St George's PRESHUTE Annual Report 2024 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 vi Ilages 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 IDeanery of N4arlboroughl and is part of the Nlarlborough Angl ican Team, with an office in Si Iverless 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 lesus Known The Church is the family of Christians meeting together to worship God and to find fellowship together Lhrough prayer and learning. Our work is lo 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 two- fold strategy.. to deepen and enrich our own worshipping l ife 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 IPCC) The PCC has the responsibil ity of co-operating with the Team Vicar in promoti ng, in the ecclesiastical Parish of Preshute, the whole mission of the Church.. pastoral, evangel istlc, social and ecumenical. The life of St George's is with in the Marlborough Anglican Team, Marlborough Churches Together and the Diocese of Sal isbury in the Church of England. Membenshi Members of the Parochial Church Counci l are either elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting or co-opted by the PCC due lo the functions they perform in the Church (provided the person is wil ling 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 Vicarl.. Churchwarden.. Deanery Synod.. Revd Pete Sainsbury Nicky Huckle Charles Graham Paul Lefever Alastair Barr (Treasurer) David Beacom IFabric and Churchyardl Amanda Brown (Secretaryl Marcia johnson Anna Jones Ico-optedl Stephen Robins Heather Lee ILLMI Canon Sarah Musgrave ILLMI Revd Chris Smith Members.. The other members are.. Ex-officio members: The PCC has met six times during Ihe 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. Central to each meeting is the core task of'makingjesus Known,, as we plan and review services and discuss how we might 'grow' the worship offering. Regular item5 of busine55 on the PCC'S agenda are a report from the Vicar and the Treasurer, as wel l as a report on matters relating to the maintenance of the church and churchyard. Our ongoing work as an Eco church is also routinely reviewed, and plans for social and fundraising events are made. Safeguarding is also a standard item on the agenda at each meeting, and we hear updates following meetings of the Deanery Synod from our representative. Other considerations at the PCC meetings in 2024 were the spring stewardship campaign, improvements to the heati ng system in the church and initial discussions about enhancing the church's audio-visual provision. Pol icy documents for Health and Safety and Safeguarding were reviewed, and plans were made to offer defibril lator training after the instal lation of the defibril lator un it. A number of the PCC also attended a Seminar on Living in Love and Faith in january 2024. There were 124 names on the Electoral Roll at 31 December 2024. The average number of worshippers each week (excluding festival services) has been approximately 39. Team Rector's Report 2024 feels l ike the lirst year when the church pressed on not feel ing li ke we were in Covid recovery. It was heartening to see so many activities, socials and mission activities all return to normal. Some things we have picked up along the way have not been bad either. The zoom prayers at 5pm on Wednesdays have been very much appreciated by those who are less mobile and have been a way of keeping in touch and us al I benefiting from everyone's prayers. The effects of the pandemic, turbulence in publ ic l ife, the first bout of inflation for years, and various wars do seem to have left many with feel ings of despair. The Church didn't cover itself in glory last year either. The Makin report laid bare the terrible abuse meted out by some 'in Christ's name,; the cover-ups in the end leading to the first resignation of an Archbishop of CanterbLJry. St Paul wrote to his protege Timothy= 'Preach the word,. be prepared in season and out of season- correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. We might find some comfort in these verses in the sense that our faith has always been lived and proclaimed in the ups and downs of life. Paul's encouragement to Us is not to stop, whether it feels like our message is in season or not. For what it's worth, the societal problems that we have seen, do seem to have created an opening for the gospel that perhap5 we haven't seen from many years. Who knows, perhaps Marlborough is prepared and ready to hear the good new5 afresh and again? My thanks to Pete and the team - press on St George'sl Revd Chri5 Smith, Tean7 Rector of Marlborough Team Vicar's Report I li ke to start my report by thanking you all for your contribution to the lile of the church (ami ly at Preshute. Much is done by many to keep th ings going al St George's and l am very graleful to you all. Your giving in different ways makes the difference. Our Sunday worship l ife 15 at the core of all we do as a church, and dovetails with our call to live a l ife of daily worship. We are called to be learners of Jesus this is the key meaning of the word disciple. A good word which sums this up for us is apprenticeship. And again, I love the Presbyterian statement that "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy H im forever" il is well worth borrowing! We are loved beyond measure by God in Christ and also challenged deeply by Him to become more like Him. I want to express my sincere thanks to the PCC for six meetings a year plus so much more, and si milarly, to the Standing Team churchwarden Nicky Huckle for another year of very ful I service churchwarden Neil Croucher who stood down in April 2024 Amanda Brown for being a proactive and capable PCC secretary Alastair Barr for keeping the financial ship steady Mel Rolfe for keeping the church spruce and clean David Beacom for coordinating a great deal of work on the church building and churchyard and also for continuing to organise many social and fundraising events judith Denning for much safeguarding work in 2024, with Marcia johnson's asSlStance Andrew Brown for much music including with our young people Lyn Whatley for her care of our l iturgical fabrics Richard Metter5 and the ringers for their (sometimes more than) weekly service Amanda Brown, Sue Elks and Lydia Bauer for thei r advocating and faci litating of chi Idren's ministry Sally Cripps for taking on the mantle of flower coordination from the late Prue Groffman Marcia Johnson lor coordinating the necessary work for the emptying and maintenance of the septic tank Ken Martin for behind-the-scenes repai rs Laurien Carter for record-keeping jeremy York for many and various helps and to all those who do many other things too such as welcoming, wardening, making coffee, pol ishing brass, reading, leading intercessions, newsletter distribution, flower arrangement, record keeping, singing and very much more besides, especial ly the unseen things and to all of you who 5UPPOrt all those people! We were delighted to welcome Heather Lee to St George's in 2024, previously serving as a Licensed Lay Minister in Bristol diocese. Heather was rel icensed to this diocese on 28 September 2024 at Salisbury Cathedral and now takes an active role at St George's and withi n the Marlborough Anglican Team. We were delighted to have a confirmation service at the end of 2024 and were delighted to celebrate with lan and Lynne Moody their confirmation by Bishop Andrew Rumsey. As i ndeed it is in most years, we had some losses as a church fami ly. Anne Notlon IPCC secretary for many years and when I started at Preshutel died in Apri I, and although Gerald and Prue Groffman both died in 2023, their joint memorial service was in 2024. At the beginning of 2025, we said 'goodbye and thank you, to Richard and judith Denning. Richard and Judith have served the life of St George's considerably and in many ways over quite a period of time. Most recently, Judith has been a Lay Pastoral Assistant, and our Parish Safeguarding Officer, a role she has done with great efficiency. As a parish, I'd l ike to express our gratitude to Helen Chamber5, retired teacher at Preshute School and a parishioner at Baydon who stands as foundation governor with me, on your behalf. Final ly, we have some financial chal lenges but I'm grateful to you all for responding positively lo the first year of my 'One-One-One Challenge,, which proposes that we increase our personal linancial giving by one percent a year over a few years to get Imost of) us to giving 5.10 of our gross income to the church. Church community life went on well in 2024 and looks set to do so just as much in 2025. We have much lo be grateful for i n a world where the ground seems to be sh ifting i n ways that are surprising and unwelcome. 