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← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St Peter And St Paul With St Luke, Newport Pagnell

2024-12-31-accounts

The Parish of Newport Pagnell

St Peter & St Paul, High Street, Newport Pagnell, MK16 8AR St Luke, Wolverton Road, Newport Pagnell, MK16 8JQ ANNUAL REPORTS

for presentation to the

Annual Parochial Church Meeting on Monday 12[th] May 2025

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Contents

Page
Rector’s Report 4
Churchwardens Reports 4
Parochial Church Council
- Secretary’s Report
- PCC membership and PCC Sub-Committees 8
Statistics 9
Safeguarding 10
Mothers’ Union 11
Sunday Club 12
Fabric Committee 14
Re-ordering Committee 15
Bellringers 17
Stewardship 18
Communications & Publicity report 18
Parish Visiting 19
Mission Group 19
CTNP 21
Treasurers Report 23
Appendix 1 Accounts

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Rector’s report Rev Nick Evans

This is an active and vibrant benefice so many thanks to all those who are involved in the spiritual growth that we see around us.

There are also many new faces at St Luke’s and SSPP and many of these are now regular worshippers.

Also, the church building has been increasingly used to host a number of well attended community musical events. The building was used for election hustings too during which the political candidates all said that they had enjoyed the event which was well arranged and conducted by the Churches together in Newport Pagnell. There have been several other occasions during which the mayor and local councillors have, across party lines, shared in the church led community events inside the parish church.

The last year saw the opening and full use of the new kitchen area and toilets – plus other reordering projects.

The Monday morning CAMEO families and young children initiative continues to flourish. At this child focussed short acts of worship have been well received during festival times such as Christmas, harvest and Easter.

There have been a number of outside speakers who have contributed to our spiritual growth such as the ‘Walk Through the Bible’ day and the various visiting speaker events that have been initiated by the MU on behalf of the church.

The congregation has also been very generous in the provision of time and resources to Woodhill prison. Our prison link person took several of the congregation to the prison during the year.

There have been many fellowship events too including a cathedral pilgrimage, picnic and local restaurant lunch. The Rectory garden party was well received too as a celebration of the SSPP patronal festival and, unknown to me beforehand, was a touching celebration of my 40 years of ordination.

Confirmation interest has also grown over the months and there continue to be 3 discovery groups within the parish and the laity regularly visit the parish care homes leading communion services.

I am grateful to the ministry team for their continued support (our LLMs and wardens). Our ministry together is facilitated greatly by efficient administration from the office and our communications officer. The effectiveness of our shared ministry here is due to the congregation getting alongside those who drift in who often need support and an ear –

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and eventually hear the Gospel. So many congregants are part of this winning formula and has been essential in nurturing the green shoots of growth that we are currently seeing.

There are too many to thank but we do it all for the Lord.

The Future:

We thank Jenny Frost, who will be stepping down from her role as Church Warden. She has served commendably with loyalty, common sense and an eye for necessary detail – we will be seeking a replacement. We will need to discern the next step in the reordering programme. To progress this project, we will need a dedicated and able fund raising team which will require time and specialist knowledge given the sums of money we need to make SSPP a church building fit for the Lord and a more comfortable place in which to worship. This will be a mammoth task. Please continue to pray for a new warden and for the reordering vision.

Churchwarden’s Report

Jennifer Mazzone

The role of Church Warden continues to be enjoyable, interesting and varied, and can at times be challenging. There is always something to learn about the role as new issues arise.

Life in our parish continues to be busy. Numbers of worshippers in both of our churches definitely remain stable and, in some cases, are increasing. Christmas services and events saw a large number of people attending. This includes Christingle, the Carol Service, the Crib Service, the Midnight Mass and services on Christmas Day. Several new members have joined both congregations and comment favourably on the welcome they have received.

Many people visit the church during the week and the Prayer Cross remains ever popular. It is encouraging that so many people feel able to enter the church to pray or just sit quietly.

Numbers attending Cameo remain high and good relationships are being formed as mums, dads, grandparents and carers sit on the floor playing with their children. There is a great atmosphere in church every Monday. Thanks must go to the volunteers who set up, make teas and coffees and clear away. Short, simple services are held at Harvest Time, Christmas and Easter.

On the social side of church activities such as the Bazaar and Christmas Tree festival, several successful concerts have been held.

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Where two Rivers Meet continue to hold popular concerts in Church. The first Jazz concert created a wonderful atmosphere as well as making a healthy profit. The band will be making a return visit in October. Olney Brass is also making a return visit this year when many youngsters show how talented they are. In May, the excellent Musica Charity Choir is entertaining us. This will be a concert not to be missed. It is hoped that a professional pianist will give a recital on a Sunday afternoon with tea and cake to follow.

The addition of the Baby Grand Piano has been a great advantage at these concerts which not only provide a welcome income towards the reordering project, but are pleasurable events which bring many people into church. Thanks must go to the volunteers who work so tirelessly to make these concerts a success.

I continue to attend Mission, Events, Reordering and Fabric committee meetings which enables me to be active in all areas of Church life.

My thanks also go to the many volunteers who quietly go about cleaning, flower arranging and to those who are on the tea rota, chalice assisting and sides people. It is very much appreciated. Gavin also does a brilliant job and is always very happy to lock and unlock the church. Thanks also to Malcolm for producing most of the rotas amongst other things.

I would also like to thank Nick and Jenny as we support each other in doing God’s work.

Churchwarden’s Report Jenny Frost

As New Years Day 2024 was a weekday, the CTNP Walk Of Witness started at 10am at St Luke’s. Each year we are given a theme for each of the Churches in town. Ours was Wisdom. I immediately thought of one person who I associated with wisdom. Bill Watson. My mentor and my friend who, for over half a Century, has, along with Chris, served this Parish, and the people of St Luke’s in particular, with wisdom, kindness, diplomacy, and love. Bill always saw his service as a privilege. There is much we can all learn from the lives, and service, of Bill and Chris Watson.

January gave way, quite quickly, to the rest of the year, and it wasn’t long before Chris and I were, once more, putting the Easter Cross up in St Luke’s Garden on Maundy Thursday. This cross is left bare for Good Friday and then filled with the glorious colour of Spring flowers on Easter Saturday evening and Easter Sunday morning.

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It stands as a mute testimony, by St Luke’s congregation, to all who see it of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Our Lord.

St Luke’s was built as a Mission Church in 1902, and with this Cross, and more, we continue to show the world that the building is a church for worship, praise, prayer and thanksgiving, before and above all other uses.

