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2023-12-31-accounts

The Parochial Church Council of St John the Baptist with the Epiphany, Corby

Diocese of Peterborough

Reports and Financial Statements 2023

Charity Name The Parochial Church Council of St John the The Parochial Church Council of St John the The Parochial Church Council of St John the
Baptist with the Epiphany, Corby
Charity Registration 1178205
Principal Address The ecclesiastical parish is situated in Corby,
Northamptonshire and is in the Corby Deanery and
Oakham Archdeaconry of the Diocese of
Peterborough within the Church of England. The
parish consists of the Church of St John the
Baptist and the Church of the Epiphany (Chapel of
Ease). The correspondence address is St John’s Church
Hall, Church Walk, Corby, Northamptonshire,
NN17 1XF.
The Governing Document Parochial Church Council Powers Measures
(1956) as amended and Church Representation
Rules
Objectives The Parochial Church Council (PCC of St John
the Baptist with the Epiphany, Corby, has the
responsibility of working with the incumbent, the
Reverend Paul Frost, in promoting in the
ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the
Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and
ecumenical. The PCC is also specifically
responsible for the maintenance of the Church
of St John the Baptist and the Church of the
Epiphany and their respective church halls.
Members of the PCC The members of the PCC who served during the
year were:
Incumbent (Chair)
The Revd Paul Frost
Assistant Curate
The Revd Joseph Griffiths
(June 2023)
Church Wardens
Daniel Eastwood
Lynn Hay
(elected May 2023)
Representative on
Paul Buckingham
the General Synod
(re-elected October 2021)
(appointed vice chair
PCC, May 2023)
Representative on
Susan Norman
the Deanery Synod
(re-elected May 2023)
(appointed PCC
treasurer, May 2023)
Louise Lawson
(elected May 2023)

From May 2022 Edward Frost elections Catherine Mason Carole James Claire Morris Other ex-officio Hilary Buckingham members Catherine Hill Co-opted The Revd Capt. Peter Simmons James Watkins (October 2023) Key Management Those in charge of directing, controlling, running Personnel and operating the Charity on a day to day basis are the members of the Standing Committee (Paul Frost; Daniel Eastwood; Lynn Hay; Paul Buckingham; and Susan Norman) Bankers NatWest, 25 Corporation St, Corby, Northamptonshire, NN17 1NR (16 High Street, Kettering, NN16 8SZ from September 2023) Independent Examiner Mr John Hindle, 49 Kirby Road, Gretton, Northamptonshire, NN17 3DB

1. Structure, Governance & Management

1.1 Trustees

The PCC is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and to stand for election to the PCC.

Members of the PCC are either ex officio, co-opted or elected by the Annual Parish Meetings in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.

The two churches within the parish combine under one PCC. The financial statements at 31 December 2023 include income and expenditure for the year.

1.2 Electoral Roll

The Electoral Roll is maintained by Catherine Mason. As of December 2023, there were a total of 70 members on the electoral roll.

2. Activities and Strategies

The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to become Christians and be part of our parish community. The PCC maintains an overview of our worship and activities throughout the parish. When planning our activities for the year, we have taken note of the Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the supplementary

guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. Specifically, we enable people to grow in and live out their faith as part of our community through:

3. PCC and Subcommittee

3.1 PCC

The PCC (from May 2023) has 4 elected members, 1 General Synod member, 2 Deanery Synod members and 2 churchwardens. Licensed Clergy and Readers are ex officio members. Peter Simmons (PTO) is a co-opted member as is James Watkins (as of October 2023. Total PCC membership for 2023 is 14.

The PCC met in person. Attendance was good at meetings. Minutes and attendance are recorded at each PCC meeting. Main issues in 2023 included:

3.2 Standing Committee

The Standing Committee can meet when necessary to present to PCC various matters which need its attention. The Standing Committee comprises of the churchwardens, vice chair, treasurer, and the rector. During 2023 the Standing Committee met twice with specific issues including a discussion of the finances and the redecoration and refitting of the Church Hall.

4. Parish Life and Ministry

We thank God for his goodness and faithfulness to us as a church family throughout 2023. We gave our sad farewells to Rob Wood (our ordinand) who moved to Brackley to start his curacy. Simultaneously, we welcomed Joe Griffiths and his family to our team of clergy as he began his curacy here in Corby and Gretton.

We thank God for those at St John’s who lead worship and provide consistent Bible teaching on Sundays for both children and adults. Likewise, to see an increasing number of people joining Thrive groups during the week is a real encouragement. We’re grateful for those who lead and host these groups.

The number of funerals continued to be high throughout 2023, and we conducted a significant number of weddings.

Good safeguarding is of vital importance at St John’s as we ensure that our church community is a safe place for all and especially for children and vulnerable adults. All church members have a responsibility to keep one other safe and our Parish Safeguarding Officer (Cathy Mason) encourages all who are involved with the life of St John’s to complete an online course to increase basic awareness (https://safeguardingtraining.cofeportal.org - speak to Cathy for more information). All safeguarding concerns have been dealt with according tour Safer Church Policy. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks and safeguarding training are renewed every three years for those who work with children and vulnerable adults in church. The PCC has complied with their duty to have due regard to the Bishop’s guidance in relation to safeguarding.

With a significant historic building , extensive hall, and large grounds, maintaining the fabric of St John’s requires much work from many volunteers. In particular we note the tremendous work of Dave Norman who undertakes many of our maintenance duties and carries out the majority of our repairs. We have redecorated and refurnished the Church Hall which gives us a a fresher environment for our many church activities and helps us secure more external bookings. Towards the end of the year we redecorated the nave of the church and also managed to release the clerestory windows which greatly improves ventilation thus preventing damp. Further significant maintenance work included the removal of vegetation and repointing on the porch roof.

In 2023 our designated church architect completed his Quinquennial Inspection. We were commended on the good upkeep of the church and the issues requiring immediate attention have been given proper attention. Fundraising for the south aisle roof has continued.

Children and families work is both busy and thriving. Sparkle Tots is continuing to run two sessions back to back which keeps the numbers lower per session and helps us ensure those who come feel welcomed and valued. Two families have received help for getting support for their children with additional needs. We’re thankful for a dedicated team of volunteers. Ignite has been utilising an online resource ‘Trueway Kids’. Numbers of children fluctuate but we have a steady core of children who come regularly. Our team of volunteers are essential for the spiritual growth of our children.

Sam and Paul regularly conduct school assemblies in both Corby Old Village Primary School and Exeter Primary School.

St John’s is a parish church and its Rector has a spiritual responsibility for all in the parish. Consequently we stress the importance of engaging well with our community. This takes place in many different ways including the Chapel Gym which seeks to provide a place ‘where change happens’ for our members, recognising that the change could be physical, mental, but praying that it will ultimately be spiritual. On a practical level, the gym has restructured its staffing in order to improve our effectiveness. We provided an inclusion project with young people at risk of exclusion from Kingswood Academy. With the leadership of a wonderful team of volunteers we completed 72 hours of non-stop prayer in the chapel of the gym. This has proven to be a catalyst for the flourishing of many aspects of gym life. James Liddell (a qualified PT) led a three day retreat for clients of Substance to Solutions. With mixture of fitness, mentoring, and motivational talks, participants spoke

about real improvement in their wellbeing. By the end of the year we saw a significant increase in gym members coming to church.

Our Craft Club continues to grow in numbers and new friendships are continually being made. On average there are 15 people who come every Tuesday evening to talk, do various crafts, and enjoy tea and biscuits. A successful Christmas Craft Fair was held along with a quiz evening in a local pub, fish and chips evening, carol service, and Christmas party. Similarly Fishing with Faith has been an important way to engage with all ages throughout the summer months.

1st Corby Scout Group are based at St John’s and are valued part of the wider church community. 2023 was another successful year finishing the year with 60 young people across the 3 sections.

Beavers had a fun year, doing their international badge, growing sunflowers, building bridges and racing rubber ducks. All that fun resulted in 167 badges being awarded in 2023. 6 of which were the Chief Scout Bronze awards – the highest award the Beaver section can gain. The Colony are helped by 2 young leaders, who worked their way through the sections at 1[st] Corby.

Cubs have equally had a busy year. They have built shelters, gone on hikes, did their DIY badge by making bird boxes and even had a game of football golf. The Cubs were lucky to go to the County Cub Camp in June at Boughton House with Cubs from all over Northamptonshire. It was the hottest weekend of the year so ice lollies were a must! 235 badges were awarded last year, which included 6 Silver Chief Scout awards. They also have a young leader who was a Cub and Scout at our group.

The Scout section have had a great year – they’ve conducted science experiments, growing crystals and making ublex. They’ve also been hiking, kayaking, and orienteering. Making homemade burgers over an open fire for their chef badge as well as learning survival skills. They’ve had amazing camps this year also. 187 badges were awarded, 4 of which were the Chief Scout Gold. Our young leader who has also been with the group since being a beaver, proudly attended the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea - an amazing experience for any Scout.

We are lucky to have such amazing leaders at 1[st] Corby. Highlights of the year for the leaders include the pantomime, a fun night in the summer at East Carlton and for our Christmas treat we all went to Cadbury World. Each year the Cubs and Scouts go away for their week summer camp. Last year we stayed in Essex, spending a day at the seaside, a day in London and a fun day at a water park.

We also had our parade for St Georges Day at Wicksteed park, Remembrance sleepover - then in the morning we are smart and ready for the parade.

We thank St Johns Church and all those involved for their help and support as our sponsor. We really are grateful for all you do to help us financially also. (Lee Richardson - Group Scout Leader)

Traditionally calling people to worship has been the task of bellringing and our team has strengthened throughout this year. The bells were run for the Coronation of the King as is tradition. Fundraising continued for some much needed maintenance work.

In 2023 St John’s launched a Youth Thrive group for those at secondary school. Between 5 and 10 young people meet every week to explore the Bible and support one another in their journey of faith. Similarly the first women’s breakfast was held and appreciated by all who came.

The Church of England is struggling nationally with declining attendance and increasing disunity (specifically with the introductions of Prayers of Love and Faith in 2023). At St John’s we are incredibly grateful to the Lord for the unity and growth within our local church. Ultimately we know that God gives the growth (1 Corinthians 3v6), but he also uses ordinary people like us. We are so thankful for all who give their time, energy, talents, and finances as we build God’s Kingdom together in Corby.

Paul Frost (Rector), Lynn Hay and Daniel Eastwood (Church Wardens)

5. Deanery Synod

In 2023 there were two formal meetings of Deanery Synod in July and October. The first meeting discussed the importance of children and young people in church life with talks from the Diocesan Gen2 team. Later in the year Archdeacon Alison Booker spoke and tis was followed by an opportunity to ask questions. In 2023 Ian Pullinger (vicar of St Columba, Corby) stepped down as Rural Dean of Corby and was replaced by Kane Taylor (vicar of St Mary’s, Weldon).

6. Structure, governance and management

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representative Rules. At St John’s the membership of the PCC consists of the Rector, churchwardens, licensed lay ministers, and those elected by those members who are on the electoral roll of the church. All those who are part of our congregation, and eligible, are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.

The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish including deciding on how the funds of the PCC are to be spent. New members receive initial guidance in the working of the PCC.

The PCC met six times during the year.

7. Financial Review

7.1 Financial Activity and Financial Position

The PCC’s main source of funding has traditionally been the offerings of church members. The adoption of the Parish Giving Scheme (launched within the diocese) has assisted us in promoting regular giving via direct debit. The growth of this method of giving is essential for our financial sustainability.

8. Responsibilities of Trustees for the Financial Statements

The PCC is responsible for preparing the Annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accepted Accounting Practice.

In preparing those financial statements, the PCC is required to:

9. Approval

The report of the PCC was approved by the PCC on 24 April 2023 and signed on its behalf by:

The Revd Paul Frost, Chairman

End of Year Financial Statements 1st January - 31st December 2023

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Also Independently examined by John Hindle (appointed Independent Examiner)

April 2023