'God is greater,. Every blessing, everyone, and thank you. Revd Pete Sainsburyi Team Vicar Electoral Roll Report Those whose names were on the Electoral Roll al the time of the 2024 APCM are listed on the notice board in the porch. Any regular worsh ippers at St George's who are not on the roll are encouraged to contact myself, Linda Sims, lor one of the churchwardensl for an application form. There were 124 names on the Electoral Roll at 31 December 2024. Sadly, Prue Groffman and Anne Nolton passed away and, therefore, were removed from the Electoral Rol l. Six people joi ned the congregation this year. Linda Sims Church Attendance The good news is that over the course of 2024, the figures for church attendance at St George's have, by and large, been simi lar to those of 2023. The 8am service of Holy Communion welcomed, on average, eight worshippers, whilst attendance at the Morning Worship and Parish Communion services12' 3, 4, and 5, Sundays) increased slightly from 2023 to 39 in the congregation. The first Sunday of the month is an Al l Age Worship service, where the figures swell Lo an average of 45 adults and 9 children attending. It IS Worth making special mention of some of the 'festival' All Age Services.. a total of 86 adults and 26 children attended a jofjul Mothering Sunday service in 2024,. there was also a large congregation for our 'Music Sunday, service, with 48 adults and 16 children attendi ng, and for the Al l Age Harvest Festival service, 57 adults and 18 chi Idren gathered to celebrate and give thanks. Turning to our major festival service5, the church was once again packed for our 2024 Easter Day service of Family Communion 1126 adults and 18 ch ildrenl. Our Christmas services were also well very well attended.. numbers at the Carols by Candlelight service surpassed last year's, with 136 adults and 26 children in the congregation. A total o(45 adults and children came to the Sing-along Nativity (principally aimed at pre-school chi Idrenl - not as many as in previous years, but perhaps a reflertion of the changing national demographic. The ever-popular Crib Service on Christmas Eve welcomed almost as many children1621 as adults1781, and later in the eveni ng in the still of the night, 77 adults celebrated the First Communion of Christmas. There was a large congregation on Christmas morning loo for the Fami ly Communion service, with 75 adults and eight chi Idren attending. In 2024 St George's held two summer Choral Evensongs - these had a faithful fol lowing of approximately 36 for each service. The initiative of an occasional Family Worship service on a Saturday afternoon, started in 2023, continued into early 2024, but as attendance for these services was not strong, it was decided to focus on our Children's Ministry offerings through the monthly All Age worsh ip service, and Me55y Church which was held three times in 2024. 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 famil ies in the parish. There continues to be an online gathering offered each Wednesday afternoon for prayers, which is a helpful mid-week service, and which has a comm itted fol lowing. Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals St George's was delighted to welcome new members of the church lamily at two services of baptism in 2024, and the bells rang out for four weddings during the course of the year. A service of thanksgiving and renewal of marriage vows was also held at the church. Our prayers were with the bereaved at seven funerals and one interment of ashes duri ng 2024. St George's in the Community Revd Pete continued i n 2024 with regu lar visits to Preshute Primary School to lead assembl ies and our Open the Book team have been visiting Lhe school on a month ly basis to act out Bible stories Wlth the help of the pupi Is. 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 famil ies. The St George's newsletter conti nues to be circulated to approximately 700 houses in the parish (mostly in paper format, but electronically in some cases) i n an edition that covers two months. The six editions in 2024 covered the themes 'lourney to the Cross, 'Charitable Giving,, 'Birds as symbols and inspiration in the Bible and beyond,, 'Making the ordinary extraordinary,, 'Findi ng God in poetry, and 'The Christmas Story - a different perspective,. Each edition contains a letter from the Vicar, an article on the theme, a children's page related to the topic as wel l as publicising events in the local community and, of course, the service limes. We remain grateful to Rory Brown for typesetting each edition, to Originzone in Swindon for their speedy prinling, to Sally Cripps for her work in preparing the newsletters for circulation 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. In lune 2024, the Georgians Choir upper voices led the Choral Evensong for the annual patronal service in St Peter's Church, Marlborough. Shortly before Christmas, Andrew Brown, supported by a group of hardy singers from St George's, once again led community carol singing in Barton Park and raised over £250 for Crisis at Christmas. Supporters and choir al ike enjoyed warming mulled wine and mince pies alongside the carol ling. St George's continues to attract many visitors during the course of the week who come to admire the church and churchyard i n its idyl l ic setting by the river or to seek sanctuary in the peace and quiet of the church. For those unfamil iar with the church, there is a history of the church available to purchase as wel l as a free walk-round guide. Amanda Brown Safeguarding I n l ine with gu idance issued by the House of Bishops on matters relating to the safeguardi ng of children and vulnerable adults, safeguarding continues to be a standi ng item on every agenda of the PCC meeti ngs. The Parish Safeg7uarding Officer IPSOI reports i n person to at least two of the meetings annual ly. All safeguardi ng policies were reviewed, updated, and approved in July 2024 at the PCC meeting. The Sal isbury Diocesan Safeguarding Team have introduced the Parish Safeguarding Dashboard, this is an onl ine tool which al lows PSOS to complete an audit of safeguarding pol icy and practice in the parish. Following the audit, an action plan is automatically generated to assist 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 and PCC. The subsequent action plan has been shared with the PCC. The Diocesan Safeguarding team has restarted Parish Safeguarding Officer network meetings. This enable5 the P505 from different parishes to meet LJP and Share issues which is extremely helpful and the meetings are providi ng good opportunities to share issues with those i n both similar and contrasting setti ngs, as well as being able to ask questions from the Diocesan Safeguardi ng team. Safer recruitment Safer recruitment is a critical proces5 to ensure we safeguard our children and vulnerable adults,. the Church of England guideli nes require the proce55 to be undertaken even for volunteer roles. The process i nvolve5 everything that you wou Id expect of a normal job, such as application form, provision of references as well as a DBS and safeguarding trai ning. St George's is in the process of updating its processes to try and ensure we comply with the guideli nes and protect our most vulnerable. The online system for DBS clearance is now wel l establ ished. Appl ications for al I those with roles requiring a DBS and renewals are currently up to date or proceeding as expected. Thank you to everyone for thei r wil lingness to go through this process, your cooperation has been much appreciated. Trainin In Apri12021, the Church of England published a new Safeguardi ng Learning and Development Framework. The focus of this framework is on developing a positive culture of safeguardi ng withi n the church, rather than si mply 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 and Messy Church. Currently, there are no other volunteers who need to complete any safeguarding training, but again, this is always kept under review. Sale uardin concerns and incidents There has been a safeguarding concern raised during the year, which has been successfully managed. This highlights that we need to maintain our vigi lance to ensure the protection and well-being of everyone in our community. I wi I I be stepping down as Parish Safeguarding Off icer in January 2025 as l am hoping to move to Newbury. My role is being taken over by Heather Lee. It has been a pleasure to worship and serve St George's over the years. I thank you al I for al I the support and friendship. Judith Denning, Parish Safeguarding Officer Lay Pastoral Assistants The role of the Lay Pastoral Assistant IS to provide asslstance with pastoral ministry for the local church. This can involve work with ch ildren 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 Denn ing and Jessy Pomfret. The mai n focus o( our work this year has been visiti ng 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 will be stepping down from her role as LPA, following her move lo Newbury. judith Denning and Jessy Pomfret 2024 ACTIVITY REPORT Open the Book Our monthly presentations in Preshule School have mostly been focussed on the main events in the Christian calendar. So, we have featured Christmas, Epiphany, Good Friday, Easter and Pentecost, with in addition a couple of stories from the Acts of the Apostles and two episodes from the life ofjoseph Ithe Old Testament one). Our amateurish efforts seem to be appreciated by the chi Idren, and there are always volunteers offering to join the cast. 2024 saw the 20, anniversary of Open the Book, and we were invited to perform at a Bible Society celebration i n Bath Abbey in September. Desplte considerable nerves, we managed to get through two stories without too many mishaps.. Shepherds and Angels Ileaturing Heather poppi ng up in the pulpit as the angel appearing to the shepherds) and Zacchaeus (pulpit as tree). At full Strength we are a team of seven, advancing in years, and we would welcome anyone else who would value the opportunity to bring the Bible to the chi Idren of Preshute School. Charles Craham Home Group We study challenging and i nteresting texts, expanding our knowledge of the scriptures, and growing our faith, with much discussion along the way. Your Home Group has had a year of highs and great lows. In October we were devastated by the sudden death of our beloved member Dorothy Blythe, a kind and inspirational lady who was so knowledgeable. We miss her enormously. lul ie and Mark Conlen moved to Stockbridge after Mark retired in the summer to be nearer family. We were sorry to say goodbye but Wlsh them much happiness in their new home. julie has been an important member of our group for many years - she has kept us on track with admin elficiently for a long time. Thank you, Julie. This year we welcomed three new members to take our numbers to a total of nine Welcome to Alison, Anne and Heather. Final ly, bul importantly, our grateful thanks go to Charles Graham and Keith Fryer, who do so wel l in leading our sessions with such