Over the Easter weekend St Luke’s is a hive of activity. On Easter Saturday morning flowers are arranged, and our Easter Garden is prepared. In the evening, we hold a Service of Light followed by wine and nibbles.

Easter Sunday, the congregation bring flowers and decorate the Cross. The Rector blesses the Cross in the garden and the Easter Garden inside the Church.

The year marches on, and before I know it, we are in the Summer Holidays!

As St Luke’s is hired out to Children’s groups, term time, all maintenance takes place during School holidays.

2024 was no exception, and during August it was a busy period.

A new electric organ, speakers and amplifier were installed in the Chancel. St Luke’s window was cleaned. The Millenium Banner was removed and cleaned and a general clear out of the organ chamber took place.

In October, we celebrated our Patronal Festival followed by a Bring and Share Lunch. It never fails to amaze me how much food there is! We had also hosted a Walk through the Bible event in October. This was New Testament in a Nutshell. An interactive event, thoroughly enjoyed by those who attended.

And, before long we are at year’s end.

Celebrating Christmas!

St Luke’s is always decorated by the choir and helpers. There is also a crib and travelling Wize men. Olwen had knitted a Nativity, which we place in front of the Altar.

Our congregation continues to stand at around 30-35 for our traditional St Luke’s 11am service. It is usually between 45-50 at the joint 10.30am first Sunday of the Month service, and around 20 for Evensong.

We had 2 Baptisms at St Luke’s in 2024. The first since before Covid. The church was packed for both. It was lovely!

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During the year, the choir has met regularly, choosing hymns and practicing with Freda. They had been given new choir robes and surplices, partly paid for by a bequest from a long-standing member of the congregation, Pat Brazier. There are now 7 members to the choir, if all are present, and they are a fantastic bunch!

As previously mentioned, St Luke’s is hired out term time.

As I write this in March 2025, many of you will be aware that Northern Pastures Preschool, who have hired St Luke’s since 2012, have closed and vacated the building.

However, we still hire St Lukes’ to:

1[st] Newport Pagnell Rainbows,2[nd] Newport Pagnell Rainbows,

4[th] Newport Pagnell Brownies, Newport Pagnell Ranger Guides

Ouse Valley Trefoil Guild, Newport Pagnell District Guiders and Ouse Valley Division Girl Guiding.

As I come to the end of this report, I also come to the end of my time as Churchwarden. I have served 6 continuous years in Office, and it is time for me to move on.

Thanks to all who have supported me over the past six years.

God Bless you All. PCC Report

The Parochial Church Council is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The PCC is a registered charity. Registered No: 1153668

The PCC met 7 times and the Standing Committee 7 times in 2024/2025

PCC membership

The appointment of PCC members is governed by and set out in the Church Representation Rules.

During the year, the following have served as members of the Parochial Church Council:

Incumbent: Rev Nick Evans, Rector

Licensed Lay Ministers: Mervyn Evans and Karen Goff.

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Churchwardens: Jennifer Mazzone and Jenny Frost

PCC Secretary until 13[th] May 2024: Olwen Smith

Deanery Synod representatives: Dick Smith (Treasurer), John Fowler, Mervyn Evans

Elected: Neil Ellis (until May 2024), Doug Hird, Beth Mackay, Ralph Mazzone, Celia Oldham Hazel Reynolds, Marlene Smith.

- PCC Sub Committees

The Parochial Church Council operates through several sub-committees which meet between full meetings of the PCC. They are:

Standing Committee: This committee comprises the Rector, Churchwardens, PCC Secretary and Treasurer. It has delegated powers to transact some of the business of the PCC between its meetings and deals mainly with housekeeping matters.

Fabric Committee: This committee attends to the maintenance of the Parish Church, St Luke’s Church and 3 Castle Meadow Close, and considers future projects.

Events Committee: Established in October 2018 as an overarching committee to support organisers of events, providing support, advice and identifying possible helpers. Also, will identify new events and provide advanced planning.

Re-order Steering group: This group was established in January 2019 and will oversee and guide the re-ordering project.

Parish Visiting team: Established January 2020 to oversee and provide for the needs of those who request visits.

Mission Group: This group arose as a direct result of our Mission Open Day held in October 2021. The group had its inaugural meeting on Thursday 20[th] January 2022.

Statistics

Baptis
ms		 Thanksgiv
ing		 Weddin
gs		 Blessin
gs		 Church
Funera
ls		 Crem
Funera
ls
2014 28 4 23 0 14 21

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2015 35 2 19 1 20 12
2016 34 0 14 1 25 5
2017 25 0 16 0 26 6
2018 13 0 12 1 24 5
2019 15 0 7 0 21 6
2020
*		 3 0 3 0 8 201
2021
*		 7 0 7 0 16 161
2022 5 0 5 0 19 6
2023 17 0 4 0 19 5
2024 4 0 7 0 18 10

*Covid 19 restrictions 1 Includes Graveside services

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Safeguarding Hazel Reynolds

  1. PCCs are formally obliged to report to the APCMs on whether or not the PCC ‘has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and clergy discipline measure 2016 (duty to have due regard to House of Bishops guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults).’ We work in line with Church of England Safeguarding Policy and Practice Guidance, and believe we have complied fully with our duties and obligations.

2 Safeguarding Roles The Parish Safeguarding Officer is Hazel Reynolds.

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The DBS Recruiter and Verifier is Malcolm Godwin.

3. Safeguarding Policy, Guidance and Information

Our up-to-date Parish Safeguarding Policy is displayed in our benefice entrance lobbies and appears on our website. Safeguarding is on the agenda at every meeting of the PCC In November 2024 the Parish Church marked national Safeguarding Sunday.

4. Safeguarding Learning and Development.

Safeguarding learning needs to be renewed every three years; Church Officers need to repeat the core safeguarding learning pathway that is the highest required for their role. We had a substantial Safeguarding training drive in 2022, 3 years since the previous one, so, this year, being 2025, means many of us will be revisiting the training pathways and focusing again on the integral role we play in developing thriving, healthy and safe churches.

The Basic Awareness course has again been updated but, for most of our Officers, they need only to repeat the Foundation course this year. However, anyone undergoing Safeguarding training for the first time will start with Basic Awareness and then continue to complete the Foundation module.

The additional safeguarding learning pathways (e.g. Leadership, Safer Recruitment & People Management) also need to be renewed every three years as and where applicable.

