’s Church services have been taking place once a month in St John’s church, now on the second Sunday of the month. The half hour service is a wonderful way of introducing our young members to the Christian faith through worship, songs, prayers and activities.

12[th] Enfield Scout Group: 2023 was an excellent year for the 12[th] Enfield Scout Group, who are sponsored by the St John & St Luke Parish PCC. The group has very healthy numbers with well over 100 members and a waiting list, comprising of Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers. The parish sponsorship agreement was agreed by the church PCC and the Scouts.

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 14

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Monthly church parade attendance has dramatically improved. The aim is for scouts to attend the monthly All-Age services in St Luke’s church on the first Sunday of each month, with the exception of school holidays. We have put in a strategy of a yearly update to all leaders and a monthly reminder of church services. The services are similar to the usual parish Eucharist and include Holy Communion, but are aimed at engaging everyone of all ages. Group members are encouraged to take an active part in the readings and other activities. It is worth noting that thanks to the liaison between the parish and the group leaders, the monthly attendance has improved this year. Once again, there was a good number of group members and leaders in attendance at the Remembrance Service in November. The scouts helped with the May Fayre, serving burgers and drinks. There were occasions this year when the Cubs needed to use the church for activities in line with our sponsorship agreement.

Prayer Group: T he Prayer Group meets every four weeks in St Luke’s Lady Chapel, usually the second Sunday in the month, there is now a core of ten to twelve people. The Prayer Tree is in the middle of our prayer circle. Each meeting starts with a short reflection, followed by a time of prayer starting with the names of people that are in our hearts, then we pray for the world and then our community. Taizé music is played between the sections. Afterwards there is fellowship, with coffee pastries and toast. Very often people respond to the messages from the Parish social media status and request prayers to be said for themselves or their loved ones.

House Group, Lent Course and Advent Bible Study: House groups are an excellent way to help parishioners grow and deepen their faith. Groups would usually meet in people’s houses in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, giving opportunities to develop friendships, worship with other Christians, learn more about the Bible and strengthen their relationship with God. It involves study and discussion of the Bible, worship and prayer. The aim is to inform and encourage one another and share diverse opinions as we discuss what God is saying to us.

The Clay Hill House Group started in May 2016, initially with a monthly evening meeting and developed to both a morning and evening session on a Tuesday each month. Like other church activities, the House Group had to stop with the onset of the Covid pandemic, but it restarted in June 2022, meeting in the Lady Chapel in St Luke’s church. It meets on the second Tuesday of the month with an evening session and is usually attended by 10-12 people.

During 2023, the following topics were covered:

• The Old Testament Book of Joshua – he was the leader of the Israelite tribes after the death of Moses, conquering Canaan and distributing its lands to the 12 tribes

• How to evangelise – looking at what it means to be living the Christian life

• World religions – we took a brief look to help us gain an appreciation of other religious traditions

• • Julian of Norwich – on the 650[th] anniversary of her first vision, we learned more about her and her spiritual teaching and holy wisdom, and the power of inspirational words in tough times

• Favourite Bible readings – what they mean to us

• Forgiveness – a sensitive subject and a challenge in extreme circumstances

• The Archbishop of York's Advent Book - "Stick with Love" – looking at spiritual inspiration from a wide range of people

Notes from each of the sessions are available from Peter Livermore.

The Lent course in 2023 was held on five Monday evenings and used the Church of England’s Lent theme: Dust and Glory: A Lent journey of faith, failure and forgiveness . It was inspired by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s 2023 Lent Book, Failure: What Jesus said about sin, mistakes and messing stuff up by Bishop Emma Ineson.

For three Monday evenings during December, the Advent Bible Study looked into seven aspects of who Jesus is, based on some prayers used in traditional worship, sometimes called the 'O Antiphons'.

