**Parish of Wickham Bishops with Little Braxted Annual Parochial Church Meeting Sunday 14th May 2023 at 12 p.m. St. Bartholomew’s Church Hall Church Hall** **Annual Parochial Church Meeting Sunday 14th May 2023 at 12 p.m. St. Bartholomew’s Church Hall Church Hall** **2022Review Document GSpearman 2/5/2023** 48 1 ## **Welcome to the Annual Report for 2022** **Once again we’re pleased to present our review of the church year. We hope that you enjoy reading and reflecting on the various reports included. Following the last couple of challenging years due to the pandemic, 2022 enabled us once again to organise events and group activities and re-instate our regular Sunday services.** **Our thanks go to all those who have contributed to this report.** **The agenda for the meeting, together with last year’s minutes are available as separate documents, along with the nominations for the election of PCC members and Churchwardens.** ## **Snapshots of Church** ## **Life 2022/2023!** 2 47 We are looking forward to a trip to Abberton this summer for a Teddy Bear picnic and session led by Essex Wildlife Trust Education team. We will also be preparing for our older children to leave the club for school, which will also impact the volunteering team. The government has announced that next year the funding for children attending nurseries will be increased with more children getting funded support from age 2 instead of 3, so this may impact attendance. ## **Stella Scrivener** ## **Index** ||**Page Number**| |---|---| |**Admin Informaton**|4| |**PCC and Church Ofcers**|**5 - 6**| |**Why Not Volunteer?**|**7**| |**Chairman Report**|**8 - 12**| |**Electoral Roll**|**14**| |**PCC Report**|**15**| |**Safeguarding**|**16 - 17**| |**Treasurer**|**18 - 20**| |**Deanery Synod**|**21 - 22**| |**Fabric**|**23 - 25**| |**Worship /Music / Choir**|**26 - 29**| |**St. Nicholas**|**30**| |**Pastoral Work**|**31 - 33**| |**Community / Foodbank**|**34**| |**Fundraising and Guardians**|**35 - 39**| |**Discipleship / WCF**|**40 - 41**| |**Children and Families / Edward Bear**|**42 - 46**| 3 46 ## **Administrative Information** The Parish of St Bartholomew Wickham Bishops with St Nicholas Little Braxted is situated in the Witham Deanery, part of the Diocese of Chelmsford. It has responsibility for two principal places of worship - St Bartholomew's Church, the Parish Church, which is situated in Church Road, Wickham Bishops and St Nicholas Little Braxted now a Chapel of Ease, but licensed for weddings. St Nicholas is situated in Witham Road, Little Braxted. The correspondence address for both churches is The Rectory, Church Road, Wickham Bishops CM8 3LA Tel. 01621 892867. Information about the churches in Wickham Bishops and Little Braxted is also available at _www.churchinwickhambishops.org.uk._ The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Wickham Bishops with Little Braxted is a Registered Charity No. 1159874. ## **Structure, Governance and Management** The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All church members are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and to stand for election to the PCC. A number of Committees are responsible for helping to manage and organise different activities of church life, maintenance and worship. ## **Objectives and Activities** St Bartholomew’s Wickham Bishops and St Nicholas Little Braxted Parochial Church Council has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent in promoting the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelical, social and ecumenical issues. It also has The end of term in July 2022 was extremely hot so we got outside with warm soapy water and the children washed lots of toys. Our end of term party had some complications due to the extreme heat so the planned bouncy castles were delayed a week. We took a well-deserved summer break returning to make Union Flags and sing God Save the King for the first time. Rev Hilary talked about Harvest to us all. We made a nativity bunting for display in the church over Christmas time and enjoyed a Christmas Party with visits from Father Christmas and entertainment from Teenie Rockets. A big cupboard sort out took place in the Christmas Holidays and we reorganised making one crafting cupboard for the entire church to use and the toys taking up much less space in the cupboard/fire escape. We also got involved in cleaning and upgrading the Stay and Pray area in the church. The children worked together on a new art piece for the area using paints and canvas. The group run a small stall with children’s crafts at the Spring Coffee Morning. With Rev Hilary leading us we enjoyed making an Easter Garden during Lent and watching it start to grow we also made some banners for the church together to celebrate Easter. The cupboard had another major tidy out and toys got a good scrub ready for us to get together again after the Easter break. We raised funds for Shine and Great Ormond Street over the year from cupcakes in October and Easter Egg hunting. maintenance responsibilities for the church centre complex of St Bartholomew's Church and Church Hall and St Nicholas Church, Little Braxted. 4 45 ## **Edward Bear Club** The Edward Bear group runs from 10.00 to 11.30 am on a Monday morning during term time and is open to all babies and preschooler's. The session incorporates free playtime with various toys, a craft activity in the hall. We take the group into the Lady Chapel for singing, prayer and the children can explore the church environment searching for a bear. Back in the hall the children listen to a religious story with a biscuit before more playing and crafting continues. The craft activity and prayer each week link into the community and church calendar. Stella Scrivener, Leanne Goddard, Christine Bealer and Francine have been running the group with Adele Joyner stepping down due to work commitments in December. Attendance fluctuates but a general reduction has been seen this year from averaging around 12 children to 8. Last spring the children planted seeds donated by Maypole Garden Centre and the children enjoyed making a bug church in the church grounds supported by volunteers from the Wickham Bishops Biodiversity Group. Local Author Sam Scott came to read to the children one of her stories. **The bug church!** ## **PCC Members & Church Officers** **As at May 2023** **Priest in Charge:** Rev. Hilary Le Sève **Associate Priest:** Rev. Derek Clark **Churchwardens:** Graham Wingrove, Rick Smith **Members of the PCC:** Members of the PCC are the Priest in Charge, Churchwardens, elected representatives (max 12) Deanery Synod representatives and any appointed ex-officio members. ## **Elected Representatves (max 12) as at 14/05/2023** Spencer Churchill (to 2025) Wendy Firkins (to 2024) Dorothy Kerr (to 2024) Kate Dawson (to 2023) John Baker (to 2023) Lester Firkins (to 2025) Francine Cope ( 2025) Lucy Traynor (to 2023) Graham Spearman ( 2025 ) **Ex-Ofcio:** Geraldine Spearman, Secretary Rev. Derek Clark, Associate Priest **Deanery Synod Reps:** John Gilbert (to 2024) Christine Bealer (to 2024) Graham Spearman Norma Hayward Mary Brown Allan Baker John Baker **Treasurer: Safeguarding Officer** : **Electoral Roll Officer: Health and Safety** : **Gift Aid Secretary** : 44 5 ## **Sidespersons:** ## **as at May 2023** Kath Adkins Norma Hayward Kate Dawson Lester Firkins Dorothy Kerr Stuart Parish Wendy Firkins John Kerr John Wratten Francine Cope Geraldine Spearman Dick Yelland Denise Yelland Vivienne Lodge Adele, Stella and Leanne have been modelling fabulous collaborative team leadership of Edward Bears with Francine Cope offering practical support and Christine Bealer proving to be an able story teller. Barry Cousins has worked closely with the Beacon Hill scouts to ensure St George’s Day was marked and across the year scouting and guiding groups visited the church to earn ‘Faith’ badges, decorate the Community Christmas Tree and even polish the pews. Given all these wonderful encounters, the PCC is nevertheless not being complacent about its commitment to children and families and is taking time in 2023 to consider next steps in shaping this area of communal life. ## **Rev. Hilary Le Sève** ## **Vergers: for Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals** Lester Firkins Wendy Firkins Kate Dawson Tamsyn Clark Dorothy Kerr **The Annual Rogation Day service at St.Peter’s Church .