5. DBS

Comparatively few Church Officers hold roles necessitating DBS clearance, the guidelines being much more precise now. Excluding members of our Ministry team (The Bishops’ office deals with their safeguarding and DBS clearance), less than a dozen roles are involved. DBS clearance also is refreshed every 3 years and that will apply in a number of cases during 2025.

7. Concerns raised

There were no referrals made to the Diocesan Safeguarding Team in the past 12 months

Mothers’ Union

Jennifer Mazzone

Once again, our branch has had a very busy and productive year and I am so proud of being the leader of such a thriving branch.

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During the last year, Lyndsey Charlesworth has been enrolled bringing our numbers to fifty-five. This is fantastic. Not all members attend meetings but they support us in other ways.

As usual, our programme was both interesting and varied. It is getting increasingly difficult to find suitable speakers so are always open to any suggestions.

Both Karen and Nick have spoken at a meeting. The Deputy Lieutenant gave us an insight into his work as did Steve Karma, the Chaplain at Woodhill Prison. Ralph spoke about music in his life and the pleasure it has given him over the years and still does. We also enjoyed singing our favourite carols. The afternoons, led by members, are very enjoyable and give us a chance to get to know each other a little more.

In September, we celebrated fifty years of membership with Joan Clutton and Pam Miller, both of whom have worked tirelessly for the Mothers’ Union. Following a communion service, we enjoyed cake and wine. They were both given flowers and a long service certificate. It was a wonderful occasion.

Two successful social events were held, an Afternoon Tea and the Cream Teas when, once again, we were lucky with the weather. Not only do these events raise money for projects both locally and nationally but they also provide an opportunity to meet socially and really get to know each other better.

Once again, Nick led a Quiet Afternoon, beginning with a soup and roll lunch and an afternoon of reflection.

Cameo is still going well supported by several Mothers’ Union members and it is well attended each week.

We still have a strong link with Woodhill Prison, mainly thanks to Moira Evans who is a prison visitor and she is able to liaise between the prison and our branch. We provide something for each prisoner every Easter and Christmas This is obviously really appreciated. We were supported this year from the Diocesan Project Fund for which we were grateful. Several members attended a service in Advent and they found this most interesting.

Many members still provide items for Baby Basics as the need for this continues to grow.

We participate in the Bazaar and Christmas Tree Festival both of which put the Mothers’ Union in the public eye.

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Pauline Middleton continues to send cards to people for all occasions: bereavement, special birthdays and anniversaries. These cards are really appreciated.

I continue to send cards to couples who are getting married in our church.

Daffodils are provided by our branch for Mothering Sunday.

This Branch runs smoothly not only because the members are so supportive but also because of the strong, hardworking committee we have. Heartfelt thanks go to Pam Miller, June Weston, Sophie Cull (Treasurer), Margaret St. George (Secretary), Carolyn Hawkes and Julie Parker.

New members are always very welcome to join our thriving branch. Mothers’ Union is an amazing organisation. People should be encouraged to join even if they are unable to attend meetings. We are a strong force for good and we do make a difference locally, nationally and around the world.

Please do not hesitate to contact me at any time on 019098613088 or 07517439790 or at jennifermazzone@hotmail.com

Sunday Club Glenda Winfeld

We have a group of 4 children who regularly attend Sunday Club, on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. We were delighted to welcome a new 3-year-old to Sunday Club recently. We have continued to follow the lectionary, with the majority of our lessons reflecting the readings in church.

One of our Leaders, Elly Cooper, made the decision to step down from the rota during the summer break. We thank Elly for all her energy and innovative ideas, we’re going to miss her. We are very grateful for all the time and support Elly has given to Sunday Club.

We are pleased to welcome Ann Townsend to the team of Sunday Club Leaders. We were delighted that Ann accepted our invitation and she will take her place on the rota in April 2025.

All our Leaders keep up to date with appropriate Oxford Diocese Safeguarding Training courses, renewing their certificates and DBS certificates as and when necessary.

The Sunday Club offertory has continued to sponsor a young boy called Yonatan Darge through the charity Hand in Hand Ethiopia, a small children’s charity working in Addis Ababa. The sponsorship money

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provides a daily meal, medical payments, school fees and materials, tutorials, clothes and shoes annually, entertainment and recreation activities. We receive regular newsletters from the charity, providing an update on Yonatan. He is now in Grade 12 and will take his National exam this year. Depending on his results, he will decide on his future education, at college or university. We will do our best in Sunday Club to continue sponsoring Yonatan for the next 3 years as he completes his education, However, with falling numbers in Sunday Club, we will need to consider how we can raise sufficient funds to do this. The Hand in Hand project is due to close in 2028 as new initiatives by the Ethiopian government - education for all and free school meals, now address the reasons the project was initially created.

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A group of children, their families and leaders enjoyed a trip to the Bowling Alley in June. There were some great bowling skills on display from even the smallest children. It was great fun, and everyone had a wonderful time.

The Christmas Fair in November again provided a great opportunity to do some Christmas Crafts with the children in our community and to create the Children’s Tree, for the Christmas Tree Festival. Our Christmas Tree was a riot of colour with rows and rows of brightly coloured baubles, forming the shape of a Christmas Tree. As in previous years, the Christmas crafts were extremely popular, with very little space around the tables for most of the day. The Nativity Trail around the church was also a great success. Many thanks to everyone who gave their talents, time and resources to ensure all the children enjoyed spending time with us.

The Christingle Service in early December was very well attended. Karen Goff introduced Chris Tingle the puppet and he was a big hit with everyone there. The atmosphere was amazing Thank you to everyone who took part in assembling the various elements that made up the Christingles. It also gave us the opportunity to begin the journey of the Travelling Crib and invite families from the community to join in this tradition.

The Christmas Eve Crib Service was a joyful occasion, with the Sunday Club children and leaders joining the Mayor (Joseph) and Mayoress (Mary), in a traditional Nativity Play. Thank you to the children who played their parts so well, their parents, the Sunday Club Leaders, Karen Goff and Nick Read.

Christmas time wouldn’t be the same without a trip to the pantomime. The Sunday Club children, their families and friends were back at The

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Venue, this time to see Beauty and the Beast. As always, the pantomime was great fun.

On Mothering Sunday, we put an extra Sunday Club session on. The children were most helpful in assisting members of the Mothers’ Union to distribute bunches of daffodils to all the ladies in church.

