2024-12-31-accounts

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The Life of Our Church - Ministry & Mission Report 2024

2024 was a year of new life, with many firsts and plenty to celebrate! Early on in the year we hosted our first post-pandemic Confirmation Service with Bishop Richard; we celebrated Easter with the first Pilgrimage to St Albans in recent memory; Sophie Tucker was appointed as our Children’s and Families worker just in time to help launch ChurchFest (the first of what will become an annual extravaganza week of Summer Activities for our Community); in September we launched two new services called NOSH and Sunday@7; and we concluded the year by celebrating Christmas under a star-lit Nave! Another first!

Throughout the year there was a sense that we were reaping the rewards of our labour in previous years. Our vision of becoming a home for all was beginning to be realised. Our numbers grew and there were several All-Together services which felt as if we were full to the brim! And the variety in our mission and ministry blossomed. You could sum all this up by saying that 2024 was a year of Springtime in our Church!

With so much happening there will inevitable be things which I neglect to mention - apologies in advance! But with that said let’s dive into 2024 and all that God has been doing at St Peter’s and St Paul’s…

~*~

January kicked off with two things which are beginning to ink themselves into our church calendar. Before our All Together service, we had a whole church breakfast in the chapter house with David Golding, a regular cook at the Men’s Breakfast, taking charge of feeding everyone. And we ran our second Alpha course. Claire and Myself led this course with a good number of people who were new to our church along with some members of our congregation who were preparing for confirmation or looking to go deeper with their faith. This proved to be a successful Alpha Course with some members continuing on to do two more course in both the summer and autumn terms.

At our Altogether Service in February, we baptised two people – one a young person from YMAAC and the other an adult. Both would go onto to be confirmed later that day at our Confirmation service. In total, 10 people from our congregation were confirmed with one person from All Saints Clifton also being

confirmed. We also had one member of our congregation confirmed at St Michael’s Woburn Sands in November.

Whist there was so much to celebrate in 2024, at this point I have to mention the significant bereavement that we suffered as a church and as a ministry team. Rachel Thompson, our LLW and a life-long member of our church, celebrated her 50[th] Birthday on the 30[th] January. She celebrated this after our Sunday service by bringing Champagne for everyone. Unfortunately, later that day she went to hospital and three days later she sadly passed away. Her funeral was held on 14[th] March and was a standing-room-only-affair. Rachel’s life had touched many and they turned out in force to say their goodbyes. She is a great loss to our ministry team, our church and our community.

With all that had happened in February and early March, Easter Week was upon us quite suddenly. But we rallied as a team to journey through Holy Week with some deep and impactful services. There was an opportunity for people to explore the Stations of the Cross in our Churchyard; the Maundy Thursday service involving both foot washing and the stripping of the altar was extremely moving; and a Good Friday service explored how the different characters from the Passion narrative responded to Jesus using Stephen Cottrell’s book The Nail as its basis. With Messy Easter taking place on the Saturday and a packed Easter morning service, there was just enough time to grab some lunch before some foolhardy people set off on a pilgrimage to St Albans... This was a fantastic 2 day experience! 2 young people took on the challenge and people from across the generations completed some or all of the route. Arriving at St Albans Cathedral on Monday was both a great feeling of relief (we were shattered by this point!) and elation.

Our All Together service in April had yet more baptisms – this was to happen regularly at this service throughout 2024. Seeing children and adults take their next step on their faith journeys has been a great joy for me personally and to see these services so full has also brought much joy to us as a ministry team. Our numbers increased particularly in the first half of the year and this provided the impetus for the new services which would start later in the year.

May saw the opening of Oakfield Gardens Crematorium just outside our parish. This is a great facility on our doorstep and one that Claire and I have visited regularly in the months since as we have conducted our funeral ministry. Along

with this we have had held funeral services in our church including some members of congregation who have sadly died in the 2024.

In June, we kicked off our Sermon Series on Prayer. Throughout the year we had a focus on prayer as a way of deepening our roots of discipleship. Our verses for 2024 were 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. One visual aid that seemed to stick with people was teaspoons! Or ‘tsp prayers’ to be more specific – the encouragement to thank God, say sorry to God and use the word please to ask God for something. Sometimes the simple things are the best!

June also saw Claire commemorate to 80[th] anniversary of the D-Day landings in her role as Royal British Legion Chaplain. Alongside this role Claire is also the Chaplain to the Sea Cadets which is a role she is growing into more and more as she develops relationships with the young people. Both of these roles come together at the Remembrance Day Service which is another event at the War memorial where we play a central role.

I was ordained (as priest) on the 29[th] June at St Albans Cathedral – always a good day out! And then like London buses we had another day out at the Cathedral to celebrate Sam’s ordination (as deacon). Sam who ventured into a Wednesday communion service at our church several years ago has been on quite a journey and it is with both pride and sadness that we send her off to be a curate in Flamstead and Markyate.

Sophie also completed her Reader training this year and in August she started in her role as Children and families worker. And what a time to start as well… ChurchFest was her baptism of fire! A week of events for the community which was a fantastic success. We were blessed with wonderful weather and people really got behind it with the bouncy picnic and the Finale on Friday both absolutely packed with people we knew and plenty we didn’t. Seeing the joy on the kids faces as their teddy’s ziplined off the Tower was fantastic to see. I have a feeling ChurchFest will be a fixture for many years to come.

Our Ministry Team grew and in September, along with Sophie joining us as a paid staff member, we added two LLW’s to the team in Nigel Taylor and Liz Jefferson. Paul Hodgkinson, who is exploring ordination, has also been a part of the team as and when his work allows. Becky’s health improved as the year went on and

she continues to develop her work with the choir as well as support the ministry of the church in her role as Reader.

September also saw the launching of two new services. NOSH is a dinner Church held at Flitwick Lower School once a month. It’s target audience is families of lower school aged children. It involves 3 course of afternoon tea interspersed with worship songs, bible stories, games and questions. Sunday@7 is a contemporary worship service meeting once a month. We are very blessed to have some talented musicians who have come together to form a worship band which is a key part of this service.

Our ministry to care homes continues to flourish, particularly at Baycroft where a strong partnership with members of the staff has formed. Sandy, a member of the choir, has begun to join us at the care homes and I for one am very glad to have her beautiful voice filling the room. The residents agree and those that are unable to join are offered to chance to have a blessing in their rooms.

At the other end of the age range, our work with children and families is growing and developing and with the appointment of Sophie it has more potential to do so. Messy Church, Open the Book, Rock Solid, Little Fishes, Pancake and Light Parties, Seasonal School Services etc. All are engaging with a wide variety of children from our local area. YMAAC too has grown as we have completed a Youth Alpha Course and moved to meeting more consistently.

All of this is made possible because of the many volunteers involved and all of that is facilitated through the work of Jane our Parish Safeguarding Officer. In a year where Safeguarding in the Church made headlines for all the wrong reasons we are so grateful to have such a dedicated person in this key position. We recognised Jane’s role on Safeguarding Sunday which was one of a number of seasonal services in October and November.

December didn’t start with the best news – the boiler in church had stopped working. But that didn’t stop us heading toward Christmas in the right spirit. A great Christmas tree was decorated by the YMAAC Youth Group at their sleepover. And the church was also decorated with paper stars lights hanging in the nave. Special thanks to Ciaran who spent countless hours working out all the logistics and sourcing the stars. These decorations provided a celestial backdrop for our Christmas services this year.

Although, with the boiler still out of action we had to move Sunday@7 into the chapter house for our special evening with Gram Seed. Gram has a powerful testimony of a life turned the right way up by Jesus and it was a really intimate occasion to welcome him to share that with our church. Thankfully the boiler was fixed in time for a key Christmas services.

Beer and Carols moved to the Swan this year and we had a fantastic evening with more numbers than the previous year. The pub were very happy and even had to bring in more bar staff on the evening to cope with us all! Our Puppet Power Ministry group started off our Christingle Services with a bang which was a taste of things to come – both services well attended and we raised £540 for the Children’s Society. And Emma, in her final Christmas as an Ordinand at Flitwick delivered a “cracking” Christmas Day Talk! All in all it was a very special Christmas.

At the beginning of this report, I talked about 2024 as a year of springtime in our church. Spring is of course a time of promise and possibility. But it can also be fragile. Not everything that is currently blossoming will continue to do so. And new things that haven’t even sprouted up yet may well blossom instead. But the general direction of travel is one of growth and of new life springing up. We have so much to be thankful for as we look back at all God is doing in our church. Let’s celebrate that!

Revd. Andy Jefferson

Reports to the 2025 Annual Parochial Church Meeting

Background – The Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent in promoting in the Ecclesiastical Parish, the Whole Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has the responsibility of the Parish Church and Chapter House.

The PCC of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Peter and St Paul, Flitwick is a registered Charity and is registered with the Charity Commission. Registration number 1169624.

Membership – Members of the PCC are either ex-officio or elected at the Annual Parochial Church Council Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules or co-opted during the course of the year. There is also a member of the General Synod who automatically becomes a member of the PCC. There are two members of the Diocesan Synod who are automatically members of the PCC. There are also three elected as representatives for the Deanery Synod who are automatically members of the PCC.

All members of the PCC are DBS checked and have to undertake safeguarding training and domestic abuse awareness training.

The PCC is scheduled to meet every two months. Additional meetings are held if there is a need to discuss urgent and/or important business i.e. approval of the accounts for the APCM meeting.

The Standing Committee which consists of the Vicar, Curate, Church Wardens, Secretary, Treasurer and Emma Williams. The Standing Committee is scheduled to meet every two months.

During the year, Nic Farrington-Sharp was elected to be our third member on the Deanery Synod.

Linda Foale and Richard Fullbrook continued in their roles as Church Wardens and were ably assisted by David Golding and Chris Macintosh.

The following have served as members of the PCC during the calendar year ending 31 December 2024.

Rev Claire Harald (Incumbent), Andy Jefferson (Curate), Becky Mynott (General Synod), Sophie Tucker (Licensed to the Church), Tony Brown (Deanery Synod), David Watson (Deanery Synod), Nic Farrington-Sharp (Deanery Synod), Linda Foale (Church Warden), Richard Fullbrook (Church Warden), David Golding

(Deputy Church Warden), Chris Macintosh (Deputy Church Warden), Terry Thurley (Treasurer), Nigel Taylor (Secretary), Joanna Chandler, Jeremy Dann, Ciaran Diver, Jo Farrington-Sharp, Emma Gleeson, Emma Herman, Mary McKeand, Carol Thompson, Jane Thompson and Emma Williams.