Choir: At the end of 2022 there were six members of the choir. During 2023 the choir gained three new members; Dave Young, Kathy McGovern and Rachel Bindon. Sadly, at the end of the year Stephanie Ratnage left as she moved to Norfolk, she will be missed. We now have a choir of eight, Kathy completed the tasks and singing tests set by the RSCM voice for life training scheme, to be awarded her light blue medal. Laura Marlow from Lancaster Road URC joined our Evensong for St Luke’s patronal festival and Nine Lessons and Carols, in addition Martin Legg (LR, URC) and Keith Tucker augmented the choir for our Nine Lessons and Carols. It was lovely to have the full range of

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 15

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

parts for the choral items.

The chorister have given generously of their time and worked hard during the year. Learning eleven new anthems, plus six new hymns, which were sung during the distribution of communion. They have led the congregation with an additional six new hymns. Occasionally with an extra run through before the morning service and extensive practices before the evening services. There have been three Sung Services where the choir also learnt additional anthems, including ‘The mountains shall bring peace’ written especially for the Coronation of King Charles III. The choir has also learnt new music for the Tenebrae service (Good Friday), Advent Lights and ending the year with the Nine Lessons and Carol service, with many complementary comments about the choir.

We are open to new members and usually practice from 7.30pm Wednesday evenings in the Lady Chapel at St Luke’s except for the first two weeks after Christmas and the month of August.

4.3. Pastoral Care

St Luke’s Mothers’ Union: The aim of the Mothers’ Union is to demonstrate the Christian faith in action by the transformation of communities worldwide through the nurture of the family in its many forms. In March, Sue Johnson, our London Diocesan President gave a talk on “Moving Forward”. She asked the Members to think about what they could do to improve how Mothers’ Union could move forward in these difficult times. Member numbers are declining in our branches in the UK, but thankfully increasing overseas. Numbers need to increase to help others both in the UK and abroad. In April Fr. David Nash gave a very informative and interesting talk on the “Golden Age of Hymn Writing”. In June the meeting was a visual/talk on Indigo Dying given by Luisa Uribe, a mother from St. John’s school. Luisa had studied dying and textile techniques in Japan and produced stunning patterns on fabrics which she sells.

Monica Woods and Joan Young gave an update in August on the work of Bridge of Hope Children’s Ministry charity £48 in donations were received plus £6 for Monica Wood’s cards. Also, in August a Eucharistic service was held in St John’s church commemorating the beheading of St John the Baptist. Doreen Addy was sworn in as a member of the Mothers’ Union in the service by Mthr Mitzi. Doreen joined the Mothers’ Union just before the pandemic, but due to Fr Peter leaving and the vacancy she was not sworn in earlier.

In December a special service was held, arranged by Valerie Budd, Looking Forward to Christmas entitled “A lowly birth and courageous women”. It was meant to be held in 2022 but due to bad weather it was unable to go ahead, it was well worth waiting for!

Sanctuary Course: Clay Hill and St Mary Magdalene parishes jointly ran the 8-session Sanctuary Course from 18 September to 12 November, which was attended by about 15 people, including 6 from Clay Hill.

The course is aimed at showing how a church can become a sanctuary - a place where individuals living with mental health challenges can feel welcome, safe, supported, and have a sense of belonging. Each session explored key mental health topics and examined meaningful ways to offer companionship, support recovery, and promote wellbeing.

One of the key messages from the course is that there are numerous mental health challenges, but it is not for us to try and diagnose or cure people – that is for the professionals. Our main role is to listen and support people.

It is important, of course, to share the lessons learnt from the course, so others in our churches can be better equipped to help people. There is a lot of material in the course, but a summary of the key themes and issues will be produced. For more information you can visit the Sanctuary website : https://sanctuarymentalhealth.org/sanctuary-course/

Warm Welcome Hub/Place of Welcome: The Warm Welcome space, which opens in St Luke’s on Monday mornings from 10.00 to 12.00, started in November 2021 in response to helping our local community during the cost-of-living crisis. Clay Hill is one of over 7000 community organisations registered with the Warm Welcome Campaign that have opened free, warm, welcoming spaces for the public during Winter across the UK.