At the time of writing, we are looking forward to the joy of Easter Day and the traditional Easter Egg Hunt for the children around the church after the service.

As ever, grateful thanks go to all the Sunday Club Leaders for all of their great ideas and their dedication to our little group of lovely children

Fabric Committee Doug Hird

The fabric committee membership is unchanged:

The purpose of the committee is to carry out work where it can be done by local effort, arrange for contractors to work where we can’t and keep an eye on fabric issues arising out of other activities. Malcom does a good job of liaising with the DAC to make sure we don’t get into trouble.

There has been quite a lot of fabric activity during the year. This is what we would expect in the year following a Quinquennial inspection.

To summarise in no particular order:

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Still outstanding is the re-painting the parking markings and renewing the No Parking signs in the church yard.

- Re ordering Committee

Mervyn Evans

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Phase One of our reordering programme is now complete. Three splendid new toilets have been installed, the long queues of the past now a distant memory!

The south porch has been cleaned, new lime wash applied to walls, new

lighting installed and glass doors fitted.

We are very grateful to David Agnew for the refurbished pew and chairs in the porch and for the lovely cabinet made from the wood of the old doors.

David has also repaired and refurbished the crucifix that now hangs

above the South Porch.

He rebuilt the cross (using a damaged pew), burnished the figure and made a crown of thorns that he noticed had once been present.

What was a dark and unattractive space is now a highlight of the interior, a space that enhances to building.

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Finally, the new servery, now complete, blends in seamlessly to the nave and provides an attractive centre for hospitality.

We are now in the early stages of planning for the next phase of the programme, the levelling of the floor and provision of improved seating and overall enhancement of the nave.

Our architect, Adrian Ringrose, is drawing up plans to present to the PCC and DAC.

We intend to work on obtaining a Faculty for the work and then to embark on fundraising.

This building has been at the centre of the community for hundreds of years and we are privileged to be able to make our mark and to ensure that the Parish Church will continue to serve the generations to come.

Committee Members Rev Nick Evans Mervyn Evans (Chair) Malcolm Godwin (Administrator) Paul Hawkes Leon Hudston (Project Manager) Jennifer Mazzone (Church Warden) Ralph Mazzone (PCC member) Dick Smith (Treasurer)

Bellringers

Doug Hird

By combining the bands of Newport Pagnell and Old Bradwell we have been able to make progress with both bands. The practices have benefited from the extra ringers so the enlarged band can ring more complex methods and to a higher standard. Practices alternate on Wednesday evenings between the two towers.

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In order to re-introduce Sunday ringing, we arrange a quarter peal before each Evensong service. The band is carefully chosen from the area to produce the best ringing possible.

Following the lightning strike several electronic items had to be replaced including the ringing simulator apparatus and CCTV. At the same time a new Ikea bookcase was obtained to cope with the increasing number of interesting ringing books. Also, one of the bell ropes needed to be repaired which was done by the Ellis Ropes near Loughborough. The work to correct “odd-struckness” in some of the bells has been successfully concluded. This makes the bells more predictable for the ringers.

==> picture [371 x 221] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
Newport Pagnell Odd Struckness
40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
-10
-20
-30
-40
Before After
Odd Struckness (ms)
----- End of picture text -----

Stewardship Dick Smith

Planned Giving is a vital part of our income, and regular members of the congregation should commit to regular giving throughout the year. During the year, our Planned Giving continued to drop again this year by a further £3,500, as did collections at services. We cannot continue to cover this reduction and without new, regular giving we will have to reduce our expenditure to the detriment of what we provide to our congregations. With that in mind we will be holding a Stewardship Renewal, where we will be asking those already giving to review what they give and those who don’t to join our regular giving. We receive no financial support from the diocese or national church, in fact half of what we spend must be paid to the diocese to cover the costs of our clergy and towards diocesan and national church costs.

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Recovery of Gift Aid from HMRC consists of 2 parts. Firstly, we receive Gift Aid on a large part of our Planned Giving (some members of the scheme are not tax payers and therefore cannot Gift Aid their contributions) Secondly we are able to claim Gift Aid on small donations in our collections at services. In 2024 we saw a drop in Planned Giving and collections during the year and therefore in 2025 our tax recovery income will decrease by about £2,000 (we must claim this in arrears).

We would welcome new members to the Stewardship scheme. If you are regular attendees at any of our services, please consider joining the scheme. Contributions can be made via Standing Order or weekly envelopes. Contact me for further information (nppcc.treasurer@gmail.com or 01908 730870)

Communications & Publicity report

Moira Evans

There are many elements in the communications route that the parish continues to use with the aim that there should not be any parishioner left out from a communication exchange. Social media has proved to be a quick and efficient means of communication with parishioners and the general public and has been effective over the year, particularly with publicising events in SSPP.

Facebook

The Parish Facebook page has continued to attract visitors and to date (14/04/25) the figures are:

This is a small increase on last year and it would be good to grow the presence on Facebook more in the future, perhaps by using more regular and engaging posts. Other town

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----- Start of picture text -----
Parish Facebook
800
600
400
200
0
Likes Followers
2021 2022 2023
2024 2025
----- End of picture text -----

Facebook pages such as Newport Pagnell What’s On and NP Chit Chat are used to advertise church events and services throughout the year.

Website

The website is used as a public facing portal for enquiries to find information they need. The new design is working well and is easy to navigate.

Zoom

Zoom continues to be a useful tool in holding group meetings and discussions both within the parish and with the general public i.e. funeral arrangements etc.

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Pews News and Parish Emails

These continue to be circulated electronically to parishioners on the parish database and they keep everyone up to date with service details and other relevant information.

Pews News continues to be made available as a hard copy for those who do not use the internet.

WhatsApp

The parish has an active WhatsApp group currently with 56 members (up from 49 last year). Other groups such as Confirmation Class, Events, Parish Visiting, Care Homes and Church Transport also use WhatsApp to communicate quickly with each other.

Benefice Planner

The diary of services and events is circulated electronically, published on Facebook, available on the website, and at the back of the churches as a hard copy. The aim is to cover 4 months at a time, so it needs producing 3 times a year, with an additional Christmas version produced in December for all the additional activity.

Parish Visiting

Beth MacKay

We are a team of people who are ready and willing to go out to visit members of the congregations and others who might appreciate a visit from someone from one of our churches - perhaps because they’re elderly, housebound, in a care home, suffering from illness, recently bereaved or just lonely or struggling and in need of some company. On visits we’re happy to worship and pray with people, share Holy Communion, as well as have a good chat. Or we’ll just chat if that’s what people want. We always contact people by phone in the first instance and only visit if they are happy for us to do so. All team members are required to have regular DBS checks and relevant safeguarding training.