** **Christingle Service and the annual Bonfire Party at the rectory.** 43 6 ## **Children and Families** Through occasional services (baptisms, weddings and funerals) we minister to families and children in numerous ways. Informally, attention has been brought to the ongoing consequences of the Covid 19 pandemic on the wellbeing of our children as families have had to learn to negotiate how to manage school attendance, social relationships and mental health impairment. With this in mind the closure of the Youth Group in December has been especially poignant as it served as a space for ‘hanging out’ on Friday evenings with peers (playing snooker, table tennis etc) in contrast to more organized youth activities. The excellent facilities are there still and with committed leadership the youth group could be resurrected. Thanks are given for the small dedicated team of parent leaders who facilitated the group over so many years. Likewise Messy Church has now stepped back from providing a monthly gathering. Reverend Hilary supported by Sandra and Sheila from St Peter’s found they were not able to run the group well on such a small team. Notwithstanding, the eighth annual bonfire at The Rectory was a really fun evening as was the Good Friday Holiday Club and the Christingle / St Nicholas’ service in Little Braxted. The Nativity Service on Christmas Eve was wonderfully supported by the Edward Bears community with Mary Brown ensuring costumes were at the ready for those who turned up. It was a chaotic retelling of the Christmas story but poignant too. ## **Why not Volunteer ...?** **Would you like to be a part of the team that keeps the wheels turning in our two churches! From making coffee on a Sunday morning to greeting people at the door, or mowing the grass, there are so many roles in which you can help to maintain the village churches as the welcoming places that they are.** - ***Sunday Morning Meeters and Greeters** - ***Graveyard Mowers and Strimmers** - ***Pew Polishers and Dusters** - ***Reading the lesson at our services** - ***Serving refreshments on Sunday mornings** - ***Singing with our church choir** - ***Helping and welcoming families at Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals** - ***Arranging church flowers!** ## **… Or join our** - **Pastoral team supporting people in the village** - **Our Fund Raising team– planning and running events** - **Our maintenance team - ensuring the fabric of the church is all in working order!** _**For more information and to chat about the roles, contact Rev. Hilary Le Sève - Priest in charge**_ _**Geraldine Spearman - PCC Secretary**_ 42 7 ## **Chairman’s Report** _**“….we celebrate the church’s involvement in homing refugees from war torn Ukraine and enabling social gatherings and the building up of new networks of relationships”**_ For so many years the village church has been here to care for the needy, marry lovers, minister to children and journey with the elderly. At the core of all this has been the enduring melody of worship - week in, week outthe heartbeat of faith bringing prayer into our midst, discipling us to be people of faith and encouraging us to share our lives with others. 2022 was no different. Expressed in different ways for different needs, the main service of the week (10.30am on a Sunday) is varied but always followed by refreshments afterwards in the hall. Our authorised local preachers (ALPs John Gilbert and Christine Bealer) and their team, use the informality of guitar accompaniment for the monthly Sunday Praise. On other weeks Graham Spearman has been instrumental in encouraging the church choir and liaising with musicians. Barry Cousins (ALP) gifts his pastoral oversight to the 8.00am congregation. At St Nicholas’ Little Braxted the ancient Book of Common Prayer shapes the worship for the 9.00 am service with several children taking their part there. Gathering again and again, we seek to unite our lives in prayer and with others, listen to God’s word, be moved, hear the truth and feel the peace. In this way our church really can be a Doorway to Heaven. Rejoicing for our late ## **Bible Study Group** Meeting on the first and third Mondays of the month our numbers regularly range between seven and twelve, both men and women which really adds breadth to our discussions. We have been studying the ‘Meaning in the Miracle's’ by Jeffrey John which we have found challenging by taking the simple stories that we have known and giving a different slant. Whilst we haven’t always agreed with Jeffrey’s take on the stories it has made us think and expanded our thoughts to look at the wider context of what Jesus was doing and why. Over Eastertide (2023) we shall be looking at ‘Women of Holy Week’ by Paula Gooder, following on with ‘Bad Boys of the Bible’, Barbara J Essex. All are welcome. ## **Maggie Drewett and Gillian Wingrove** 8 41 ## **DISCIPLESHIP** ## **Women’s Christian Fellowship** The past year has been a relatively successful one, with our membership increasing, but sadly not yet up to pre covid levels. We have had a wide selection of speakers and even welcomed several gentlemen to some of our meetings when the subject has interested them. The most popular being, 'Around the World on a Container Ship', 'Health begins in the Home not the Surgery' and a talk (with music) about the compositions of our wonderful English Composers. The group served the refreshments after the Ash Wednesday Service and also had a summer party and a Christmas Lunch. At the AGM in October we decided to change our meeting date from the fourth Wednesday in the month to the second Wednesday as we had heard that that may be a better date to attract some new members. This began in January this year and seems to be reasonably successful. We have always tried to be a happy and welcoming Club and a letter received recently from one of our speakers backed this up. We have a full programme arranged for the rest of the year and hope the Group can go forward with renewed vigour. As with most Clubs we find it hard to recruit folk to the committee but with only four we just about manage, Dorothy, Valerie, Jill and myself. Although a small committee we fulfil each others roles when required but are always looking for additional help if any of us are away. ## **Denise Yelland - Secretary** Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June and then marking her death in September, our small but committed worship team were able to respond sensitively with prayers, music and the setting up of a prayer space for a Memorial Book. Enhancing our worshipping life is the provision of spaces to gather in. We are incredibly lucky to have not just the historic buildings but also the use of carparks, good toilets, a hygienic well equipped kitchen and an airy hall (available for private hire btw). A very small team of volunteers (including Dick Yelland’s team of Mowers and Gardeners) ensures, with the church architect, they are maintained and presented well. With increased fuel costs the decision was made to meet for the Sunday services in the church on two Sundays and in the hall on others over the winter, – creating yet more variety given the warmth and intimacy of the hall as a space. Graham Wingrove, now in his seventh year as churchwarden and chair of the Fabric Committee, has been instrumental in keeping church life flowing. He can be seen behind the scenes ensuring services go smoothly, then literally on his hands and knees shifting the blockages in the drains so the hall toilets can run freely! With Barry Cousin relinquishing his faithful service as churchwarden of six years, Rick Smith stepped in to offer himself. Together this team ensured worship took place over the summer when Reverend Hilary took extended leave/sabbatical time for three months – a time for prayerful