care and humour. Sally Cripps Teddy Prayers St George's is most grateful to Lydia Bauer and Sue Elks for their sterl ing work with Teddy Prayers over many years. As their childrenlgrandchildren have outgrown this group, they have stepped back from organising regular services for preschoolers. The Children's Ministry group is considering how, as a church, we might expand our offering to young families. Messy Church The 'Goodness of God's Creation, was our theme for the first Messy Church of 2024, held on Saturday 20 April, when we welcomed 11 children accompanied by 14 adults. Revd Pete opened the service with a lively selection of 'creation' songs before we focused on the first chapter of Genesis. The chi Idren captured the sequence of the Bible passage in a Creation Calendar, thought about praising God for the wonders of the world around us as well as reflecting on our responsibi lity to look after the planet. After a prayer walk around the churchyard in beautiful spring sunshine, we welcomed beekeeper, Sandra Rogers, who gave a lascinating presentation about the bees that she keeps in hives in the churchyard. Everyone enjoyed a delicious afternoon lea following the service, thanks to Lydia and Sue, and the children went home with sunflower seeds planted in recycled newspaper pots and ladybird cupcakes- God's creation had been celebrated in fine stylel Nine children and 16 adults gathered for a holiday-time Messy Church on 10 August, when our theme was 'The Feeding of the Five Thousand, parable from john's gospel. The service began with the children joining in enthusiastically with worship songs and a group reading of the Bible story. To recreate the scene of the parable, the children made five barley tlatbreads, decorated two Igingerbreadll fishes and created a basket to carry them, emphasising that no matter how much we have, if we offer it for God's use, he will use it for his glory and make it grow. The ideas ol giving thanks for our dai ly bread and the importance of sharing were further points for discussion during the activitie5 before we ended the afternoon in prayer and finally, the chance to enjoy each others, company over another splendid tea. Our third Messy Church service for 2024 was held on 9 November and focused on the parable of 'The Good Samaritan, as told in the gospel of Luke, chapter 10. Following the opening worship songs, and a group reading of the Bible passage, the children made a min i puppet theatre with all the characters from the Bible story so that they could re-tel I the parable in their own words. With 'Love God and love your neighbour, a5 the key message of the afternoon, the children thought about who is one's neighbour, how we might be good neighbour5 and praying for those 'neighbours' who are in need with a prayer 'plaster'. To help remember that we need to be watching out for people i n need of our help when life is a bit 'rocky', we made a rocky road sweet treat - something that's guaranteed to make anyone feel better! A key part of the Messy Church service is that fami lies receive a leaflet to use during the afternoon and to take away with the words of the worship songs, the Bible story, explanations of the thoughts behind each craft activity, prayer5 for use at home and details of church contacts and forthcoming service5 and events. The Nlessy Church services are very much a team effort- huge thank5 to Revd Pete and the wonderful team who have helped with Messy Church over the course of 2024. Particular thanks to Sue and Lydia for providing a wonderfu I tea to roLtnd off each Messy Church afternoon. Amanda Brown The Flower Group We have had a year of glorious flowers i n our beautiful church. With enormous thanks to those who have given time, talents and hard work Virginia Reekie, Bridget Smith, Chris Mccol I, N4icky Graham, Li nda Sims, Amanda Brown, lo Aylward, lan Li Ilywhite, N4arcia johnson, Emma Barr, Laurien Carter, Sandra Beacom, Nicky Huckle, Kate Marlin, Al i Pick, Biz Keighley, Anne Rigby, Vernie Sofflet, judith Denning and Liz Bonham. we are so grateful to you all. Thanks must also go to the PCC for agreeing funding, part of which enables us to conti nue offering flowers for festivals and special services. Sally Cripps io Music 2024 was another year of much music making at St George's, with musicians of all ages participating in a range of services, incl uding some exciting initiatives and outreach events. The Junior Georgians sang on Mothering Sunday, Music Sunday Uulyl, Harvest and the Crib Service. A special highlight of the year was the video recording of the chi Idren singing the Harvest anthem One World by Philip Kern. We sent this as a Harvest greeling from the St George's children to Bishop Data and al l in the Morobo Diocese of South Sudan and were delighted to receive a video in return of IOYOLJS singing and dancing in the Cathedral. My thanks to Heather and Amanda for all their help and support with the junior Georgians. Meanwhile, services were led by The Georgians on Easter Day, Choral Evensong in July sung by the upper voices, Remembrance and Carols by Candlelight. An additional summer outreach event was the upper voices, beautiful singing of Choral Evensong at St Peter's Church in Marlborough on Sunday 30 lune at their Palronal Service led by the Team Rector. At the Remembrance service, the anthem was For the fallen, composed by loan Coleman. At a packed Carols by Candlelight, the soloist for Once in Royal David'5 Clty was Kate Hawthorn, and the choir carols were Make we joy now in this fest (William Walton), Whence is that goodly fragrance Ilowing? (French, arr. Robin Wel Isl and Eastern n70narch5, Sages three (lan Carpenter). In addition, the gal lery choir sang on two occasions in the year, at the Confirmation of lan and Lynne Moody by the Bishop of Ramsbury on l December IBreathe on me, breath ol God) and in the First Communion of Christmas on Christmas Eve IBethlehem Down and In dulcijubilol. For the f ifth year running we extended a wi nter musical outreach in Barton Park i n the week before Christmas. 20 hardy volunteers a55embled to sing carols outside the Vicarage, joined by enthusiastic local residents. The winter air was fi Iled with the sound of carols and enhanced by the smel I land taste!) of mince pies and mul led wine, and the evening raised over £250 for Crisis my thanks to al l involved. The year saw the ful I launch of our junior instrumental worship group, who played for the All Age services in February and May and on Music Sunday. A total of six children have played the recorder, clarinet, gu itar, cel lo and piano. l am very pleased that this i nitiative is now well under way and look forward to the group growing further in the years to come. Another musical initiative this year was the Taize Service on the fifth Sunday of September, drawing on the Taizé tradition of prayer through musical chants and refrains to create a memorable and beautiful service. My thanks to Amanda for leadi ng the singing and to lessy for playing the cello. We were saddened by the death in April of Anne Notton, who gave many years of loyal service to The Georgians. At her funeral, members of the choir sang Psalm 23 (Howard Goodall) and Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, both particular requests of Anne's fami ly. The organ, piano and keyboard continue to give good service. The keyboard in particular has supported Messy Church and Saturday Family Worship services, the Pet Service and the lun ior Georgians services. In one of the more unusual closi ng voluntaries of the year, the organ even recreated angel ic bird calls in Messiaen's Les Anges in lune! 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 OLJr annual visit to the Raj Restaurant on 4 February where we were spoili with del icious food once agai n by Mr Bablu and his wonderful staff. The night was finished off as usual with Irish Bingo and the evening raised £250 for Church Fabric Fund. A St George's Day Quiz was held in the vi Ilage hal l on 23 March with many thanks to julie and Peter Ayl iffe who not on ly organised the quiz but suppl led the prizes as well. As usual everyone enjoyed desserts and cheese and biscuits, washed down with some drinks. It was a successful night with £500 raised for the Fabric Fund. The APCM was held on 21 April and we organised a bring and share lunch, which was enjoyed by everyone attending. We had two well attended Choral Evensongs throughout the year. Both were wonderful evenings and finished off with the congregation being treated to refreshments. On 22 lune we had our Safari Supper with many thanks to all our hosts who made this happen. Everyone gathered at the church for prosecco and canapes and received an envelope tell ing them where they were goi ng for main course and also where they were going for dessert. It was a great evening and the weather was kind to us, as wel l as being a good fundraiser with £700 going to the Fabric Fund. Harvest supper was held in the Vil lage Hal l on 5 October and cottage pie, desserts, cheese and wine were enjoyed by everyone. As usual, the night ended with a raffle with £300 proceeds from the evening going to the 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. Ride and Stride took place on 14 September and many thanks to Howard, Heather, Jeremy and Charles for raising £1,000 for Wi Itsh ire Historic Churches Trust. The Carol Singing just before Christmas was held on the Green outside the Vicarage. It was a wonderful evening with great singing - many thanks to our hosts for a very welcome mi nce pie and mul led wine. All proceeds were donated through the just Giving 511e lo Crisis at Christmas and meant we were able to support seven homeless people over the Christmas period. The Sing-Along-Nativity service held three days before Christmas is always thoroughly enjoyed by children and their parents. Afterwards, canapes were served with soft