Members of the team will make regular home visits to people who are housebound and have requested visits (this might be weekly, fortnightly or monthly), and also make more adhoc visits to others as needed. Communion Services are held monthly at Lathbury Manor, Castlemead and Tickford Abbey. We don’t currently hold services at

Westbury Grange as it has its own chaplain who arranges regular services there but we do visit some of the residents on a fortnightly basis and bring home communion regularly to one of them.

It's not just about visiting though. We also try to contact people who might need support and provide ad hoc help in cases of illness or bereavement, such as lifts to church/other places, or shopping/meals etc.

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Of course, we know that many other members of our church family are also regularly reaching out to others in this way and carrying out the same caring and support activities as those carried out by the team and this is how it should be! We believe that pastoral care isn’t just the responsibility of one person or one designated team. To be successful it has to be a shared ministry by the whole church family in response to Jesus’ command that we love one another as he loves us . And, as a team within the church, we rely on other people to alert us to situations where we may be able to help. We don’t want any of our church family to fall through the net and think there is no one they can call on for help! So if you, or someone you know, would like a visit from one of our team, please speak to any one of us to arrange.

Members of the current team are: Rev Nick Evans (Rector), Moira Evans, Mervyn Evans, Karen Goff, Carolyn Hawkes, Brian Hunt, Beth MacKay (Parish Visiting Coordinator), Pam Miller, Hazel Reynolds and Marlene Smith. And if anyone would like to find out more about the role of a Parish Visitor, I will be happy to talk to you. My phone number is 07989085318, beth.mackay@yahoo.co.uk.

Mission Group

Karen Gof

This group arose as a direct result of our Mission Open Day held in October 2021 with its inaugural meeting in January 2022. This group has met 4 times since the last APCM.

Our aim is to try to fulfil the Five marks of Mission (adopted by the General Synod of the Church of England in 1996):

To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom (Tell)

To teach, baptise and nurture new believers. (Teach)

To respond to human need by loving service. (Tend)

To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to seek to pursue peace and reconciliation. (Transform)

To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth. (Treasure)

In May 2023 our first CAMEO (Come And Meet Each Other) group took place and has been running very successfully attracting a variety of carers, fathers, mothers, grandparents and their young children. The group meets on Monday mornings from 9.30 to 11.30 and continues during school holidays. Numbers are so good that a larger area has been created on the south side of the church. A short, interactive story, prayers

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and a song were included at Harvest, Christmas and Easter and we were able to provide appropriate gifts for the families. It is lovely to see the young children with their adults wander round the church and feel very comfortable. Free refreshments are available and an opportunity to chat and get to know people from the congregation as well as other carers. Extra help is always needed for this group whether it’s setting up, clearing away, making drinks or just chatting with the children and their accompanying adults.

The Christian Resources Exhibition was held in Milton Keyes in October 2024 and a number from this group visited as well as other members from the congregation. Lots of stands were visited and we will be exploring some of the resources we were introduced to particularly material for those exploring their faith and wanting to know more. We continue to provide ‘Explore Christianity’ prayer cards on a variety of topics that people are welcome to take. These are proving very popular with visitors and members of the congregation. Posters from this company have also provided display material at Advent and Easter.

Following the success of the ‘Walk through the Bible’ event in July 2022 we held a New Testament equivalent at St Luke’s in October 2024. Those who attended found it very informative and fun. Another event ‘From Malachi to Matthew’ exploring what happened between the Old and New Testaments has been arranged for Thursday 5[th] June 2025 at 7pm in the Parish Church.

We continue to think about our mission in rural parishes but await news of deanery reorganisation to move this forward. Workshops are being planned for those interested in leading intercessions, reading in church services and speaking to people who come into church during the week.

CTNP

Celia Oldham

Churches Together Newport Pagnell comprises of a group of Christian churches in Newport Pagnell. Throughout the year they organise joint events to bring the Christian message to the wider community in our town.

Holiday Club 2024

This year's Holiday Club, 'Landlubbers' had a new venue for us at Cedars School as Lovat hall was unavailable this summer. This required more planning/organising, our opening and closing up the school each day, revamped catering arrangements and greatly reduced AV facilities. The whole 50+ team simply took this in their stride and produced a wonderful event. In 14 years of Holiday Clubs I have rarely seen the 140+ children so engaged in their activities whether in their groups or all together in the

23

Hall. Even the year 6 children - usually 'too cool' by that age to fully take part, appeared in their pirate hats and joined in with the activities! Rather than a 'parents' Evening' we had 'Parents Morning' with around 70 adults attending at the end of Thursday's session to see what their children had been up to and I understand have made good donations to our funds. Cedars turned out to be a very viable venue for our club and, as they did not charge us and the staff were so helpful, we would happily return there for our next Club. My thanks to all the volunteers for their hard work and enthusiasm and also to those who are also on our planning team for their commitment.

Grateful thanks to Geoff Morris, who is standing down after many years as leader. Ian Gooding, who is already part of the team, will be the new leader next year.

Songs of Praise

This is a joint service held in the Parish Church. Representatives of each church are invited to give their testimony and choose a hymn. Finding the Nativity on the High Street

This annual event involves children finding scenes from the nativity at 6 different venues on the High Street. Despite the very cold weather, all went smoothly and was well attended. Scenes included Mary and Joseph, angels, shepherds, wise men, the inn-keeper and Quirinius. New Year’s Day Walk

More than 30 people took part on New Year’s Day, despite dreadful weather. Eva was sad that lay members weren’t involved in leading at every church, to give the clergy a well-earned rest. This expectation would be made clear for next year.

United Service for Christian Unity

The United Service was well attended, but it was noted that in the absence of activities for children many families with children did not take part. It would be important to bear this in mind when planning for 2026. World Day of Prayer

The service is written by Christian women from a different country each year. On the first Friday of March, every year, the same service is held in countries all around the globe This year it was written by women from the Cook Islands. The theme was ‘I made you wonderful’. The service invited us to recognise that God created each one of us with great attention and loving care. CTNP hold the service in a different church each year. This year it was held in St. Bede’s Catholic Church.

Lent Lunches

Pat Parker and Ruth Thompsett were again happy to organise the lunches, which were held in the Mead Centre for the six Friday lunchtimes, starting March 7th . On each Friday during Lent, about 100 people shared a meal of delicious home-made soup, bread, cheese and coffee.