Nigel Taylor - PCC Secretary

Reports

Bellringers

We currently have 10 regular ringers and one learner, although not all are able to regularly support Sunday ringing. The bells were rung for most weekly practices (19:45-21:00 on Fridays) and Sunday services and for all weddings where bells were requested. In addition, the bells were rung on Remembrance Sunday (half-muffled).

The bells and fittings are regularly inspected by the ringers to ensure that the frame, ropes, wheels, pulley blocks, stays, sliders, headstock and clapper bolts are in good order. The most recent formal inspection of the bells was performed in January 2024 by the Honorary Technical Advisor of the Bedfordshire Association of Church Bell Ringers, and all fittings were fully inspected and found to be in good order. The rope tail ends have been showing signs of wear, so new tail ends have been spliced onto four of our ropes to-date by a local bellringer (given that the sallys and ropes are otherwise in good condition).

Ian Holman

Children and Families

Since starting this role on 11[th] August, I have had a whale of a time!

ChurchFest was an absolute delight as streams of families joined us to enjoy a whole range of events and activities. The whole team effort just made for a wonderful week and I was so proud of our church for being so welcoming and shining Jesus’ light on all who came. The week was topped off with a Children & Families Celebration service on Sunday Evening where the majority of volunteers, and their supporting others, came together to worship God and pray for the church’s Children and Families Ministry.

While I had already had a fair exposure to the majority of C&F outreach and events, I was not very familiar with the Little Fishes crew so it has been wonderful to attend these sessions on a more regular basis and get to know some of our youngest visitors and their carers. I hope that in 2025 we may be able to offer some sort of Toddler worship for those families that would be interested in exploring faith with/for their little ones.

As a paid employee it has been wonderful to be able to support the Rock Solid team more fully; taking on extra sessions and stepping in last minute where needed. The team do such great work but it is a small team so being able to use my paid status as a reason for taking on more sessions has been useful in avoiding the some members feeling guilty for not doing their ‘fair share’. We are so blessed to have such a hardworking team and I hope to support them further by finding some new, equally conscientious, members to join them for 2025.

Since August I have been attending the Care for the Family’s Kitchen Table Project sessions looking at Intergenerational Church and Children’s Faith: A Whole Church Approach to Family Ministry. These have proved to be helpful in formalising thoughts around and hopes for my C&F Ministry and encouraging me in the work we are already doing.

It was good to continue to connect with the people of the town and Flitwick Town Council through the Family Fun Day, Civic Reception, Civic Service and Coffee Mornings in the village hall. And, despite its cancellation this year, I am already making plans for our offering at the Christmas Light Switch On 2025. There may be animals!!!

What am I looking forward to in 2025:

Attending the Hand in Hand Conference in February 2025 Growing our Rock Solid team

Encouraging a Churches Together presence at Flitwick’s Junior Park Run, starting with the first Sunday’s of the month

Facilitating a Holiday Club during the May Half Term Building a community of worshiping families through NOSH (See Nosh section)

Flitwick Food Extra

Flitwick Food Extra continues to be a trusted friend to many families in Flitwick struggling with food poverty. The delivery of boxes has been replaced with collections which has reduced the cost to our volunteers and also enabled us to build relationship with the families as they have a cup of tea and a chat with us. We hope to build on this over the next few boxes and make FFX day a time of relaxation and community for those coming to collect.

This year we have worked with the Community Fridge, Inner Wheel and the ladies at Sacred Heart church on behalf of St Vincent de Paul Society to provide the families with extra goodies such as eco-friendly water balloons, dressing gowns and slippers, easter eggs at Easter and selection boxes at Christmas. Local residents and Ampthill Army Cadets have also given regular donations which have allowed us to keep the cost of the boxes down.

At the beginning of the year, Utilita Ampthill fireworks donated £1000 to FFX as part of their annual give away. During the year I have kept in contact with the organisers to let them know what we have been up to and I hope this growing relationship will keep FFX on their radar for 2025’s giveaway.

Unfortunately, the working relationship with Tesco has become difficult with a change of staff so I have not been able to depend on them for donations as in previous years. This however has been offset by Groundworks (the blue token scheme operators) contacting me to see if I would like to submit another application. I am hoping this will lead to a £1500 grant as before

Nosh

Taking elements from Messy Church and our popular All Together services, NOSH is new way to explore faith as a family. Held in Flitwick Lower School at 4pm – 5:30pm on the second Saturday of the month, the service is based around the dinner table and is designed to help the whole family grow in faith by modelling discipleship in a manageable way with simple tools and resources.

Our theme for the first year has taken us to the parties Jesus attended so we can explore His character and learn how we can live our lives differently with this knowledge. In addition to this, the families are also given a doggy bag as they leave with everything they need to have NOSH at home. The questions in the doggy bag introduce the families on key aspects of the Christian faith such as the Grace and the fruits of the spirit.

The first NOSH session was held in September with six families in attendance. These families continue to attend most months with another three joining them over subsequent months.

Puppet Power

What a joy this ministry has been.

Our young people did an amazing job with the puppet performances during the packed-out Christingle Services. Their hard work and commitment really shone through as they battled with parodies of songs they were not familiar with, and evolving choreography as puppeteers worked to fit practices around other commitments and school work.

2024 also welcomed two new puppeteers to Puppet Power; Joe had been watching the puppet performances from the congregation and leapt at the chance to join the group once he was old enough. Sam joined almost by accident. Happily attending ChurchFest with Joe, he found himself waving banners in the background while his mates enthusiastically operated the puppets to the song ‘I am a C’. He was invited to join in with the rehearsals for the Christingle Services and agreed.

The plan for 2025 is to have regular Puppet Power meet-ups so the young people can build on their skills, their repertoire and their friendships.

Schools Work

In 2024, Flitwick Church worked with all three lower schools to deliver an Easter Journey (an interactive retelling of the Easter Story), harvest assemblies for all three Lower Schools, a Christingle Workshop for Templefield’s Reception classes and Christmas services in church for Flitwick Lower and Templefield.

In addition to this, our Open the Book team has been serving Flitwick’s Lower schools each month with stories, songs and prayers that tell the children (and the school staff) of the love of God. The Open the Book team have also helped with the schools work mentioned above and members had also volunteered to help with the Light Switch On before it was cancelled due to the weather.

Open the Book Storytellers: Don McKeand, Jane Thompson, Jeremy Dan, Linda Pitts (Flitwick Methodist), Mary McKeand, Reece Gordon (Kings Church), Richard Fullbrook, Sheila Briggs, Sheila Smith (Flitwick Methodist) and Sophie Tucker

If you would like to find out more about Open the Book please visit the Scripture Union website or ask any member of the team. We would love to increase our numbers and do more to share God’s story.

Sophie Tucker

Director of Music’s Report 2024

Choir membership

Overall, choir membership declined in 2024. From a core of six ladies and three men, we are now down to six regular members, two of whom are only able to join us once or twice a month. The drop is largely due to ill health, but we hope some members may be able to return in due course. It is a concern that while our choir are very dedicated and hard-working, no one is getting any younger. If a choir is to be maintained at St Peter and St Paul, we do need more members.

On a brighter note, our list of Choir Friends who are able to join us for occasional evening services has expanded to include people on all voice parts, giving the choir a welcome boost for special occasions.

Regular activities

Continued use of the ‘Successful Warmups’ programme has further improved the choir’s singing technique and confidence. We have now completed the first two years of the programme, which we are repeating in order to consolidate progress. Although we can rarely muster more than two parts, part-singing has further improved over the year and we have continued to tackle more descants and lower parts in hymns, carols and anthems.

Special Services

The choir sang for services on Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and the ‘In Loving Memory’ service in October. We again invited the Choir Friends to join us for the latter and also the Carol Service and Midnight Mass. It was particularly good to have a number of members of the Music Group join the Choir Friends and take part in the Carol Service.

Organ Accompaniment

Most services were accompanied by Martin Pacey on the organ with John Mower and Richard Luscombe deputising on occasion. The music group continued to play at 10.30 on first Sundays and Richard has written a separate report.

Having decided to discontinue the organ scholarship scheme last year, we now have a young person in our congregation who has started organ lessons supported by the Bedfordshire Organists Association. Unfortunately, however, our organ still has considerable limitations that make it less than ideal for a beginner to learn or practice on, not least the lack of an organ bench of a suitable height for women and young people.

Handbells

We used the handbells in the Carol Service for the first time this year as recruiting ringers for Midnight Mass had proved difficult in the past. Although it was easier to find people able to play at the Carol Service, it was still impossible to get everyone to all rehearsals, which is a major problem as it is impossible to rehearse handbells properly with people missing. If we are to have handbells at Christmas services in future, we will probably need to have regular rehearsals throughout the year.

Update on Future Plans

Plans for additional sung services are now underway, beginning with Evensong in March 2025, for which we will be joined by members of Ampthill choir. There will also be a ‘Singing the Seasons’ service and choir recruitment event as part of Church Fest. As noted above, more singers are increasingly urgently needed.

Becky Mynott

Eco Church

Eco Church began in 2016, equipping churches to care for God’s creation and offering an environmental award scheme for churches in England and Wales. It has been a huge success, inspiring and assisting churches as they seek to embed creation care throughout the whole of church life. Today, Eco Church is spreading around the world finding ways to engage churches of all denominations in creation care.

In the UK, the vision through Eco Church is to create a vast network of churches across England and Wales with each acting as a local centre of creation care in the community - shining beacons of hope for a brighter environmental future.

Here in Flitwick, our own church was one of the first in Bedfordshire to achieve a Bronze Eco Church award in 2020 and currently only one of nine churches in Bedfordshire to have achieved a Silver Eco Church award which we attained in 2024. Further information regarding Eco Church and its objectives can be found on the Eco Church website: ecochurch.arocha.org.uk

In addition to a long list of achievements in previous years, in 2024 we set ourselves 7 key objectives, all of which have been successfully achieved:

Attaining an Eco Church Silver award
Marking Climate Sunday, World Earth Day and Creationtide
Planting wild flowers next to the porch within recycled containers in conjunction with the Leading Your Church Into Growth (LYCIG) programme
Installing an Internet-based heating control system for the Chapter House to optimise energy usage
Investigating the feasibility of alternative low energy heating systems for the church for when our current system reaches its end of life
Installing additional bat and bird nesting boxes within the churchyard

Raising awareness of the diversity of plants and animals within our churchyard ecosystem

In addition to the above, this year we have been recognised as Carbon Literate by the Carbon Literacy Project (website: www.carbonliteracy.com ). The aim of the project is to provide an awareness of climate change and impact of our everyday actions. It involves people and organisations from all sectors and walks of life working together and contributing time, materials and funding to advance understanding and action on climate change.