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 16

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Ideally, it should be a joined-up approach, so a network of warm places could be provided for the local community to come to. We approached other churches in the area and St Mary Magdalene’s also have a warm welcome space on Wednesday afternoons.

There are hot drinks and cakes and activities such a boardgames, and everyone in the local community is welcome. It is popular and about a dozen people come each week.

The national warm welcome campaign was a reaction to the massive increase in energy costs, encouraging churches and other community organisations to provide warm spaces for people struggling to keep themselves warm. Although not many have been coming for this purpose, it has become a friendship group, where people are enjoying the company and conversations with each other.

Although many warm welcome spaces closed during the Spring and Summer months with warmer weather, we could see that for our local community it is not just for Winter and there is clearly a need to continue and develop further what we are doing in Clay Hill.

In the Spring we registered with the Places of Welcome Network, which currently has over 700 across the UK. Places of Welcome is a growing network of local community groups providing their neighbourhoods with places where all people feel safe to connect, belong and contribute. They are run by local community groups who want everyone in their neighbourhood to have a place to go for a friendly face, a cup of tea and a conversation if, and when, they need it.

During the Summer holiday, we held a children’s summer play session and, during the Autumn halfterm, a children’s crafting and soft play session. They were both very popular with about 50 children and 50 adults coming and they expressed delight that such a warm and welcoming community facility was provided. For more information you can visit the Warm Welcome website : https://www.warmwelcome.uk/ and https://www.placesofwelcome.org.uk/

Enfield Churches Debt Centre: Enfield Churches Debt Centre (ECDC) has combined with Vineyard Church operating under the banner of Christians Against Poverty, Enfield. This enables the workers – Davina and Nicky - wider scope in engaging with debt clients and core organisations as well as promoting the work through events and the newsletter. There will be opportunities for individuals to volunteer as befrienders. ECDC will continue to provide support, governance, management, running courses and helping with fundraising essential for future development. Of the 300 plus churches in the borough only 13 regularly provide financial support of any kind. Please continue to pray for this vital work and ministry in the borough.

North Enfield Food Bank: Gifts of non-perishable goods presented at the Harvest Festival on 1 October 2023 were given to the North Enfield Food Bank.

Restorative Chair Yoga Group: The Restorative Yoga Group is very popular, and numbers are increasing, which is good news and if everyone attended there wouldn’t be enough yoga mats! Members are very supportive in the church fundraising events and now they fill in the yellow envelopes each week for gift aid. Eliza is an excellent teacher with a lovely sense of humour appreciated by all.

Clay Hill Singers: Clay Hill Singers continues to be a popular part of Clay Hill Parish activities. Under the expert direction of Claire Stogden, the group attracts between fifty and sixty members each week and new members continue to join.

We are particularly pleased to welcome a group from a special needs centre in Edmonton who really enjoy their morning sing. It is a pleasure for us to have them and so extend our fellowship to a wider community. We continue to ask for a donation of £5 per session, which most are happy to pay, although of course, this is not a compulsory payment. We feel that this contribution is a sufficient amount to be asked for a present and should not be raised in the near future.

Many of our members say that Clay Hill Singers is a very important part of their week and would miss their musical sessions greatly if the meetings discontinued. It is good to know that our group, although not attaining pre-Covid numbers, is still such a valued community event.

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 17

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Social Activities: In May there was a special Coronation Day service followed by a bring and share lunch. Also in May we had the May Fayre followed by the annual Flower show in June, which was kindly opened by the Archdeacon, John Hawkins. The long-awaited Quiz took place in November. We also had a very successful Christmas raffle. We were kindly sponsored by Atkinsons Residential with advertising boards.