Easter Biscuits

24

These were given to shopkeepers and people in the High Street. They included an Easter message. Emergency Help Scheme

There were 181 journeys arranged in the second four months of this year, up from 148 in the previous period. As usual, the majority (113) were to Milton Keynes University Hospital, 13 were to the three sites of the Newport Pagnell Medical Centre, and the rest were well spread, with 2 to Bedford, 4 to Northampton, 1 to Amersham and 10 to Oxford being the outliers. The Scheme has a free parking concession at the Milton Keynes, Bedford, Oxford and Stoke Mandeville Hospitals, and I have been able during this period to extend this to cover Northampton, Amersham and Wycombe.

This increase in passenger levels has coincided with decreasing availability of our volunteer drivers, who do such a good job. This is due to a combination of increasing age and infirmity of the drivers themselves, and/or those of their spouses. We are therefore concentrating our publicity efforts on the recruitment of new drivers, and your help will be welcomed. As part of our discussions about this, we have decided to adopt a new name, which better describes the service we provide. We shall now be known as the Newport Pagnell Medical Appointments Transport Service – NP MATS for short. This will appear in all our publicity materials in future, always with the CTNP logo, and for the time being with the sub-heading “formerly the Emergency Help Scheme”, so as not to confuse our existing customers.

Treasurer’s report Dick Smith

Again, this year the basic figures look poor. We show an overall deficit of £30,584.84 of receipts over payments. However, on the Restricted Funds (mainly Fabric) we had a surplus of £31,250 due to a legacy of £33,000 received during the year. On the Unrestricted Funds we are showing a deficit of £41,821.76, but if you separate out the Re-ordering Project the deficit is reduced to £21,800. To cover the deficit on the Re-ordering Project we had to transfer a further £20,000 from one of our investments. Legacies over recent years have helped support us financially, but we need to improve our general income to ensure we can fund everything we want to do. The more we deplete the reserves we have, the less we will be able to afford. We cannot afford to move forward with the next phase of the Re-ordering Project without raising significant funding as if we use more of our reserves, we will not be able to cover our general costs.

Planned Giving dropped this year by £3,500 over the previous year, and collections dropped by about £800. In 2024 our Parish Share increased by £2,000. Fortunately, our energy costs dropped by £3,000, but were

25

still up £5.000 on 2022. Our Tax Recovery was up about £1,000 on 2023 but will drop in 2025 due to the reduction in Planned Giving and collections this year. Other income was on a par with the previous year. However, we expect to see a significant drop in rent in 2025 because the pre-school will stop using St Luke’s from the end of March.

Our general expenditure increased significantly due to several one-off purchases. We bought a grand piano for SSPP costing just over £8,000, a new organ for St Lukes costing £5,000 and new choir robes for St Lukes for approximately £1,000. We also had to spend approximately £2,500 on our parish house.

The value of our investments have in general improved again over 2024 but show a drop due to the sale of a further £20,000 to cover the Reordering Project. This will also result in a reduction of the dividends we receive.

The PCC continued to use an external accountant again this year for the independent examination of the accounts. The PCC approved the accounts on 5[th] May.

Appendix 1

Accounts

26

Parochial Church Council of Newport Pagnell

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2024

Receipts and Payments Accounts

Note
RECEIPTS
Voluntary Receipts
Planned giving
Collections at services
All other giving/voluntary receipts
5a
Tax recoverable
Activities for generating funds
5b
Investment Income
5c
Church activities
5d
Re-Ordering Project
Total Receipts
PAYMENTS
Church activities
Diocesan parish share
Clergy and staffing costs
5e
Church running costs
5f
Parish house costs
Mission giving and donations
5g
Re-ordering Project
Cost of generating funds
Other Payments
3
Total payments
Excess of receipts over payments
Transfers between funds
4
Cash at bank and in hand at 1 January
Cash at bank and in hand at 31 December		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Endowment
funds
TOTAL
funds
2024
TOTAL
funds
2023
£
£
£
£
34,481.31
0.00
0.00
34,481.31
38,047.60
7,453.58
0.00
0.00
7,453.58
8,269.82
2,644.53
33,240.16
0.00
35,884.69
10,296.23
12,898.43
0.00
0.00
12,898.43
11,781.69
57,477.85
33,240.16
0.00
90,718.01
68,395.34
22,352.67
17,234.43
0.00
39,587.10
39,367.82
26,554.11
6,374.75
0.00
32,928.86
33,941.80
6,542.00
0.00
0.00
6,542.00
6,762.00
25,585.10
0.00
0.00
25,585.10
44,017.50
138,511.73
56,849.34
0.00
195,361.07 192,484.46
56,217.15
0.00
0.00
56,217.15
54,391.59
13,368.08
0.00
0.00
13,368.08
14,043.47
55,552.63
10,291.45
0.00
65,844.08
63,650.18
3,424.91
0.00
0.00
3,424.91
984.60
5,955.89
0.00
0.00
5,955.89
5,710.75
80,894.57
0.00
0.00
80,894.57
93,943.24
215,413.23
10,291.45
0.00
225,704.68 232,723.83
241.23
0.00
0.00
241.23
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
215,654.46
10,291.45
0.00
225,945.91 232,723.83
(77,142.73)
46,557.89
0.00
(30,584.84) (40,239.37)
35,320.97
(15,320.97)
0.00
20,000.00
50,000.00
(41,821.76)
31,236.92
0.00
(10,584.84)
9,760.63
47,414.48
22,427.42
0.00
69,841.90
60,081.27
5,592.72
53,664.34
0.00
59,257.06
69,841.90

Parochial Church Council of Newport Pagnell

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

Note
Cash funds
Cash in hand
Bank current account
Deposit funds
Retained Deposit on 3CMC
Other monetary assets
Gift Aid recoverable
Other income due
Investment assets
Investment fund shares
at market value
3
Assets retained for church use
2
Liabilities
Mission giving
Organist fees
Clergy and staffing costs
Employer contributions due to HMRC
Church running costs		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Endowment
funds
TOTAL
2024
TOTAL
2023
£
£
£
£
0.00
0.00
0.00
700.90
11,128.24
11,829.14
20,898.49
6,506.82
42,536.10
49,042.92
50,558.41
-1,615.00
-1,615.00
-1,615.00
5,592.72
53,664.34
0.00
59,257.06
69,841.90
10,433.20
10,433.20
12,144.32
1,774.25
0.00
0.00
0.00
12,207.45
0.00
0.00
10,433.20
12,144.32
208,935.34
78,710.84
143,070.38
430,716.56 440,436.25
68,000.00
0.00
0.00
68,000.00
68,000.00
835.63
835.63
1,420.01
429.00
429.00
591.40
384.72
384.72
0.00
650.00
650.00
618.80
1,883.69
144.00
2,027.69
3,329.75
4,183.04
144.00
0.00
4,327.04
5,959.96