Over the coming year we have a lot more planned and will continue to reduce our carbon footprint and impact on the environment.

We are a small team and need more help in order to achieve even more. If you are interested in joining the team or would like to help with any of our future initiatives, please speak with any member of the team (Claire Harald, Ciaran Diver, Edith Diver, Don McKeand, Mary McKeand and Matt Swansbury).

Ciaran Diver

Flower team

Our small team includes Marion Tucker, Carol Thompson, Cathy Haycock and Sheila Briggs and thanks go to them for their time and dedication over the past year.

In 2024 we provided flowers in church for every week of the year except Lent and Advent, and nearly all were sponsored by a member of the congregation, to whom we give grateful thanks. The British Legion also made a generous donation towards flower funds.

Easter, Harvest and Christmas provide us with an opportunity to fill the church with flowers and we receive additional help from Pat Payne, Pam Parker, Noreen Clark and Clare Thompson on these occasions.

As part of the Churchfest week the team provided extra flowers to ensure the church looked welcoming and we will do the same in 2025.

Over the past year Marion and Carol have offered wedding couples their services to decorate the church for their wedding and any profit made is donated back to church.

In December they again held a Christmas Wreathmaking workshop in the Chapter House attended by 17 people. As a result of the profits from the session, a further £170 was donated to church funds.

In 2025 we are planning to hold a flower festival over the Harvest weekend entitled “All Things Bright and Beautiful”. We are hoping for lots of designs and support from both congregation and community.

Church flowers are an integral part of church life and we are very lucky to have a small and enthusiastic team who provide lovely decoration during the church year. New volunteers are always welcome and we encourage anyone with an interest in flower arranging, expert or beginners, to speak to Carol or Marion.

Carol Thompson

Little Fishes

We are continuing to have successful sessions of Little Fishes on Monday mornings in the Chapter House during term time.

Our numbers over the last year have been a little lower but this enables us to spend time with the mums and carers as well as the children.

We have a team of church members running Little Fishes which include Enid Clark and Lesley Coglan helped by Christine Denton and Jane Thompson and helped on occasions by Sophie Tucker our Childrens and families worker which makes it a viable and enjoyable activity.

We have increased the cost to £2.00 per session per child which covers our expenses and includes tea/coffee for the adults, fruit for the children and a craft to take home. We have also been able to contribute to the church’s heating expenses by £200 for 2024, which with numbers increasing and the rise in charge per session, we should be able to continue this donation to the PCC.

We have met all the Mondays in term time with varying numbers with Mums, Dads, grandparents and carers, not knowing until children turn up how many we will have attending.. The children are noticeably younger than prepandemic as they seem to be leaving to go to nursery sessions younger.

We have toys, playdough, colouring sheets, jigsaws etc and pre-prepared crafts which the adults do with their children, fruit and water for the youngsters and

tea or coffee for the adults which we encourage them to drink safely. Following this we have more constructive play, with tunnel, parachute and floor activities for the children to mix and share, with music time concluding with a story and a children’s prayer.

We have a core of regular children who are able to play well together and hope to be able to continue Little Fishes safely, providing an outlet for mums, babies and toddlers at a small cost, with the children going home with a craft they have made themselves.

Enid Clark

Men’s breakfast

Our Men’s Breakfast has continued to meet on the first Saturday of the month throughout 2024. We have enjoyed some great speakers in that time alongside some great breakfasts. Some have been outside the regular attendees such as Nigel Washington and Richard Luscombe and we have had other talks from members of the group. It has been a great way to get to know people better and to build links among the men who attend.

There were two highlights from this year which I would like to share. The first was our May breakfast where we joined with Westoning Church for a special event where Bishop Alan came to talk with us. This was an excellent morning held at the Chequers Pub in Westoning and Bishop Alan, fresh from his enforced break, shared stories from his life in a way that was both very relatable and inspiring.

The second highlight was the Men’s Breakfast twinning at tap with a water tank in Tanzania. Richard Francey’s is involved in the organisation Christian Engineers in Development and has pioneered this project. As a group we were delighted to support him in this project with money from our surplus and will be looking at a different charity at either home or abroad to support in 2025.

Revd Andy Jefferson

Messy Church

2024 was another good year for Messy Church. The numbers attending each session increased to capacity and some sessions had a waiting list of people hoping to attend. It has been good to see that some Messy Church families are now continuing to develop their faith journey through the newly started NOSH.

We continue to have a dedicated core team of amazing volunteers who are supplemented by various members of our church community at different sessions. Thank you very much to you all – both existing and new volunteers – you contribute so much to the smooth planning, preparation, running and clearing up of each session. We are also very lucky to have a small dedicated team of Young Leaders who give their time regularly to help lead activities. Their hard work and enthusiasm is very much appreciated.

Our first session in February 2024 was based around The Lord’s Prayer exploring it in many different and creative ways including making prayer cubes and prayer bookmarks.

At Easter we followed the events of Holy Week by making Palm Sunday twirlers, decorating chalices and creating mini Easter gardens in empty egg shells (a real challenge to all of us on the team who tried to crack eggs leaving enough shell intact!) This session also involved chocolate, of course.

In June we explored Jesus’ saying “I am the vine” – we planted beans, made vine bookmarks and tasted a variety of grapes in an ancient garden.

In July we had a picnic which was blessed with beautiful weather. Everyone made their own sandwich and enjoyed sheep activities based around the theme of “I am the Good Shepherd”. We held sheep races, made sheep badges and played sheep tag.

Harvest saw us exploring “I am the bread of life” with bubble painting, floating waterlily prayers, bread making and wellie wanging to work up an appetite for beans on toast for tea.

We rounded off the year by looking at the book “Jesus’ Christmas party” which sees the Christmas story from the viewpoint of the grumpy innkeeper, who is changed dramatically by his encounter with the newborn Jesus. A cast of Messy Church children helped to act out the story before enjoying a mini “Christmas dinner” for tea.

We continue to be challenged and excited by Messy Church and are keen to see what is in store for next year!

Jane Thompson

Mothers Union 2024

The branch of Mothers Union based in Flitwick has met monthly for prayer and discussion throughout 2024 but now in each other’s homes instead of the Chapter House, a change which is working well. Additionally, we have been represented at every Cluster and Diocesan MU meeting which has taken place this year. There have also been Diocesan and Cluster meetings for Lady Day and Mary Sumner Day Services as well as a Diocesan Festival Service.

In the Diocese we have supported many outreach projects such as sending Christmas cards to prisoners, knitting for hospitals and overseas and supporting mothers and children in our local refuges.

In our parish we have continued sending anniversary cards to mark the first three years after a baptism in our church and we have organised posies for Mothering Sunday, Christingle bags and run an afternoon tea during the church Open Week.

In October we ran the Market Teas in the village hall and were able to send £160 to Central MU for the Summer of Hope Project.

Mary McKeand

Music Group.

The past year has been one of our busiest ever, but also one of our most fulfilling. We now have eight members, which is as many as we can practically seat. Having said farewell to our two cellists, we gained two Alices; one on double bass, the other as a singer! Having never previously had a soloist, we can now offer a greater breadth of songs and a more meaningful accompaniment to communion. Many people have commented favourably on this.

Some members are also involved with Healing Services and the exciting new venture of Sunday@7, ably led by Jeremy, along with the Baby Loss Service, Beer and Carols, Open the Book, care homes and Christingle. It is a real privilege to be part of this growth in music; one facet of the overall growth of the church.

Richard Luscombe

Pilgrimage

On 31[st] March and 1[st] April, a group of young people and adults took part in the annual pilgrimage to St Albans. This was the first time in recent memory that a group from our Church had taken part in the pilgrimage.

We gathered at the church on the afternoon of Easter Sunday and made our way toward Luton which was due to be our overnight stop. It was a beautiful route following close to railway but also crossing beautiful countryside. Nigel Taylor had walked the route in advance of the pilgrimage to ensure it was safe. At one point on the route, we had one member who was struggling to keep up with the pace and whose footwear was damaged. They were picked up and dropped back at home – thankfully they were able to join us the next day at the Cathedral for the worship service.

When we arrived in Luton we made our way towards the train station where our party split into two groups. Over half of the group made there way home via train ready to join us the next day. 6 people stayed overnight in Luton in the hall at St Anne’s Luton. We arrived tired and weary but also pleased with our progress in the day. And we had several huge pizzas ordered in! We were asleep before too long and we woke in the morning to rejoin the others at Luton train station.

On the Monday we had some lovely weather - not too hot but beautiful clear skies. A good day for walking. With some additional members joining us, we set off again for St Albans via Harpenden. Again, unfortunately one member of the group had a knee injury which meant they were picked up from Harpenden to join us at St Albans. We all arrived just in time for the beginning of the service in a packed Cathedral.

The Pilgrimage was something which everyone who took part enjoyed. It was wonderful to spend time walking side by side with one another and hearing

different conversations happening. It is something which we will look to do again in 2025.

Rev Andy Jefferson

Rock Solid

Rock Solid is our group of children and young people who meet during the 10.30am Sunday service. We are ably led by a team of dedicated volunteers, now numbering six.

We plan our sessions from an online scheme called Energize, written by people from Urban Saints. We also plan our own sessions when we are celebrating certain days or tying in with what is going on in Church that day.

Our attendees now number around fourteen, with us regularly having between six and nine each Sunday, which is brilliant!

In the spring/summer we moved Rock Solid outdoors and the children enjoyed creating things such as hedgehog houses, “hapa zoming” bunting and clay feelings faces.

For the Autumn term we focused on “Living Like Jesus” and each session looked at one of the fruits of the spirit and how we can live out those values everyday.

Emma Herman

Walk and talk

In March 2013, Claire asked me if I would like to plan a Pilgrimage from the Church to St Albans Cathedral. I agreed and the report is contained elsewhere. Claire then detailed she wanted to “walk the Parish”. We started walking around Flitwick. There were normally three meeting points – The Church, The War Memorial or the Rufus Centre. We were able to walk in every road in Flitwick. However, part way through the year Claire said the wanted to walk around the whole Parish. Looking very carefully at where the Parish boundary was, I found out that part of the boundary was on the motorway. However, four of us walked as close to the boundary edge as possible.

These walks have been very beneficial in that it has given us all great opportunities to talk with people we didn’t know and to discover different places in Flitwick. It has also given us the opportunity to look at the countryside and to thank God for his creation. On several of the walks we have been joined by some four-legged friends. We are carrying these walks into 2025 where we will be walking inside the Parish boundary, but many of them will include stepping into other Parishes.