reflection. PCC discussions have noted the remarkable service of our churchwardens over the years and the fundamental role they have in our village. Given the impact of the covid 19 pandemic on mental wellbeing the restarting of the monthly Drop In has been welcome as an opportunity to build relationships and decrease isolation. The Edward Bears 40 9 group, Women’s Christian Fellowship, bowling group, new home group and recently introduced monthly crockpot lunches are all ways in which the church creates social space. Sadly we have said goodbye to the long running Youth Group that met on Fridays in the hall. We hope that this is just for a season until new energy for it can be found and thank the parents that made it possible. Partnering with the Welcome Ukrainian Friends group and Kindness in Mind we celebrate the church’s involvement in homing refugees from war torn Ukraine and enabling social gatherings and the building up of new networks of relationships. Practical support from the wider village in providing homeware, toys, furniture etc was humbling and made for a master class in generous giving. The continued enabling of Foodbank collections is a reminder of the harshness of economic and social realities. Mention of the events staged by the fundraising team led by Kath Adkins (think Summer Fayre, the French Evening, Christmas Market etc) reminds us of life giving social events that raise funds for the running costs of the church. Caring for the church fabric, Guardians of The Village Churches (GOTVC) hosted a delightful fundraising Jubilee Ball at Braxted Park in June reinforcing a vision of spreading responsibility for the maintenance of these historic buildings across the wider community. ## in traditional fashion. On behalf of the Guardians Committee I would also like to express my admiration for HM Queen Elizabeth II and it was with great sadness that we received the news of her death in September of last year. For the coming year several of our Committee will be supporting The Garden’s Festival event which is organised by a separate committee led by Stewart Adkins who we know will continue to provide a superbly organised event for 2023. As many of you will understand we are a small group of volunteers and while we try and raise money for our two wonderful churches, we are impacted by many other worthy causes both locally and nationally. This means that we choose our fund-raising events carefully so as not to impact other local events and with this aim in mind we plan to hold a number of smaller events throughout 2023. Finally, I would like to thank our Members, those who attend our functions and in particular our Guardians Committee for their commitment to helping us meet our primary goals. In addition, our Rev. Hilary deserves a special mention for all her hard work in ‘gluing’ our community together and helping us to support our splendid church buildings which are a central part of our community. **Nick Carter Chairman** **If you’d like to join Guardians of the Village Churches, visit the website: guardiansofthevillagechurches.co.uk/ Or our Facebook page** 10 39 ## **GUARDIANS** ## **The Guardians of the Village Churches** Regular committee meetings have been held in person since the lifting of Covid 19 restrictions and I would like to thank all our Committee Members for their continued support. Karen Strong as our new Secretary has made a substantial contribution to the well running of our group and I am delighted she joined us at the start of 2022. I would also like to thank Peter Parkinson for his fine contribution to our cause but unfortunately Peter has for the moment stepped down in his role as Deputy Chairman and Guardians Committee Member. Graham Jacobs kindly agreed to step in to undertake the Deputy Chairman role for which I thank him. With respect to fund raising throughout the year, we formed a small organising committee for the holding of a Platinum Ball held at Braxted Park on the 4 June 2022. It is with great pleasure that I can report a successful event with over 80 tickets sold and a profit from the raffle, sponsorship and other donations raising £2,219.83 I have three key people to thank in this endeavour namely: Pauline Haggerty, Karen Strong and Kath Adkins (seconded onto the Platinum Ball Organising Committee). Also our treasurer Graham Spearman deserves a mention for his continued support. Overall, it was an excellent evening to celebrate our late monarch’s 70 years on the throne and we were pleased we were able to toast her health Picking up a pace are the preparations for the 2023 Garden Festival – a key fundraiser for maintaining St Bartholomew’s and yet another occasion when the gifts of individuals in time and skills comes to the fore for which there is immense appreciation. Given the centrality of good relationships at the heart of church life the importance of Safeguarding Training has been in the spotlight in 2022 as church officers, PCC members and group leaders updated their training including a focus on spiritual abuse, safer recruitment, the impact of trauma and domestic abuse. Norma Hayward, the Parish Safeguarding Officer reminds us that Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility not just hers. The whole story of Scripture offers us a vision of communities that prizes human dignity and enables flourishing, starting with the creation story in Genesis, and we all have a role in working towards that knowing that relationships can become unhealthy and broken. The Diocesan Safeguarding team has provided support, enabling us to demonstrate good practice as a responsible church community and being unflinchingly honest about the ways in which church communities have failed in the past. Reading through the reports accompanying this one, you will note the many hardworking and prayerful individuals who contribute so richly to our corporate life enabling us to travel well together. Getting older (and frailer in some cases) we are very mindful of our vulnerabilities as a church community as we look to the future. Key church members have moved to new communities and we miss them. Others we remember with thanks are loved ones departed who gifted us with smiles, music, encouragement and faith. 38 11 Trusting in God’s provision for the journey ahead the final word of this report is given over to a prayer which was printed in the pew sheet for much of 2022 from the Leading Your Church into Growth material: _God of mission, Who alone brings growth to your Church, Send your Holy Spirit to give Vision to our planning, Wisdom to our actions, Joy to our worship, And power to our witness. Help our church to grow in numbers, In spiritual commitment to you, And in service to our local community,_ Christmas we arranged and served the usual seasonal refreshments after the Service of Nine lessons and Carols. We achieved quite a lot in 2022, in spite of three members of our committee – Ruth Johnson, Anne Keatley-Clarke and Claire Gotts – stepping down for varying reasons. Fortunately, we have been joined by two new members, Mary Brown and Marion Houlding, but we would welcome more! We are most grateful for the help we receive from people within and from outside the Church - we couldn’t put on certain events without it - but we are struggling because of a dwindling membership and other pressures on members’ time, so have decided to reduce the number of events in our 2023 programme. We hope, however, that it will still be an enjoyable year and that we can count on your continued support. **Kath Adkins** 12 37 Unfortunately, the fancy dress competition was not very well supported, but was enjoyed by those children who made the effort. Overall, though, a very successful afternoon from an enjoyment and financial perspective, raising £1784.42. Shortly after the Bring and Share Harvest Lunch at the beginning of October we somewhat reluctantly organised another food themed evening. This time we opted for a French style and it was a very popular choice as we sold out and had a waiting list! We raised £834. This type of evening is very well received by the attendees but is a lot