Notes

  1. The financial statements of the PCC have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 using the Receipts and Payments basis

  2. Fixed assets retained for church use is the freehold house at 3 Castle Meadow Close, purchased in 1995 on behalf of the PCC for £80,000 less a 15% equity retention held by the Diocesan Trustees (Oxford) Ltd. On 4 December 2017 the 15% Equity Retention was gifted to the PCC by the Diocesan Trustees (Oxford) Ltd in recognition of the PCC having maintained the house in good order ever since. In 2018 £55,212.17 was spent renovating the property. The market value of the house is in the region of £450,000.

  3. There are 3 endowment funds held on behalf of the PCC by the Diocesan Trustees (Oxford) Ltd . The Ecclesiastical Trust was established in 1990 from 69.25% of the sale of Church House. The trust is held in CCLA Church of England Investment funds for the purpose of furthering the religious and other charitable work of the parish and the income is unrestricted. The Elizabeth Darcy Charity was set up from 4 small charities to benefit the poor of the Parish The fund is held in the M&G Charity Multi Asset fund and the income is restricted. The Chancel Repair fund was established in 1972 and is held in a CCLA Church of England Investment fund for the purpose of repair and upkeep of the Chancel and the income is restricted.

There is 1 restricted investment fund, the Hayllar Fund, which was established in 1980 and is held in 2 investment accounts with Black Rock Charities UK Bond Fund A Inc and M&G Charifund. The purpose of the fund is for the upkeep of the churches and both the capital and income is restricted for that purpose.

Parochial Church Council of Newport Pagnell

Finally, there are 2 unrestricted investments, set up from the funds left in the wills of Louise Moodie and Iris Robinson. £150,000 of Louise Moodie's bequest was invested in the CCLA Church of England Investment fund during 2017 and £50,000 of Iris Robinson's bequest was invested in the same fund in 2020, to provide a reasonable return on the funds although the capital can be spent as and when necessary.

4 Fund Values

Fund Values
Ecclesiastical Trust
CBF Investment Fund
CBF Fixed Interest Securities Fund
Elizabeth Darcy Fund
M&G NAACIF Fund
Chancel Repair Fund
CBF Investment Fund
Hayllar Fund
M&G Charifund
Black Rock Charinco
Louise Moodie Fund
CBF Investment Fund
Iris Robinson Fund
CBF Investment Fund		 TOTAL
to 31/12/24
TOTAL
2023
£
£
76,582.38
74,868.75
9,218.60
8,948.45
2,283.62
2,209.57
54,985.78
53,755.40
70,675.20
68,879.52
8,035.64
8,407.66
147,018.53
162,835.56
61,916.81
60,531.34
430,716.56
440,436.25
  1. The movement in designated and restricted funds during the year were:
Bal b/fwd Receipts Payments Transfers Bal c/fwd
Designated
Ecclesiastical Income Account 1,433.68 2,522.85 0.00 (2,500.00) 1,456.53
Louise Moodie Income Account 3,039.52 4,681.70 0.00 (6,500.00) 1,221.22
Iris Robinson Income Account 4,859.78 1,949.71 0.00 (6,000.00) 809.49
Sunday School 10.01 97.51 0.00 0.00 107.52
Memory Club 5,775.00 1,066.00 1,656.50 12.50 5,197.00
Organ Fund 1,911.82 77.16 0.00 (1,969.40) 19.58
Re-ordering Fund (45,168.82) 25,585.10 80,894.57 19,329.50 (81,148.79)
Restricted
Rental Deposit on 3CMC 1,615.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1,615.00
Fabric Current Account 20,113.81 56,251.85 10,291.45 (54,945.97) 11,128.24
Fabric Deposit Account 1,498.89 79.55 0.00 40,000.00 41,578.44
Hayllar Income Account 302.57 16.05 0.00 0.00 318.62
Darcy Fund Income Account 512.15 126.89 0.00 0.00 639.04

All transactions related to weddings, funerals, etc. are processsed through a separate Benefice account and the fees due to the PCC are transferred monthly in arrears into the general fund.

There are lines on the accounts for Re-ordering income and costs, and an additional page at the end of the accounts showing the Receipts and Payments for the overall project. The PCC decided to transfer the remainder of the legacy from David Lock (£12,087.83) and pay £22,500 from the Ecclesiastical Fund into the Re-ordering Fund. Other income has come from Grants, Donations and a Stewardship Appeal has been started. Money from the Louise Moodie Fund and the Iris Robinson Fund is being transferred to cover the deficit at present. As fundraising progresses this money will be returned to those funds.

The Rental Deposit on 3 Castle Meadow Close is held in the Deposit account but cannot be used for General Funds.

During 2024, £1,265 was received in Organ Fees and £1,000.00 was spent on Routine Maintenance. A further £4,470 was spent on a new organ for St Luke's. £2,660.00 was transferred from the Organ Fund towards the cost of the new organ, the remainder of the cost was funded from General Funds.