Nigel Taylor

YMAAC

YMAAC, is our youth group for 12–18 year olds. Numbers fluctuated during first half of the year and initially we were meeting just once a month.

In the Summer we decided to run the Youth Alpha course. This was due to a new member of the group who began attending and we decided to seize the initiative and just go for it. The Youth Alpha continued into the new school year and the young people seemed to really engage with course. Meeting each week also made a difference to the dynamics of the group and towards the end of the year after we finished the course, we decided to keep meeting each week so as to build continuity. Since then the group has felt as if it is on an upward curve with two new member joining in he Autumn term.

We finished the year with a sleepover in the church. This was originally planned to be in the church itself but when the heating broke it forced us into the chapter house. A lot of fun was had on that evening but also it sparked an idea for a Youth Led Service in the new year. The young people spontaneously formed a choir in the choir stalls and began singing carols and hymns! It was also encouraging to see how members of our Youth Group have taken on roles in services over the past year, including as puppeteers at our Christingle Service and readers at our Carol Service.

Rev Andy Jefferson

Report on the Proceedings of the Deanery Synod

There have been three meetings of the Deanery Synod over the course of the year and we continue to have a variety of guest speakers, who have spoken on a variety of subjects, including energy usage and social media.

We have seen a number of parishes appoint incumbents this year, including in Benefices of Harlington, Tingrith and Westoning, and in Clophill and Maulden. There have also been confirmation services held and further services planned for the coming year, all of which are an encouraging signs of growth in the Deanery.

Flitwick continues to maintain a significant position in the Deanery, not only because we are a large single-parish benefice, but because we continue to perform outreach and undertake a wide variety of services that appeal to a broad spectrum of individuals; not all parishes possess the resources to achieve this and we should be proud of what we are able to accomplish.

David Watson

Safeguarding Report

2024 has been another busy time for safeguarding.

We have continued to initiate new DBS checks and review checks for existing volunteers where necessary as well as keep a record of training modules completed. Over 100 hours of training was completed by church volunteers during 2024. There are one or two outstanding DBS checks, but these will be completed soon.

A very big thank you to everyone who has completed DBS checks and undertaken training and done so willingly to ensure we do the best we can to keep all our children, young people and vulnerable adults safe.

During the year the PCC has reviewed our Safeguarding policy and other policies and statements in line with Church of England and Diocese guidance.

Any safeguarding issues or concerns have been reported to the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser and dealt with following his advice, prayerfully and with care, compassion and practical support as needed.

All of this means that once again we are in a good position to complete and return The Archdeacon’s Visitation form which focuses on Safeguarding. I can also state that the PCC has complied with their duty to have due regard to the House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Policy and Practice guidance as required by the Church of England.

New National Safeguarding Standards have been introduced by the Church of England during 2024 and these will be the focus for our review of our safeguarding practice as we move forward into 2025 and beyond.

We continue to use the Safeguarding Dashboard and Hub as a tool to track our safeguarding – we are now at the top level – Level 3 - and can use it to help us safely recruit and support our new (and existing) very valued volunteers.

Safeguarding policies and procedures are only part of the safeguarding story – we need everyone (whether or not they are involved with activities for children, young people and vulnerable adults) to be vigilant. If you have any worries or concerns about safeguarding in our church or community, please contact Claire, Andy, or me. Sometimes, several small pieces of information are needed to see the bigger picture, so, if something doesn’t feel right to you, please do speak to one of us.

Finally, a very big thank you to everyone who has helped us with safeguarding in any way during 2024 – your help, support, vigilance and prayers are very much appreciated.

Jane Thompson Parish Safeguarding Officer

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF FLITWICK

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDING

31 DECEMBER 2024

CONTENTS
	Page
Trustees Report	2 - 6
Independent examiner's report	7
Statement of financial activities	8
Balance sheet	9
Notes to the financial statements	10 - 16

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Flitwick, is registered with the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales (Charity no. 1169624)

Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Flitwick

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2024

Aim and Purpose

The Parochial Church Council has the responsibility of co-operating with the Incumbent and promoting in the ecclesiastical parish of Flitwick the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has the responsibility for the maintenance of the Parish Church and Chapter House.

Objectives and Activities

When planning our activities for the year, we have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the supplementary guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. In particular, we try to enable all people to be able to live out their faith as part of our parish community through:

Worship and prayer, learning about the Gospel: developing knowledge and trust in Jesus.
Provision of pastoral care for people living in the parish
Missionary and outreach work
The ministry and administration of significant life events; weddings, baptisms, and funerals.

Achievements and Performance

In August this year we employed Sophie Tucker as a Children and Families Worker initially for a 3yr contract. Sophie will work alongside Revd Claire Harald and the Ministry team to promote the work we do with children, young people and their families. Sophie will also work with local schools and the local community encouraging participation in Church activities.

We also introduced two new services. Sunday@7 on the 3[rd] Sunday of the month, an alternate form of worship held at 7pm in Church.

Also on the 2[nd] Saturday of the month Nosh which is a family focused service taking elements of Messy Church and the All Together service combined with a plentiful tea and is held in a local Lower School.

Worship and Prayer

During the year we have continued to offer two services on a Sunday morning. A Sunday Celebration at 9am held either in Church, the Chapter House or on the lawn depending on the weather for all ages and stages of life and faith. A Parish Eucharist at 10.30am in Church of which part is live streamed. Our average attendance throughout the year at Sunday morning services was 81 adults and 15 children.

On the first Sunday of the month, we combine the two services for an All-Together service at 10.30am. Refreshments are served following each service.

Morning Prayer is held on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday led by one of the Ministry team. Wednesday at 10am we hold a said communion service followed by refreshments.

Our Children’s Church, Rock Solid, is held during the Sunday morning 10.30 service and our Youth group, YMAC (Youth messing about at Church) met each Sunday evening

Special services throughout the year included all Easter services, including a communion service held in a parishioner’s home; In Loving Memory; Baby Loss Service; Midnight Mass and a traditional Carol Service. We also held two Christingle services on Christmas Eve afternoon.

During the preceding Christmas local Lower Schools were welcomed into the Church for a variety of Christmas celebrations.

Pastoral Offices

The following pastoral services were taken this year:

Type of Service	2024	2023
Funerals	21	28
Baptisms	18	16
Weddings	2	6

Pastoral Care:

Members of the congregation and the Ministry team regularly visit those from the Parish who are unwell, housebound or in Hospital often taking the form of a home Communion. In addition, a service of Holy Communion is celebrated at local care homes monthly. This year also included a carol services at these homes.

Mission and Evangelism:

Our Pioneer Enabler, along with the Open the Book team, regularly visited schools to take assemblies throughout the year. Harvest, Christmas and Easter services were taken into schools by our incumbent and Pioneer Enabler.

Our Eco-church team is fully active and this year has achieved the silver award it had been working towards.

As a Church we continue to make regular contributions to the Need Project food bank, as well as raising money for other charities carrying out Gods work, this year making a donation to the Centre point Homeless charity.

Messy Church, our outreach service to families, meets every half term and continues to flourish, and is often oversubscribed.

Flitwick Food Extra (FFX) continued throughout the year; it provides local families with food boxes during the school holidays, the boxes consisting of lots of fresh produce and recipe cards.

Ecumenical Relationships:

The church is a member of Churches Together in Ampthill and Flitwick, and we are continuing to build strong relations with Kings Baptist Church.

Deanery Synod:

Three members of the PCC sit on the Deanery Synod. This provides the PCC with an important link between the parish and the wider structures of the church.

Buildings:

Routine maintenance of our building continues where possible.

Financial Review:

Income and expenditure:

Description	2024	2023
Income	£390,549	£87,961
Expenditure	£110,036	£92,586
Surplus/(Deficit)	£280,513	£(4,625)

Included under Income is £305,828 that relates to the proceeds of St Andrews Church Hall . The rights to this fund were transferred from the Vicar & Church wardens to the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical parish of Flitwick during 2024.

Giving:

Type of Stewardship/Giving	Dec’24	Dec’23
Number of Parishioners who support our church via the monthly Parish Giving scheme.	47	47
Number of Parishioners who support our church via a monthly/weekly standing order.	15	14
Number of Parishioners who support our church via the regular Envelope scheme.	4	9

To ease the administration burden on our church and to improve cash flow, we are actively asking parishioners to consider moving to the Parish Giving scheme.

Reserves:

It is the PCC’s policy to try to maintain a balance on free reserves which equates to between three and six months of unrestricted payments. This is equivalent to approximately £27,509 to £55,017 It is held to smooth out fluctuations in cash flow and to meet emergencies. The balance of the free reserves (unrestricted reserves which have not been designated by the PCC for use for other purposes) at the year-end was £308,806, (Dec’23 £28,293)

Our PCC legacy policy is to use legacy gifts to help fund significant development projects, whether buildings, equipment, mission or staff. The PCC has created a designated Legacy Reserve Fund to separate legacy donations from free reserves. Use of Legacy Reserves to fund specific projects requires approval of the PCC via a PCC resolution. At the year-end, the Legacy reserve stood at £24,125 (Dec’23 £24,125).

The restricted reserves of £24,892 (Dec’23 £25,946) can only be spent for the purposes for which they were originally donated.

The endowment reserves £12,557 (Dec’23 £12,275) are a special kind of restricted fund that must be retained permanently as capital. The income on the PCC’s endowment reserves can only be spent on fabric related items and is paid into the restricted Chancel and Fabric repair funds.

It is our policy to invest cash balances over and above those required to fund day to day expenditure with the CCLA Church of England Deposit Fund. Endowment funds are invested in the CCLA Church of England Investment Fund.

Structure, governance and management

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Peter & St Paul, Flitwick is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measures. The PCC is registered with the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales (Charity no. 1169624)

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church representation Rules. In this parish, the membership of the PCC consists of the incumbent, members of the Ministry team, members of Deanery Synod and members elected by those members of the congregation who are on the electoral roll of the Parish.

Administrative Information

The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul is situated on Church Road, Flitwick, MK45 1E. The Parish is part of the Diocese of St Albans within the Church of England. The correspondence address is The Vicarage, 26 Dew Pond Road, Flitwick, Bedford, MK45 1RT.

The following have served as members of the PCC during the calendar year ending 31 December 2023.