of work for the organisers! To round off the year we had the ever-successful Christmas Market (£1490.86 achieved) plus a Christmas Concert a week later masterminded, once again, by Paul Strong and supported by the Beacon Hill Ensemble. Our committee took care of the publicity and refreshments, but there was no charge for admission, just a request for donations and, to that end, we received £355.62. In December we also welcomed the uniformed groups into the Church to put their handmade decorations onto the Christmas Tree in the Lady Chapel, and they enjoyed refreshments and an informal act of worship led by Revd. Hilary. The Sunday before _**We are thankful for our team of flower arrangers who continue to enhance church worship, seasons & ceremonies** ._ 36 13 ## **Electoral Roll Report** The Church Electoral Roll has been renewed this year in line with the Church of England regulations. During the past year six members have sadly died. Three members have moved away, two have requested to be removed from The Roll and three have been removed because of ill health and non-contact over several years. There are six new members added to the Electoral Roll. In total there are 110 people on the 2023 Church Electoral Roll; of these 84 are parishioners who live in the Parish, and 26 non-resident parishioners. Thank you to all members for their co-operation in preparing the Church Electoral Roll for 2023/24 ## **Mary Brown Electoral Roll Officer** **The Electoral Roll is the register of those who worship regularly at our Churches.** **If you would like more information and an application form, please e-mail our Electoral Roll Officer** **wblberoll@gmail.com** ## **Fund Raising and Social** In 2022 we were back to some sort of normality after the pandemic, although we delayed what should have been the first event of the year because of the high incidence of Covid in the local community. Once we got started, though, we had a busy, enjoyable and financially very successful year, raising just shy of £7000. This sum helps pay for the day to day running costs of our Church. We started with the Spring Coffee Morning in March which was quite well attended, and using both the Church and Hall gave us more space, which was a positive. We raised a respectable £600. Later than originally planned we held a Quiz, at the beginning of April, and this was not quite as well supported as usual. The dreaded Covid was partly to blame, even preventing Ken Matten, who compiled the quiz, from attending! However, it was still an enjoyable evening and we made a profit of £413. In May, Paul Strong, with the support of the Beacon Hill Ensemble, entertained a large and appreciative audience to music from Bond to Beethoven in the Church. Our committee organised the publicity, programme, ticket sales and refreshments. A fabulous £1513 was raised. The following month we held the Summer Fayre with most of the stalls and activities on the field. Despite difficulties accessing the Church and field because of roadworks the event was well attended and there was a warm and convivial atmosphere. 35 14 ## **Community** ## **FOODBANK** We continue to support the work of the Trussell Trust Foodbank with a permanent collection box in St. Bartholomew’s and also working in conjunction with the village One Stop shop. As always the Harvest Collection of food delivered to the church and the shop was well supported, with Wickham Bishops Nursery also providing bags of items for this occasion. One Stop has a Community Fund which they are able to award to a local cause couple of times a year. Again they used the fund to provide a large number of bags of food items at Christmas and then again in April with a supply of Easter Eggs. We’re grateful for their continued commitment. The local Warehouse covers the Witham area as well as Braintree and Halstead. The local centre where people can collect food parcels is based at the Witham Methodist Church in Guithavon Street. **Geraldine Spearman** **collection at the font** ## **PCC Report** At the 2022 APCM we welcomed back Spencer Churchill, Graham Spearman and Lester Firkins onto the PCC for a further 3 year term of office and were pleased to welcome Francine Cope as a new member. Our Electoral Roll membership entitles our Parish to 12 laity PCC members. In addition to those, the PCC consists of Chairman Rev. Hilary Le Sève, 2 Deanery Synod Representatives and two Churchwardens. The Secretary and Rev. Derek Clark (Associate Priest) both sit on the Council as ex-officio members. The Standing Committee, who meet to discuss upcoming PCC agendas, is made up of the Chairman, Associate Priest, Churchwardens, Treasurer, Secretary and the Pastoral Assistant. During 2022 the PCC met 6 times, one meeting ably chaired by Graham Wingrove during Rev. Hilary’s extended leave. The meeting agendas focus on relevant and significant issues within the life of our two churches, reports from each committee are presented together with an update from the Treasurer. Items of Good News are always included. In addition this year, the PCC met with Archdeacon Ruth Patten for a discussion on Diocesan and Parish issues. The Diocesan Youth Advisor attended in January to give advice on encouraging young people into our church. Succession Planning has also been an item for lengthy discussions this year, focusing on the need to identify people to take on the many commitments within our church. Welcoming Ukrainian refugees into our church family, anticipating their needs and ensuring their integration formed part of our conversations and planning. We are fortunate to have a PCC who bring many gifts and talents. My thanks as always, to Rev. Hilary and the members for their continued support. **Geraldine Spearman - PCC Secretary** 34 15 ## **Safeguarding Officer** ## **BOWLS** ## **Safeguarding Checks** The current online system for carrying out safeguarding checks for people working with children and adults in the church, known as the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and run by the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS) set up in March 2018, is now well established and continues to work well. It is also known as 31:8 Checks now have to be repeated every 3 years instead of 5. Once an applicant has completed the online form, I have to see evidence of identity and address in person .Once these details have been submitted to 31:8, the result of the check is sent both to the applicant and to me. Three new checks have been carried out in the last 12 months and four renewals. The Diocese also requires an application form which asks for references and a confidential declaration to be completed, even if a DBS check is not always possible. **Safeguarding Training. This is now supported by Francine Cope** I am pleased to report that, with only a couple of exceptions, everyone who needs to undertake the safeguarding training, has now done so and, apart from one person whose training is due for renewal this year, all are now covered for at least the next 2 years. **Francine Cope** At the beginning of the year, due to unforeseen circumstances, the number of people attending decreased, but we have weathered the storm and now have a good number with others showing interest. The Carpet Bowls Club is operated under the Church’s Pastoral Care enabling people to meet and socialise. Whilst learning to play bowls ,there is always time for tea, cake and a chat. **Cindy Baker** **Safeguarding Training Administrator** 33 16 ## **DROP IN** Drop in sessions are held from 2.30pm to 4pm on the second Monday of the month, unless this is Bank Holiday. Details and a contact number can be found in the Parish Magazine, everyone is welcome. The Drop In provides refreshments plus friendship and someone who will listen to you in private if needed. The sessions are lively and happy. Attendance last year was between 13 and 19 each month. The sessions are run with dedication, care and love by a team of 7 who all have up to date Safeguarding qualifications. Two people lead the session each month, the team is Jayne, Kath, Geraldine, Maggie D, Maggie G, Sue and Christine. ## **Sue Clements** The Church of England continues to put a strong emphasis on safeguarding training, both for those who work with children and with vulnerable adults. The online training is now carried out through the Church of England National Safeguarding Online Training Portal and not the Diocese which means the whole system has changed. Any member of the congregation may undertake the Basic Awareness and Foundation courses and all PCC members are encouraged to as well as those working with children and adults. For those in leadership roles, a further level of training is required. It is expected that the training will be repeated every 3 years. **The Church of England Parish safeguarding handbook “Promoting a Safer Church”** has been adopted by the parish and can be accessed on the Church of England’s Website www.churchofengland.org/ **safeguarding** . The Diocese safeguarding team continue to support parishes especially with safeguarding issues. **Norma Hayward Parish Safeguarding Officer** ## **jhaywa@globalnet.co.uk** **A copy of our Safeguarding Policy can be found on the board in the Church Porch and the hall noticeboard.