Social Media:- The Parish has been actively using Facebook since October 2017 and X/Twitter since January 2018. It is a good way of communicating to the wider community and they are free accounts. We can share our information as well as finding out about what is happening either within our community or further afield. Our Facebook is: @clayhillparish, our X/Twitter is: @ClayHillParish

On X/Twitter we are following 170 people – these include many clergy and Bishops – such as Bishop Sarah, Dr Julie Gittoes, St Barnabas Bethnal Green, the London Diocese, Warm Welcome UK and local clergy. Some follow us back. We have 258 followers, many are clergy some local, some from London and some from further afield. We Tweet and retweet and these can be seen on our website. When Bishop Rob was the Bishop of Edmonton, we would retweet his Tweets and like them, he also did the same to us. Twitter has a wider range of audience. We have gained a few more followers since Mthr Mitzi has been with us. We had 589 views from our Tweet just after the Induction service, and someone else’s Tweet that evening was viewed 4,294 times. Our Tweet on Easter Day to give the good news that Mthr Mitzi was going to be our vicar was viewed 5,739 times and liked 76 times it was retweeted 10 times with 40 visits to our Profile. Our Tweet just before Mitzi’s Induction Service was liked 61 times, retweeted 14 times, viewed 3,013 times and 25 visits to our Profile.

We have 430 followers on our Parish Facebook, these followers are mostly in the local community, such as people in our parish, local businesses, people from other local churches and people who have moved away and can’t come to our church. Apart from our own posts we like and share posts from others such as North Enfield Foodbank, The Trussell Trust, Four Hills Music and local charities. Our Facebook and Tweets are mainly about services and events that we have coming up or good news.

Every day during Advent knitted Mary, Joseph and the Donkey were posted going around the parish (and a little further afield in Enfield). It was very popular with hundreds of views and many retweets, likes and comments.

We have a website: clayhillparish.org.uk, which is administrated by Roy Tungatt, Clay Hill Parish E-Newsletter and we also have a church WhatsApp.

4.4. Mission and Evangelism

Soup Lunches: Our monthly soup lunches are held in the Jean Price Hall on the first Wednesday of each month (except in August) and on average we have about 13 people attending. The soup is prepared by four of our church members and each take it in turn to prepare the soup. The money raised goes to the various charities that our Parish supports: BOHCM, Enfield Debt Centre, Mothers’ Union, Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice and the Church Urban Fund. The amount raised in 2023 was £835. It is an enjoyable time of fellowship together; all are welcome to attend.

Bridge of Hope Childrens’ Mission (BOHCM): BOHCM is a Christian charity, it was founded in 2008 and is situated in Rukungiri, which is in the Southwest of Uganda.

A child sponsorship programmed was started, where individuals in the UK can sponsor a child. This programme now supports 145 children living in the local community. Two homes were built and in 2011 they opened for orphaned and abandoned children. There was not a good local school and therefore the first school nursery classroom was built. Over 450 children now attend the school and as well as the three nursery classrooms there are now seven primary classes. All the teachers and support staff are local Ugandan people. The children are taught English, which is Uganda’s national language, alongside their local spoken language. St John’s primary school in Enfield, our own Church school, sponsored two children from a young age and after finishing their education in the BOHCM school they chose to go on to vocational training. The young man is now a qualified carpenter and the young girl finished her vocational training and is working in tailoring, both enjoy their work and help to support their families.

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 18

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Other projects that have been set up by BOHCM are the building of protected springs, which provide clean water for local communities; Holiday Bible Clubs are held during the school holidays with approximately 500 children attending; A Youth Sports Development programme; building projects such as erecting new homes; latrines, kitchens, providing new roofs; and also medical care.

A group visits Uganda twice a year and it is always wonderful to see how the lives of families and children can be changed once they are given help and hope for the future. None of the above would have been possible without God’s guidance and the support of all our sponsors, supporters and local churches and we continually to thank God for this.

Children’s Society: This year we were able to hold our annual Christingle Service in St Luke’s church on Christmas Eve, which was attended by about 400 people, donations were collected in aid of the Children’s Society.

Church Urban Fund: The parish regularly supports the Church Urban Fund with money raised at Soup Lunches as well as donations for a Parish Christmas Card which, this year, raised a total of £147.