Incumbent	Rev Claire Harald
Curate	Rev Andy Jefferson
Licensed to the Church	Sophie Tucker
Church Warden	Linda Foale
Church Warden	Richard Fullbrook
General Synod	Becky Mynett
Deanery Synod	Tony Brown
Deanery Synod	David Watson
Deanery Synod	Nik Farrington - Sharp
Treasurer	Terry Thurley
Secretary	Nigel Taylor
Safeguarding	Jane Thompson
Deputy Church Warden	David Golding	-Resigned 11thMay 2025
Deputy Church Warden	Chris Macintosh
	Ciaran Diver
	Jo Farrington-Sharp
	Emma Herman
	Mary McKeand
	Jeremy Dann- Appointed 12/05/2024
	Carol Thompson
	Emma Williams –	Term of Office ended 11/05/25

Emma Gleeson

Report approved by the PCC on 17[th] September 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Linda Foale Churchwarden

Christopher Macintosh Churchwarden

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

Report to the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Flitwick. Charity Number 1169624

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the PCC”) for the year ended 31 December 2024, set out on pages 8 to 17.

Responsibilities and Basis of Report

As the charity's trustees, you, are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the PCC’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination.

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

the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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

Date 25[th] August 2025

Natalie Coleman FCCA Chartered Certified Accountant 24 Dew Pond Road Flitwick Bedford MK45 1RT

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2024

	Note	Unrestricted Funds £	Restricted Funds £	Endowment Funds £	2024 Totals £	2023 Totals £
Income and endowments:	2
• Grants		1,500	0	0	1,500	500
• Donations & legacies		354,809	3,187	0	357,996	71,357
• Income from Church activities		4,239	0	0	4,239	5.631
• Activities for generatingfunds		6,805	0	0	6,805	6,900
• Income from Investments		23,196	0	0	23,196	3,575
Total income:		£390,549	£3,187	£0	£393,736	£87,963
Expenditure on:	3
• Expenditure on Church activities		109,090	0	0	109,090	89,880
• Charitable Expenditures		946	4,241		5,187	2,706
Total expenditure:		£110,036	£4,241	£0	£114,277	£92,586
Net (Deficit)/Gain before investmentgains/(losses)		£280,513	£(1,054)	£0	£279,459	£(4,623)
Transfers between funds		£0	£ 0	£0	£0	£0
Other recognised gains/losses		£0	£0	£0	£0	£0
Unrealised Gains/(losses) on investment assets		0	0	282	282	1,064
Net movement in funds		£280,513	£(1,054)	£282	£279,741	£(3,559)
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward		£52,418	25,946	£12,275	£90,639	£94,198,
Total funds carried forward		£332,931	£24,892	£12,557	£370,380	£90,639

The notes on pages 9 to 17 form part of these financial statements

Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Flitwick

BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DECEMBER 2024

		2024	2024	2023	2023
	Note	£	£	£	£
Fixed Assets:
Tangible assets	7	801		1,068
Endowment investments	8	12,557		12,274
Total Fixed Assets			£13,358		£13,342

Current Assets:
Cash at bank	9	357,366		78,603
Debtors &prepayments	10	2,101		914
Total Current Assets			£359,467		£79,517

Creditors: amounts falling due within oneyear	11		£2,445		£2,221

Net Current Assets:			£357,022		£77,296

Total Net Assess			£370,380		£90,639

The Funds of the Charity:
General(Unrestricted)	12	308,806		28,293
Legacy (Designated)	12	24,125		24,125
Restricted	13	24,892		25,946
Endowment	14	12,557		12,275

Total Funds of the Charity			£370,380		£90,639

Approved by the PCC on 17[th] September and signed on their behalf by

Mrs Linda Foale Churchwarden

Mr Christopher Macintosh Churchwarden

Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Flitwick

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2024

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparation:

The PCC is a public benefit entity within the meaning of FRS102. The financial statements have been prepared under the Charities Act 2011 and in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 governing the individual accounts of PCCs, and with the Regulations’ “true and fair view” provisions, together with FRS102 as the applicable accounting standards and the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP(FRS102)).

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention except for the valuation of investment assets, which are shown at fair value.

Income and Endowments:

Recognition: These are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when:

the PCC becomes legally entitled to the use of the resources; and
inflow of economic benefit is probable; and
the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.

Fund Raising: Funds raised from events and trading activities are reported gross in the SOFA – i.e., before any related costs that may have been deducted from the gross proceeds.

Grants and donations: Grants and donations are included in the SOFA when any preconditions preventing their use by the PCC have been met. For collections and planned giving this is when the funds are received.

Gift Aid Tax claims, etc., on cash donations: Gift Aid and other tax claims are included in the SOFA at the same time as the cash donations to which they relate.

Investment gains and losses: This includes any gain or loss on the sale of investments and any gain or loss resulting from revaluing investments to market value at the end of the year.

Expenditure & Liabilities:

Liability Recognition: Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation and settlement is probable and quantifiable.

Assets:

Consecrated and benefice property: In so far as consecrated and benefice property of any kind is excluded from the statutory definition of “charity” by Section 10(2) (a) and (c) of the Charities Act 2011 such assets are not capitalised in the financial statements.

Tangible fixed assets for use by charity: These are capitalised if they can be used for more than one year, and cost at least £400. They are valued at cost.

Depreciation is calculated to write off the capitalized cost of fixed assets less their currently anticipated residual fair value over their estimated useful lives as follows:

▪ Office equipment and lawn mower - 5 years

Investments: Investments quoted on a recognised stock exchange or whose value derives from them are valued at market value at the year end.

Short term deposits: Include cash held on deposit either with the CBF Church of England Funds or at the bank.

Funds:

Unrestricted Funds: These represent the funds of the PCC that are available for spending on the general purposes of the PCC, including amounts designated by the PCC for fixed assets for its own use or for spending on future projects.

Designated Funds: These represent unrestricted funds that are set aside for a designated purpose.

Restricted Funds: These are income funds that must be spent on restricted purposes and details of the funds held and restrictions provided are shown in the notes to the accounts.

Endowment Funds: These are restricted funds that must be retained as trust capital either permanently or subject to a discretionary power to spend capital as income, and where the use of any income or other benefit derived from the capital may be restricted or unrestricted. Full details of their restrictions are shown in note 10.

	Unrestricted Funds	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Endowment Funds	Totals	Totals
2. Income & endowments	General	Designated			2024	2023
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Grants
St Albans Diocese Re Easter & Christmas Journey/Play	500	0	0	0	500	0
St Albans Diocese Re New Styles of Ministry	1,000	0	0	0	1,000	0
St Albans Diocese	0	0	0	0	0	500
Total Grants Received	£1,500	£0	£0	£0	£1, 500	£500

Donations & legacies
Parish GivingScheme	30,973	0	0	0	30,973	25,152
Regular Stewardship (Gift Aided)	8,399	0	0	0	8,399	10,800
Regular Stewardship (Not Gift Aided)	1,127	0	0	0	1,127	1,796
Donations(Gift Aided)	3,882	0	0	0	3,882	3,100
Donations(Not Gift Aided)	5,142	0	30	0	5,172	5,312
Sum Up (Donation machine)	4,086	0	0	0	4,086	2,499
Charities Aid Foundation	600	0	0	0	600	600
Candle stand Donations	164	0	0	0	164	378
Gift Aid Tax Reclaim	10,988	0	0	0	10,988	9,673
Philippian Trust	1,300	0	0	0	1,300	1,100
Little Fishes	300	0	0	0	300	150
Donation Ecclesiastical Insurance Co	260	0	0	0	260	0
Sponsored Bike Ride	160	0	0	0	160	0
Wreath MakingCourse	184	0	0	0	184
Children’s Society	0	0	0	0	0	211
Flitwick Singers	0	0	0	0	0	50
Bishops Harvest Appeal	0	0	0	0	0	50
Donation – Friends of Flitwick Church Re Spitter Repairs	0	0	0	0	0	3,317
Choir Donation	0	0	0	0	0	140
Historic Church’s Trust	0	0	0	0	0	257
Bible Donations	0	0	0	0	0	675
FXX(Flitwick Food Extra’s)	0	0	3,157	0	3,157	6,097
Proceeds from the sale of St Andrews transferred *	287,244	0	0	0	287,244	0
Total Donations & Legacies	£354,809	£0	£3,187	£0	£357,996	£71,357

Income from Church Activities
Weddings	2,254	0	0	0	2,254	2,248
Funerals	1,985	0	0	0	1,985	3,382
Total Income from Church Activities	£4,239	£0	£0	£0	£4,239	£5,630

	Unrestricted Funds	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Endowment Funds	Totals	Totals
	General	Designated			2024	2023
Activities for Generating Funds
Men’s Breakfast Club	358	0	0	0	358	186
Quiz	93	0	0	0	93	102
Fun Day	161	0	0	0	161	95
Church Festival	252	0	0	0	252	2,607
Lettings Chapter House	3,609	0	0	0	3,609	2,617
Village Hall Coffee Morning	375	0	0	0	375	658
Refreshments	536	0	0	0	536	0
Craft Fair	1,306	0	0	0	1,306	0
Sale keyboard	115	0	0	0	115	0
Xmas Stars	0	0	0	0	0	157
Reader Training	0	0	0	0	0	275
MessyChurch	0	0	0	0	0	202

Total Activities for Generating Funds	£6,805	£0	£0	£0	£6,805	£6,900

Income from Investments
Interest from CCLA/CBF Funds (See notes 9 & 16)	23,196	0	0	0	23,196	3,575
Total Income from Investments	£23,196	£0	£0	£0	£23,196	£3,575

Total Income (Grants/Donations/Church Activities/Activities to Generate Funds/Interest/Dividends	£390,549	£0	£3,187	£0	£393,736	£87,962

*Included under Donations is £287,444 & Under Interest £18,384 that relates to the proceeds of St Andrews Church Hall . The rights to this fund were transferred from the Vicar & Church wardens to the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical parish of Flitwick during 2024.