drinks for the ch ildren and mulled wine for the parents. The Success of these events is due to everyone who help5, whether it is by cooking, PLJtti ng out chairs, serving, clearing up, or just turning up to 5UPPOrt 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. Al I very helpful to our Church, especially with rising costs. David Beacom and Judith Denning Many thanks to Judith who has worked tirelessly for over 20 years helping to run the Social Committee. She and Richard are moving to Newbury to be near their family and we wish them wel l. If anyone feels that they can help with the Social Committee then please let me know, no previous experience required. Bellringing Bel Iringing has continued over the last year for all services and weddings . Traini ng continues and I look forward to being trained in computer skil Is to make more use of the simulator that the PCC kindly paid for in 2024 so that as a tower we can make much more use of it to advance our ski Ils. Maintenance has continued throughout the year. I look forward to arranging a demonstration of ringing to the church in spri ng 2025. Richard Metters MARLBOROUGH, THE DEANERY & THE DIOCESE Diocesan Synod In February 2024, Bishop Stephen, our diocesan bishop, welcomed us with a presidential address saying 'the Good News in jesus Christ is too good and too important not to be made known. Evangelism is not a formula,. it is sharing the person. The gospel is not a What, it is a Who. The gospel is a person, the one who stood before us as a l ivi ng person, the Word made flesh. Th is means the gospel has to be about encounter, not just proclamation which so easi ly becomes shouting, but about relationship. jesus is what he teaches. He is the good news. Everything about Jesus is eVer￿hIng about God. If the gospel is a person, then evangel ism is an invitation to meet this person. What we need, above everythi ng else, isn't more things, more stuff, but a relationship, a l iving connection, with our creator and judge, our beginning, and our end,. Bishop Stephen also talked of the infectlOUsnes5 of sin. We are al I carriers and contaminators, and we can infect others,. but our Saviour came for our healing, not just to diagnose, but to heal us and save us. Meanwhile the Gospel is also infectious as we share it with others. Bishop Andrew introduced further developments to the diocesan vision of'making Jesus Known,. Our vision is to make jesus Christ known in every place, so that al I may flourish and grow, seeking his kingdom here and now. We can do th is with courageous and confident Christian leadership, exploring creative partnerships in local mission and the idea of 'missional pathways, linking a designated group of churches, schools and communities comi ng together in mission and ministry. We discussed th is i n groups and considered 'what connects us,, and the next steps for our particular deaneries. A new share system paying for the diocese ministry was considered, based on the amount of deployed ministry and the size of worshippi ng communities. The 'worshipping community, ol a church was defined as anyone who attends that church regularly; fellowsh ip groups and other activities that have a disti nct act of worship or prayer,. and acts of worship not on church premises leg a school or commLJnity centrel. The afternoon session consisted of the annual report from the Sal isbury Diocese Board of Education, and a report from the Safeguarding team. The meeting ended with a motion passed to provide more support for the role of churchwardens, recognising the office also has a vital spiritual, pastoral and mission dimension. In july 2024, we heard a report from the Diocesan Board of Finance. The DBF received 85.10 0( share payments Wlth 10°/o of parishes paying nothing at al l. This coincides with a higher than usual rate of clergy vacancies (also true national lyl and a temporary increase in costs due to the move to Emmaus House with Church House not yet sold Ithe sale completed the day after the synod meetingl. The £2.5m Covid loan had been paid off in (ul I, which put the diocese into a positive cash position. We met again in October 2024, when the Diocesan Synod welcomed many new members to the first meeting of the new Synod. During the spring, there was a 'Change Makers election campaign, and as a resLJlt, the Synod now includes two young people, members from the deaf and hard of hearing community and the blind community. Richard Chitty was appointed as the new Chai r of the House of Laity, Andy Perry is the Chair of the House of Clergy, and Cedric Pierce from Bradford Deanery was elected as Vice Chair of the Diocesan Board of Finance IDBFI. Bishop Stephen'5 presidential address in the context of the opening Eucharist explored 'ln the ful Ine55 of time, movi ng from lamentation to re5urrection' and is avai lable on the diocesan website. The meeting was an opportunity for members to get to know one another and to discuss three questions.. What three things can we do and commit to as deanery synod reps, to be effective in our role? Which topics would you/your deanery would l ike to discuss al luture synod meetings? What questions do you have for the President or others about expectations or runni ng of this synodP For the first ti me, Synod members were invited to use 'Slido'; a digital engagement app to increase interaction and participation and inviting members to put forward qLJestions and suggest topics for further meetings. The morning concluded with Dean Nick sharing the annual report 2023 for Salisbury Cathedral. After lunch member5 spent time discussi ng the diocesan vision and strategy, 'Making le5U5 Known, and exploring the changes needed to revitali5e our parishes for mission. Sarah Musgrave 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 Iwh ich covers an area that includes Chiseldon, Broad Hinton, Avebury, Marlborough, Ramsbury and Aldbournel. Canon Sarah Musgrave is the Lay Chair, and Paul Lefever and l are the lay representatives from St George's. The Rural Dean (Revd Roger Powell) gave us an update from the Diocese, pointing out that the number of Archdeacons in Wiltshi re is being reduced from two to one lat present Alan Jeans, but he is due to retire in the Summer of 20251. He said that there is a 30 % clergy vacancy rate in the Diocese, with some parishes havi ng to advertlse two or three time5 for a new priest. The Diocese is running at a deficit, mai nly because not all parishes pay their Share. Roger also urged parishes not to feel remote from the Synods. If they had points to raise, they cou Id do so via the Deanery Synod, which could put them to the Diocesan Synod and eventually to the General Synod of the Church of England. The partnership with the Diocese of Morobo in South Sudan has become a major item on the agenda at the meetings. Thanks to generous support from individuals and parishes, we have been able to fund the successfu I digging of a borehole in the Morobo Cathedral compound, providi ng clean water for the f irst time since earlier wells were destroyed by rebels in the civil war. In addition, we have had three presentations- 1. from Bishop Andrew on "Making jesus known" encouraging us to look carefully at how we can implement at leasl one of the five priorities (Creative Partnerships i n Local Mission, Working for justice, Climate Action, Fi nancing the Future Sustainably and Courageous Christian Leadership). 2. from Antony MacRow-Wood, Diocesan Director of Finance and Asset Management, on the new system for calculati ng Parish Share which comes i nto operation in 202 5. A few points I gleaned from a very fast and detai led presentation were.. The new system is very much part of the "Making JesLJS known" strategy. The share request is based on the number of worshipping community in each parish. The emphasis is on the cost of "being church in the Sal isbury Diocese" rather than on the c05t of a parish priest. They are going back lo offering a l°/. discount if the share is paid in full in January or in 12 direct debit instalmentS. 3. from Ted Hiscocks, representing the Friends of Ramsbury Church, who are investigating how they can implement Net Zero; the Church of England's target is to achieve Net Zero by 2030. Charles Graham THE FABRIC, GOODS & ORNAMENTS Fabric Report Church ancl Church ard tid This happens in April and October with many thanks to all the helpers that come to help keep our church and churchyard looking pristine. We are very lucky to have Wi Itshire Counci I cutting the grass for us during the summer and the additional help we get rom volunteers is essential. Handrail the handrai l installed alongside the main path is greatly appreciated by everyone and the low-level l ights operated by sensors at both ends of the path work wel l especially for our early morning or evening services and concerts. After installation of new cycle racks, we had additional gravel laid to al I the church paths and around perimeter o( church. Hopeful ly our 'Grab a Weed, incentive15ee Ecochurch reportl will keep paths clear of weed5. With the help of the Goltz family and N4artin we have also been able to clear the car park of weeds and lay new gravel. The new lass South Porch Doors - these have now been fitted and there have been a lot of compliments by the congregation and visitors as to how well they fit in and enhance the porch. The DAC have stipulated that the door5 have to season and no decoration is to be applied. With the excessive damp weather the doors have understandably got damp and expanded making them sometimes difficult to open. We don't want to plane too much off the edges because when they dry out we could end up with a larger than necessary gap. As usual we have had the ongoing maintenance of cleaning windows, cleaning out gutters, joinery repair5, roof flashing repairs. Many thanks go to Richard Metters and his team for keeping the bells and tower in