** **Further Safeguarding information is available on the Diocesan Website https:// www.chelmsford.anglican.org** 32 17 ## **Treasurer’s Report** _**“,... the year ahead is going to be challenging and we need to continue to keep a watch on expenditure.”**_ 2022 has, in fact, been a better year for the Parish Finances even though we started with a short closure as a result of a Covid outbreak following December 2021’s Nine Lessons and Carols. I am pleased to be able to report an improvement to the balance of General Funds which are almost back to the pre-pandemic level. Income from Planned Giving is virtually static thanks to the Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) and collections and other giving have improved. Once again, I would encourage anyone who hasn’t yet done so to join the PGS. This reduces the workload for both the Gift Aid Secretary and myself as Treasurer. Fee income for funerals and weddings fell in 2022 but the Fund Raising and Social Committee were able to return to a much more normal level of activity raising some £5,400. Expenditure has once again been contained and total outlay reduced by £4,250. However, there are significant challenges ahead. St. Bartholomew’s electricity costs for 2022 amounted to £4,437. Our fixed rate tariff ended on 15[th] December 2022. Using 12 months actual meter readings it has been estimated that at the same level of usage the electricity bill in 2023 would rise to £21,700. Clearly urgent action is needed to contain this increase in cost. As you are aware we are moving some services into the Hall. This area is heated by underfloor heating which charges up overnight on the lowest tariff. ## **PASTORAL WORK** _**“We continue to lend support where we can to the bereaved, the elderly and those not so well.”**_ The committee supports the pastoral care in the church and local community. This includes visiting the sick, lonely and bereaved; Drop In sessions, Welcome Packs, Parish Magazine, Services at Little Oaks and Home Communion. The Parish magazine has continued to be delivered to every household during the year. We are very grateful to the willing band of helpers who make this possible and are always looking for new recruits to join the team .Welcome packs have also been delivered to newcomers to the village by our Welcome visitors. We held a soup lunch in February which , while low on attendees, was much enjoyed by those who came. We once again organised the delivery of cyclamen plants to the sick and bereaved at Harvest time and these were much appreciated. We also provided refreshments at the Service of Remembrance. We have resumed our visits to Little Oaks and it has been good to reconnect with familiar faces as well as getting to know new ones. We continue to lend support where we can to the bereaved, the elderly and those not so well. We are few in number so are very grateful for the help of the wider congregation. ## **Jayne Jennings** 18 31 ## **ST. NICHOLAS** A quiet year at St Nicholas’ has followed the busy 900[th] Anniversary celebrations spread over the past ‘Lock-down’ years. We have continued with the monthly Eucharistic service ex- tended to every month of the year since 2020 with just the regular additional services on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and St Nicholas’ Day. Christmas eve mid-night Mass is as usual a very atmospheric service with regular ‘strangers’ but welcomed attendees from ‘out of town’. We look forward to the re-instatement or re-use of the 'Corona'. We now have no regular cleaner but it is obvious that someone applies the vacuum cleaner especially in the porch now and again and we are particularly grateful to Elsie Rees for her regular flower arrangements. Special thanks are due to Jayne Jennings for playing the organ for most services. With outstanding works from the past two Quinquennial inspections, there is a great need for a Church Warden/Caretaker/Manager to lead the regular congregation into the future. As can be seen from the Visitor Book, the church continues to be very popular with casual visits from around the world. There have been no organised ‘tour visits’ this past year." Secondly, the Finance Committee considered, with great regret, that at the year end we would not make our usual charity donations. Thirdly, a further issue is Parish Share for which the Diocese are seeking an 8% increase in our contribution. The PCC agreed that we would not, as we have done for many years, pay our Parish Share by Direct Debit but would pay, hopefully on a monthly basis, what we could afford after allowing for the increase in electricity costs. Effectively we will pay less in the winter months and more in the summer months. I estimate we should pay 66% of our Parish Share plus any grants/subsidies we may receive from either the Government or the Diocese. This position is being taken as it is the PCC’s view that above all else we should keep the church open. So at the year end with £61,298 in General Funds we are in a comfortable situation. However, the year ahead is going to be challenging and we need to continue to keep a watch on expenditure. The Fabric funds for both churches are in a satisfactory position having benefitted from further bequests. I would like to thank John Baker for his most efficient processing of Gift Aid. The Guardians committee held a fund raising ball to celebrate the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee raising in excess of £2,000. This year will see another Garden’s Festival again being most ably chaired by Stewart Adkins and this should provide a further significant sum to the Church Restoration fund. 30 19 At present the Guardians fund and the Church Restoration fund amount to some £54,000 so hopefully we are 50% of the way to having sufficient funds to complete the redecoration of St Bartholomew’s. So, to conclude I am pleased to report that our Parish continues to be in a reasonably sound financial situation. But, there continue to be significant financial challenges ahead of us. **Graham Spearman, Hon Treasurer.** 26/01/2023 **APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT EXAMINER** **The accounts have been examined again this year by John Barnes, FCA (Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants).** **The Examiner is appointed on a yearly basis and is required to be proposed, seconded and agreed by members at this meeting.** **Proposer and Seconder are therefore required for John Barnes to continue for a further year.** **A full set of the church accounts is available as a separate document.