	Unrestricted Funds	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Endowment Funds	Totals	Totals
	General	Designated			2024	2023
	£	£	£	£		£
3. Expenditure:

Expenditure on Church Activities:
Parish Share	66,177	0	0	0	66,177	62,001
Parish ClergyExpenses	203	0	0	0	203	265
WorshipSupplies & Costs of Services	735	0	0	0	735	472
Mission	589	0	0	0	589	63
Safeguarding	30	0	0	0	30	6
MessyChurch	71	0	0	0	71	507
Churches Together(Amp& Flit)	50	0	0	0	50	100
Light Party	26	0	0	0	26	0
Upkeepof Churchyard	98	0	0	0	98	0
Music	5,172	0	0	0	5,172	4,167
Salaries	13,106	0	0	0	13,106	2,376
Light/Heat/Water	7,157	0	0	0	7,157	6,348
Youth Bibles	784	0	0	0	784	330
Eco Church	52	0	0	0	52	128
Broadband/Office Software/Zoom/Printing/Postage & Stationery	3,759	0	0	0	3,759	2,618
Cleaning	1,396	0	0	0	1,396	1,297
Repairs & Maintenance	5,538	0	0	0	5,538	5,274
Insurance	2,343	0	0	0	2,343	2,272
Depreciation	267	0	0	0	267	266
Bank Charges	120	0	0	0	120	195
TrainingFamilyWorker	271	0	0	0	271	350
Alpha Course	149	0	0	0	149	153
Rock Solid	77	0	0	0	77	0
A Frame – Pavement Sign	86	0	0	0	86	0
YMACC (Youth Messing Around in Church)	29	0	0	0	29
Sophie’s Robes	421	0	0	0	421	0
NOSH	220	0	0	0	220	0
First Aid Kit	85	0	0	0	85	275
Readers Training	79	0	0	0	79	174
Children’s Church	0	0	0	0	0	417
Tea/Coffee	0	0	0	0	0	35
Turkey& Syria Earthquake Appeal	0	0	0	0	0	261
FFX Food	0	0	0	0	0	2,238
SundayGroup	0	0	0	0	0	51

Expenditure on Church Activities:	£109,090	£0	£0	£0	£109,090	£92,639

3.Expenditure (cont.):	3.Expenditure (cont.):	Unrestricted Funds	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Endowment Funds	Totals	Totals
		General	Designated			2024	2023
Charitable Expenditure
Bishops Harvest Appeal (Leprosy Mission)		183	0	0	0	183	0
Donation from Men’s Breakfast Club (Christian Engineers Development)		140	0	0	0	140	0
Centre Point(Youth Homeless)		140	0	0	0	140	167
Christingle(Children’s Society)		268	0	0	0	268	261
Beds & Herts Historic Trust		40	0	0	0	40	40
Collection Confirmation Service		175	0	0	0	174	0
FFX Flitwick Food Extra		0	0	3,781	0	3,781	6,097
Choir Fund		0	0	460	0	460	0

Total Charitable Expenditure		£946	£0	£4,241	£0	£5,187	£6,565

Total Expenditure		£110,036	£0	£4,241	£0	£114,277	£99,204

4	Staff Costs & Employee Benefits					2024	2023

	Wages & Salaries					£13,106	£4,255

	Employees					3	2

	During the year the PCC employed two part time staff (Director of Music and Parish Administrator). In August we employed a full time Children and Families Worker. The Church contributes to a NEST Pension for the Children and Families Worker. No employee received employee benefits for theyear of more than £60,000.

5 Transactions with Trustees

During the year the Rev’d Claire Harald, chair of the PCC, received a total of £203 (2023: £265) of expenses related to her duties within the parish. All expenses are consistent with Church of England guidance on the parochial expenses of clergy. During the year members of the PCC, were reimbursed for expenditure incurred as agents on behalf of the PCC. These other payments were recorded in the accounts under the relevant expenditure category.

6 Independent Examiners Remuneration:

The Independent Examiner was not remunerated for her work on the 2024 accounts (2023 £Nil).

Tangible Fixed Assets	Office Equipment	Lawn Mower	Total
Cost
At 1stJanuary2024	£2,590	£925	£3,515
Additions	0	0	0
Disposals	0	0	0
At 31st December 2024	£2,590	£925	£3,515

Depreciation
At 1stJanuary2024	£2,262	£185	£2,477
Depreciation	£82	£185	£267
Disposals	0	0	0
At 31st December 2024	£2,344	£370	£2,714

Net Book Value at 1st January 2024	£328	£740	£1,068
Net Book Value at 31st December 2024	£246	£555	£801

8	Endowments	Endowments	Endowments	Value 1st January 2024	Value 1st January 2024	Value 1st January 2024	Increase / (Decrease) in Value	Increase / (Decrease) in Value	Increase / (Decrease) in Value	Value 31st December 2024	Value 31st December 2024	Value 31st December 2024	Value 31st December 2024

	Brooks Fabric Endowment Fund			6,193			143			6,336
	Byron Endowment Fund			339			8			347
	Chancel Endowment Fund			5,743			131			5,874

	Total			£12,275			£282			£12,557

9	Cash at bank & in hand						2024			2023

	Short Term Deposit Accounts(see below)						£352,722			£54,646
	Cash at bank						£4,644			£23,956
							£357,366			£78,602
	Short Term Deposits includes, £305,628 being the net sales proceeds and accumulated interest from the sale of St Andrews Hall. Please refer to note 16 for further information.

10	Debtors and Prepayments						2024			2023

	Debtors & Prepayments						£2,101			£914
							£2,101			£914

11	Creditors and Accruals						2024			2023

	Creditors & Accruals						£2,445			2,221
							£2,445			£2,221

12	Funds of The Charity		1st Jan’24				Income	Expend			Transfers		31st Dec’24
	General Fund		28,293				390,549	(110,036)			0		308,806
	LegacyFund(Designated)		24,125				0	0			0		24,125

	Total Unrestricted Funds		£52,418			£103,305		£(110,036)			0		£332,931

	Legacyfunds are used to helpfund significantprojects,whether building,equipment,mission or staff.

13	Restricted Funds	1st Jan’24			Income	Expend			Transfers			Gains/ (Losses)	31st Dec’24
	Religious Education Fund	6,992			0	0			0			0	6,992
	Lynch Gate Repair Fund	3,751			0	0			0			0	3,751
	Fabric Repair Fund	3,189			0	0			0			0	3,189
	Bell Fund	3,471			30	0			0			0	3,501
	FFX(Flitwick Food Extra)	4,786			3,157	(3,781)			0			0	4,162
	FurnishingFund	1,673			0	0			0			0	1,673
	Choir Fund	829			0	(460)			0			0	369
	Chancel Fabric Fund	536			0	0			0			0	536
	Pither Legacy (Charitable uses in Parish)Fund	476			0	0			0			0	476
	Appeals for CharityFund	183			0	0			0			0	183
	Church Flowers Fund	60			0	0			0			0	60
	Total	£25,946			£3,187	(£4,241)			£0			£0	£24,892

Restricted Funds have been donated to the PCC for the specific purposes, and may only be used for the purpose for which they were donated.

Religious Education Fund	Represents the accumulated income from the Old School Endowment, a separate charity of which the Vicar and Churchwardens are Trustees. The income of such Endowment Funds is restricted by an Act of Parliament and can only be used for Religious Education.
Lynch Gate Repair Fund	Represents amounts donated to fund the repairs to the Lynch Gate in 2018/19. The remaining balance will be spent on completion of the planned repairs and future repairs to the Lynch Gate.
Fabric Repair Fund	Represents amounts donated by individuals as well as the Friends of Flitwick Church and is restricted to, expenditure on the fabric of the church building (including the Chapter House)and the Churchyard.
Bell Fund	Is restricted to repairs and maintenance of the Bells and other Bellringingexpenses.
FFX(Flitwick Food Extra)	Is the balance of the FFX Fund.
FurnishingFund	Is restricted to expenditure on furnishings for the Church and Chapter House.
Choir Fund	Represents donations byindividuals for Choir related expenditure.
Chancel Fabric Fund	Is restricted by the Ecclesiastical Dilapidations Measure 1923 to repairs to the Church Buildingand Churchyard.
Pither Legacy (Charitable uses in Parish)Fund	Is restricted to charitable use within the Parish and is spent at the discretion of the incumbent.
Appeals for CharityFund	Represents collections for specific Charities which haveyet to bepaid to the Charity.
Church Flowers Fund	Represents donations to the Church Flower Fund, which is administered by the Flower Arrangers.

Endowment Funds/Fixed Asset Investments	1st Jan’24	Expend	Transfers	Unrealised Gains/ (Losses)	31st Dec’24

Brooks LegacyEndowment(Fabric)	6,193	0	0	143	6,336
Byron Bequest Endowment(Fabric)	339	0	0	8	347
Chancel Endowment Fund (Chancel Fabric)	5,743	0	0	131	5,874
Total	£12,275	£0	£0	£282	£12,557

15 Old Sunday School Fund:

When the Old Sunday School was sold the proceeds were placed in Trust with the Diocese. The Funds were to be used for the “ purpose of religious education of the children of Flitwick” . The Vicar and Church Wardens decide how the monies should be spent, not the Parochial Church Council (PCC). An application was made to the Charity Commissioners to widen the scope of the Fund. The Charity Commissioners approved our application. The Fund can now be used to employ a Children’s and Family Worker, to promote Religious Education in Flitwick.

As the Old Sunday School Fund is not controlled by the PCC, it does not need to be reflected in these accounts.

For information purposes only - The value of the Old Sunday School Fund at 31[st] December 2024 was £57,825 (2023 = £56,531).

16 Sale of St Andrews Hall:

St Andrews Hall was sold in May’23. After the deduction of associated expenses, £287,244 was deposited with CCLA. An application was made to the Diocese to change who controlled the monies from The Vicar and Church Wardens to the Parochial Church Council (PCC). The application was approved by the Diocese. As the proceeds of the sale of St Andrews Hall is now controlled by the PCC, these funds have now been incorporated into the Church’s accounts. The PCC will review how the proceeds plus any interest from the sale of St Andrews Hall should be used to benefit the Parish of Flitwick on an annual basis.

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF FLITWICK

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDING

31 DECEMBER 2024

CONTENTS
	Page
Trustees Report	2 - 6
Independent examiner's report	7
Statement of financial activities	8
Balance sheet	9
Notes to the financial statements	10 - 16

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Flitwick, is registered with the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales (Charity no. 1169624)

Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Flitwick

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2024

Aim and Purpose

Objectives and Activities

Worship and prayer, learning about the Gospel: developing knowledge and trust in Jesus.
Provision of pastoral care for people living in the parish
Missionary and outreach work
The ministry and administration of significant life events; weddings, baptisms, and funerals.

Achievements and Performance

We also introduced two new services. Sunday@7 on the 3[rd] Sunday of the month, an alternate form of worship held at 7pm in Church.

Worship and Prayer

On the first Sunday of the month, we combine the two services for an All-Together service at 10.30am. Refreshments are served following each service.

Morning Prayer is held on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday led by one of the Ministry team. Wednesday at 10am we hold a said communion service followed by refreshments.