4.5. Links with Local Schools

St John’s Church of England Primary School: St. John’s Primary School is the smallest school in Enfield with 102 pupils from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds arranged in four vertically grouped classes. All staff work hard to ensure that the children are kept safe so that they have the best possible learning environment. The breakfast and after-school clubs have been successful with a very high uptake and the Breakfast Club has been very well attended. All school meals are now free to all pupils in line with government policy. In the second half of the year, the school was able to hold Harvest, Remembrance, Carol services and End of Term services in St John’s church, they were facilitated by the church wardens and volunteers from the church.

The school has had a very successful health and safety and safeguarding inspection achieving a GOOD standard, which is a fantastic outcome and a credit to the head and teaching staff and reflects their hard work. There has been an increase in applications for this year’s intake, which is excellent. Paul Bates has been asked as a representative of the PCC to be part of the admissions team and is the Lay lead for Health and Safety and Safeguarding and was Father Christmas again this year, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Paul and Michael Mansfield have been attending the school on a regular basis. Mthr Mitzi is now part of the Governors team and has been attending the assemblies at St Johns school since becoming Vicar. The school has sponsored Issy Bates, teaching assistant, to go to Uganda, to visit Bridge Of Hope Children’s Ministry with the team. The children from Uganda will write to the children from St Johns and become pen pals and with the new technology they are attempting to conduct some on-line assemblies, Wi-Fi permitting. This is a wonderful Missionary activity and the Bridge of Hope team do a wonderful job.

Wren Academy Enfield: The Wren Academy Enfield secondary school opened in 2020, and now has students in Years 7-10 located on the Chase Farm Hospital site, which is within the boundaries of Clay Hill parish. It is planned that a new year group will be added each year until full capacity is reached in 2027 with over 1200 students. The school is sponsored by the London Diocesan Board for Schools. The school chaplain is keen to build closer links with our Parish and Mthr Mitzi has been to meet the Headteacher, tour the school, attend assembly and also attended the weekly chapel group.

.

4.6. Ecumenical Relationships

We join with the congregation of Lancaster Road URC for services of Evening Prayer, normally on the third Sunday of each month.

4.7. Buildings

St John’s Church and Hall

St. Johns Church displayed its decorated splendour over the Christmas period; when the entrance porch was transformed into a stable. There is now a ‘Thomas the Tank’ play box for the children, which had over 30 donated new soft toys for the children to take home on Christmas day. St. Johns School continues to use the church for their services, RE Lessons and concerts.

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 19

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

There was a Fire Drill on 26 February with the time of two minutes. Annual Precision and Safety checks, Vulcana’s gas radiators were serviced. Tarquin Wiggins carried out Spring/Winter tuning and repaired a leak in the bellows of the organ. The ant problem was resolved in the organ loft. There was the Annual gutter clearance on 3 March and the piano was tuned. The steeplejack repaired the storm damage fletch and carried out some high-level lime mortar repointing; leaf clearance of the vestry flat roof and a small repair to the chancel ceiling where the plaster board had begun to flake; repaired the cracked capping stone over the front porch a specialist bonding material. We were able to get new ‘head mics’ to replace the older ‘collar mics’. A structural survey was paid for by two donations and the drawings and specifications were received at the end of December 2023. They took far longer than expected as the survey was originally requested in November 2022, but not carried out till 18 January 2023. The recommended repair company’s quote £4,428.11 plus VAT for which PCC approval is required.

Further restoration work to the organ has been identified. The DAC’s organ advisor John Norman, John Wright and Nathan Hulse attended St John’s on 5 September to inspect the organ. He also recommended restorers who were invited to inspect and provide quotes. Reports were received from Tarquin Wiggins and Manders, but Bishops & Sons was delayed till January 2024. The Archdeacon will be provided with the three quotes for his decision as to whether we need a Letter B or a Faculty. The National Churches Trust were contacted regarding a grant and they kindly said they would assist with an application.