** **For further information about** Following Paul Strong’s appointment as Director of Music at All Saints’ Springfield we have put together a new rota of organists to play on each Sunday, with some also taking choir practices before the 10.30 a.m. service. Third Sundays continue to provide a service of Worship under John Gilbert’s excellent direction. I am extremely grateful to all the members of the choir, including those who augment when we have special services, for their support in maintaining the choral tradition at St Bartholomew’s. Sadly I hear of other Parish Churches whose choir has ceased to exist and we should be grateful that we have, to date, been able to maintain our choral tradition at St Bartholomew’s. We would always welcome additional voices and please do not hesitate to speak to me if you or anybody you know would like to join the St Bartholomew’s choir. ## **Graham Spearman** **Parish Share, please contact grstreasurer@protonmail.com** 20 29 The contribution of music to village life and wellbeing was again demonstrated through occasional concerts led by Paul and friends and we look forward to the Open Gardens concert in 2023. The huge rise in energy prices put pressure on costs for heating the church in what was one of our colder winters and so we took the decision to move some of the services into the church hall. While saving cost, it also had the benefit of creating a more intimate and inclusive environment for services, which we will continue to test through 2023 ## **John Gilbert** ## **CHOIR** - _**“ ..we are grateful that we have, to date, been able to maintain our choral tradition at St Bartholomew’s.”**_ With the help of our rotating organists, Paul, Richard and Ed during 2022, we hope that the choir has helped to add to the worship at St Bartholomew’s. In addition to the usual services we are pleased to have been able to provide, in June, a service of Choral Evensong, for the Royal School of Music’s Music Sunday, and also at Christmas a service of Nine Lessons and Carols. For both these services we augmented the choir and I am very pleased that for the most part these were from people who live in the Parish. From time to time on Feast Days the choir has provided an anthem. There was also a service of readings and music for Advent which was well received and it is likely that similar services may be repeated. ## **Deanery Synod** _**Synod Representatives: Rev. Hilary Le Seve (House of Clergy), Anne Keatley-Clarke (to mid-2022), Christine Bealer, John Gilbert (House of Laity)**_ The Deanery Synod is part of the governance structure of the Church of England, linking to the Diocesan Synod and to General Synod through elected representatives. Meetings are chaired by the Rural Dean, in our case Simon Garwood as Rural Dean, and a Lay Chair, in our case Mike Robinson. Regular business includes updates on the Deanery’s Parish Share payments, on Mission & Ministry Units, on events and activities in the Parishes and a session on a matter of interest. It is a meeting that could be a great opportunity for sharing learning in our parishes. There are a lot of smaller parishes that struggled with the pandemic and do not appear to be blessed with the riches of skills and volunteering that we enjoy across the whole of our church family. We should remember them in our prayers. We say “could be” as it feels to us that Synod has lost its way a bit and 2022 was year when it seemed to be trying to find it. Sessions were held with discussions about issues facing parishes, but a firm plan of action has still to be developed – see below! At its penultimate meeting of the year, the Synod welcomed Bishop Guli, who talked about her life story (very interesting and challenging for the comfortable Anglican in England) and introduced the “Travelling Well Together” values statement that we will be exploring. 28 21 She feels the diocese needs to stop focusing on “doing” (strategy and structure) and start focusing on “being” values and quality interactions) to give the Spirit a chance to lead. This will be especially important with the challenges of economics and staffing that the church faces we shall see how long we can resist the temptation to “just get on with it!” The last meeting took the form of a communion service, so maybe that’s a sign! ## **John Gilbert** **Bishop Guli introduced her ‘Travelling Well Together’ values.** of services as we seek to enable all who come to find something to support their worship. After the disruption to Christmas services at the end of last year caused by COVID, thankfully, 2022 settled down into a more stable pattern. The streaming of services to our Facebook page has continued after COVID restrictions were relaxed as it enables church members who cannot come for health or other reasons to engage with the services, although the usual technical issue occasionally disrupt delivery, notwithstanding investment in camera, broadband and wi-fi! Easter saw a well-attended series of services, with a “last hour before the Cross” meditation service led by the Sunday praise team in St Nicholas’ (as we didn’t think the usual Third Sunday service would necessarily meet expectations for Easter Sunday!) and the dawn service followed by breakfast and a busy Easter day service. Following the unfortunate events of 2021’s Christmas service schedule (!), a full programme of services took place this year, with no (as far as we know) outbreaks of illness. The service of Nine Lessons and Carols was a high quality festival curated by Graham to kick off the Christmas season with a full church. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Graham Spearman, who has been the driving force behind the continuation and development of the choir and the maintenance of quality music provision on Sundays. He has a seemingly endless list of contacts to play the organ, drill the choir in new anthems and also selects the music for most of the services. We have benefitted from the services of Ed Sutton **,** Ashley Thompson, Jonathan Leese and Richard Overill through the year, with Ashley and Richard now being regular supporters and Jonathan also playing for a third Sunday service. 22 27 ## **WORSHIP AND MUSIC** _**“We are working to develop our worship services to make our church an environment that is welcoming to all ….”**_ The primary purpose of the Worship Committee to assist the minister in their role in deciding on and leading the services across the year, in both church buildings and in public services where the church has a leading role in organisation. It acts as a means whereby the PCC can discharge its function of “co-operation with the minister in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical” in the area of public worship. The Worship Committee, chaired by the minister, meets on average 3-4 times a year, as needed, to assist in planning the overall pattern of services (the detailed decisions are the minister’s responsibility). It advises and supports in bringing resources and ideas together for specific special services, as God leads us to see opportunities in the Church and our own community calendar. We are working to develop our worship services to make our church an environment that is welcoming to all and where we are encouraged and assisted in coming closer to God and one another. The Service pattern is now well established, with 8:00 a.m. Communion ably led by Barry Cousins at St Bartholomew’s each Sunday, except 3[rd] Sundays, when there is a 9:00 a.m. Communion service in traditional form at St Nicholas. The weekly 10:30 am Service at St Bartholomew’s has benefitted from a variety of churchmanship and formats within a cycle ## **Fabric Report** The Fabric Committee met 3 times this year. Before the first of these, Mrs Ruth Johnson resigned as Secretary. We thank Mrs Johnson for many years in this post and the meticulous records that she kept. Thus far, no replacement has come forward. If this is something you feel you would like to get involved with, then please do not hesitate to come forward. Mr. Roy Jones also stood down. We thank him also for his time on the Committee. The headline this year has been the Quinquennial Survey of St. Bartholomew’s. Hilary Brightman, our Conservation Architect carried this out in July. There were no surprises in her report and mostly identified items that we were already aware of and in need of attention. So far on this list, Allan Baker and Lee Johnson have attended to the repair and redecoration of the