such good order. A ringing simulator has now been added as a bel Iringing teachi ng aid. It is used through a laptop to assist in teaching bell ringing to young and old, without havi ng to always ring the bel Is. As always, many thanks to Ken Marti n and h is tool box for carrying out various maintenance jobs throughout the year. The Heatin stem - this has always struggled to bring the Church up to an acceptable level probably since it was i nstal led in 1935. We wil I get there eventually, but the cost can be excessive and we have needed to look al various options to improve heating, and more importantly, costs. With Net Zero approaching, the PCC have looked at various options and have decided to proceed with a fan assisted system. The existing boiler is only six years old so there is plenty of life in il yet. The radiators wil I be replaced with radiator units that are fan assisted and are designed to heat up the Church more quickly and economically. These new units push the heal up more quickly and efficiently towards the cei ling i nslead of waiting for the slow process of heal rising naturally. We have viewed and visited other churches with these un its fitted and good reports have come back on efficiency and economy. The Li htin stem - this functions well but we have to bear in mind that it was probably 40 years ago when it was installed. At our next Quinquennial i n 2026 we will have to look at an upgrade to improve economy and efficiency. Thanks also to Richard Denning for keeping the sound system in working order and after 20 years of valuable service this will also need to upgraded at the same time as the l ighting. Church Hal I proposal this is an ongoi ng feasibil ity study for a bui Iding between the Church and river to be used for chi Idren and youth organisations, meetings, social events and other activities. David Beacom Eco Church St George'5 Silver Eco Church plaque is now proudly on show in the porch and we can't thank everyone enough who has helped LJS to achieve this 5tatU5. If you want further details of this award from A Rocha (the Christian Environmental Charityl and how we achieved it, detai Is are on our website. Chefs will tel l you that achieving a Micheli n Star in a restaurant is hard, and once you get it, you then have to work harder to keep it. This is no different to the A Rocha award! You will read below how the churchyard has evolved over the last year and how we need to work harder. One of the targets this year is to try and stop the use ot pesticides on the Church paths and Car Park. 'Grab a weed, is what we are going to try and encourage, simi lar to picking up l itter except we don't have to find a bin, just leave the picked weed where you found it at the edge of the path where it will decompose. Ch ildren should love it as a game, and maybe in the future we can give prizes lo those who have pulled the most weeds Sandra Rogers started keepi ng bees in the Maurice Fami ly Burial Plot at St George's Preshute Church nearly three years ago. She now has two hives, one is decorated with sunflowers and the second one 15 covered with daisies. Bees can see pattern5 and some colours, so the idea is that this wil I help them find their way home. Sandra had a smal I honey harvest this year and She won third prize at Kennet Beekeepers, Association for pale runny honey and also came third in the novice class. Wel I done Sandral Look out for a more detai led report from her which wi I l appear in the lunelluly Newsletter. To ensure that there is enough food for the bees, daffodi Is, crocus, anemone, grape hyacinths and bluebel Is have al I been planted to give the bees some spri ng flowers. Wi Id roses have also been planted in the hedge around the plot and through some of the churchyard trees which will a150 provide early spring forage for the bees. The seven memorial cherry trees will add even more food for the bees, while at the same lime making our Churchyard more beautiful. On the new soil banks to the main path we have planted crocuses, grape hyaci nths, snowdrops, cowsl ips and primroses. The ash trees near the pedestrian bridge succumbed to the 'ash dieback, disease and were cut down. This has brightened the area up and we have created another stumpery using ferns. Elder, wi Ilow and hazel trees have also been planted i n this area. With help (rom ARK we planted over 3000 bulbs throughout the Churchyard and were very unlucky with flood water which seems to have rotted these bulbs, but we will keep persevering with planting and very many thanks to 311 our helpers, young and old. On the top left hand side of the path to the Church we have started a Remembrance Garden with cyclamen and other plants and bulbs. Snowdrops are starting to show and hopefully we get a result from the aconites as well. We do, however, have competition from the family of Squ irrels that live in the tree5 above. Thanks to Matthew Best for surveying our bird population to see what types of birds frequent our churchyard. The result is that we now have two robin boxes, two spotted fly catcher boxes, seven tit boxes, a tawny owl box and a bat box. Matthew has cleaned out the boxes ready hopefully for this year'5 breeding season and he did notice that the tawny owl has been vislting its nesting box. Please look at the Nature Trai I plan at the back of the Church to see the location of these boxes and other features of OLJr Eco Church Churchyard. As well as the Bug Hotel we also have two homes for dormice and two homes for hedgehogs. We had four visits to the church and churchyard this year from schoolchi Idren to see the bee hives and also to find out what Is living in our churchyard. Many thanks to Emi ly Best and Sandra Rogers for givi ng these ch ildren a day to remember. In preparation for these vi51ts a Pale Shouldered Brocade Nloth was discovered and we are waiting to see if this is the only one recorded for 2024 in Wilishi re as there were none recorded in 2023. Eco Church is self-fundi ng and many thanks go to Chris Mccoll and Bridget Smith for their donations from sel ling plants at the Vi I lage Fete and also from thei r base in Manton High Street. Future funding also comes from planting a memorial cherry tree for £800 including a memorial plaque. We stil I have three avai lable should anyone wish to sponsor one in memory of a loved one. As we encourage our churchyard wi Idl ife we will look al instal ling trail cams especially down by the river where an otter was swtted. Anybody with this type of experience would be welcome to our team. Don't forget that we now have 12 memorial benches throughout the Churchyard with some next to the river. Why not come and picn ic, rest, read, pray or just contemplate. Al I the above is only part of creating an Eco Church. Thanking God for giving us the earth we l ive 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 shoLJld also be mirrored in our own lives and homes, to care for God's creation. Linda hAorgan and David Beacom Churchyard Records There was one burial in an existing plot in 2024 and two interments of ashes i n new plots. The soft and hard copies of the records will be updated to reflect this information. Copies are held by the Churchwarden, the Team Office, the Team Vicar and me. There is a hard copy file of the records kept in the church. Laurien Carter Brass Cleaners Brass cleaning continues to be undertaken every two weeks by a small but di ligent group of parishioners. Thank you to those involved - the church brass always looks good. If anyone is interested in becoming a brass cleaner they are welcome to join the team - please let us know. laurien Carter Archives There have been very few additions to the church archives over the past year, but some interesting material dated 1925 has been retrieved for our bellringers during their research i nto the evolution of the bells at St George's. Jeremy York The Dominy and Turner Trust The trust continues to receive a healthy return on its i nveslment fund. This in turn has enabled the trustees to grant donations to an increased number and variety of applications. Nei I Croucher has ended his three years as Churchwarden and in turn has resigned as a Trustee. We thank Nei I for hi5 insight and discernment over the last three years. Marcia lohn50n, also a member of the PCC, will be join ing as a Trustee which also ensures the continuity of three members. Nicky Huckle Missions and Charities Our pol icy for distributi ng the £3,380 set aside in the budget (or donations to Missions and Charities has been to keep a balance between Christian mission and relief, and between international, national and local charities. So, four national and i nternational charities have each received £500.. SOMA (Sharing of Ministries Abroad), the B ible Society, Tearfund and the Diocese of Morobo. The local charitie5 we support are the Devizes and District Foodbank, Homeslart North Wiltshire, the Jubilee Centre, Marlborough Area Poverty Action Group and the Prospect Hospice. In addition, Special Col lections at church services have raised money for the jerusalem and Middle East Church, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution, SSAFA, Combat Stress, Age UK Wiltshire and the Chi Idren's Society. Full details of the amounts i nvolved can be found in the Accounts. Charles Graham Churchwardens, Report Throughout 2024 with the 5UPPOrt of all our members and God's grace, we have maintained our church services and ministry li n all its forms) i ncluding a Taize service, together with the stewardship of the church bui Idings and churchyard. Our members have readi ly engaged in our various social and fundraising events. We have celebrated anniversaries, baptlsms and conf irmation5 together. Thanks to the participation of our Ride and Stride teams over many years, as part of the 40th Wiltshire Ride & Stride celebration, we have received a souvenir plaque (located in the porch