Tree surgeons worked on the two diseased oak trees in the grounds in December 2022. This took longer than expected due to snowy weather and road accidents, therefore it could not be completed until 28 January 2023. Thankfully a seat was carved out from the largest section of the 350-year-old tree, which continues to serve in the parish in a new way.

Unfortunately, in March, both sheds were broken into, however nothing was stolen. The dedicated team continue to maintain the grounds to the high standard everyone enjoys, including the Annual Flower Show preparation in June opened by the Archdeacon, with generous plant donations from local plant nurseries. The weather gave mixed results, but the vegetable beds still provided a good yield for donations to the parish ‘general funds’. We successfully grew a good crop of potatoes, garlic, runner beans, four varieties of courgettes, peas, curly kale, onions and tomatoes. We were donated a twotier cold frame, vegetable trug by Stephanie and Graham Ratnage.

The hall is used weekly for the Lent Soup Lunches which were well attended. A fund-raising concert on behalf of BOHCM was held in St John’s church and provided absolutely beautiful music and continued to demonstrate the excellent acoustics for seasonal musical services and events. St John’s school continue to use the Church for their services. The Right Start Nursery hired both the church and hall for their Carol Singing. Continued grateful thanks go to Joan and Dave Young, Cheryl Graham and Paul Wallace for all their help throughout the year.

St Luke’s Church and Hall

Work carried out in the church during the year related mainly to routine inspections and maintenance. In November our inspecting architect, Daniel Benson, produced a proposal for progressing the outstanding quinquennial repairs for consideration by the PCC. There is regular maintenance to the grounds, including grass cutting, hedge and shrub pruning. Nursery on the Hill is now responsible for the maintenance of the hall building and our annual inspection showed it to be in good order.

5. Financial Review

5.1. Finance

In 2023, the parish incurred a deficit in general operating income and expenditure of £12,968 compared to a deficit of £9,759 in 2022 and the budgeted deficit of approximately £12,700.

However, despite forecasting a deficit, the PCC agreed to slightly increase its Common Fund contribution to the Diocese for 2023 to £57,500, equivalent to 100.4% of the Parish Ministry Cost component of the Parish Standard Cost. The PCC has also agreed to maintain its Common Fund contribution for 2024 to £57,500.

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 20

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Until the institution of the Rev Mitzi James, on 11 June, the parish was in a vacancy during which all Diocese fees for occasional services and ministry-related costs were recorded in a Sequestration Account. A claim was submitted to the Diocese for the whole of the vacancy period and the settlement was used to clear the balance of the account.

Operating income increased by 4.4% compared to 2022 and a number of the parish’s sources of income were higher than in 2022. Stewardship receipts including Gift Aid increased by 5.2% and Sunday collections were 6.8% up and are now enhanced by the facility to make payments by card. Donations and fund-raising increased by 6% and deposit account interest almost quadrupled due to improved interest rates. Donations from both Community Groups – Clay Hill Singers and Yoga increased and included additional income from gift aided donations by some Singers and Yoga group members with the overall surplus almost tripling.

However, receipts from baptisms, weddings, funerals and interments of ashes were just 60% compared to 2022 due to the dwindling number of funerals and interments of ashes and no weddings. Apart from the regular rent from Nursery on the Hill from the long-term lease for St Luke’s Hall, receipts for events in both churches and St John’s Hall were almost half that in 2022.

Operating expenditure increased by 7.0% compared to 2022, the biggest element being the cost of gas, electricity and water which was up 260%. A notable new area of expenditure was for Childrens Church activities which included the set-up costs for Bubble Church. The parish also incurred one-off costs for advertising for and the institution of our new vicar. The cost of church organists increased by 50% due to applying a fee that is more comparable with the marketplace. Apart from this, there were no significant or one-off items of expenditure as most followed the pattern of recent years.