Our Children’s Church, Rock Solid, is held during the Sunday morning 10.30 service and our Youth group, YMAC (Youth messing about at Church) met each Sunday evening

During the preceding Christmas local Lower Schools were welcomed into the Church for a variety of Christmas celebrations.

Pastoral Offices

The following pastoral services were taken this year:

Type of Service	2024	2023
Funerals	21	28
Baptisms	18	16
Weddings	2	6

Pastoral Care:

Mission and Evangelism:

Our Eco-church team is fully active and this year has achieved the silver award it had been working towards.

Messy Church, our outreach service to families, meets every half term and continues to flourish, and is often oversubscribed.

Flitwick Food Extra (FFX) continued throughout the year; it provides local families with food boxes during the school holidays, the boxes consisting of lots of fresh produce and recipe cards.

Ecumenical Relationships:

The church is a member of Churches Together in Ampthill and Flitwick, and we are continuing to build strong relations with Kings Baptist Church.

Deanery Synod:

Three members of the PCC sit on the Deanery Synod. This provides the PCC with an important link between the parish and the wider structures of the church.

Buildings:

Routine maintenance of our building continues where possible.

Financial Review:

Income and expenditure:

Description	2024	2023
Income	£390,549	£87,961
Expenditure	£110,036	£92,586
Surplus/(Deficit)	£280,513	£(4,625)

Giving:

Type of Stewardship/Giving	Dec’24	Dec’23
Number of Parishioners who support our church via the monthly Parish Giving scheme.	47	47
Number of Parishioners who support our church via a monthly/weekly standing order.	15	14
Number of Parishioners who support our church via the regular Envelope scheme.	4	9

To ease the administration burden on our church and to improve cash flow, we are actively asking parishioners to consider moving to the Parish Giving scheme.

Reserves:

The restricted reserves of £24,892 (Dec’23 £25,946) can only be spent for the purposes for which they were originally donated.

Structure, governance and management

Administrative Information

The following have served as members of the PCC during the calendar year ending 31 December 2023.

Incumbent	Rev Claire Harald
Curate	Rev Andy Jefferson
Licensed to the Church	Sophie Tucker
Church Warden	Linda Foale
Church Warden	Richard Fullbrook
General Synod	Becky Mynett
Deanery Synod	Tony Brown
Deanery Synod	David Watson
Deanery Synod	Nik Farrington - Sharp
Treasurer	Terry Thurley
Secretary	Nigel Taylor
Safeguarding	Jane Thompson
Deputy Church Warden	David Golding	-Resigned 11thMay 2025
Deputy Church Warden	Chris Macintosh
	Ciaran Diver
	Jo Farrington-Sharp
	Emma Herman
	Mary McKeand
	Jeremy Dann- Appointed 12/05/2024
	Carol Thompson
	Emma Williams –	Term of Office ended 11/05/25

Emma Gleeson

Report approved by the PCC on 17[th] September 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Linda Foale Churchwarden

Christopher Macintosh Churchwarden

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

Report to the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Flitwick. Charity Number 1169624

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the PCC”) for the year ended 31 December 2024, set out on pages 8 to 17.

Responsibilities and Basis of Report

As the charity's trustees, you, are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination.

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

the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

Date 25[th] August 2025

Natalie Coleman FCCA Chartered Certified Accountant 24 Dew Pond Road Flitwick Bedford MK45 1RT

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2024

	Note	Unrestricted Funds £	Restricted Funds £	Endowment Funds £	2024 Totals £	2023 Totals £
Income and endowments:	2
• Grants		1,500	0	0	1,500	500
• Donations & legacies		354,809	3,187	0	357,996	71,357
• Income from Church activities		4,239	0	0	4,239	5.631
• Activities for generatingfunds		6,805	0	0	6,805	6,900
• Income from Investments		23,196	0	0	23,196	3,575
Total income:		£390,549	£3,187	£0	£393,736	£87,963
Expenditure on:	3
• Expenditure on Church activities		109,090	0	0	109,090	89,880
• Charitable Expenditures		946	4,241		5,187	2,706
Total expenditure:		£110,036	£4,241	£0	£114,277	£92,586
Net (Deficit)/Gain before investmentgains/(losses)		£280,513	£(1,054)	£0	£279,459	£(4,623)
Transfers between funds		£0	£ 0	£0	£0	£0
Other recognised gains/losses		£0	£0	£0	£0	£0
Unrealised Gains/(losses) on investment assets		0	0	282	282	1,064
Net movement in funds		£280,513	£(1,054)	£282	£279,741	£(3,559)
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward		£52,418	25,946	£12,275	£90,639	£94,198,
Total funds carried forward		£332,931	£24,892	£12,557	£370,380	£90,639

The notes on pages 9 to 17 form part of these financial statements

Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Flitwick

BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DECEMBER 2024

		2024	2024	2023	2023
	Note	£	£	£	£
Fixed Assets:
Tangible assets	7	801		1,068
Endowment investments	8	12,557		12,274
Total Fixed Assets			£13,358		£13,342

Current Assets:
Cash at bank	9	357,366		78,603
Debtors &prepayments	10	2,101		914
Total Current Assets			£359,467		£79,517

Creditors: amounts falling due within oneyear	11		£2,445		£2,221

Net Current Assets:			£357,022		£77,296

Total Net Assess			£370,380		£90,639

The Funds of the Charity:
General(Unrestricted)	12	308,806		28,293
Legacy (Designated)	12	24,125		24,125
Restricted	13	24,892		25,946
Endowment	14	12,557		12,275

Total Funds of the Charity			£370,380		£90,639

Approved by the PCC on 17[th] September and signed on their behalf by

Mrs Linda Foale Churchwarden

Mr Christopher Macintosh Churchwarden

Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Flitwick

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2024

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparation:

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention except for the valuation of investment assets, which are shown at fair value.

Income and Endowments:

Recognition: These are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when:

the PCC becomes legally entitled to the use of the resources; and
inflow of economic benefit is probable; and
the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.

Fund Raising: Funds raised from events and trading activities are reported gross in the SOFA – i.e., before any related costs that may have been deducted from the gross proceeds.

Gift Aid Tax claims, etc., on cash donations: Gift Aid and other tax claims are included in the SOFA at the same time as the cash donations to which they relate.

Investment gains and losses: This includes any gain or loss on the sale of investments and any gain or loss resulting from revaluing investments to market value at the end of the year.

Expenditure & Liabilities:

Liability Recognition: Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation and settlement is probable and quantifiable.

Assets:

Tangible fixed assets for use by charity: These are capitalised if they can be used for more than one year, and cost at least £400. They are valued at cost.

Depreciation is calculated to write off the capitalized cost of fixed assets less their currently anticipated residual fair value over their estimated useful lives as follows:

▪ Office equipment and lawn mower - 5 years

Investments: Investments quoted on a recognised stock exchange or whose value derives from them are valued at market value at the year end.

Short term deposits: Include cash held on deposit either with the CBF Church of England Funds or at the bank.

Funds:

Designated Funds: These represent unrestricted funds that are set aside for a designated purpose.

Restricted Funds: These are income funds that must be spent on restricted purposes and details of the funds held and restrictions provided are shown in the notes to the accounts.

	Unrestricted Funds	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Endowment Funds	Totals	Totals
2. Income & endowments	General	Designated			2024	2023
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Grants
St Albans Diocese Re Easter & Christmas Journey/Play	500	0	0	0	500	0
St Albans Diocese Re New Styles of Ministry	1,000	0	0	0	1,000	0
St Albans Diocese	0	0	0	0	0	500
Total Grants Received	£1,500	£0	£0	£0	£1, 500	£500

Donations & legacies
Parish GivingScheme	30,973	0	0	0	30,973	25,152
Regular Stewardship (Gift Aided)	8,399	0	0	0	8,399	10,800
Regular Stewardship (Not Gift Aided)	1,127	0	0	0	1,127	1,796
Donations(Gift Aided)	3,882	0	0	0	3,882	3,100
Donations(Not Gift Aided)	5,142	0	30	0	5,172	5,312
Sum Up (Donation machine)	4,086	0	0	0	4,086	2,499
Charities Aid Foundation	600	0	0	0	600	600
Candle stand Donations	164	0	0	0	164	378
Gift Aid Tax Reclaim	10,988	0	0	0	10,988	9,673
Philippian Trust	1,300	0	0	0	1,300	1,100
Little Fishes	300	0	0	0	300	150
Donation Ecclesiastical Insurance Co	260	0	0	0	260	0
Sponsored Bike Ride	160	0	0	0	160	0
Wreath MakingCourse	184	0	0	0	184
Children’s Society	0	0	0	0	0	211
Flitwick Singers	0	0	0	0	0	50
Bishops Harvest Appeal	0	0	0	0	0	50
Donation – Friends of Flitwick Church Re Spitter Repairs	0	0	0	0	0	3,317
Choir Donation	0	0	0	0	0	140
Historic Church’s Trust	0	0	0	0	0	257
Bible Donations	0	0	0	0	0	675
FXX(Flitwick Food Extra’s)	0	0	3,157	0	3,157	6,097
Proceeds from the sale of St Andrews transferred *	287,244	0	0	0	287,244	0
Total Donations & Legacies	£354,809	£0	£3,187	£0	£357,996	£71,357

Income from Church Activities
Weddings	2,254	0	0	0	2,254	2,248
Funerals	1,985	0	0	0	1,985	3,382
Total Income from Church Activities	£4,239	£0	£0	£0	£4,239	£5,630

	Unrestricted Funds	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Endowment Funds	Totals	Totals
	General	Designated			2024	2023
Activities for Generating Funds
Men’s Breakfast Club	358	0	0	0	358	186
Quiz	93	0	0	0	93	102
Fun Day	161	0	0	0	161	95
Church Festival	252	0	0	0	252	2,607
Lettings Chapter House	3,609	0	0	0	3,609	2,617
Village Hall Coffee Morning	375	0	0	0	375	658
Refreshments	536	0	0	0	536	0
Craft Fair	1,306	0	0	0	1,306	0
Sale keyboard	115	0	0	0	115	0
Xmas Stars	0	0	0	0	0	157
Reader Training	0	0	0	0	0	275
MessyChurch	0	0	0	0	0	202

Total Activities for Generating Funds	£6,805	£0	£0	£0	£6,805	£6,900

Income from Investments
Interest from CCLA/CBF Funds (See notes 9 & 16)	23,196	0	0	0	23,196	3,575
Total Income from Investments	£23,196	£0	£0	£0	£23,196	£3,575

Total Income (Grants/Donations/Church Activities/Activities to Generate Funds/Interest/Dividends	£390,549	£0	£3,187	£0	£393,736	£87,962