alongside our Eco Church Silver Awardl. Our Open the Book Team was invited to give a presentation at Bath Abbey this year, on behalf of the B ible Society. st George's Church also featured in one of Bishop Rumsey's Eco Church Series videos. Our church outreach has conti nued throughout the year, particu larly amongst the younger members of the parish. Some examples being: the Junior Georgians choir,. Open the Book team; Messy Church and our annual school services. I trust with the gifts we have been given and which are yet to be placed upon us, with prayer and works we can not only sustai n our outreach in the parish but also bear more fruit by increasing the number of young fami lies and broadening our discipleship in Manton. l add a short note of huge thanks to al I who have provided not only continued but additional time and support to me this year in a time of vacancy of our "other" ChLJrchwarden. Nicky Huckle, Churchwarde Appendix 2 St George's Church, Preshute Annual Parochial Church Meeting to be held in the Church on Sunday I l May 2025 at I1.45am AGENDA l. Welcome and Opening Prayers 2. Apologies for Absence 3. Minutes of the Meeting of Sunday 21 Apri12024 (See Appendix 31 4. Electoral Roll Report 5. Report of the proceedings of the PCC 6. Finance.. Treasurer's Report b. Adoption of audited accounts c. Appointment of Independent Examiner 7. Report on the Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of the church Presentation and approval of Inventory Changes forms 8. Safeguarding 9. Report on the proceedings of the Deanery Synod 10. Team Vicar's Comments I l. Any Questions ELECTIONS PCC Members b. Churchwardens 30 Appendix 3 Annual Parochial Church Meeting and Vestry Meeting Sunday 21 April 2024, 11.45am at St George's Church MINUTES Present.. Alastair Barr (ABI, David Beacom, lude Arkwright, Amanda Brown, Andrew Brown, Fionnlagh Copland, Carole Cridland, Howard Cripps, Kay Cripps, Mary El lis, Charles Graham, Kath Harding, Nicky Huckle INHI, Marcia Johnson, Anna Jones, El izabeth Keighley, Heather Lee, Paul Lefever, Kate Martin, lain Mackay-Dick, Chris Mccoll, lesse Pomfret, Anne Rigby, Daphne Robertson, Rob Robertson, Stephen Robins, Revd Pete Sainsbury (PSI, Revd Chris Smith ICSI, Vernie Sofflet, Lyn Whatley, Hazel York, jeremy York Welcome and Opening Prayers: Revd Pete welcomed all present thanked everyone for coming. Revd Pete then offered a prayer to open the meeting. Apologies: Apologies were received from Liz Bonham, Simon Bonham, Laurien Carter, Sally Cripps, Heather Croucher, Nei I Croucher, Judith Denning, Richard Denni ng, Grace Hoskins, Richard Metters, Linda Morgan, Marion Roundhi I I, David Sims, and Linda Sims. Minutes of the Meeling of Sunday 23 April 2023: The minutes had been published in the APCM report and were approved as a true record and signed. There were no matters arising f rom the mi nutes. Electoral Roll: Nicky Huckle represented Linda Sims, who was unable to be present, and read Linda's report as publ ished in the Annual Report. Revd Pete thanked Linda for her work as Electoral Roll Officer. Proceeding5 of the PCC: PS referred the meeting to the report avai lable in the Annual Report and highl ighted the fact that in July the PCC meets for an elongated session in order o review any issues relating to the maintenance of the church and churchyard. PS offered special thanks to David Beacom for hi5 work in looking after the fabric of the church. Of particular note in 2023 was David's hard work, supported by Linda Morgan, towards achieving the Eco Church Silver Award. Treasurer's Report: Alastair Barr gave an overview of the Church's finances, ful I details of which are available in the APCM financial report. AB summarised the church finances as lol lows.. The church finances are broadly divided into two areas.. general day-to-day expenditure and income from col lectionslgiving schemes, and spendi ng on longer term projects. Whilst at year end a def icit of approximately £7,000 had been recorded, this was less than had been predicted for the year. Thi5 was due to reduced expenditure thanks to sl ighily lower energy costs and significantly reduced 31 stationery costs now thal the blue service book has replaced Ihe weekly printing of service sheets. There has been a reduction in income from collections and also from church fees leg from weddings). On a posltive note, those giving through the Parish Giving Scheme IPGSI continues to grow. AB highl ighted that th is method of giving is particularly welcome as it facilitates the col lection of gift aid and ofiers donors the chance to increase thei r giving each year i n line with inflation. Currently, three quarters of those donating through the PGS take up this option to raise their giving i n line with inf lation. The monies raised from the fundraising campaign to support the Worship Director portion of Ps's salary ran out in 2023 and therefore this expenditure is now coming out of St George's general day-to-day fund. In order to support this extra cost, along with the other costs of ministry (such as provision of music, newsletter publishing etcl it was hoped that parishioners would consider increasing their giving through the current Stewardship Campaign. AB invited any questions and Charles Graham asked for clarification of the statement in the finance report that "the card reader continLJes to pay for itself" AB explained that whi 1st the card reader had raised £2,000 over the course of the year, cash collections have fal len and income from the card reader has not compensated for this. Furthermore, as the card reader requires the donor to enter personal detai Is and is not a simple 'tap and go, machine it is not a quick transaction. This acts as a bit of barrier to its Use at the end of a service such as a baptism, wedding or festival service and income from these occasions via the card reader has been negl igible. 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 a vote of thanks to Alastair for the considerable amount of work involved in the role of Treasurer and for the preparation of the annual accounts. b. Proposal of the acceptance of the audited accounts: AB explained that an independent exami ner reviews the annual accounts and this is currently in process. As any revisions are l ikely to be minor, PS asked that the meeti ng vote on provisional acceptance of the accounts. This was proposed by Stephen Robins and seconded by Kay Cripps, with all in favour. Roger Wheeler is currently our Independent Examiner and his re-appointment for another year was proposed by Howard Cripps and seconded by jeremy York. Report on the Fabric, Goods, and Ornaments of the Church: PS referred the meeting lo page 14 of the Annual Report and invited questions from the meeting. jeremy York nquired whether the defibri Ilator was in its final position in the porch, to which David Beacom repl led that it Is indeed i n its permanent POSltion. Anne Rigby asked whether it 32 ou Id be possible to put up a sign i n Manton ind icating that there is a defibri I lator at the church. David Beacom repl led that to access a defibri Ilator, it is necessary to cal1999 and he emergency services wil I direct the cal ler to the nearest defibri Ilator. However, PS suggested that the PCC consider Anne's idea of a notice on the Manton community noticeboard. (The Team Rector, having just finished the service at St Mary's, was welcomed to the meeting.) Nicky Huckle INHI reported that, with the kind help of Charles Graham, the inventory of the church's goods and ornaments had been completed. A small round lidded box (for communion wafers) and a si Iver plated shel I dish (for use at baptismsl had been acqu ired and three bl ue service booklets had been lost due to wear and tear. NH presented the 2023 inventory form for PS to sign. The Archdeacon, Sue Groom, had noted at her visitation that whi 1st St George's had completed inventories for the past eight years, that had not been officially signed off, so retrospectively, these will be signed off at he next PCC meeting. PS noted thank5 to the Archdeacon, Sue Groom, for her helpful and encouraging approach at the Archdeacon's vi511ation. Sue Groom is shortly to rel inquish her post in ministry and CS drew the meeting's attention to a farewell service for Sue to held in Devizes on Sunday 5 May at 6pm. As neither CS nor PS wil I be available to attend the service, CS felt it would be good to have a representative from St George's at the service. Safeguarding: Judith Denni ng (Safeguarding Off icerl was unable to be at the meeting, but had SLJbmitted a report within the Annual Report. PS recorded his thanks for all judith's hard work. It was also noted that the safeguarding issue that had been raised in 2023 had been resolved saListactorily. Deanery Synod: PS referred the meeting to page 14 of the Annual Report for Charles Graham's Ljpdate on the proceedings of the Deanery Synod, to which Charles added that the Diocese of Morobo are desperate for clean water, as their water supply has been damaged by rebels i n the civi I war. They will soon be launch ing an appeal to dig a new borehole, which wil I probably be located within the grounds of the cathedral. Charles encouraged al I present to keep aside some money to contribute to this fundraising. PS also commended to the meeting page 12 of the Annual Report where Sarah Musgrave has reported on the aclivities of the Diocese. io eam Vicar's Comments: In addition to the report contained in the Annual Report PS ffered his thanks to all the St George's community for their contribution to church life and or the sense oi fami ly at St George's and said, "thank you for being you" PS offered particular thanks to Nicky Huckle and Nei I Croucher who have been trojans in heir work as churchwardens. PS also thanked Amanda for her work at PCC secretary and the Standing Team. Stephen Robins stepped down from his involvement on the Standing eam at the end of 2023 and PS thanked him for all his input to the meetings. Nei I CroLJcher's work for the B ible Society as Head of Philanthropy means that he is unable lo continue for another year as churchwarden and is therelore stepping down from the role, but PS thanked him sincerely for Nei I's much valued work as a churchwarden over the past hree years. As yet, there are no candidates for the vacancy. Linda Morgan is also stepping down from the PCC and PS thanked her for her much appreciated work. PS i nvited Ihe Team Rector to speak. CS underlined all thal PS had said and commented hat he much enjoys vislting Sl George's and encouraged the church fami ly to keep going ith offering their time, talent and treasure. CS offered a vote of thanks to PS, adding that he felt they worked wel I together. Any Questions: NH offered a tribute to fellow churchwarden Neil Croucher as he steps down from office. NH had valued Neil's friendship, advice and knowledge of the St George's fami ly and his ability to see the wider picture. N H was grateful that she and Neil had been able to complement in each as a churchwarden team. In conclusion, PS suggested that a detai led reading of the Annual Report would offe a good overview of the life of St George's. ELECTIONS: pcc: here are currently no candidates for election to the PCC, but PS highl ighted that one person has been approached is considering the possibil ity of being ctkopted to the PCC at later date. Deanery Synod.. PS thanked Charles Graham and Paul Lefever for representi ng St George's wel l on the Deanery Synod. There remain5 one vacancy for another Deanery Synod representative. For information, PS reminded the meeting that Deanery Synods reps are ex-officio members of the PCC (though PS prefer to think of them as PCC members with special responsibi lityl. hurchwardens: PS emphasised that the need for another churchwarden to support N icky is qulte acute and sked everyone to be mindful of this. Everyone joined together to say the grace before the meeting ended at 12.18pm. 34 .IPo4': 35 **FINANCE** ## **Financial Review** The following provides an overview of the accounts for 2024 which have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 using the Receipts and Payments basis. In 2024 the Unrestricted Fund ended the year with a deficit of £10,878 against a deficit of £12,900 forecast in the budget set at the start of 2024. This deficit was mainly driven a change in the accounting of the Contemporary Worship Lead pay but it was offset by an increase in Planned Giving and Donations due to the 2024 Stewardship campaign. Despite these challenges, we continue to be a charitable church. A total of £1,758 was raised through special collections and a further £3,380 was donated to a range of local, national and international charities out of our normal income. 2024 saw 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. £13,006 was spent on capital project work from these funds leading to improvements to the path and porch including the new porch doors installed this year. The full accounts are presented in the Appendix. ## **Notes on Income:** The table below summarises the sources of income for our Unrestricted Fund over the past four years. This excludes restricted income such as designated donations and special collections. In 2024 we started an annual Stewardship Campaign to ask parishioners to increase their regular giving. This acknowledges the annual loss of value due to inflation of donations that remain unchanged each year. Prior to the campaign, many of those who give regularly had not changed their donation amount in the last 4 years. A donation of £100 in 2020 was worth only £81 by 2024. Through the Stewardship Campaign in 2024 we achieved a total confirmed increase in regular giving of £559 per month. Fewer social events in 2024 led to a drop off in money raised through these events. Overall, income was higher than budgeted at the start of 2024, with £70.8k raised against a budget of £68k. |**Sources of Income (Unrestricted Fund)**|2021 (£)|2022 (£)|2023 (£)|2024 (£)| |---|---|---|---|---| |Planned Giving (Total)|30,796|30,853|31,474|39,460| |of which: Planned Giving Scheme (PGS)|16,494|18,016|18,848|25,014| |Standing Orders|12,597|10,988|10,873|12,575| |Blue Envelopes|1,705|1,849|1,753|1,872| |Collections (excluding special collections)|1,858|3,418|2,614|2,476| |Yellow Envelopes|972|1,191|1,170|1,492| |Wall Box|293|220|251|347| |Donations|10,307|7,434|5,501|6,496| |Card Reader|N/A|281|1,787|2,023| |Generous Giving Campaign|7,981|N/A|N/A|N/A| |Gift Aid tax refund (2 years claimed in 2022)|11,425|22,447|10,468|13,069| |Social Events (Net)|1,515|2,112|3,907|842| |Fees from Weddings and Funerals|4,157|5,874|3,206|4,260| |Legacies|0|0|200|0| |Grants|0|1,000|335|0| |Dividends from Investments|347|358|360|366| |**Total Income**|69,651|75,189|61,274|70,831| ## **Notes on Expenditure:** The table below summarises the sources of expenditure for our Unrestricted Fund over the past four years. This excludes designated expenditure on long term capital projects, such as the porch and churchyard improvements. Expenditure increased in 2024 as the Contemporary Worship Lead pay was accounted for via Unrestricted Funds, having previously been met by via the funds raised back in the 2020 Worship Director fundraising campaign. However, expenditure was in line with budget set at the start of 2024. The other main increases in 2024 were utilities, which returned to the highs of 2022 and printing and publicity, with increased spending towards Easter and Christmas. The Parish Share increased in 2024, and accounts for 60% of our expenditure, having risen by 25% since 2018. Going forward, it has been frozen for 2025 and 2026 and will decrease slightly in 2027 and 2028. |**Summary of Expenditure (Unrestricted**
**Fund)**|2021 (£)|2022 (£)|2023 (£)|2024 (£)| |---|---|---|---|---| |Parish Share|40,164|42,173|43,438|47,149| |Church Maintenance and Running Costs|5,584|5,175|2,376|1,820| |Church Capital Costs|Included
above|60|177|259| |Utilities|1,367|4,156|2,742|4,177| |Insurance|2,085|2,169|2,232|2,274| |Equipment & Consumables|561|631|118|610| |Publicity, Printing and Stationery|1,867|3,128|1,450|2,550| |Clergy Working and Office Expenses|1,926|2,567|2,055|2,451| |Contemporary Worship Lead|N/A|N/A|3,853|9,600| |Honoraria/Secretarial|2,030|8,107|6,361|7,034| |Missions and Charities|1,123|3,330|3,455|3,380| |Alpha Course|N/A|165|N/A|N/A| |Education & Youth Work|N/A|632|126|179| |Bank Charges|287|307|256|226| |Independent Examiner Costs|432|0|0|0| |**Total Expenditure**|57,426|72,602|68,639|81,709| ## **Reserves policy** The PCC tries to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds that equates to at least three months' unrestricted payments (excluding charitable giving). In 2024 this was equivalent to £19,582 while the unrestricted fund stood at £7,068, in part due to the cost of the Contemporary Worship lead salary being accounted for by unrestricted funds. The cash component of the Unrestricted Designated Fund remains healthy at £70,996 and therefore all payments will continue to be met. _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 2024** ||Note|Unrestricted
Funds|Unrestricted
Designated
Fund|Restricted
Fund|Endowment
Fund|Total 2024|Total 2023| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**Receipts**||£|£|£|£|£|£| |**Voluntary Receipts**|||||||| |Planned Giving||39,460||0||39,460|33,079| |Collections at Services||2,476||1,543||4,019|4,277| |All othergiving /voluntaryreceipts|4a|10,358|2,100|0||12,458|12,844| |Gift Aid Recovered||13,069|400|0||13,469|10,468| |**Sub Total**||**65,364**|**2,500**|**1,543**|**0**|**69,407**|**60,669**| |Activities forgeneratingfunds|4b|842||743||1,585|4,761| |Investment Income|4c|366|4,880|128||5,374|4,186| |Church Activities|4d|4,260||||4,260|3,206| |**Total Receipts**||**70,831**|**7,380**|**2,414**|**0**|**80,625**|**72,822**| ||||||||| |**Payments**|||||||| |**Church Activities**|||||||| |Parish Share||47,149||||47,149|43,438| |Clergyand StaffingCosts|4e|9,600||0||9,600|9,600| |Church RunningCosts|4f,6,7|21,321|3,792|0|0|25,113|24,943| |Church Capital Costs|6,7|259|9,214|0|0|9,473|16,609| |Mission Givingand Donations|5|3,380||1,758||5,138|5,282| |||81,709|13,006|1,758||96,474|99,873| |Cost of GeneratingFunds|4g|0||528||528|690| |**Total Payments**||**81,709**|**13,006**|**2,286**||**97,001**|**100,563**| ||||||||| |Excess of Receipts overpayments||**-10,878**|**-5,626**|**128**|**0**|**-16,376**|**-27,741**| |Transfer Between Funds|8|**0**|**0**||||| |||**-10,878**|**-5,626**|**128**|**0**|**-16,376**|**-27,741**| ||||||||| ||||||||| ||||||||| |**Gains/ Losses on Investments**|||||||| |Realised|||||||| |Unrealised|||474||407|881|3,311| ||||||||| |**Net Movement in funds**|||||||| |Balance brought forward at 1 Jan 2024||17,946|97,331|0|17,798|133,075|157,505| |Balance carried forward at 31 Dec 2024||7,068|92,178|128|18,205|117,580|133,076| |Net change in funds inyear||||||-15,495|-24,429| |Comprising|||||||| |Total Receipts||80,625|||||| |Total Payments||97,001|||||| |Investment Gains/Losses||881|||||| |Net change in funds inyear||-15,495|||||| A-1 ## **Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31[st] December2024** ||Note|Unrestricted
Funds|Unrestricted
Designated
Fund|Restricted