5.2. St Luke’s Hall Lease

Since 1 March 2021, St Luke’s Hall has been leased to with Nursery on the Hill (Enfield) Ltd (NOTH), a pre-school nursery, under a repairing 20-year lease. The agreed annual rent for the first five years has been discounted by just under 50% to reflect NOTH’s significant investment in refurbishing the building. At the end of that period, the rent will be reviewed to the full market value. In the meantime, the lease provides the parish with a dependable long-term regular income without the responsibility for maintaining the building or managing bookings.

5.3. Stewardship

In 2023 the forecast was £40,375 including recoverable Gift Aid, though there was a small reduction due to the sad loss of one of the members. There were no new additions during the year, although now we have Mthr Mitzi to guide us there are clearly new people arriving so the hope is they will be able to boost this important income for the parish to maintain our buildings and develop her plans for the parish.

5.4. Pattie Skeates Legacy

In 2019, the parish was advised that the late Pattie Skeates, a former member of St John’s congregation, had bequeathed to St John’s church her estate in South Africa, including the proceeds of assets and fixed property after sale. The PCC instructed the firm of Lewis Silkin LLP and through them the firm of Legacy Fiduciary Services and Estate Planners SA (LFSEP) to act as its agents to represent the PCC’s interest in South Africa and to authorise them to make enquiries about the estate and administration. With the approval of the PCC, LFSEP appointed an independent executor to deal with the estate. The solicitors in London and South Africa and the Executrix have continued with the legal formalities throughout the year to finalise the estate. The sale of the property was completed on 23 May 2023, however debts on the property have to be settled and that the executor is presently dealing with outstanding fees and taxes, it is hoped to receive details and transfer of funds in the first few months of 2024.

6. Reserves Policy

It is the policy of this parish to try to maintain a balance of unrestricted funds which equates to at least three months of routine unrestricted payments. This is equivalent to approximately £25,000 and is held to smooth out fluctuations in cash flow and to meet emergencies.

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 21

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Both churches had Quinquennial inspections in January 2020 and after completion of repairs to some of the most urgent items in both churches, a complete schedule of repair work is being updated. The parish has reserved £25,000 for this ongoing work, the sum to be reviewed as more detailed assessments of the areas identified for repair are obtained.

St Luke’s church half share of the proceeds of the sale of Hawthorn Grove Hall in 2008 was set aside in a designated fund for improvements to St Luke’s church and Hall, some of which has been used for refurbishment of St Luke’s church refectory and emergency repairs to St Luke’s church ceiling.

It is our policy to invest as much as possible of the parish’s funds with the CCLA CBF Church of England Deposit Fund where 65% of total funds were invested at the end of 2023.

7. Risk Management

The following is a summary of the risks faced by the parish and the PCC.

• Aging Congregation: There is a risk that congregation numbers will gradually fall as we have an aging congregation and difficulty in engaging with younger people.

• Difficulty in finding new Officers and Volunteers: Most parish officers have historically been drawn from a core of committed but aging volunteers. As people have had to retire, it has been difficult to find replacements with suitable skills. There is a risk that a notable shortage of volunteers could restrict the capacity to undertake future fund raising and other activities.

• No succession Planning: There is no succession planning with the risk that as officers have to retire, their knowledge and experience will be lost.

• Finances: Tripled energy costs and falling stewardship contributions which resulted in a deficit of around £13,000 in 2023 and forecasted deficit of around £11,000 in 2024 risks limiting the scope of the PCC to undertake Quinquennial survey or emergency repair work.

• Stewardship: Over half of the pledged Stewardship giving of £33,000 is by just six elderly members, therefore there is a risk that Stewardship giving could be quickly and severely impacted should one or more of these members pass away.

8. Thank You!

A very big thank you to Father Jeremy who has been kept us on an even path whilst we were in vacancy, we felt very lucky to have his help. We are very grateful that Father Jeremy has remained with our Parish. Thanks also to Father David for his constant support. We are delighted that Mthr Mitzi has joined us.