Parochial Church Council of Newport Pagnell

5. Further Analysis of Receipts and Payments

Note
Receipts
a) All other giving/voluntary receipts
Donations
Legacies
Grants
Copier
Sunday School
Memory Club
Misc
Fabric Donations & grants
Rent
Events (including Fetes)
Special Collections
c) Investment Income
Dividends on Investment Fund
Income from Investments
Bank and Deposit Fund Interest
d) Church activities
Fees for Batism Certificates
4
Fees for Weddings
4
Fees for Funerals
4
Contributions for Heating
4
Organ Fees
4
b) Activities for generating funds		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Endowment
funds
TOTAL
funds
2024
TOTAL
funds
2023
£
£
£
£
£
1,070.52
0.00
0.00
1,070.52
6,517.49
0.00
33,240.16
0.00
33,240.16
0.00
40.00
0.00
0.00
40.00
0.00
207.70
0.00
0.00
207.70
200.00
97.51
0.00
0.00
97.51
104.34
1,066.00
0.00
0.00
1,066.00
1,892.40
162.80
0.00
0.00
162.80
1,582.00
2,644.53
33,240.16
0.00
35,884.69
10,296.23
0.00
17,234.43
0.00
17,234.43
17,996.82
16,979.55
0.00
0.00
16,979.55
16,916.23
4,418.74
0.00
0.00
4,418.74
3,878.76
954.38
0.00
0.00
954.38
576.01
22,352.67
17,234.43
0.00
39,587.10
39,367.82
8,509.88
6,250.66
0.00
14,760.54
15,701.28
16,800.00
0.00
0.00
16,800.00
16,800.00
1,244.23
124.09
0.00
1,368.32
1,440.52
26,554.11
6,374.75
0.00
32,928.86
33,941.80
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
54.00
1,890.00
0.00
0.00
1,890.00
1,848.00
1,872.00
0.00
0.00
1,872.00
1,995.00
1,515.00
0.00
0.00
1,515.00
1,617.00
1,265.00
0.00
0.00
1,265.00
1,248.00
6,542.00
0.00
0.00
6,542.00
6,762.00

Parochial Church Council of Newport Pagnell

Payments

Note
e) Clergy and staffing costs
Clergy expenses
Parish administrator
f) Church running costs
SSPP building running expenses
SL building running expenses
Insurance
Vestry Costs
Parish Office
Training
Social Events
Choir Pay and Organists
Church flowers
4
Misc.
Sunday School
4
Memory Club
4
Organ Maintenance
SSPP Maintenance (Fabric)
SL Maintenance (Fabric)
g) Mission giving and donations
CTNP
Christian Aid
NP Christmas Lights
The Childrens Society
Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia
Buildbuilder Trust
Willen Hospice
The Welcome Directory
MK Night Shelter
Medical Detection Dogs
Other		 Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Endowment
Funds
TOTAL
funds
2024
TOTAL
funds
2023
£
£
£
£
607.32
0.00
0.00
607.32
1,850.75
12,760.76
0.00
0.00
12,760.76
12,192.72
13,368.08
0.00
0.00
13,368.08
14,043.47
8,287.35
0.00
0.00
8,287.35
10,975.03
4,569.98
0.00
0.00
4,569.98
5,220.12
9,032.38
0.00
0.00
9,032.38
8,529.95
5,030.53
0.00
0.00
5,030.53
6,039.30
5,551.05
0.00
0.00
5,551.05
6,392.47
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
878.40
0.00
0.00
878.40
599.86
4,523.40
0.00
0.00
4,523.40
3,462.30
748.10
0.00
0.00
748.10
960.51
9,804.94
0.00
0.00
9,804.94
489.63
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
150.00
1,656.50
0.00
0.00
1,656.50
1,868.66
5,470.00
0.00
0.00
5,470.00
557.40
0.00
7,173.00
0.00
7,173.00
16,897.13
0.00
3,118.45
0.00
3,118.45
1,507.82
55,552.63
10,291.45
0.00
65,844.08
63,650.18
100.00
0.00
0.00
100.00
0.00
285.88
0.00
0.00
285.88
0.00
150.00
0.00
0.00
150.00
150.00
720.01
0.00
0.00
720.01
693.25
800.00
0.00
0.00
800.00
717.50
800.00
0.00
0.00
800.00
700.00
800.00
0.00
0.00
800.00
700.00
800.00
0.00
0.00
800.00
800.00
800.00
0.00
0.00
800.00
700.00
700.00
0.00
0.00
700.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,250.00
5,955.89
0.00
0.00
5,955.89
5,710.75

Parochial Church Council of Newport Pagnell

Re-ordering Project Designated Fund

As at 31 December 2024

RECEIPTS

Donation from John & Daphne Fowler 525.00
Donation in Memory of Thomas (Gordon) French 200.00
Donation in Memory of Derek Senior 250.00
Donation in Memory of Rita Millburn 350.00
Donation in Memory of Mel Partridge 118.80
Donation from Flower Festival June 2022 500.00
Anonymous Donations 800.00
Transfer of Residue of David Lock's Legacy from General Funds 12,087.83
Transfer from Ecclesiastical Fund 22,500.00
Gift Aid from Donations 1,561.87
Stewardship Appeal 8,897.50
Fundraising Concerts 6,455.10
54,246.10
Temporary Transfers
From Louise Moodie Fund 71,401.79
From Iris Robinson Fund 9,747.00
81,148.79
Grants
Oxford Diocesan New Projects 2,500.00
Oxford Diocesan Development Fund 30,000.00
Benefact Trust 3,750.00
Beatrice Lang Trust 5,000.00
Harry Middleton Gift 15,000.00
Newport Deanery 500.00
VAT Recovery 16,911.09
73,661.09
Total Receipts 209,055.98
PAYMENTS
Architect Fees (23,630.22)
Measured Building Survey (5,148.00)
Croma Conservation Survey (1,296.00)
AJS Contracting (7,920.00)
Milton Keynes Council (882.00)
DrainageSurvey (564.00)
Statement of Significance (1,500.00)
Subscriptions to 'Church Grants' (98.00)
Project Management (13,869.34)
Groundworks for Servery (128.40)
Phase 1 (Servery, Toilets & South Porch) (150,915.07)
Fundraising Concerts (3,096.95)
Miscellaneous (8.00)
Total Payments (209,055.98)
Closing Balance 0.00

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF NEWPORT PAGNELL This report on the financial statements of the PCC for the year ended 31st December 2024 which are set out on pages I to 4, is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 ("the Regulations ) and s.144 (2) of the Charitie5 Att 2011 ("the Act".) Respective responsibilities of the PCC and the examiner As the members of the PCC you are responsible for the preparation of financial statements. You consider that the audit requirement of Regulations and section 144(2) of the Act do not apply. It 15 my responsibility to issue this report on those financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Regulations. Basis of this report My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 145(5)(b) of the Act and to be found in the Church guidance, 2006 edition, issued by the Finance Division of the Archbishops, Council. That examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the financial Statements and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. Independent examiner's statement In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: (i) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Act; and to prepare financial statements, which accord with the accounting record5. and comply with the requirements of the Act and Regulations have not been met. or (2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. J R COBLEY FCCA COBLEY DESBOROUGH Chartered Certified Accountants Chartered Tax Advisors Artisans, House 7 Queensbridge Northampton NN4 7BF Tel No. 01604 823560 15 April 2025