large south window and the exterior doors of the church hall. Mark Parsley has attended to the urgent electricity items e.g. the emergency exit lights in the hall. During the next 5 years, the other items on the list will need to be addressed. In the church yard, Dick Yelland has once again co-ordinated the mowers/ strimmer’s. We are most grateful to him and all the volunteers who freely give of their time to keep both church yards looking the way they do. We also must recognise all the time and effort John Popham puts in as our Sexton. During last Autumn following survey and, an Archdeacon’s certificate, arboriculturists Just Trees attended both Church Yards and the car park and performed much needed surgery to a number of trees at £4000 this was quite an expenditure, but will keep the trees in good shape & health for number of years to come. 26 23 In early February this year, we also had the opportunity of having the “Community Pay Back” team. The Community Pay Back team are a group of people, usually around 6 plus their supervisor, who are serving part of a court ordered probation sentence and are given so many hours which need to be served as community service. They came for 2 Saturdays from 08:30 until 15:30 and did some really good work, among other things they replaced the rotten posts in the car park, clearing the rectory side of the field and bringing the garden by the church hall entrance back to looking neat and tidy. There have been many comments regarding the excellent condition of the church yard and how well it is kept, which are always welcome. As far as St. Nicholas is concerned, little has taken place to progress their Quinquennial repairs highlighted in the Purcell Report of 2021. The Corona is still in place although it must not be used as it contravenes current health and safety regulations. We welcome Jon Aldis to the group. Jon has a special interest in St. Nicholas and will focus his efforts there. Finally, this will be my last report as Chair of the Fabric Committee, so I would like to thank all those who freely gave of their time and energy in the upkeep of our two buildings. After all, we are only custodians for the present to pass on to the future generations. ## **Graham Wingrove** General maintenance and other compliance certificates have been renewed, although there are some questions regarding the current BS Standard are not being met re our lightening protection, which will need addressing in the not too distant future. As I write, the clock dial on the east face is stuck at twenty to five. A. James of Saffron Walden have been contacted and will attend in due course. ## **Churchwarden** **In July we were proud to receive a Highly Commended Design Award from the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the redecoration of the Chancel Ceiling.** 24 25 Wickham Bishops & Little Braxted PCC Registered Charity 1159874 End of Year Financial Statements Year ending 31st December 2022 WICKHAM BISHOPS ANO LIThLE BRAXTED PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES FOR ThE YEAR ENDED 3111212022 Reg1Stered Charity 1159874 I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above thanty ("the Trusf) for the year ended 3111212022 which are set out on pages 4 to 12. Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity twstees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the &counts in accordance with the requirements of the Charitses Act 2011 {kne Acr). I report in ￿SpeCt of my examination of the Trust'5 accounts carried out und8r seciion 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Oirections given by the Charity Commission under section 14515)(bl of the Act. Independent examiners statement I have complet&1 my examination. l o)nfinn that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the exaMInat￿$n which givés me cause to believe that in. any rnaterial respect.. account'ng records were not kept in accordants section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records or the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements conceming ihe form atld content of accounts set out in the Chanties (Accounts and Reports) Regulati￿5 2008 oU￿r than any requirement that the accounts give a Irue and fair vievl Nthich is not a matter considered as part of an independent examinats"on, I have no concems and have come across no olher matters in connection wth the examination to bthich at- tention Should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of thè accounts to be reathed. John Barnes FCA Independent Examiner Handel Hwse Roselawn Fields Broomfield Chelmsford CM17GB I'aRe 2 Treasu￿5 Report 2022 has, in fact, been a better year for the Parish Finances even though we started with a short closure as a result of a Covid ¢JJtbreak following December 2021's Nine Lessons and Carols. l am pleased to be able to report an improvement to the balance of General Funds which are almost back to the pre-pandemi¢ level. Incomo from Planned Giving Is vir*Jally static thanks to the Parish Giving Scheme {PGSI and collec*ons and other giving have improved. Once again. I woukl encourage anyone vho hasn't yet done so to join tho PGS. This reduces the workload for both th8 Gift Aid Secretary aThJ myself as Treasurer. Fee income for funerals and weddings fell in 2022 but the Fund Raising aryj Social Committee were able to retum to a much more normal level of activity raising some £5.4C(I. Expenditure has On￿ again been contained aThJ the balance of General Funds has increased by £4,465. However, there are significant challenges ahead. St. Barlholomews electricity Costs for 2022 amounted lo £4,437. Our fixed rate tariff ended on 15th December 2022. Using 12 months actual meter readings it has been estimated that at the same18vel of usage the electricity bill in 2023 W￿ld rise to £21,700. Cleady urgenl action is needed to contain this increase in cost. As you are av￿re we are moving some seNices into the H211 Thig area is heated by undeffloor heating which tharges up overnight on the lowest tanff. Secondly, the Finance Committee considered, with great regret, that at the year eThJ we would not make Ltsual charity donations. Thirdly, a fijrther issue is Parish sha￿ for whith the Diocese are seeking an 8t% increase in our contn'bLrtion. The PCC agreed that we would not, as we have done for many years, pay our Pansh Share by Direct Debit but would pay, hopefully on a monthly basis. %vhat Vle could afford after allowing for the increase in electricity costs. Effectively we will pay less in the winter months and more in the summer months. l estimate we should pay 66¥D of our Parish Share plus any grantslsubsidies we may re￿1ve from either the Govemment cr the Diocese. This wsilion is being taken as it is the PCC'S view that above all else we should keep the church open. So at the year end with £60,119 in General Furvjs we are in a comfortable situation. However. the year ahead is going to be challenging and we need to ¢XJntinué to keep a watth on expenditure. The Fabric funds for both churches are in a satisfactory Fosition having benefitted from fijrther bequests. I would like to thank John 8aker for his most effioent prO￿$SIng of Grft Aid. The Gu8rdi2ns committee held a fvnd raising ball to celebrate the late Q￿en,$ Platinum Jubilee raising in excess of £2,0W. This year will see anothèr Garden's Festival again being most ably chaired by Stewart Adkins and this should provide a further significant sum to the Church Restoration fund. At present the Guardians fund and the Church Restoration fund amount to some £54,OW so hopefully we are 50¢/0 of the way to having 9Jfficient lunas to complete the redecoration of St Bartholcrfnews. So, to condude l am pleased to report that our Parish continues to be in a reasonably sound financial situation. But, there cmtinue to be significant financial challenges ahead of us. Graham Spearman, Hon. Treasurer. 