We would like to thank all the Volunteers who work so hard to make our parish the lively community that it is, in particular we would like to thank our Church Wardens - Ian Buswell, Doreen Addy and Marion Berry who have worked so tirelessly on our behalf and John Wright, our Treasurer, who has helped us all to understand the parish accounts and its finances. Many thanks to the Choir and to Nathan Hulse, the Choir Master. Thank you to all the PCC members who have donated their time and energy.

9. Structure, Governance and Management

The PCC is a body corporate (PCC Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2006) and registered with the Charity Commission.as charity number 1151418.

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. The membership of the PCC comprises the Incumbent (our vicar), one or two churchwardens for each church, one or two representatives to the Deanery Synod, the Lay Reader and the Authorised Pastoral Assistant, all of whom are automatically ex officio members. The parish Electoral Roll was revised in February 2023 and at the end of 2023 had a membership of 117. This membership permits up to 12 members to be elected each year by the members of the congregation who are on the parish Electoral Roll. All those who attend our services or are members of the congregation are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC. Up to two members may be co-opted by the PCC during the year to fill vacancies.

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 22

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF SAINT JOHN AND SAINT LUKE CLAY HILL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

At the Annual Meeting on 6 April 2008, it was agreed that the Churchwardens’ Measure that “ a person may not serve longer than six years as a churchwarden” shall not apply to the Parish, and that the normal term of office of elected members of the PCC shall remain one year. This decision was reviewed in 2017 and again in 2023. It will be reviewed again in 2024.

PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the Parish including deciding on how the funds of the PCC are to be spent. The Annual Meeting (APCM) was held on 6 March 2023 and the full PCC met on five occasions.

The Standing Committee of the PCC met three times in the year with one Extraordinary meeting, The PCC has one sub-committee responsible for the management of the Parish buildings. There are also less formal groups responsible for the organisation of Social Events and Fund Raising.

10. Administrative Information

The Parish of St John and St Luke is situated in Clay Hill, Enfield, Middlesex and is part of the Diocese of London within the Church of England. The correspondence address is the vicarage at 92 Browning Road, Enfield, Middlesex EN2 0HG, telephone number 020 8363 6055. The registered charity number of the Parish is 1151418. The parish website is www.clayhillparish.org.uk, Facebook: @clayhillparish and Twitter: @ClayHillParish.

The parish has two churches - St John’s Church located in Strayfield Road, Enfield, Middlesex EN2 9JF and St Luke’s Church located in Phipps Hatch Lane, Enfield, Middlesex EN2 0HL. The parish has two halls: The Jean Price Memorial Hall (St John’s Hall) in Strayfield Road, Enfield, Middlesex EN2 9JF and St Luke’s Hall at 37 Morley Hill, Enfield, Middlesex EN2 0BL which is vested in the Trustees of the Bishop of London’s Fund.

The people listed below served on the PCC during 2023, (S) indicating membership of the Standing Committee. These people are also considered to be the Trustees of the PCC as a charity.

Ex Officio members:

• (S) Rev Mizti James

• (S) Rev Jeremy Foot Michael Mansfield

• (S) Marion Berry

• (S) Ian Buswell

(S) Doreen Addy

• (S) Mary Englefield

Vicar Licenced Curate Authorised Pastoral Assistant Churchwarden at St. John’s Churchwarden at St. Luke’s Churchwarden at St. Luke’s Deanery Synod Representative and Parish Administrator

Elected Members:

Paul Bates Katherine Gough Cheryl Graham Peter Livermore (S) Heather Livermore Elaine Plumb Annie Tucker John Rhatigan Sarah Smith Jack Williams (S) John Wright Joan Young Anita Wyatt

Lay Vice-Chairman

Church Safeguarding Officer

PCC Secretary

Contracts/Leasing Officer

Treasurer

up to APCM 2023

from APCM 2023 up to APCM 2023 up to APCM 2023

from APCM 2023 up to APCM 2023

V1.1 8 January 2024

page 23