	Unrestricted Funds	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Endowment Funds	Totals	Totals
	General	Designated			2024	2023
	£	£	£	£		£
3. Expenditure:

Expenditure on Church Activities:
Parish Share	66,177	0	0	0	66,177	62,001
Parish ClergyExpenses	203	0	0	0	203	265
WorshipSupplies & Costs of Services	735	0	0	0	735	472
Mission	589	0	0	0	589	63
Safeguarding	30	0	0	0	30	6
MessyChurch	71	0	0	0	71	507
Churches Together(Amp& Flit)	50	0	0	0	50	100
Light Party	26	0	0	0	26	0
Upkeepof Churchyard	98	0	0	0	98	0
Music	5,172	0	0	0	5,172	4,167
Salaries	13,106	0	0	0	13,106	2,376
Light/Heat/Water	7,157	0	0	0	7,157	6,348
Youth Bibles	784	0	0	0	784	330
Eco Church	52	0	0	0	52	128
Broadband/Office Software/Zoom/Printing/Postage & Stationery	3,759	0	0	0	3,759	2,618
Cleaning	1,396	0	0	0	1,396	1,297
Repairs & Maintenance	5,538	0	0	0	5,538	5,274
Insurance	2,343	0	0	0	2,343	2,272
Depreciation	267	0	0	0	267	266
Bank Charges	120	0	0	0	120	195
TrainingFamilyWorker	271	0	0	0	271	350
Alpha Course	149	0	0	0	149	153
Rock Solid	77	0	0	0	77	0
A Frame – Pavement Sign	86	0	0	0	86	0
YMACC (Youth Messing Around in Church)	29	0	0	0	29
Sophie’s Robes	421	0	0	0	421	0
NOSH	220	0	0	0	220	0
First Aid Kit	85	0	0	0	85	275
Readers Training	79	0	0	0	79	174
Children’s Church	0	0	0	0	0	417
Tea/Coffee	0	0	0	0	0	35
Turkey& Syria Earthquake Appeal	0	0	0	0	0	261
FFX Food	0	0	0	0	0	2,238
SundayGroup	0	0	0	0	0	51

Expenditure on Church Activities:	£109,090	£0	£0	£0	£109,090	£92,639

3.Expenditure (cont.):	3.Expenditure (cont.):	Unrestricted Funds	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Endowment Funds	Totals	Totals
		General	Designated			2024	2023
Charitable Expenditure
Bishops Harvest Appeal (Leprosy Mission)		183	0	0	0	183	0
Donation from Men’s Breakfast Club (Christian Engineers Development)		140	0	0	0	140	0
Centre Point(Youth Homeless)		140	0	0	0	140	167
Christingle(Children’s Society)		268	0	0	0	268	261
Beds & Herts Historic Trust		40	0	0	0	40	40
Collection Confirmation Service		175	0	0	0	174	0
FFX Flitwick Food Extra		0	0	3,781	0	3,781	6,097
Choir Fund		0	0	460	0	460	0

Total Charitable Expenditure		£946	£0	£4,241	£0	£5,187	£6,565

Total Expenditure		£110,036	£0	£4,241	£0	£114,277	£99,204

4	Staff Costs & Employee Benefits					2024	2023

	Wages & Salaries					£13,106	£4,255

	Employees					3	2

	During the year the PCC employed two part time staff (Director of Music and Parish Administrator). In August we employed a full time Children and Families Worker. The Church contributes to a NEST Pension for the Children and Families Worker. No employee received employee benefits for theyear of more than £60,000.

5 Transactions with Trustees

6 Independent Examiners Remuneration:

The Independent Examiner was not remunerated for her work on the 2024 accounts (2023 £Nil).

Tangible Fixed Assets	Office Equipment	Lawn Mower	Total
Cost
At 1stJanuary2024	£2,590	£925	£3,515
Additions	0	0	0
Disposals	0	0	0
At 31st December 2024	£2,590	£925	£3,515

Depreciation
At 1stJanuary2024	£2,262	£185	£2,477
Depreciation	£82	£185	£267
Disposals	0	0	0
At 31st December 2024	£2,344	£370	£2,714

Net Book Value at 1st January 2024	£328	£740	£1,068
Net Book Value at 31st December 2024	£246	£555	£801

8	Endowments	Endowments	Endowments	Value 1st January 2024	Value 1st January 2024	Value 1st January 2024	Increase / (Decrease) in Value	Increase / (Decrease) in Value	Increase / (Decrease) in Value	Value 31st December 2024	Value 31st December 2024	Value 31st December 2024	Value 31st December 2024

	Brooks Fabric Endowment Fund			6,193			143			6,336
	Byron Endowment Fund			339			8			347
	Chancel Endowment Fund			5,743			131			5,874

	Total			£12,275			£282			£12,557

9	Cash at bank & in hand						2024			2023

	Short Term Deposit Accounts(see below)						£352,722			£54,646
	Cash at bank						£4,644			£23,956
							£357,366			£78,602
	Short Term Deposits includes, £305,628 being the net sales proceeds and accumulated interest from the sale of St Andrews Hall. Please refer to note 16 for further information.

10	Debtors and Prepayments						2024			2023

	Debtors & Prepayments						£2,101			£914
							£2,101			£914

11	Creditors and Accruals						2024			2023

	Creditors & Accruals						£2,445			2,221
							£2,445			£2,221

12	Funds of The Charity		1st Jan’24				Income	Expend			Transfers		31st Dec’24
	General Fund		28,293				390,549	(110,036)			0		308,806
	LegacyFund(Designated)		24,125				0	0			0		24,125

	Total Unrestricted Funds		£52,418			£103,305		£(110,036)			0		£332,931

	Legacyfunds are used to helpfund significantprojects,whether building,equipment,mission or staff.

13	Restricted Funds	1st Jan’24			Income	Expend			Transfers			Gains/ (Losses)	31st Dec’24
	Religious Education Fund	6,992			0	0			0			0	6,992
	Lynch Gate Repair Fund	3,751			0	0			0			0	3,751
	Fabric Repair Fund	3,189			0	0			0			0	3,189
	Bell Fund	3,471			30	0			0			0	3,501
	FFX(Flitwick Food Extra)	4,786			3,157	(3,781)			0			0	4,162
	FurnishingFund	1,673			0	0			0			0	1,673
	Choir Fund	829			0	(460)			0			0	369
	Chancel Fabric Fund	536			0	0			0			0	536
	Pither Legacy (Charitable uses in Parish)Fund	476			0	0			0			0	476
	Appeals for CharityFund	183			0	0			0			0	183
	Church Flowers Fund	60			0	0			0			0	60
	Total	£25,946			£3,187	(£4,241)			£0			£0	£24,892

Restricted Funds have been donated to the PCC for the specific purposes, and may only be used for the purpose for which they were donated.

Religious Education Fund	Represents the accumulated income from the Old School Endowment, a separate charity of which the Vicar and Churchwardens are Trustees. The income of such Endowment Funds is restricted by an Act of Parliament and can only be used for Religious Education.
Lynch Gate Repair Fund	Represents amounts donated to fund the repairs to the Lynch Gate in 2018/19. The remaining balance will be spent on completion of the planned repairs and future repairs to the Lynch Gate.
Fabric Repair Fund	Represents amounts donated by individuals as well as the Friends of Flitwick Church and is restricted to, expenditure on the fabric of the church building (including the Chapter House)and the Churchyard.
Bell Fund	Is restricted to repairs and maintenance of the Bells and other Bellringingexpenses.
FFX(Flitwick Food Extra)	Is the balance of the FFX Fund.
FurnishingFund	Is restricted to expenditure on furnishings for the Church and Chapter House.
Choir Fund	Represents donations byindividuals for Choir related expenditure.
Chancel Fabric Fund	Is restricted by the Ecclesiastical Dilapidations Measure 1923 to repairs to the Church Buildingand Churchyard.
Pither Legacy (Charitable uses in Parish)Fund	Is restricted to charitable use within the Parish and is spent at the discretion of the incumbent.
Appeals for CharityFund	Represents collections for specific Charities which haveyet to bepaid to the Charity.
Church Flowers Fund	Represents donations to the Church Flower Fund, which is administered by the Flower Arrangers.

Endowment Funds/Fixed Asset Investments	1st Jan’24	Expend	Transfers	Unrealised Gains/ (Losses)	31st Dec’24

Brooks LegacyEndowment(Fabric)	6,193	0	0	143	6,336
Byron Bequest Endowment(Fabric)	339	0	0	8	347
Chancel Endowment Fund (Chancel Fabric)	5,743	0	0	131	5,874
Total	£12,275	£0	£0	£282	£12,557

15 Old Sunday School Fund:

As the Old Sunday School Fund is not controlled by the PCC, it does not need to be reflected in these accounts.

For information purposes only - The value of the Old Sunday School Fund at 31[st] December 2024 was £57,825 (2023 = £56,531).

The Life of Our Church - Ministry & Mission Report 2024

Revd. Andy Jefferson

Reports to the 2025 Annual Parochial Church Meeting

Reports

Bellringers

Children and Families

What am I looking forward to in 2025:

Flitwick Food Extra

Nosh

Puppet Power

What a joy this ministry has been.

Schools Work

Director of Music’s Report 2024

Choir membership

Regular activities

Special Services

Organ Accompaniment

Handbells

Update on Future Plans

Becky Mynott

Eco Church

Flower team

Little Fishes

Enid Clark

Men’s breakfast

Revd Andy Jefferson

Messy Church

Mothers Union 2024

Music Group.

Pilgrimage

Rev Andy Jefferson

Rock Solid

Walk and talk

YMAAC

Safeguarding Report

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF FLITWICK

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDING

31 DECEMBER 2024

CONTENTS

Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Flitwick

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2024

Aim and Purpose

Objectives and Activities

Achievements and Performance

Worship and Prayer

Pastoral Offices

Pastoral Care:

Mission and Evangelism:

Ecumenical Relationships:

Deanery Synod:

Buildings:

Financial Review:

Income and expenditure:

Giving:

Reserves:

Structure, governance and management

Administrative Information

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

Report to the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Flitwick. Charity Number 1169624

Responsibilities and Basis of Report

Independent examiner’s statement

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2024

Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Flitwick

BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DECEMBER 2024

Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Flitwick

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2024

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparation:

Income and Endowments:

Expenditure & Liabilities:

Assets:

Funds:

5 Transactions with Trustees

6 Independent Examiners Remuneration:

16 Sale of St Andrews Hall:

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF FLITWICK

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDING