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2023-12-31-accounts

Annual Report 2023

Registered Charity Number 1184256

St George’s Church is situated on the western edge of Marlborough on the south bank of the River Kennet. The Parish of Preshute serves the villages of Manton and Clatford, the Barton Park estate, part of the western end of Marlborough and a rural area stretching both north and south. The church is in the Diocese of Salisbury (Deanery of Marlborough) and is part of the Marlborough Anglican Team, with an office in Silverless Street, Marlborough. St George’s and the associated churchyard is open every day and anyone is welcome to visit the church for prayer, quiet contemplation or simply to enjoy the wonderful location next to the river.

Aims and Objectives – Making Jesus Known

The Church is the family of Christians meeting together to worship God and to find fellowship together through prayer and learning. Our work is to spread the Good News of our faith by ‘Making Jesus Known’.

St George’s is well placed to serve the town of Marlborough and most of our mission has a twofold strategy: to deepen and enrich our own worshipping life and also to find creative ways of making connections with the local community to both introduce the Christian story and deepen engagement with all in the local area.

St George’s Parochial Church Council (PCC)

The PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the Team Vicar in promoting, in the ecclesiastical Parish of Preshute, the whole mission of the Church: pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The life of St George’s is within the Marlborough Anglican Team, Marlborough Churches Together and the Diocese of Salisbury in the Church of England.

Membership:

Members of the Parochial Church Council are either elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting or co-opted by the PCC due to the functions they perform in the Church (provided the person is willing to be co-opted). The PCC is a charity, and the PCC members are its Trustees and are responsible for ensuring the Church is serving its community. This report shows how St George’s engages with the local community.

Incumbent (Team Vicar): Revd Pete Sainsbury
Churchwardens: Neil Croucher
Nicky Huckle
Deanery Synod: Charles Graham
Paul Lefever
Members: Alastair Barr (Treasurer)
David Beacom (Fabric and Churchyard)
Amanda Brown (Secretary)
The other members are: Sally Cripps
Marcia Johnson
Linda Morgan
Stephen Robins
Ex-officio members: Canon Sarah Musgrave LLM
Revd Chris Smith

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The PCC has met six times during the year. The most recent approved PCC minutes and past minutes are on file and available to view in the church or they can be obtained from the Secretary on request.

The main items of business at each meeting are a consideration of our core task of ‘Making Jesus Known’. Against this background, we have reviewed our worship, considered matters of finance, including St George’s giving to missions and charities, made plans for the upkeep of the church and churchyard (with particular emphasis on fulfilling the requirements to gain Eco Church status) explored how we might best ‘grow’ St George’s, and discussed the social events that are offered.

The PCC also met informally in October to discuss ‘Living in Love and Faith’.

At the Annual Meeting in 2023, there were 114 names on the Electoral Roll of church membership. The average number of worshippers each week (excluding festival services) has been approximately 38.

Team Rector’s Report

I like the Chinese Proverb, which says, ‘May you live in dull times’. The church that prays and faithfully reaches out with good news of Jesus will always be blessed by God. But ‘exciting’ times can knock the best of us off course. Post-Covid it has been quite a relief to return to the regular rhythms of our spiritual lives. The church year has been carefully thought through and honed over the centuries. It offers us six months of the birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension and coming again of Jesus; followed by six months focusing on what this might mean for us as his followers. The older I get the more I appreciate this pattern and the more wary I am of things that take us off course. We sit in a tradition that goes back to Moses 3,500 years ago. This is deeply enriching and offers us the wisdom of many generations. It is rare for the church to face a challenge that is brand new; more commonly it will be an old one with fresh branding. But do we know our history? Do we value our traditions? As we navigate the choppy waters of 2024, I pray we can hold fast to that which has been passed to us.

Each generation of Christians also has a responsibility to present the gospel to their generation in an attractive and winning way. Today we are blessed with cheap printing and technology that can take our message around the world in seconds. I was much encouraged by the imaginative ways that the Marlborough Anglican Team presented the gospel last year. The Easter Procession and Thy Kingdom Come initiatives were events where all the local churches joined in. In different ways both initiatives creatively and enjoyably told the story of our faith. Later at Ascension, we welcomed our new Bishop Stephen Lake to the deanery for a special service. From January the Methodists have been worshipping with us in an informal partnership. It was a pleasure for me to lead the Good Friday meditations at St George’s with Revd Stephen Skinner. It seems that the Lord has smiled upon us as we have respected and worked with each other.

I always enjoy coming to St George’s and Revd Pete Sainsbury is both a colleague and a friend. The growth of the Kingdom is the most exciting thing in the world. I value our partnership in the gospel and pray that we won’t be blown off course by the wrong sort of excitement in 2024!

Revd Chris Smith, Team Rector of Marlborough

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Team Vicar’s Report

I like to start my report by thanking you all for your contribution to the life of the church family at Preshute. Much is done by many to keep things going at St George’s and I am very grateful to you all: thank you. Your giving in different ways makes the difference.

Our worship life is at the core of all we do as a church, and dovetails with our call to live a joyful and fulfilled life of daily worship of, and ‘apprenticeship’ to Jesus. “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”. This statement is from the Westminster Shorter Confession, of the Presbyterian tradition but well worth borrowing! We are loved beyond measure by God and also challenged deeply by Him to become more like Him. Work in progress.

In 2023, we as a team welcomed Christ Church to join St Mary’s, when they became ‘St Mary’s Marlborough with Christ Church Methodist Fellowship’. This has been such a great move and a blessing to both groups. It is a good reminder too that we are part of the wider church in Marlborough, not just its Anglican expression.

Some of our events in 2023 were the annual Night at the Raj including the tense but highly enjoyable Irish bingo; Six Nations Rugby socials; the Lent Team Quiet Morning at St Mary’s led by me and the Lent Course based on the themes of Les Misérables , the Holy Week services and the dramatised Easter Saturday procession on Marlborough High Street, the Quiz Evening, the Duck Race complete with vicar and deputy churchwarden in waders rounding up rubber ‘stragglers’, churchyard clean-ups and the significant achievement of the A Rocha Eco Church Silver Award.

Although not church events, the open garden afternoon at West Wind in Manton raised £1,000 for St George’s (many thanks to Mrs Jerry Campbell-Sharp) and Mantonfest is always very enjoyable, not least for watching some older church members largin’ it up to some excellent live rock and roll.

Also of note in 2023 were the celebrations of the coronation of Charles III, with much bellringing, the Archdeacon’s visitation (an administrative but important exercise), Messy Church and also an additional new experiment with Saturday afternoon worship for families, the baptism and confirmation of Vernie Sofflet (at St Mary’s), the Choral Evensongs, Music Sunday (the first Sunday of July), extensive safeguarding training, Open the Book’s regular visits to Preshute School, my weekly assemblies, Harmony in Autumn (with Bishop Andrew amongst others, and Fin Copland’s bagpipes) ... oh, and Christmas! Christmas is especially wonderful and well done at St George’s. We have a beautiful building to base our celebrations around but it’s about the people, the love, the ideas, the music, the wide-eyed children, the decorations and the tree, the flowers – and not least, the mystery and joy of God made flesh.

And there is so much more, including the ‘life events’ – the baptisms, the weddings and sadly too, the funerals. The life of St George’s Preshute is rich.

I want to express my sincere thanks to:

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I also wish to express gratitude to Brian Crowe for his much appreciated service as a foundation governor and steady financial hand at Preshute School. Brian’s supportiveness and cheerfulness is already missed by the governing body.

In closing, as I wrote last year,

“in terms of networking and support, St George’s is part of a team ministry. We are not a ‘stand-alone’ parish ... We are viable, in purpose, gathering and finance, but we are part of the Anglican Team. This has been an important facet of our life together as the Anglican church in Marlborough in 2022.”

And also 2023. It is very important that we our see our place within an extended family of three churches and that we actively embrace joint activity. It is good to be alongside the two other churches as a team, to be blessed by a rich and varied offering, to share the load and the difficulties as well as the fellowship and fun. My appreciative thanks to rector Chris Smith and licensed lay minister Sarah Musgrave, and to our ecumenical colleagues too.

Gratefully recalling 2023 and wondering what God has for us in 2024 and beyond.

Every blessing, everyone, and thank you.

Revd Pete Sainsbury, Team Vicar

Electoral Roll Report

Those whose names were on the Electoral Roll at the time of the 2023 APCM are listed on the noticeboard in the porch. Any regular worshippers at St George’s who are not on the roll are encouraged to contact myself, Linda Sims, or one of the churchwardens, for an application form.

There were 116 names on the Electoral Roll at 31 December 2023. One person moved away and has been removed from the Electoral Roll and three new parishioners added.

Linda Sims

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Church Attendance

Whilst the figures for church attendance at regular Sunday services for 2023 was slightly lower than in 2022, it was still pleasing that there was an average of eight adults attending the 8am service of Holy Communion, and 38 adults attending the 10.30am. St George’s was delighted to welcome 26 children and 109 adults to the service of Family Communion on Easter Day. Eight children and 142 adults packed the church for the Carols by Candlelight service and 73 adults and children attended the Sing-along Nativity. There was standing room only for the joyful Crib service on Christmas Eve with 142 adults and 64 children and a further 64 adults attended the more reflective First

Communion of Christmas in the evening. On Christmas morning, the church was once again full, with 130 adults and 27 children joining in the celebration.

St George’s arranges a series of three Choral Evensongs during the summer months and these have a faithful following of approximately 35 for each service.

The congregation is swelled on the first Sunday of the month for the All Age service, with an average of 10 children attending the service. A new venture for 2023 has been the introduction of an occasional Family Worship service on a Saturday afternoon led by Revd Pete on the keyboard. This is intended particularly for families who may have commitments on a Sunday morning, but all are welcome and indeed the first service of this kind in October was attended by 10 adults. The second Saturday afternoon service was a Christingle service in early December which attracted 19 children and 14 adults.

During the first few months of 2023, an activity table was provided for children on the third Sunday of the month as a pilot, but it seems that the All Age worship on the first Sunday of the month is the focus for young families, as well as attending Messy Church, which took place twice in 2023.

The Children’s Ministry team continues to meet on a regular basis to discuss ways in which St George’s can reach out to young families in the parish.

There continues to be an online service of Evening Prayer each Wednesday afternoon, which remains popular.

Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals

In 2023 there were three wedding services held at St George’s and we welcomed new members of the church at four services of baptism. It was with sadness that we mourned the loss of several members of the local community over the course of the year at three funeral services, four thanksgiving/memorial services and an interment of ashes.

St George’s in the Community

Revd Pete continued in 2023 with regular visits to Preshute Primary School to lead assemblies and our Open the Book team have been visiting the school on a monthly basis to act out Bible stories with the help of the pupils. St George’s hosted a Year Six leavers’ service, and a Harvest Festival service for children in Year 4 at Preshute Primary School and their families.

The St George’s newsletter continues to be circulated to approximately 700 houses in the parish (mostly in paper format, but electronically in some cases) in an edition that covers two months.

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The six editions in 2023 covered the themes ‘Mission’, ‘A different kind of power & symbols of sovereignty’, ‘Psalms for summer reading’, ‘Significant numbers’, ‘Eco-edition’ and ‘The Light of Christ – awaiting, welcoming, sharing’. Each edition contains a letter from the Vicar, an article on the theme, a children’s page related to the topic as well as publicising events in the local community and, of course, the service times. We remain grateful to Rory Brown for typesetting each edition, to Originzone in Swindon for their speedy printing and to our newsletter distributors for delivering the newsletter throughout the parish.

Visits by the clergy to residential homes - Savernake View, Merlin Court and Coombe End Court in Marlborough - to bring home communion to the residents continue on a regular basis.

Shortly before Christmas, Andrew Brown, supported by a group of hardy singers from St George’s, led community carol singing in Barton Park to raise funds for Crisis at Christmas. The sum of £297 was raised, enabling Crisis to support ten homeless people.

St George’s continues to attract many visitors during the course of the week who come to admire the church and churchyard or to seek sanctuary in the peace and quiet of the church. For those unfamiliar with the church, there is a history of the church available to purchase as well as a free walk-round guide, together with a quiz for visiting children.

Amanda Brown

Safeguarding

In line with guidance issued by the House of Bishops on matters relating to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults safeguarding continues to be a standing item on every agenda of the PCC meetings, and the Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) reports to at least two of the meetings annually.

All safeguarding policies were updated and approved in June 2023 at the PCC meeting.

The Salisbury Diocesan Safeguarding Team have introduced the Parish Safeguarding Dashboard - this is an online tool which allows PSOs to complete an audit of safeguarding policy and practice in the parish. Following the audit, an action plan is automatically generated to assist them in maintaining and improving their safeguarding practices. St George’s and the rest of the Marlborough Team has signed up to this and the audits are currently being completed for St George’s by the PSO. The subsequent action plan has been shared with the PCC.

The Diocesan Safeguarding team has restarted Parish Safeguarding Officer network meetings. This enables the PSOs from different parishes to meet up and share issues, which is extremely helpful, and are providing good opportunities to discuss topics with those in both similar and contrasting settings, as well as being able to ask questions from the Diocesan Safeguarding team.

The Diocese of Salisbury has recently undergone an External Safeguarding Audit to which PSOs were invited to provide input regarding safeguarding within the diocese.

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• Safer recruitment

The online system for DBS clearance is now well established. Applications for those with roles requiring a DBS and renewals are currently up to date or proceeding as expected.

Currently, there are no other volunteers who require DBS clearance, but this is always under review.

Thank you to everyone for their willingness to go through this process - your cooperation has been much appreciated.

• Training

In April 2021, the Church of England published a new Safeguarding Learning and Development Framework. The focus of this framework is on developing a positive culture of safeguarding within the church, rather than simply focusing on process. It does mean that additional training modules may need to be completed, indeed this has been completed by members of the Open the Book Team, Messy Church and Teddy Prayers.

Currently, there are no other volunteers who need to complete any safeguarding training, but again, this is always kept under review.

• Safeguarding concerns and incidents

There has been a safeguarding concern raised during the year, and the management of the incident is still ongoing. This highlights that we need to maintain our vigilance to ensure the protection and well-being of everyone in our community.

Judith Denning

Lay Pastoral Assistants

The role of the Lay Pastoral Assistant is to provide assistance with pastoral ministry for the local church. This can involve work with children and young people, the sick, the recently bereaved and the elderly and housebound. They may take communion to those unable to come to church. The Marlborough Team, as a whole, has a number of LPAs. St George’s has two: Judith Denning and Jessy Pomfret - the main focus of our work this year has been visiting some of those in the parish who are housebound.

St George’s is also very fortunate in that it has a welcoming, friendly and supportive congregation who help one another when needed.

Judith Denning

2023 ACTIVITY REPORT

Open the Book

Once we had satisfied the increasingly strict safeguarding requirements, our team of seven (when at full strength) was able to take Open the Book into Preshute School once every month except August. We have covered Christmas, the visit of the Magi (called Starwatchers in the version we are using), Easter, Pentecost, as well as a few of Jesus’s parables and miracles. Now we are back in the Old Testament, starting with the Creation, the Fall and the Flood.

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Using a new book of dramatised stories produced by the Bible Society, we hope to give the children a decent awareness of some of the key moments in the Bible. Each session is followed by a moment of reflection and a brief prayer. The children are amazingly appreciative of our amateurish acting efforts, and they enjoy taking part themselves when invited to do so (eg as Noah’s family in the Flood).

We are grateful to Sally and Howard Cripps for hosting our rehearsals and to Heather Croucher for recruiting pupil helpers. As usual, we would welcome enquiries from anyone who might like to join the Team - no acting experience required!

Charles Graham

Home Group

Home group has eight members (six from St George’s and two from St Mary’s) and meets fortnightly on Monday evenings. Sadly, we said goodbye to Yvette Courtney in December as she moved back to Dorset. Over the course of the year our home group sessions have been led by Charles Graham and Keith Fryer (St Mary’s). We have studied Tom Wright’s Romans for everyone which looks at Paul’s letters to the Romans and we have recently finished Acts 13-28 To the ends of the Earth study guide, which is part of the Cover to Cover series. We have had an insight into Paul’s three missionary journeys as he follows Jesus’s call to proclaim the gospel. We try and spend time thinking about social issues and how they link in with our studies and we enjoy friendship, laughter and lots of biscuits.

Julie Conlen

Teddy Prayers and Pre-schoolers

As our original Teddy Prayers children have grown older, the organisation of our special little group has had to change and adapt to nurture these children in their church life.

Our Sing-along Nativity was the usual happy, joyful service it always is! Welcoming the very young children in a relaxed and informal service is a joy for mothers! It also gives older siblings and friends a chance to shine and take part in the service - from our own “elf guitarists and recorder player” welcoming people by playing in the porch, to our young pianist playing beautifully inside through to the readers and prayer-takers - it is a very special half hour. Pete is stoic in the face of a knitted armada approaching up the aisle! Rounded off with mulled wine and homemade refreshments, the occasion was much enjoyed. There were several new faces too.

At other times we join forces with Amanda for Messy Church. Another very happy occasion with Pete teaching us songs as he plays on the keyboard. Well attended and fun.

We are always there for the first Sunday of the month with a group in the Lady Chapel and busy with activities and at other major festivals too. All join in at Easter with an Easter egg hunt after the service, and of course the Harvest Festival service is a special service for us as well.

Linked with Preshute School, we support the homeless community at ‘Open Doors’ in Devizes. We are joined by St Nicholas Church in Fyfield to provide the fresh ingredients every week for a cooked breakfast for up to 30 very needy people in the Southbroom Village Hall. The school’s harvest collection of food is taken there too.

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We keep an eye on the Marlborough rough sleepers and signpost them to the help available from WCC and help with sacks of logs and food etc when the weather is very bad. The church porch is also a haven for one man.

The children are learning to be aware of the needs of others and shown practical ways in which to help.

Sue Elks and Lydia Bauer

Messy Church

Our first Messy Church service of 2023 was held on 25 March and welcomed 22 children and 16 adults to explore the Parable of the Lost Sheep. The service began with lively worship songs led by Revd Pete before we heard the Bible story and listened as Revd Pete helped us to understand its meaning and significance. Craft activities followed based on the Bible theme, which helped the children appreciate that each of us is precious to God and that he never gives up on us! After the excitement of the activities, a time of reflective prayer and further songs followed. As ever, we gathered for afternoon tea to round off the afternoon before the children departed carrying marshmallowy sheep and lovingly made ‘build a Bible scene’ crafts.

Our second Messy Church service of the year was held on 15 October and attended by nine children and 13 adults. The ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ was the theme on this occasion, and the children were amazingly adept at learning the nine gifts that make up the Fruit of the Spirit. In particular, I don’t think that they will ever forget the ‘self-control’ required to dip a strawberry in chocolate and to then have to leave it until the end of the afternoon before eating it! (Even the vicar found this one quite testing!)

A new feature of Messy Church in 2023 was to give each family a service leaflet to use throughout the afternoon and to take home with them. The leaflet not only contained the words of the worship songs and prayers for use at home, but also an explanation of all the activities with Biblical references.

The Messy Church services are very much a team effort - huge thanks to Revd Pete and the wonderful team who have helped with Messy Church over the course of 2023.

Amanda Brown

The Flower Group

At the time of writing this report (spring 2024) which covers the calendar year 2023, we are mourning the loss of Prue Groffman, who had been the dedicated and inspirational organiser of the St George’s flower rota for many years. She would undoubtedly have wanted to offer thanks to all the flower arrangers who kindly gave of their time and skills throughout 2023. The fresh flowers contribute much to the beauty of the church and the welcome that it offers, with Easter and Christmas arrangements being a particular highlight. Prue’s vision for a riot of spring flowers at Easter and the poinsettia arrangements at Christmas will be her special legacy. She was delighted to make a visit to the church shortly before Christmas and to see it decorated ready for the festival services. We are so grateful for all that Prue gave to St George’s. New volunteer flower arrangers are always welcome!

Amanda Brown

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Music

2023 saw another year of joyous music making at St George's, with musicians of all ages participating in services in many ways.

The Junior Georgians sang on Mothering Sunday, the Coronation Sunday service, Music Sunday (July), Harvest and the Crib Service. Highlights included the Mothering Sunday anthem, The Lord is my shepherd by Howard Goodall (the well-known theme of The Vicar of Dibley) and the Coronation Sunday service in May, when our two choirs combined to sing an anthem specially commissioned by the Royal School of Church Music, along with some 100 church choirs up and down the country. The children led both the Music Sunday and the Harvest services very expertly, and the Crib Service saw them singing to a full church and marking the choir's 10th anniversary with The shepherds' cradle song and John Rutter's lively Star Carol . The colourful feature in Marlborough.News showed the choir to a wider public and celebrated the nearly 60 children who have sung in the choir over the past ten years. My thanks to Heather and Amanda for all their help and support with the Junior Georgians.

Meanwhile, The Georgians have enjoyed their year's singing. Services were led on Easter Day, the Coronation All-Age choir (mentioned above), Choral Evensong in July, Remembrance and Carols by Candlelight. A new service for the Georgians this year was on Remembrance Sunday, where the anthem was Pie Jesu from Fauré's Requiem, preceded at the Cenotaph ceremony by the National Anthem in a choir version. At a packed Carols by Candlelight, the soloist for Once in Royal David's city was Anna Jones, and the choir carols were Jesus Christ the apple tree (Bob Chilcott), The little road to Bethlehem (Michael Head) and When Christ was born of Mary free (John Gardner).

In June, we welcomed Corona Choir, a north Wiltshire choir which had originally formed online during the pandemic, to lead the first of our summer Choral Evensongs. In October, the last Choral Evensong of the year was sung by a chamber choir of six singers – the refreshments afterwards were kindly provided by Yvette Courtney, who was a great supporter of Evensong during her time in Marlborough. In addition, a gallery choir sang Away in a manger (Normandy version) in the First Communion of Christmas on Christmas Eve. For the fourth year running we extended a musical outreach in the local community in the week before Christmas. Over 40 singers and enthusiastic local residents joined together to sing carols at the western end of Barton Park. The winter air was filled with the sound of carols and enhanced by the smell (and taste!) of mince pies and mulled wine, and the evening raised nearly £300 for Crisis - my thanks to all involved.

The November concert Harmony in Autumn was a musical highlight. 17 musicians from the church family and friends of St George's combined to perform a hugely enjoyable evening of music and readings. Many thanks to all the musicians and readers, and to the Social Team for the delicious refreshments afterwards: the evening raised over £900 for the ongoing work of the church. Meanwhile, some of our junior instrumentalists have started to play in services this year, boding very well for the future. Eliza Gill played the piano preludes at the open-air Pet Service in September. At the Sing-along Nativity, which was accompanied by Heather and Revd Pete, Eliza again played, as did Nicolai Bauer and Max Gill as a guitar duet.

We were saddened by the death in March of Malcolm Hall, one of the founding members of The

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Georgians. With his fine tenor voice, he gave many years of loyal support. Our grateful thanks for his wholehearted and much valued contribution.

The organ, piano and keyboard continue to give good service. All three have been much used, with the keyboard particularly supporting Messy Church services, the Pet Service and the new Saturday Family Worship services, led by Revd Pete from the front.

My thanks as always to Revd Pete, the PCC and all who have supported the music at St George's over the year.

Andrew Brown

Social Committee

We started the year with our 18[th] annual visit to the Raj restaurant where we were spoilt with delicious food by Mr Bablu and his wonderful staff. The night was finished off as usual with Irish Bingo.

The six Nations Rugby started off in February and we had eight hosts who kindly invited guests to watch matches with something delicious to eat and drink - such a great fundraiser for St George’s, and a good result.

St George’s Day Quiz was held in the village hall and many thanks to Julie and Peter Ayliffe, who not only organised the quiz but supplied the prizes as well. As usual, everyone enjoyed desserts and cheese and biscuits, washed down with some drinks.

The next day we had a bring and share lunch for our APCM which was enjoyed by everyone attending.

We had three well attended Choral Evensongs throughout the year. All three were wonderful evenings and finished off with the congregation being treated to refreshments. The musical highlight of the year was the November Harmony in Autumn concert. A full church of concert goers thoroughly enjoyed the music, singing and readings followed by canapés and wine after the performance. Special thanks to the performers and Amanda and Andrew for all the preparation and organisation.

In July we had a Duck Race between the two bridges in our churchyard which was great fun and well supported. Prizes were awarded for the first three places as well as the best decorated ducks. Tea, cakes and drinks were appreciated by all, and the weather was kind to us. Apart from selling ducks we received other donations as well which meant that we received £2,800 and were able to purchase a defibrillator which is now placed in the church porch.

Harvest supper was held in the Village Hall and cottage pie, desserts, cheese and wine were enjoyed by everyone. As usual, the night ended with a raffle with all proceeds from the evening going to Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution. This is a wonderful charity which supports farmers when they are having financial difficulties, mental health problems or any other issue that they need help with.

The Carol Singing just before Christmas was hosted by the Brown family outside their house in

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Barton Park. It was a wonderful evening with great singing, and many thanks to our hosts for very welcome mince pies and mulled wine. Fundraising through a cash collection and the Just Giving site were all in aid of Crisis and meant we were able to support 10 homeless people over the Christmas period.

The success of these events is due to everyone who helps, whether it is by cooking, putting out chairs, serving, clearing up, or just turning up to support and enjoy them. Our thanks go to all involved and the income can sometimes be as high as £3,000 in the year, depending on what we are doing. All very helpful to our church, especially with rising costs.

David Beacom and Judith Denning

Bellringing

Bell ringing has continued at St George’s over the year for all services and extra occasions such as weddings and the coronation of King Charles III. The training of new recruits started in July in anticipation of the establishment of a new team of ringers at the neighbouring parish of St Michael's, West Overton. I would like to thank the ringers at St George’s for their support in this project.

Maintenance and training has continued. Anyone interested in joining the team and learning to ring will be most welcome.

Richard Metters

MARLBOROUGH, THE DEANERY & THE DIOCESE

Diocesan Synod

In February 2023, Synod welcomed the Deans and diocesan synod representatives of the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, who are now attached to the diocese.

The main discussion item was ‘ Living in Love and Faith’ . (LLF is a Church of England process which considered how questions about identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage fit within the bigger picture of the good news of Jesus Christ. What does it mean to live in love and faith together as a Church?). Our three bishops Andrew, Karen and Stephen spoke of their own personal responses to the draft prayer resources put forward by the General Synod’s college of Bishops. Bishop Stephen ‘apologised unreservedly to LGBT+ people for the Church’s ongoing and worsening rejection’. He also promised to support clergy, who for reasons of conscience will be unable to offer prayers of blessing for same sex couple. Other synod members spoke personally and movingly of their own responses to the proposals to offer prayers of blessing to same sex couples. The morning ended with a Eucharist, led by Bishop Stephen.

In the afternoon, we had an update from the Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) and it was noted that the operating deficit at the end of 2022 was anticipated to be £1.4m, higher than the expected/budgeted £999k. Meanwhile, the sale of Church House, Salisbury, was progressing. We also focused on the new Diocesan Vision and Strategy ….

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Steve Tarpey, a professional facilitator, spoke about the strap line of “Your Kingdom Come, Here and Now” and how the vision comes from this. “Our Vision is to know Jesus Christ and proclaim His Kingdom to each person and in each place, as Good News for our communities. We will be a church that is simpler, humbler and bolder”. Five strategic priorities underpinned the Vision: Nurturing Confident Christianity; Reimagining Missional Communities; Mobilising Advocacy in Society; Championing Environmental Justice; and Financing the Future.

In June ’23 we considered the Annual Report and Accounts of the Diocesan Board of Finance. The year (2022) had been difficult, and share received was £1m below the required amount. However, with help from the National Church, we had provided 90 Warm Spaces.

In his Presidential Address, Bishop Stephen spoke of the success of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s mission weekend to Salisbury Diocese. He added, ‘ more and more as I navigate being your bishop, my thoughts and prayers are drawn to the Jesus of the Gospels as my example and guide. What did Jesus say? What did he do? Who did he spend time with? What mattered to him? Did he heal or did he reject? Did he deny or did he wash feet? Did he love and did he die for you and me? The person, this person of the Trinity, is whom we know and who knows us better than we know ourselves.

This person died for us and rose again, and, just like those first witnesses, we need to make his good news known here and now. Making Jesus Known is not a strapline; it’s a choice. Our priorities are not a popularity list; they are wounds from which can spring resurrected life. In every thought and every conversation we have from now on, we must ask ourselves individually and in our worshipping communities: are we making the person of Jesus Christ known? If not, then it is about us, noisy us, and that convinces no-one.

In October ’23 Bishop Stephen commissioned a new Director of Education, and reminded us that over 40,000 young people, half of those learning in all schools in Wiltshire and Dorset are in our spiritual care.

We continued to explore our new Vision and Strategy, hearing talks, watching videos and spending time in groups to discuss what is happening at a local level.

We ended by approving the DBF annual budget for 2024. For the first time, in recent years, the proposed budget does not plan for an operating deficit, alongside an 8% increase to Share request.

Sarah Musgrave

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Deanery Synod

The Deanery Synod meets three times a year and is made up of clergy and elected representatives for all the churches in the Marlborough Deanery (which covers an area that includes Chiseldon, Broad Hinton, Avebury, Marlborough, Ramsbury and Aldbourne). Canon Sarah Musgrave is the Lay Chair, and Paul Lefever and I are the lay representatives from St George’s.

The main focus of our discussions in 2023 has been the developing of the link with the Diocese of Morobo in South Sudan. This partnership has grown very successfully over the year. We started by providing money for seeds, hoes and wellington boots, to enable the bishop and clergy to improve the cultivation of crops. Our Lent Appeal raised over £4,000 for bibles, service books and hymn books, and later in the year we were able to fund the purchase of 20 bicycles for the clergy, giving them much increased mobility. An important element of the partnership is mutual prayer, and we made information leaflets and, in Advent, a daily prayer guide available in churches.

Another topic we considered was the Bishop of Salisbury’s new vision “Making Jesus Known”, with its five strands: Courageous Christian leadership, Working for justice, Creative partnerships in local mission, Championing climate justice and Financing the future sustainably. We were invited to make suggestions as to how this vision can be implemented in our churches, and the Bishop of Ramsbury will be attending the next meeting to find out what progress has been made.

Diocesan finance has also been on the agenda. The need is to reduce the Diocese’s debt to zero, which will inevitably have consequences for all our churches. A new system of calculating the Parish Share will be introduced in 2025.

Charles Graham

THE FABRIC, GOODS & ORNAMENTS

Fabric Report

Church and churchyard tidy up: this happens in April and October and many thanks to all the helpers that come to help keep our church and churchyard looking pristine. We are very lucky to have Wiltshire Council cutting the grass for us during the summer and the additional help we get from volunteers is essential.

We have at last received all the approvals for a new handrail and the manufacturing works started in October. The handrail on the main path looks great and we now also have low level lights operated by sensors at both ends of the path. At the same time, we laid a cable duct behind the handrail should we ever need it for future services. The handrail on the path to the car park has also been welcomed by many of the congregation, especially in wet and slippery weather. The double entrance gates and posts were also refurbished with a new locking device and a pamphlet board.

We have also received faculty approval for the new glass south porch doors which have been ordered, and they will be fitted after Easter 2024. To carry out these works we had to move the porch light switch to the rear of porch - many thanks to Kevin Wroth for refurbishing the porch light at the same time. The defibrillator is situated on the floor on the left-hand side of the porch

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as you enter. This was purchased from the income of the Duck Race held back in July.

We now have a permanent place for the card reader on the bookcase to the left as you enter the church. There has been an electric double plug added so that it has a continual supply. We have also applied for a faculty for a ringing simulator and this will be powered from the same plug. A ringing simulator is used through a laptop to assist in teaching bell ringing without having to always ring the bells.

During the summer a leak was noticed outside the toilet which resulted in the stopcock being replaced. Many thanks to Richard Metters and Kevin Wroth for carrying out all the digging and backfilling required. Also, many thanks to Ken Martin and his tool box for carrying out various maintenance jobs throughout the year.

David Beacom

Eco Church

Congratulations to St George’s as we have achieved a Silver Eco Church award from the Christian environmental charity, A Rocha. We cannot thank enough all those who have tirelessly helped us to win this award. Further details of our award and how we achieved it are on our website.

Sandra Rogers started keeping bees in the Maurice Family burial plot at St George’s in May 2022. She now has two hives and in July this year she started the process of making honey. This harvest resulted in a jar of ‘Holy Honey’ being used as a fundraiser and for £1 you had to guess how many bees were responsible for making 454g of honey. One hive is decorated with sunflowers and the second hive is covered with daisies. Bees can see patterns and some colours, so the idea is this will help them find their way home.

The Maurice family have also been wonderfully supportive and kind about using this space for beehives. With their permission Sandra and her friend Trudi Granger (also a beekeeper) have been planting daffodils, crocus, anemone, grape hyacinths and bluebells in that area to give the bees some spring flowers. Wild roses in the hedge around the plot will also provide early spring forage for the bees.

Bees will also feed on the chestnut blossom from the existing chestnut trees in the churchyard in the spring. Flowering trees and hedges are also a valuable source of food, so we have now planted seven memorial cherry trees to add even more food for the bees, while at the same time making our churchyard more beautiful. On the new soil banks to the main path we intend to plant crocuses, grape hyacinths, snowdrops, cowslips and primroses.

After the loss of an ash tree in the churchyard to ‘ash dieback’ disease the PCC agreed to create a ‘stumpery’ which has now been planted out with cyclamen, primroses and cowslips. The existing trunk has been cut down to form a table and other logs are cut to size to make seats. Great place to have a picnic!

Other ash trees near the pedestrian bridge succumbed to the ‘ash dieback’ disease as well and were cut down. This has brightened the area up and we are looking to create another stumpery using ferns. In a damp area next to the bridge, we have planted numerous yellow flag iris plants as

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well. Along the bank at the back of the church we had 2000 snakeshead fritillary planted, with tremendous help from ARK, for which we were very grateful.

On the top left-hand side of the path to the church we have started a remembrance garden with cyclamen and other plants. It is a very shaded area but we are hoping for a good result, although we do have competition from the 12 or so squirrels that live in the trees above it.

We were encouraged on our Eco Church journey to install cycle racks and these are now available to the left of the porch as you approach the church.

In June, with thanks to Emily Best, we hosted a visit from the reception class at Preshute Primary School. They thoroughly enjoyed their visit and were mesmerised at everything they learnt and saw about moths, dormice, hedgehogs and all the other animals that inhabit our churchyard.

As well as the bug hotel near to car park fence we now also have homes for the dormice and hedgehogs along the bottom of some hedges.

Our bird population is very important to us also and apart from some nesting boxes that are in place already we have put up owl and bat boxes. We now have plans to erect more nesting boxes throughout the churchyard and form a nature trail. Our nature plan is on view in the church, and it shows how we have protected the wildlife in the churchyard and have made homes for more.

Eco Church is self-funding and many thanks go to Chris McColl and Bridget Smith who sell plants at the village fête and from their base in Manton High Street. Further funding for our future comes from planting a memorial cherry tree for £800 including a memorial plaque. We still have some available should anyone wish to sponsor one in memory of a loved one. We have also added another two memorial benches next to the path to the church which brings the total to 12, giving plenty of room to picnic, rest, read or contemplate.

All the above is only part of creating an Eco Church. Thanking God for giving us the earth we live on extends to the ministry and running of the church. Sermons, prayers and readings that relate to God’s greatest creation are used on a regular basis. We also must ensure, where possible, that purchases are sustainable, and recyclable. These thoughts and practices should also be mirrored in our own lives and homes, to care for God’s creation.

Linda Morgan and David Beacom

Churchyard Records

The electronic version of the records has been updated to include burials during 2023. Copies are held by the Churchwardens, the Team Office, the Team Vicar and me. This is updated as necessary and re-published annually. There continue to be a few burials each year; usually the interment of ashes. In 2023 there were seven burials of ashes; three added to existing plots and four in new plots. There is a hard copy file of the records kept in the church.

Laurien Carter

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Brass Cleaners

Brass cleaning continues to be undertaken every two weeks by a small group of diligent parishioners. Thank you to those involved – the church brass always looks good.

If anyone is interested in becoming a brass cleaner you are welcome to join the team – please let us know.

Laurien Carter

Archives

Key policy and works services documents, together with selected photographs, continue to be filed with the church archives which are held at the vicarage. There were no enquiries during the past year January - December 2023.

Jeremy York

FINANCE

Financial Review

The following provides an overview of the accounts for 2023 which have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 using the Receipts and Payments basis.

2023 was again a challenging financial year for St George’s. The unrestricted fund returned a deficit of £7,365 in 2023, following a surplus of £2,588 in 2022. Key factors include a drop in donations and reduced fees from weddings and funerals. Fortunately, utility costs have started to reduce, coming down from £4,156 in 2022 to £2,742, though still well above the historic average of approximately £1,000 per year. In the third quarter, as planned we began to fund our Worship Director via our general fund, as the original Worship Director fund, set up in 2020, has now been used.

Despite these challenges, we remain a charitable church. A total of £1,827 was raised through special collections and £3,455 was donated to a range of local, national and international charities.

2023 saw the beginning of a number of capital projects, funded through the Legacy and Fabric funds we maintain for long term investment and maintenance of the church and churchyard. £16,432 was spent on capital project work, much of which can be seen as you come to the church, such as the new railings, upgraded paths and soon to be installed door and gate at the front of the church. A number of generous bequests have contributed to the installation of new benches and cherry trees in the churchyard.

The full accounts are presented in the Appendix. The Independent Examiner’s Report is pending.

Notes on Income:

The table below summarises the main sources of income for our Unrestricted Fund over the past three years, excluding restricted income such as Worship Director donations, bequests and special collections. Planned giving remains consistent and has done since 2019. Over that same period, the money we collect at services (cash and yellow envelopes) has dropped by nearly a

17

third. In 2023 we saw a further drop in donations and income from weddings and funerals, while income from social events increased. The card reader, introduced near the end of 2022, has continued to pay for itself.

Sources of Income(Unrestricted Fund) 2021(£) 2022(£) 2023(£)
Planned Giving (Total) 30,796 30,853 31,474
of which: Planned Giving Scheme
(PGS)		 16,494 18,016 18,848
StandingOrders 12,597 10,988 10,873
Blue Envelopes 1,705 1,849 1,753
Collections (excluding special
collections)		 1,858 3,418 2,618
Yellow Envelopes 972 1,191 1,170
Wall Box 293 220 251
Donations 10,307 7,434 5,501
Card Reader N/A 281 1,787
Generous GivingCampaign 7,981 N/A N/A
Gift Aid tax refund (2 years claimed in
2022)		 11,425 22,447 10,468
Social Events(Net) 1,515 2,112 3,907
Fees from Weddings and Funerals 4,157 5,874 3,206
Legacies 0 0 200
Grants 0 1,000 335
Dividends from Investments 347 358 360
Total Income 69,651 75,189 61,274

Notes on Expenditure:

Expenditure continues to be controlled, and has come down in a number of areas, for example as we move to booklets for the order of service. Overall expenditure for 2023 was below the budget of £69,707for the year. The Parish Share continues to increase and we will see an 8% increase to £47,149 in 2024.

Summary of Expenditure (Unrestricted
Fund)		 2021 (£) 2022 (£) 2023 (£)
Parish Share 40,164 42,173 43,438
Church Maintenance and RunningCosts 5,584 5,175 2,376
Church Capital Costs Included
above		 60 177
Utilities 1,367 4,156 2,742
Insurance 2,085 2,169 2,232
Equipment & Consumables 561 631 118
Publicity,Printingand Stationery 1,867 3,128 1,450
Workingand Office Expenses 1,926 2,567 2,055
WorshipDirector N/A N/A 3,853
Honoraria/Secretarial 2,030 8,107 6,361
Missions and Charities 1,123 3,330 3,455
Alpha Course N/A 165 N/A
Education & Youth Work N/A 632 126
Bank Charges 287 307 256
Auditor Costs 432 0 0
Total Expenditure 57,426 72,602 68,639

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Reserves policy

It is PCC policy to try to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds that equates to at least three months' unrestricted payments (excluding charitable giving). In 2023 this was equivalent to £16,296 and this was met as of 31 December 2023 when the unrestricted fund stood at £17,946

We currently maintain a Gift and Legacy fund. This fund is to be used on major projects some of which are currently entering final consultation and faculty stage whilst others are at early discussion stages but all of which will significantly reduce this designated fund.

Alastair Barr, Hon Treasurer

The Dominy and Turner Trust

The trustees (Vicar and two churchwardens) are pleased to report that the trust balance in hand has increased this year, despite making three reasonable size gifts. One donation was for Bibles for Preshute leavers, the second for books and the third to a parishioner.

We have made several contacts this year to make connections with the village and wider community (within the trust’s deed and remit) but with no success. The trust is in good shape and the trustees will next meet in May 2024.

Neil Croucher

Missions and Charities

In accordance with the principle that we give approximately 10% of our donated income to Missions and Charities, £3,100 was sent from the General Fund to a total of nine charities. The broad aim is to keep a balance between Christian mission and relief, and between international, national and local charities. In addition, there were special collections at Easter (for the Church in the Middle East), Harvest (the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution), Remembrance Sunday (two armed services charities) and Christmas (Age UK Wilts and the Children’s Society). The Barton Park carol singing also raised good money for Crisis.

The full list of payments made in 2023 can be viewed in the Treasurer’s Accounts, and thankyou letters from the grateful recipients are displayed on the noticeboard in church.

Charles Graham

Churchwardens’ Report

Firstly, on behalf of Neil Croucher and Nicky Huckle, our wardens - thank you to all those who are mentioned in this year’s report for their continued support and work on behalf of St George’s Church.

Outreach: our children’s ministry continues in Preshute School and also within St George’s Church via Messy Church and Eco church days. Sue Elks teaches and inspires our young ones at our monthly All Age services (as well as at other local parish churches). Revd Pete has been trialling Saturday Worship services as part of our family outreach. Our social events continue to be well attended by the congregation and their friends and families.

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Churchyard stewardship: we have installed bike rails, handrails, lighting, benches, bird boxes, planted bulbs and young trees, and the bees have been busy too. Thank you to the working parties and those involved in additional bulb planting, which included the local community. Thanks to David Beacom, Linda Morgan and their team for their hard work, particularly over the last 12 months, in not only achieving a Silver Award from A Rocha but also raising the general Eco Church awareness across our congregation and with the students and staff at Preshute School.

Our special thanks also to:

This year we have had to say farewell to some of our friends in the congregation who have returned to the Lord, and others who have moved away from the parish.

We have continued in our works and maintained our warm welcome at St George's, let us now share the Word and become a growing part of God’s church.

Nicky Huckle and Neil Croucher, Churchwardens

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Appendix 1

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St George’s Preshute, Marlborough Financial Statements for the Year Ending 31 December 2023

Note Unrestricted
Funds		 Unrestricted
Designated
Fund		 Restricted
Fund		 Endowment
Fund		 Total 2023 Total 2022
Receipts £ £ £ £ £ £
Voluntary Receipts
Planned Giving 31474 1605 33079 32473
Collections at Services 2614 1664 4277 5702
All othergiving /voluntaryreceipts 4a 9244 0 12844 10126
Gift Aid Recovered 10468 0 10468 26538
Sub Total 53800 3600 3269 0 60669 74839
Activities forgeneratingfunds 4b 4194 567 4761 2658
Investment Income 4c 360 3700 126 4186 2420
Church Activities 4d 3206 3206 5874
Total Receipts 61561 7300 3962 0 72822 85791
Payments
Church Activities
Parish Share 43438 43438 42173
Clergyand StaffingCosts 4e 5747 9600 9600
Church RunningCosts 4f,6,7 17715 4620 2608 0 24943 29039
Church Capital Costs 4f,6,7 177 10432 6000 0 16609 2857
Mission Givingand Donations 5 3455 1827 5282 5614
68639 15052 16182 99873 89282
Cost of GeneratingFunds 4g 287 690 545
Total Payments 68926 15052 16585 100563 89827
Excess of Receipts overpayments -7365 -7752 -12624 0 -27741 -4037
Transfer Between Funds 8 0 0
-7365 -7752 -12624 0 -27741 -4037
Gains/ Losses on Investments
Realised
Unrealised 1781 1531 3311 -4696
Net Movement in funds
Balance brought forward at 1 Jan 2023 25311 103303 12624 16268 157505 166237
Balance carried forward at 31 Dec 2023 17946 97331 0 17798 133076 157505
Net change in funds inyear -24429 -8732
Comprising
Total Receipts 72822
Total Payments 100563
Investment Gains/Losses 3311
Net change in funds inyear -24429

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Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31 December 2023

Note Unrestricted
Funds		 Unrestricted
Designated
Fund		 Restricted
Fund		 Total 2023 Total 2022
£ £ £ £ £
Cash Funds
Bank Current Account 8662 0 0 8662 24537
CCLA Deposit Fund 9284 76624 0 85908 97775
Total 17946 76624 0 94571 122311
Note 31-Dec-23 31-Dec-22
£ £
Investment Assets
Investment Shares CCLA General 20706 18926
Investment Shares - Aspent Copse Trust 13183 12049
Investment shares - Angela and William Whitrow 4615 4218
Current Assets
Cash on hand at bank 8662 24537
CCLA Deposit Fund 85908 97775
Total Assets 133075 157505

Notes to the 2023 Accounts and Further Analysis

1. Accounting Policies

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St George’s Preshute, Marlborough, is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, Charity Registration Number 1184256.

a) Basis of preparation

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 together with applicable accounting standards and the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standards applicable in the UK & Republic of Ireland (FRS102) issued on 16th July 2014.

The accounts are prepared on the Receipts and Payments basis.

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

The accounts include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. The accounts do not include the accounts relating to any informal gatherings of Church members or small cash balances held by individuals such as the flower arrangers.

b) Rounding – the Accounts are prepared to the exact penny but for presentation purposes, and for ease of reading and understanding, are shown in rounded pounds. This can mean that some of the totals and/or sub totals do not appear as if they add correctly and appear to be £1 out.

c) Incoming resources

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g) Current Assets - Cash held in a savings account with a bank is classified as cash at bank. Cash held on deposit with the CBF Church of England Deposit Fund or held in a term deposit account with a bank is also classified as cash.

h) Funds - Funds have been classified as Unrestricted, Unrestricted Designated, Restricted or Endowment.

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St George’s is the beneficiary of two funds:

The Aspent Copse endowment fund. The dividend income from the fund each year is added to our general fund and is not restricted in use. The fund itself is managed by the Salisbury Diocesan Board of Finance and the capital is not available to be spent (it is understood that in extremis the board could be approached to allow the funds to be transferred to our general funds but this would be a matter for them to consider not a right).

The Angela and William Whitrow fund where the dividend income gained is restricted to use on upkeep of the churchyard.

2. Explanation of Funds

St George's has a number of funds where the PCC has allocated money for specific purposes to aid saving for projects and to manage our finances more effectively, e.g. to budget for organ maintenance. The funds and purposes are as follows:

24

Note to the Accounts – Further Analysis Continued

The following pages further break down specific sections of income and expenditure.

3. Movement in Funds

We maintain a number of designated funds to help budget for future finance. At the end of the year these funds contained:

Balance B/F Receipts Payments Investment
Gains /
Losses		 Bal/C/f
Unrestricted 25311 61561 68926 17946
Restricted 6
Fabric Fund 2482 126 2608 0
Legacyand Gift Fund 6000 0 6000 0
WorshipDirector Fund 4142 1605 5747 0
Special Collections 5 0 2231 2231 0
12624 3962 16585 0
Designated 7
Fabric 8555 0 4620 3936
Legacy& Gift Fund 82052 7300 10432 1781 80700
Boiler 0 0 0
Ministry 5264 5264
Church Hall 1141 1141
Organ 6290 6290
103303 7300 15052 1781 97331
Total(excl of Aspent Copse & Whitrow Fund) 141238 72822 100563 1781 115278
Endowments
Value of Aspent Copse Trust & Whitrow Funds 16268 0 1531 17798
Total 157505 72822 100563 3311 133076
£
Value at 31/12/22 157505
Value at 31/12/23 133076
Value change in year -24429
Total Receipts 72822
Total Payments 100563
Investmentgains/loss 3311
Net change in funds inyear -24429

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4. Breakdown of Income and Expenditure

Unrestricted
Fund		 Unrestricted
Designated
Fund		 Restricted
Fund		 Total 2023 Total 2022
Receipts £ £ £ £ £
a) All othergiving / voluntary receipts
Donations(including yellow envelopes) 8793 8793 9906
Bequests 3600 3600 0
Legacies 200 0 200 0
Wall Box 251 251 220
4a 9244 3600 0 12844 10126
b) Social Activities Generating funds
Plant Sales 120 120 220
RajNight 223 223 270
RugbyDinners 510 510 0
Harvest Supper 567 567 0
Quiz Night 473 473 0
Concert 960 960 700
Westwind Open Gardens 1222 1222 0
Duck Race 686 686 0
Village Fete 0 0 139
St George's Supper 0 0 669
Safari Supper 0 0 660
4b 4194 567 4761 2658
c) Investment Income
Interest on CBF Deposit Fund 3134 3134 1373
Dividends of CBF shares 566 566 563
Dividends of Trust Shares 360 126 487 484
4c 360 3700 126 4186 2420
d) Church Activities:
Fees for Weddings and funerals 3206 3206 5874
4d 3206 3206 5874
Payments
e) Clergy and Staffing Costs
WorshipDirector Pay, NI, Pension etc 3853 5747 9600 9600
4e 3853 5747 9600 9600
f) Church Running Expenses
Workingand Office Expenses 2055 2055 2567
Honoraria and Secretarial 6361 6361 8107
Organ Maintenance & tuning 540 540 698
Insurance 2232 2232 2169
Printingand stationary 1568 1568 3760
Heating,Lightingand Water 2742 2742 4156
Repairs & Maintenance 1836 4620 2608 9063 9334
Capital Improvements 177 10432 6000 16609 9334
Bank Charges 256 256 307
Education/Youth Work 126 126 632
Alpha Course 0 0 165
4f 17892 15052 41552 31895
g) Costs of Generating Funds
St George's Supper 0 0 452
Harvest Supper 403 403 0
Quiz Night 60 60 0
Arocha Lunch 63 63 0
Concert 137 137 93
Christmas Carols 27 27 0
287 690 545

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5. Giving to Missions and Charities

Unrestricted
Fund		 Unrestricted
Designated
Fund		 Restricted
Fund		 Total 2023 Total 2022
£ £ £ £ £
Special Collection Distribution
DEC Ukraine 0 0 805
DEC Turkeyand Syria 335 335 0
Jerusalem and Middle East Church 217 217 307
Royal Naval Benevolent Trust 0 0 53
RABI 304 304 173
SSAFA 100 100 125
Combat Stress 100 100 125
Crisis 33 33 342
Save the Children 0 0 88
Children's Society 369 369 88
Christian Aid 0 0 88
Age UK Wiltshire 369 369 88
1827 1827 2284
Unrestricted
Fund		 Unrestricted
Designated
Fund		 Restricted
Fund		 Total 2023 Total 2022
Charitable Giving
International
SOMA 500 500 500
Sudan Church(via SalisburyDBF) 500 500 500
National
A Rocha 250 250 0
Bible Society 575 575 500
Tearfund 500 500 500
Local Charities
Devizes and Marlborough Foodbank 500 500 500
Home Start Kennet 150 150 125
Jubilee Centre 150 150 125
MAPAG 150 150 125
Prospect Hospice 150 150 125
Friends of SalisburyCathedral 30 30 30
Emergency Fund
Tearfund - Yemen 0 0 300
Total 3455 3455 3330

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6. Note on Restricted Funds
As of 31 December 2023, there are no restricted funds. The breakdown of payments and receipts (excl
Worship Director and Special Collections) are shown below:
The remaining balance in the Worship Director Fund was spent in 2023 and going forward the salary
of the vicar shall bepaid from the Unrestricted Fund
Income Expenditure
Dividends Received from Investments 126
Fabric - Tree Surgery 2080
Fabric - CherryTrees and Bulbs 528
Legacy- Rail,Gate,Doors & Lighting 3379
Benjamin & BeauchampSurveyand Pre FacultyWork 2621
126 8608
7. Note on Unrestricted Designated Funds
As of 31 December 2023, there were £97,388 Unrestricted Designated funds. The breakdown of
payments and receipts are shown below:
Income Expenditure
Dividends Received from Investments 566
CBF Deposit Acct retained interest 3134
Bequests 3600
Fabric - Bulbs,Trees,Bird Boxes 1046
Fabric - Grounds Work 2605
Fabric - TapRepair 969
Legacy- Defibrillator 2411
Legacy- Benches 855
Legacy- Rail,Gate,Doors & Lighting 6813
Legacy- Central HeatingThermostat 353
7300 15052
8. Transfer between funds
No transfer between funds in 2023
6. Note on Restricted Funds
As of 31 December 2023, there are no restricted funds. The breakdown of payments and receipts (excl
Worship Director and Special Collections) are shown below:
The remaining balance in the Worship Director Fund was spent in 2023 and going forward the salary
of the vicar shall bepaid from the Unrestricted Fund
Income Expenditure
Dividends Received from Investments 126
Fabric - Tree Surgery 2080
Fabric - CherryTrees and Bulbs 528
Legacy- Rail,Gate,Doors & Lighting 3379
Benjamin & BeauchampSurveyand Pre FacultyWork 2621
126 8608
7. Note on Unrestricted Designated Funds
As of 31 December 2023, there were £97,388 Unrestricted Designated funds. The breakdown of
payments and receipts are shown below:
Income Expenditure
Dividends Received from Investments 566
CBF Deposit Acct retained interest 3134
Bequests 3600
Fabric - Bulbs,Trees,Bird Boxes 1046
Fabric - Grounds Work 2605
Fabric - TapRepair 969
Legacy- Defibrillator 2411
Legacy- Benches 855
Legacy- Rail,Gate,Doors & Lighting 6813
Legacy- Central HeatingThermostat 353
7300 15052
8. Transfer between funds
No transfer between funds in 2023

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Appendix 2

St George’s Church, Preshute Annual Parochial Church Meeting to be held in the Church on Sunday 21 April 2024 at 11.45am

AGENDA

  1. Welcome and Opening Prayers

  2. Apologies for Absence

  3. Minutes of the Meeting of Sunday 23 April 2023 (See Appendix 3)

  4. Electoral Roll Report

  5. Report of the proceedings of the PCC

  6. Finance:

  7. a. Treasurer’s Report

  8. b. Adoption of audited accounts

  9. c. Appointment of Independent Examiner

  10. Report on the Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of the church

    • Presentation and approval of Inventory Changes forms

  11. Safeguarding

  12. Report on the proceedings of the Deanery Synod

  13. Team Vicar’s Comments

  14. Any Questions

ELECTIONS

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Appendix 3

Annual Parochial Church Meeting and Vestry Meeting Sunday 23 April 2023, 11.45am at St George’s Church

MINUTES

Present: Alastair Barr, David Beacom, Sandra Beacom, Liz Bonham, Simon Bonham, Amanda
Brown, Andrew Brown, Howard Cripps, Heather Croucher, Neil Croucher, Sue Elks, Charles
Graham, Nicky Huckle, Elizabeth Keighley, Paul Lefever, Jan Lillywhite, Kate Martin, Chris
McColl, Linda Morgan, Philip Morgan, Revd Pete Sainsbury (Chair), Judith Sharp, Revd Chris
Smith (Rector), Vernie Sofflet, Alec Thomas, Jeremy York		 Present: Alastair Barr, David Beacom, Sandra Beacom, Liz Bonham, Simon Bonham, Amanda
Brown, Andrew Brown, Howard Cripps, Heather Croucher, Neil Croucher, Sue Elks, Charles
Graham, Nicky Huckle, Elizabeth Keighley, Paul Lefever, Jan Lillywhite, Kate Martin, Chris
McColl, Linda Morgan, Philip Morgan, Revd Pete Sainsbury (Chair), Judith Sharp, Revd Chris
Smith (Rector), Vernie Sofflet, Alec Thomas, Jeremy York
1 Welcome and Opening Prayers:Revd Pete welcomed all present thanked everyone for
coming. Revd Pete then offered a prayer to open the meeting.
2 Apologies:Apologies were received from Laurien Carter, Kay Cripps, Prue Groffman,
Marcia Johnson, Richard Metters, Anne Notton, Robin Notton, Stephen Robins, David
Sims, Linda Sims.
3 Minutes of the Meeting of Sunday 26 April 2022:The minutes had been published in the
APCM report and were approved and signed. There were no matters arising from the
minutes.
4 Electoral Roll:Charles Graham represented Linda Sims, who was unable to be present, and
referred the meeting to Linda’s report in the Annual Report. Charles reminded everyone that
the report relates to 2022, and as such there was nothing further to add. Charles thanked
Linda for taking on the task of Electoral Roll Officer.
5 Proceedings of the PCC:In addition to the information given in the Annual Report, the
Secretary gave a brief description of the items that appear regularly on PCC agendas:
•
Vicar’s Report, including matters relating to worship patterns, children’s ministry,
baptisms, the Alpha course and our links with Preshute Primary School
•
Finance, including a review of charitable giving in 2022 and the planning of the
budget at the November meeting
•
Diocesan and Deanery Synod report – a particular feature of the reports from the
Deanery Synod in 2022 was the establishing of a link with the Diocese of Morobo.
•
Safeguarding, with a report on any issues arising and focusing in the past year on
training requirements, particularly for those working with children at the church
and Preshute Primary School.
•
Church and Churchyard (with thanks to David Beacom for all his work in this area)
including a detailed walk around the church and churchyard at the July PCC
meeting to review the fabric of the building
•
Eco Church
•
Planning of Social Events
•
Other topics for discussion thisyear were theprintingof service booklets and the

30

return of communion wine, the installation of the Nest heating monitor and applications for faculties. Last but not least, an important part of the October meeting was the proposal to make Revd Pete’s Worship Director post permanent – pleased to say this was approved.

6 Treasurer’s Report:

AB invited any questions and Charles Graham enquired firstly whether, now that service booklets had been printed, the annual printing costs would be reduced and AB confirmed that this would be the case. Secondly, Charles asked the Treasurer if he had any news on the amount of money raised from St George’s in the appeal to support the Diocese of Morobo in purchasing Bibles. AB answered that he didn’t have the figures to hand but would circulate these following the meeting.

AB concluded that if anyone had any further questions, having looked at the accounts in more detail, they would be welcome to contact him.

Revd Pete offered sincere thanks to Alastair (and to Emma for her forbearance!) for the considerable amount of work involved in the role of Treasurer and in preparing the annual accounts.

31

approve them. As this process is not yet complete (but any revisions are likely to be
minor), PS proposed provisional acceptance of the accounts. All were in favour.
c. PS also proposed that Roger Wheeler be appointed Independent Examiner. All were in
favour.
7 Report on the Fabric, Goods, and Ornaments of the Church:An inventory of the fabric,
goods and ornaments had been carried out by the Churchwardens with the aid of Charles
Graham.
Nicky Huckle reported the additions to the inventory as: mini glasses for communion
wine, new service booklets, large print versions of the new service booklets, some more
booklets for the 8am communion services, roped guide posts to cordon off the bell tower
when in use, the new card reader machine and the electronic piano.
Nicky reported as missing the Gideon children’s story books.
PS offered thanks to Nicky and Charles for all their work and signed the inventory.
Alec Thomas enquired whether the potential increased value of fabric, goods and
ornaments was reflected in the church’s insurance. It was agreed that the value of certain
items should be investigated and checked with the insurance company.
8 Safeguarding:Judith Denning (Safeguarding Officer) was unable to be at the meeting,
but had submitted a report within the Annual Report. PS recorded his thanks for all
Judith’s work and to all those who had been required to complete an enhanced DBS
check and online training. PS had completed an update of his safeguarding training for
incumbents in 2022. Otherwise (thankfully) there was little to report on safeguarding,
other than that new signage had been placed in the toilet with contact details for those
wishing to contact make contact with someone on a safeguarding issue.
9 Deanery Synod:PS referred the meeting to page 13 of the Annual Report for a report
from Canon Sarah Musgrave on activities of the Deanery Synod in 2022 and (although
this is not a requirement for the annual report) the Diocesan Synod. Additionally, PS
commented that areas for discussion at the Diocesan Synod had been finances, Parish
Share, resources and the state of the Diocese and had involved making some brave
decisions about cuts required. PS highlighted that whilst the workings of the Diocese
may seem remote from parish life, we are very much a part of the Diocese and they
help to fund what we do at parish level.
A highlight from the summer of 2022 had been the visit of Bishop Data from the
Diocese of Morobo. PS is now in touch with +Data on a regular basis and fundraising is
in process to allow the Diocese of Morobo to purchase more Bibles. The Marlborough
Deanery is already at work helping the Diocese of Morobo with food production and
developing their sustainability.
PS explained the structure of the Diocese and Deanery and thanked Jeremy York, Simon
Bonham and Sarah Musgrave verymuch for their work as representatives on the

32

Deanery Synod over the past three years. As it is now the end of the triennium, new representatives have to be elected to the Deanery Synod.

10

On a matter of Church procedure, Alec Thomas asked why there had been such a long interregnum before PS’s appointment. PS explained that it is the way of the Church of England to allow a period of re-setting before the installation of a new incumbent. In addition, applications have become slower, and in the case of the Marlborough Anglican Team there was the added complication of the Team Rector’s appointment needing to be made before the appointment of an incumbent at St George’s. Team Vicar’s Comments: PS referred the meeting to his report within the Annual Report to which he added his especial thanks to Neil Croucher and Nicky Huckle for their work as churchwardens and to Jeremy York for his work as Deputy Churchwarden. PS also thanked Stephen Robins who had stepped in to Jeremy’s role on his retirement and who, shortly after his arrival in Marlborough had shown his ‘servant heart’ in assisting at St George’s in so many ways.

Thanks and a presentation of flowers were also given to Mel Rolfe for all her work in keeping the church clean, and additionally, PS indicated how grateful his was for the work of the PCC, those on the Flower Rota, Deanery Synod Reps and those involved in children’s work and Messy Church. PS felt it was important too to be grateful to each other for the warm, family-oriented church family.

PS also gave personal thanks for the positive response to formalising the Worship Director as a permanent post. Howard Cripps proposed thanks to the Brown family for the music at St George’s. PS outlined the services offered at St George’s and emphasised that members of St George’s were welcome at St Mary’s, and vice versa. A service of Evening Prayer on Zoom continues to be offered on a Wednesday. Anyone interested should ask PS for details of how to access the service. PS added that Jessy Pomfret’s licensing as a Lay Pastoral Assistant had been one of the highlights of 2022, and thanked Jessy for growing into this role. PS asked for everyone’s prayers for the clergy as they support Jessy in her pastoral ministry. Charles Graham spoke on behalf of Richard Metters to mention the special contribution of the bellringers at the time of the Queen’s death. The dedication of the ringers had been memorable and Richard had felt it a great privilege to lead the team. As promised in the Annual Report, Neil Croucher presented a verbal report on the Dominy and Turner Trust activities in 2022: NC explained that the Trust, administered by the Vicar and Churchwardens of St George’s, exists to give support in the fields of education/training, the prevention or relief of poverty and religious activities to children/young people, people with disabilities and the elderly. Three grants had been made by the Trust in 2022: 1) the sum of £94 to Preshute School Fun Club, 2) to

33

purchase Bibles to present to year 6 Leavers at Preshute Primary School at a cost of £449 and 3) to support the restoration of a school bell at Preshute School, an initiative led by Sue Elks. The opening balance for the Trust was £11,504, with an income of £1,500 and a closing balance of £12,950. Looking to the future, it was hoped that the Trust would be able to support the elderly in times of rising prices. NC encouraged anyone aware of individuals in need to contact PS, NC or NH.

Thanks were offered to Sally Cripps for all her work a churchwarden, which completed in 2022.

Finally, NC proposed thanks to PS, who had arrived three years ago shortly before the pandemic and despite these difficulties has led the church forward so positively. NC was pleased that PS’s position was now unhypothecated (to use Chris Smith’s term!).

Any Questions:

ELECTIONS

PCC:

Deanery Synod:

34

35

FINANCE

Financial Review

The following provides an overview of the accounts for 2023 which have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 using the Receipts and Payments basis.

2023 was again a challenging financial year for St George’s. The unrestricted fund returned a deficit of £7,365 in 2023, following a surplus of £2,588 in 2022. Key factors include a drop in donations and reduced fees from weddings and funerals. Fortunately, utility costs have started to reduce, coming down from £4,156 in 2022 to £2,742, though still well above the historic average of approximately £1,000 per year. In the third quarter, as planned we began to fund our Worship Director via our general fund, as the original Worship Director fund, set up in 2020, has now been used.

Despite these challenges, we remain a charitable church. A total of £1,827 was raised through special collections and a further £3,455 was donated to a range of local, national and international charities out of our normal income.

2023 saw the beginning of a number of capital projects, funded through the Legacy and Fabric funds we maintain for long term investment and maintenance of the church and churchyard. £16,609 was spent on capital project work, much of which can be seen as you come to the church, such as the new railings, upgraded paths and soon to be installed door and gate at the front of the church. A number of generous donations have contributed to the installation of new benches and cherry trees in the churchyard.

The full accounts are presented in the Appendix.

Notes on Income:

The table below summarises the main sources of income for our Unrestricted Fund over the past three years, excluding restricted income such as Worship Director donations, bequests and special collections. Planned giving remains consistent and has done since 2019. Over that same period, the money we collect at services (cash and yellow envelopes) has dropped by nearly a third. In 2023 we saw a further drop in donations and income from weddings and funerals, while income from social events increased. The card reader, introduced near the end of 2022, has continued to pay for itself.

Sources of Income (Unrestricted Fund) 2021 (£) 2022 (£) 2023 (£)
Planned Giving (Total) 30,796 30,853 31,474
of which: Planned Giving Scheme (PGS) 16,494 18,016 18,848
Standing Orders 12,597 10,988 10,873
Blue Envelopes 1,705 1,849 1,753
Collections (excluding special collections) 1,858 3,418 2,614
Yellow Envelopes 972 1,191 1,170
Wall Box 293 220 251
Donations 10,307 7,434 5,501
Card Reader N/A 281 1,787
Generous Giving Campaign 7,981 N/A N/A
Gift Aid tax refund (2 years claimed in
2022)		 11,425 22,447 10,468
Social Events (Net) 1,515 2,112 3,907
Fees from Weddings and Funerals 4,157 5,874 3,206
Legacies 0 0 200
Grants 0 1,000 335
Dividends from Investments 347 358 360
Total Income 69,651 75,189 61,274*

*Excluding costs of social events of £287, total income for 2023 is £61,561

Notes on Expenditure:

Expenditure continues to be controlled, and has come down in a number of areas, for example as we move to booklets for the order of service. Overall expenditure for 2023 was below the budget for the year. The Parish Share continues to increase and next we will see an 8% increase to £47,149 in 2024.

Summary of Expenditure (Unrestricted Fund) 2021 (£) 2022 (£) 2023 (£)
Parish Share 40,164 42,173 43,438
Church Maintenance and Running Costs 5,584 5,175 2,376
Church Capital Costs Included above 60 177
Utilities 1,367 4,156 2,742
Insurance 2,085 2,169 2,232
Equipment & Consumables 561 631 118
Publicity, Printing and Stationery 1,867 3,128 1,450
Working and Office Expenses 1,926 2,567 2,055
Worship Director N/A N/A 3,853
Honoraria/Secretarial 2,030 8,107 6,361
Missions and Charities 1,123 3,330 3,455
Alpha Course N/A 165 N/A
Education & Youth Work N/A 632 126
Bank Charges 287 307 256
Auditor Costs 432 0 0
Total Expenditure 57,426 72,602 68,639

Reserves policy

It is PCC policy to try to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds that equates to at least three months' unrestricted payments (excluding charitable giving). In 2023 this was equivalent to £15,311 and this was met as of 31 December 2023 when the unrestricted fund stood at £17,946

We currently maintain a Gift and Legacy fund. This fund is to be used on major projects some of which are currently entering final consultation and faculty stage whilst others are at early discussion stages but all of which will significantly reduce this designated fund.

Alastair Barr, Hon Treasurer

Appendix 1

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Geroge’s Preshute, Marlborough Financial Statements for the Year Ending 31[st] December 2023

Note Unrestricted
Funds		 Unrestricted
Designated
Fund		 Restricted
Fund		 Endowment
Fund		 Total 2023 Total 2022
Receipts £ £ £ £ £ £
Voluntary Receipts
Planned Giving 31474 1605 33079 32473
Collections at Services 2614 1664 4277 5702
All othergiving /voluntaryreceipts 4a 9244 3600 0 12844 10126
Gift Aid Recovered 10468 0 10468 26538
Sub Total 53800 3600 3269 0 60669 74839
Activities forgeneratingfunds 4b 4194 567 4761 2658
Investment Income 4c 360 3700 126 4186 2420
Church Activities 4d 3206 3206 5874
Total Receipts 61561 7300 3962 0 72822 85791
Payments
Church Activities
Parish Share 43438 43438 42173
Clergyand StaffingCosts 4e 3853 5747 9600 9600
Church RunningCosts 4f,6,7 17715 4620 2608 0 24943 29039
Church Capital Costs 4f,6,7 177 10432 6000 0 16609 2857
Mission Givingand Donations 5 3455 1827 5282 5614
68639 15052 16182 99873 89282
Cost of GeneratingFunds 4g 287 403 690 545
Total Payments 68926 15052 16585 100563 89827
Excess of Receipts overpayments -7365 -7752 -12624 0 -27741 -4037
Transfer Between Funds 8 0 0
-7365 -7752 -12624 0 -27741 -4037
Gains/ Losses on Investments
Realised
Unrealised 1781 1531 3311 -4696
Net Movement in funds
Balance brought forward at 1 Jan 2023 25311 103303 12624 16268 157505 166237
Balance carried forward at 31 Dec 2023 17946 97331 0 17798 133076 157505
Net change in funds inyear -24429 -8732
Comprising
Total Receipts 72822
Total Payments 100563
Investment Gains/Losses 3311
Net change in funds inyear -24429

A-1

Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31[st] December2023

Note Unrestricted
Funds		 Unrestricted
Designated
Fund		 Restricted
Fund		 Total 2023 Total 2022
£ £ £ £ £
Cash Funds
Bank Current Account 8662 0 0 8662 24537
CCLA Deposit Fund 9227 76681 0 85908 97775
Total 17889 76681 0 94571 122311
Note 31-Dec-23 31-Dec-22
£ £
Investment Assets
Investment Shares CCLA General 20706 18926
Investment Shares - Aspent Copse Trust 13183 12049
Investment shares - Angela and William Whitrow 4615 4218
Current Assets
Cash on hand at bank 8662 24537
CCLA Deposit Fund 85908 97775
Total Assets 133075 157505

A-2

Notes to the 2023 Accounts and Further Analysis

1. Accounting Policies

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St George’s Preshute, Marlborough, is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, Charity Registration Number 1184256.

a) Basis of preparation

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 together with applicable accounting standards and the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standards applicable in the UK & Republic of Ireland (FRS102) issued on 16th July 2014.

The accounts are prepared on the Receipts and Payments basis.

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

The accounts include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. The accounts do not include the accounts relating to any informal gatherings of Church members or small cash balances held by individuals such as the flower arrangers.

Rounding – the Accounts are prepared to the exact penny but for presentation purposes, and for ease of reading and understanding, are shown in rounded pounds. This can mean that some of the totals and/or sub totals do not appear as if they add correctly and appear to be £1 out. c) Incoming resources

d) Resources used

g) Current Assets. Cash held in a savings account with a bank is classified as cash at bank. Cash held on deposit with the CBF Church of England Deposit Fund or held in a term deposit account with a bank is also classified as cash.

A-3

h) Funds - Funds have been classified as Unrestricted, Unrestricted Designated, Restricted or Endowment.

The Angela and William Whitrow fund where the dividend income gained is restricted to use on upkeep of the churchyard.

2. Explanation of Funds

St George's has a number of funds where the PCC has allocated money for specific purposes to aid saving for projects and to manage our finances more effectively, e.g. to budget for organ maintenance. The funds and purposes are as follows:

A-4

Note to the Accounts – Further Analysis Continued

The following pages further break down specific sections of income and expenditure.

3. Movement in Funds

We maintain a number of designated funds to help budget for future finance. At the end of the year these funds contained:

funds contained:
Balance B/F Receipts Payments Investment
Gains /
Losses		 Bal/C/f
Unrestricted 25311 61192 68614 17889
Restricted 6
Fabric Fund 2482 126 2608 0
Legacyand Gift Fund 6000 0 6000 0
WorshipDirector Fund 4142 1605 5747 0
Special Collections 5 0 2231 2231 0
12624 3962 16585 0
Designated 7
Fabric 8555 0 4620 3936
Legacy& Gift Fund 82052 7300 10375 1781 80757
Boiler 0 0 0
Ministry 5264 5264
Church Hall 1141 1141
Organ 6290 6290
103303 7300 14995 1781 97388
Total(excl of Aspent Copse & Whitrow Fund) 141238 72453 100194 1781 115277
Endowments
Value of Aspent Copse Trust & Whitrow Funds 16268 0 1531 17798
Total 157505 72453 100194 3311 133075
£
Value at 31/12/22 157505
Value at 31/12/23 133075
Value change in year -24430
Total Receipts 72453
Total Payments 100194
Investmentgains/loss 3311
Net change in funds inyear -24430

A-5

4. Breakdown of Income and Expenditure

Unrestricted
Fund		 Unrestricted
Designated
Fund		 Restricted
Fund		 Total 2023 Total 2022
Receipts £ £ £ £ £
a) All othergiving / voluntary receipts
Donations(including yellow envelopes) 8793 8793 9906
Bequests 3600 3600 0
Legacies 200 0 200 0
Wall Box 251 251 220
4a 9244 3600 0 12844 10126
b) Social Activities Generating funds
Plant Sales 120 120 220
RajNight 223 223 270
RugbyDinners 510 510 0
Harvest Supper 567 567 0
Quiz Night 473 473 0
Concert 960 960 700
Westwind Open Gardens 1222 1222 0
Duck Race 686 686 0
Village Fete 0 0 139
St George's Supper 0 0 669
Safari Supper 0 0 660
4b 4194 567 4761 2658
c) Investment Income
Interest on CBF Deposit Fund 3134 3134 1373
Dividends of CBF shares 566 566 563
Dividends of Trust Shares 360 126 487 484
4c 360 3700 126 4186 2420
d) Church Activities:
Fees for Weddings and funerals 3206 3206 5874
4d 3206 3206 5874
Payments
e) Clergy and Staffing Costs
WorshipDirector Pay, NI, Pension etc 3853 5747 9600 9600
4e 3853 5747 9600 9600
f) Church Running Expenses
Workingand Office Expenses 2055 2055 2567
Honoraria and Secretarial 6361 6361 8107
Organ Maintenance & tuning 540 540 698
Insurance 2232 2232 2169
Printingand stationary 1568 1568 3760
Heating,Lightingand Water 2742 2742 4156
Repairs & Maintenance 1836 4620 2608 9063 9334
Capital Improvements 177 10432 6000 16609 9334
Bank Charges 256 256 307
Education/Youth Work 126 126 632
Alpha Course 0 0 165
4f 17892 15052 8608 41552 31895
g) Costs of Generating Funds
St George's Supper 0 0 452
Harvest Supper 403 403 0
Quiz Night 60 60 0
Arocha Lunch 63 63 0
Concert 137 137 93
Christmas Carols 27 27 0
287 403 690 545

A-6

5. Giving to Missions and Charities

Unrestricted
Fund		 Unrestricted
Designated
Fund		 Restricted
Fund		 Total 2023 Total 2022
£ £ £ £ £
Special Collection Distribution
DEC Ukraine 0 0 805
DEC Turkeyand Syria 335 335 0
Jerusalem and Middle East Church 217 217 307
Royal Naval Benevolent Trust 0 0 53
RABI 304 304 173
SSAFA 100 100 125
Combat Stress 100 100 125
Crisis 33 33 342
Save the Children 0 0 88
Children's Society 369 369 88
Christian Aid 0 0 88
Age UK Wiltshire 369 369 88
1827 1827 2284
Unrestricted
Fund		 Unrestricted
Designated
Fund		 Restricted
Fund		 Total 2023 Total 2022
Charitable Giving
International
SOMA 500 500 500
Sudan Church(via SalisburyDBF) 500 500 500
National
A Rocha 250 250 0
Bible Society 575 575 500
Tearfund 500 500 500
Local Charities
Devizes and Marlborough Foodbank 500 500 500
Home Start Kennet 150 150 125
Jubilee Centre 150 150 125
MAPAG 150 150 125
Prospect Hospice 150 150 125
Friends of SalisburyCathedral 30 30 30
Emergency Fund
Tearfund - Yemen 0 0 300
Total 3455 3455 3330

A-7

6. Note on Restricted Funds
As of 31 December 2023, there are no restricted funds. The breakdown of payments and receipts (excl
Worship Director and Special Collections) are shown below:
The remaining balance in the Worship Director Fund was spent in 2023 and going forward our
contribution to the salary of the vicar not paid by the Diocese shall be paid from the Unrestricted
Fund
Income Expenditure
Dividends Received from Investments 126
Fabric - Tree Surgery 2080
Fabric - CherryTrees and Bulbs 528
Legacy- Rail,Gate,Doors & Lighting 3379
Benjamin & BeauchampSurveyand Pre FacultyWork 2621
126 8608
7. Note on Unrestricted Designated Funds
As of 31 December 2023, there were £97,388 Unrestricted Designated funds. The breakdown of
payments and receipts are shown below:
Income Expenditure
Dividends Received from Investments 566
CBF Deposit Account Interest Income 3134
Bequests 3600
Fabric - Bulbs,Trees,Bird Boxes 1046
Fabric - Grounds Work 2605
Fabric - TapRepair 969
Legacy- Defibrillator 2411
Legacy- Benches 855
Legacy- Rail,Gate,Doors & Lighting 6813
Legacy- Central HeatingThermostat 353
7300 15052
8. Transfer between funds
No transfer between funds in 2023
6. Note on Restricted Funds
As of 31 December 2023, there are no restricted funds. The breakdown of payments and receipts (excl
Worship Director and Special Collections) are shown below:
The remaining balance in the Worship Director Fund was spent in 2023 and going forward our
contribution to the salary of the vicar not paid by the Diocese shall be paid from the Unrestricted
Fund
Income Expenditure
Dividends Received from Investments 126
Fabric - Tree Surgery 2080
Fabric - CherryTrees and Bulbs 528
Legacy- Rail,Gate,Doors & Lighting 3379
Benjamin & BeauchampSurveyand Pre FacultyWork 2621
126 8608
7. Note on Unrestricted Designated Funds
As of 31 December 2023, there were £97,388 Unrestricted Designated funds. The breakdown of
payments and receipts are shown below:
Income Expenditure
Dividends Received from Investments 566
CBF Deposit Account Interest Income 3134
Bequests 3600
Fabric - Bulbs,Trees,Bird Boxes 1046
Fabric - Grounds Work 2605
Fabric - TapRepair 969
Legacy- Defibrillator 2411
Legacy- Benches 855
Legacy- Rail,Gate,Doors & Lighting 6813
Legacy- Central HeatingThermostat 353
7300 15052
8. Transfer between funds
No transfer between funds in 2023

A-8

INDEPENDENTEXAMINER'SREPORT TOTHE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL'THE PCC" (TRUSTEES) of St GEORGE'S CHURCH PRESHLTfE Registered Charity Number 1184256 Year Ended 31 Decembor 2023 I report on the Re￿Ipts and Payments Aco)unts, pages A-1 to A-8, vthth are attached to the Trustees. Annual Report for the year erKled 31 December 2023. Respoctive rnsponslbililies of trustees and examlner The charity's trustees are resportsible for the preparatson of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (￿he 2011 Acf). The chartty's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of th8 Act arKI that an independent examination .Is needed. It is my responsibilty to.- examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 ACL to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directior6 given by the Chartty Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Ac( and to slate whether particular matters have come to my attention. èasls of Independent oxamlnevs statement My examination was carried out in accordance with ger)eral DI￿￿0nS gp￿n by the Charity Commission. An examination indudes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also indudes consideration of any unusual items or disdosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees ' conceming any such matter5. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the eviden￿ that would be required in an audit. and cons6yuenty no oynion is given as to whether the accounts present a ttrue and fairf wew and the report is limit&J to those matters set out in the statement below. Independent examinevs ststement In ¢onne¢lion with my examination, no material rnatters have come to my attention which givgs me cause to believe Ihat in any material reSp￿t.. a¢￿unting records were not kept in accordance with sectFon 130 of the Charities Act or the accounts do not a¢cord wtlh the accounting records I have no conwns and have 0)n￿ across no other matters in connect¢on with the examination to which attention should be dravm in order to enatle a proper understanding of the a¢￿Unts to be reached. Signed: Date: Roger I￿eel Accountant Roger John & Co 1 Farrar Drive Marlborough SN8 1TP Econ