26101r2023 Pag# .1 Statement of Financial Activities Unre5¢rirted funds Restricted Endommellt fundy funds Total fu￿d$ Pritir Trear to¢AI funds Receipts Plannod giving Collections atTrd other giving Other voluntary recèiptg G￿ recovered Othèr rÈceipts Youth Club ActNrties for generating funds Investment Income Receipts trom church act[v*￿5 TIXal income 37.573 4.003 15.793 10.036 3.639 37.S73 4,003 3g,447 10,036 3.639 38.337 2,g24 16,036 10.417 1.702 23.654 19.762 499 6.450 97.758 2.104 711 21,867 1.210 6,450 124.228 47.227 28 8,733 125.408 26.470 Payments Cost ol gener*ing lunds MIss￿nary and Chartsble Giving Parish Share Clergy and Staffing costs Church Running Expense5 Youth Club Plall Running Costs Chuich Repaiis & Maintenance Hall Repairs & Maintenanc@ Governance Costs Total expendlture 500 2.49) 46 638 4.976 25.959 510 2.667 46.636 4,978 27,486 4.967 3,900 44,340 5.745 26.225 177 1.527 1.373 5.3 1,373 10,472 1.603 2.279 5,076 110 87.445 110 89.170 94.235 Gains I losses on Investment assets Net income I (expenditure) resources bgfore transfer 10.313 19.679 29,993 36.2JS Transfprs Gross transfers belween funds- In Gross transfer5 be￿en funds- out Other recognlsLxI gain5 1 I￿se Qains on revaluation. fLxèd assets. charrty'5 Oyffl Use Net movement in funds 15.378 131.5261 47.6fv1 131.5161 63,043 163.0431 11,955 111,9551 15.8341 35.827 29.993 36.235 T(Jtsl fund$ brought forward 106.345 Total lund$ Carrled for4vard 60.119 76218 136.338 106,345 Repre8ented by Unr•striet•d General lund 60.119 80,119 SS.654 Designated Guafdians 10.300 Restricted Guaidians Restricted Funds Lrttle Braxleo Fabric Fund Ukrainian Refugees Restricted Fu￿j Wic*ham 8￿hOpS Church F2estoration 13,290 17.275 4.351 41.300 13,290 17.275 4,351 41,300 16.840 23,550 Page 4 Balance sheet Totsl httds Prior ear fvnd Current assets ai bank arKI M han 136,338 136.538 106,346 Ilet ¢Ltrrerrt Jsxts 1¢$$ current liabditits 1J$.33B 106,340 Total assets l*ss curr•fft Ilabilities 136.338 106,34S Total net èssetsless Ihitslities 136.33R 106.346 Itepr•5fDted by Unre51rlrted Gentrral fund ff￿.119 Designated Guardians lo.￿0 R*stiicted General Fund rè BowL4 Club Guardians ftestncied Futyjs UkrainAn Refvgees Restrcted FuThY tkham Bishops Church Restoration 8raKled FabrK Fund 13,29D 4.351 41,￿0 17,275 23.￿0 16,840 Funds of th• Church 136.338 Fund movement by type ifl Incomin .j. Olligwing Tr8osfeTr Gain5110sJes JournaJ$ Closin&. GRF. Guardian6 Restricted Re*riGled 1.524 1.$24 11.775 11.TlS 132 13.290 Sub4otal lor GRF IIRF . Ukrani•n Rel￿eE FurMI Des9rKAkd Ro*nGteo 6.024 14,3601 Sub4olal for URF •.026 4,3621 URRF . Ukrainiw R•fugew R 165 165 177 177 Sub4otal for URRF 4.362 4.361 General. General fwKI Unr•stricted 84.e63 12 SulA¢Aal for Gen•ral 66,654 60,119 auardian$-Guwdians Oesgnated 10.XY) 6.871 6.871 11.77S 111,7751 Sub4oial for GuanllaThs 6.396 CCLAQOI .Trti¢kham Bishops CINweh R¢$toratlon Fund Restricted 6.5 6120 41, 41.300 Sub40ts1 lor CCLA004 12 CCi4005- LittlE Braxtred Falxi ReStr￿ted 518 Sub4olal l¢r CCIAOOS 17.276 arathj tcrtal 108A46 124328 94.23$ 136J3B Po8lP Analysis of income and expenditure Total Unrestricted Desi ated Restricted Endoping May Ball Trading Income Friend¥ ol Lrttle Braxted Fees to Diocese Church hall lettings Magazine in¢c%ne- advert15ing Liltle 8raxted Fabr 1,789 1.789 18,797 5.413 20 5,433 2,384 12 12 294 2,640 13,205 3.290 1.400 7,784 365 47.227 2,640 5.006 6,690 6.690 Totsl 19.762 2.104 21,887 Investment Income Interest- General Fund Intere51 W8 Church Restoration Fund Inleiesl LB Fabric Fund InteresVDwid•nds 4QQ 17 428 224 59 711 428 224 59 1.210 Total 4gg Receipts from church aclivities Parochial Fees fof y￿ddIng$ and funerals Gravespoil Memorial Book IncorrE Gretting Cards sales Te4lCoffe Drop In Donations 5.508 5,508 7,415 315 200 206 315 200 1,020 10 182 105 31 6.450 31 Total INCOME TOTAL 12.895 125406 EXPENDITURE Cost of generalirKJ funds Bfaxted G￿ebO EKpenses Costs of Fun¢Jra151ng Cost of Fundraising May Ball Cost of Fundr8oing - araxted Fete Costs ol Fundraising- Open Gar¢Jens Guardrans ¢xpenses Grcctin93 Cards ¢oJt) Trading Goods 240 240 2.012 2.747 122 19S 195 Total 500 510 4.967 Missionary and Charitable Giving Chèrrty Donations UKr8nian R8fu98e Expendrture 826 826 1.841 2,667 3,900 177 177 Total 826 3,900 Parish Share Parish Share 46 638 46.638 46,638 46.638 44,340 44,340 Total Clergy and siaiflng costs Fees to Diocése Locurn Costs bi revimbuisement Other Clergy Expenses Gemma Fraser payments Wages Fknnoraria & Support Clergy expenses of Incumbent R8ctory éxpenses 2.402 2,402 3.277 282 282 454 2.020 270 2,020 270 1.525 489 Totsl 4.976 4,976 5,745 Church Running Exponses Resour(e5 from Diocesan Grant Insurance- Wickharn Bishops Insurance- Lrttle Braxted Chuich ￿l￿tenance Church Maintenance- LB Pa51oral Care Children & Youtn Work General Costs Flowers lor Church Upkeep Music Fund Upkeep of chufchyard W8 Upkeep of ChLsrchyard LB Administratio Church running- UlIlrtRs WB Church running- Utilrties LB Magazine expenses Tealcoffee Costs Alpha Expenses Journal Wrrte Off Inlout 2415 1093 1.376 2,415 1,093 2,820 83 136 310 2,177 643 2.385 1.038 2.775 929 88 162 2,591 97 238 1,471 252 620 605 4,914 389 5,985 60 136 310 2.177 643 838 529 838 529 746 4,437 327 7,596 4.437 327 7.596 155 95 1301 1,650 26,225 3.059 25.959 Total 1,527 27,486 Church Running Expenses- Youlh Club Youth Cluty Total Hall Runnin9 Costs Hall running costs 1,373 1,373 1.373 1,373 1,603 1,803 T¢lal Church Repairs & Mainlenance Church major repairs- structure Church MaioT Repairs- structu￿ St Nich Guaidjans Costs Church major repairs- InstallatK)n Caprtal Expevkdrture Church interioi and extefior decorating 5,076 5,076 5.396 5,396 2,279 Total 5,396 5.076 10,472 2,279 Hall Repairs & Maintenance all + major repairs structure Hall + major repairs installation Hall 4 Interior and Èxtèrior decorating Total Péwg g Governance Costs Govgrnancg CQSt5 9xamina￿￿O￿d¢t fe8 110 110 11Cs Total EXPENDITURE TOTAL 110 80,385 110 94 235 110 89.170 6790 GRAND TOTAL 4,478 5.835 19,679 29 993 38 235 WCKHAM BISHOPS & LI￿LE BRAXTED P.C.C. ASSETS ASSETS General £ 57,142 Guardians £ 3,543 St Bartholomew's Church Restoration Furtd £ 4.669 St. Nicholas Fabric Fund £ 4,731 Bookstall Stod( £ 600 Estimated Values Church Hall £ 500,01)0 Tables & Chairs £ 2,000 Kitchen Equipment, Storage Boxes, Urn. Cutlery, Microwave Elc. £ 1,500 Crockery & Glasses £ 500 Step Ladder £ 109 Vacuum Cleaners £ 200 video￿elevISion, Sound SystemlHeaters £ 1.600 Choir Robes £ 1,500 Lawnmowers £ 1,250 Strimmer £ 150 Hedg8 Trimmer £ 150 Piano x 2 £ 2,700 Shedx2£1.500 Projector £ 430 Floristry equipment £ 2,000 Dishwasher £ 1,5 Photocopier £ 2,500 Mevo Camera £ 350 WIFI Router £ 90 ljaxe 10 WICKHAM BISHOPS ANO LIThLE BRAXTED PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES FOR ThE YEAR ENDED 3111212022 Reg1Stered Charity 1159874 I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above thanty ("the Trusf) for the year ended 3111212022 which are set out on pages 4 to 12. Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity twstees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the &counts in accordance with the requirements of the Charitses Act 2011 {kne Acr). I report in ￿SpeCt of my examination of the Trust'5 accounts carried out und8r seciion 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Oirections given by the Charity Commission under section 14515)(bl of the Act. Independent examiners statement I have complet&1 my examination. l o)nfinn that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the exaMInat￿$n which givés me cause to believe that in. any rnaterial respect.. account'ng records were not kept in accordants section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records or the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements conceming ihe form atld content of accounts set out in the Chanties (Accounts and Reports) Regulati￿5 2008 oU￿r than any requirement that the accounts give a Irue and fair vievl Nthich is not a matter considered as part of an independent examinats"on, I have no concems and have come across no olher matters in connection wth the examination to bthich at- tention Should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of thè accounts to be reathed. John Barnes FCA Independent Examiner Handel Hwse Roselawn Fields Broomfield Chelmsford CM17GB I'aRe 2