Fund||Total 2024|Total 2023| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||£|£|£||£|£| |**Cash Funds**|||||||| |Bank Current Account||2,979|0|0||2,979|8,662| |CCLA CBF Deposit Fund||4,089|70,996|128||75,213|85,908| |Total||7,068|70,996|128||78,193|94,571| ||||||||| ||||||||| ||||||||| ||Note||**31-Dec-24**|||**31-Dec-23**|| ||||£|||£|| |**Investment Assets**|||||||| |Investment Shares - CCLA CBF Share Account|||21,180|||20,706|| |Investment Shares - Aspent Copse Trust|||13,485|||13,183|| |Investment shares - Angela and William Whitrow|||4,721|||4,615|| |**Current Assets**|||||||| |Cash on hand at bank|||2,979|||8,662|| |CCLA CBF Deposit Fund|||75,213|||85,908|| |**Total Assets**|||**117,579**|||**133,075**|| A-2 ## **Notes to the 2024 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. b) 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 - Voluntary income - Collections are recognised when received by or on behalf of the PCC. Planned giving receivable under Gift Aid is recognised only when received. - Tax recoverable on Gift Aid donations is recognised when the Gift Aid is received. - Grants and legacies to the PCC are logged as soon as the PCC is notified of its legal entitlement, the amount due is quantifiable and its ultimate receipt by the PCC is reasonably certain. It is recorded in the accounts when received. - Funds raised by any social events are accounted for gross, where practicable and costs for events included in expenditure, this is broken out later in the notes. - Income from investments Dividends and interest are accounted for when received. - Gains and losses on investments Realised gains or losses are recognised when investments are sold. Unrealised gains or losses are recognised on their valuation in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. ## d) Resources used - Church ministry and services - The diocesan share/quota is accounted for when paid. Any diocesan share unpaid at 31 December would be provided for in these accounts as an operational (though not a legal) liability and is shown as a creditor in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. - Grants made - Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding obligation on the PCC, then they are recorded in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. - e) Fixed assets - Consecrated land and buildings and moveable church furnishings - Consecrated and beneficed property is excluded from the accounts by S10(2) of the Charities Act 2011. Movable church furnishings held by the rectors and churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal are accounted for as inalienable property and not valued in the accounts. - All expenditure incurred during the year on consecrated or benefice buildings and movable church furnishings, whether maintenance or improvement, is treated as an expense and written off. - The fabric fund is maintained to cover the costs of major maintenance whereas minor works are funded through the general fund. A-3 f) Investments: Investments are valued at market value at 31 December. 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. - Unrestricted funds represent the funds of the PCC that are not subject to any restrictions regarding their use and are available for application on the general purposes of the PCC. - Funds designated by the PCC for a particular purpose are classified as unrestricted designated as the PCC has allocated them for a specific purpose although the PCC can re-designate these funds. This helps budget for the future. - Restricted funds are funds received, collected by or given to the PCC for a particular purpose which was specified at or before the time of receipt. These funds have been restricted by the donor for a particular purpose and they cannot be used by the PCC for any other purpose except by agreement with the donor or as determined by the courts or the Charity Commission. - Endowment funds are funds or assets given to the PCC with the specific instruction that only the income gained from the funds can be spent. The original endowment funds cannot normally be spent and must remain in the form of equivalent assets or investments. 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: - Fabric fund: To build up reserves for maintenance work in the church and churchyard. - Legacy and Gift Fund: Used to ring fence money for capital projects. - Boiler Fund: Maintenance and where required replacement of the church boiler and related heating system - Ministry: To provide specific funds for ministry - Church Hall: Specific fund with the long term aim to provide a church hall or annex to the church - Organ Fund: Fund for maintenance and repair of the organ. 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: |year these funds contained:||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||Note|Balance B/F|Receipts|Payments|Investment
Gains /
Losses|Bal/C/f| |**Unrestricted**||17,946|70,831|81,709||7,068| |||||||| |**Restricted**|6|||||| |Fabric Fund||0|128|0||128| |Legacyand Gift Fund||0|0|0||0| |WorshipDirector Fund||0|0|0||0| |Special Collections|5|0|2,286|2,286||0| |||0|2,414|2,286||128| |**Designated**|7|||||| |Fabric||3,936|0|3,792||144| |Legacy& Gift Fund||80,700|7,380|9,214|474|79,339| |Boiler||0|0|||0| |Ministry||5,264||||5,264| |Church Hall||1,141||||1,141| |Organ||6,290||||6,290| |||97,331|7,380|13,006|474|92,179| |||||||| |Total(excl of Aspent Copse & Whitrow Fund)||115,277|80,625|97,001|474|99,375| |**Endowments**||||||| |Value of Aspent Copse Trust & Whitrow Funds||17,798|0||407|18,205| |**Total**||133,075|80,625|97,001|881|117,580| |||||||| |||£||||| |Value at 31/12/23||157,505||||| |Value at 31/12/24||117,580||||| |Value change in year||-15,495||||| |||||||| |Total Receipts||80,625||||| |Total Payments||97,001||||| |Investmentgains/loss||881||||| |Net change in funds inyear||-15,495||||| A-5 ## **4. Breakdown of Income and Expenditure** |||Unrestricted
Fund|Unrestricted
Designated
Fund|Restricted
Fund|Total 2024|Total 2023| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**Receipts**||£|£|£|£|£| |**a) All othergiving / voluntary receipts**||||||| |Donations(including yellow envelopes)||10,011|2,100||12,111|12,393| |Legacies||0||0|0|200| |Wall Box||347|||347|251| ||4a|10,358|2,100|0|12,458|12,844| |**b) Social Activities Generating funds**||||||| |Plant Sales||70|||70|120| |RajNight||245|||245|223| |RugbyDinners||0|||0|510| |Harvest Supper||||743|743|567| |Quiz Night||227|||227|473| |Concert||0|||0|960| |Westwind Open Gardens||0|||0|1,222| |Duck Race||0|||0|686| |Village Fete||0|||0|0| |St George's Supper||0|||0|0| |Safari Supper||300|||300|0| ||4b|842||743|1,585|4,761| |**c) Investment Income**||||||| |Interest on CCLA CBF Deposit Fund|||4,305||4,305|3,134| |Dividends of CCLA CBF shares|||575||575|566| |Dividends of Trust Shares||366||128|494|487| ||4c|366|4,880|128|5,374|4,186| |**d) Church Activities:**||||||| |Fees for Weddings and funerals||4,260|||4,260|3,206| ||4d|4,260|||4,260|3,206| |**Payments**||||||| |**e) Clergy and Staffing Costs**||||||| |WorshipDirector Pay, NI, Pension etc||9,600||0|9,600|9,600| ||4e|9,600||0|9,600|9,600| |**f) Church Running Expenses**||||||| |ClergyWorkingand Office Expenses||2,451|||2,451|2,055| |Honoraria and Secretarial||7,034|||7,034|6,361| |Organ Maintenance & tuning||567|||567|540| |Insurance||2,274|||2,274|2,232| |Printingand stationary||3,160|||3,160|1,568| |Heating,Lightingand Water||4,177|||4,177|2,742| |Repairs,Maintenance & Cleaning||1,253|3,792|0|5,045|9,063| |Bank Charges||226|||226|256| |Education/Youth Work||179|||179|126| ||4f|21,321|3,792|0|25,113|24,943| |||||||| |**g) Costs of Generating Funds**||||||| |Harvest Supper||||528|528|403| |Quiz Night||0|||0|63| |Concert||0|||0|27| |||0||528|528|690| A-6 ## **5. Giving to Missions and Charities** |||Unrestricted
Fund|Unrestricted
Designated
Fund|Restricted
Fund|Total 2024|Total 2023| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||£|£|£|£|£| |**Special Collection Distribution**||||||| |DEC Turkeyand Syria||||0|0|335| |Jerusalem and Middle East Church||||214|214|217| |RABI||||478|478|304| |SSAFA||||116|116|100| |Combat Stress||||116|116|100| |Crisis||||0|0|33| |Children's Society||||417|417|369| |Age UK Wiltshire||||417|417|369| |||||1,758|1,758|1,827| |||||||| |||||||| |||||||| |||Unrestricted
Fund|Unrestricted
Designated
Fund|Restricted
Fund|Total 2024|Total 2023| |||£|£|£|£|£| |**Charitable Giving**||||||| |**International**||||||| |SOMA UK||500|||500|500| |Diocese of Morobo(via Deanery)||500|||500|500| |**National**||||||| |A Rocha||0|||0|250| |Bible Society||500|||500|575| |Tearfund||500|||500|500| |**Local Charities**||||||| |Devizes and District Foodbank||500|||500|500| |Home Start North Wiltshire||150|||150|150| |Jubilee Centre||150|||150|150| |MAPAG||150|||150|150| |Prospect Hospice||400|||400|150| |Friends of SalisburyCathedral||30|||30|30| |**Total**||3,380|||3,380|3,455| |||||||| |||||||| A-7 |**6. Note on Restricted Funds**|||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |With the exception of Special Collections, there were no payments made in 2024 from Restricted
Funds. The breakdown of receipts are shown below:|||||| ||||||| |||Income|Expenditure||| |Dividends Received from Investments||128|||| |||128|0||| ||||||| |**7. Note on Unrestricted Designated Funds**|||||| |As of 31 December 2024, there was £91, 678 in the Unrestricted Designated fund. The breakdown of
payments and receipts are shown below:|||||| |||Income|Expenditure||| |Dividends Received from Investments||575|||| |CCLA CBF Deposit Account Interest Income||4,305|||| |Donations for cherrytrees||1,600|||| |Gift Aid on designated donations||400|||| |Lions Donation for Defibrillator||500|||| |Fabric - Bulbs,Trees,Bird Boxes|||188||| |Fabric - Grounds Work|||3,604||| |Legacy- Porch,Path & Lighting|||7,238||| |Legacy- Defibrillator|||1,977||| |||7,380|13,006||| ||||||| |**8. Transfer between funds**|||||| |No transfer between funds in 2024|||||| ||||||| |**6. Note on Restricted Funds**|||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |With the exception of Special Collections, there were no payments made in 2024 from Restricted
Funds. The breakdown of receipts are shown below:|||||| ||||||| |||Income|Expenditure||| |Dividends Received from Investments||128|||| |||128|0||| ||||||| |**7. Note on Unrestricted Designated Funds**|||||| |As of 31 December 2024, there was £91, 678 in the Unrestricted Designated fund. The breakdown of
payments and receipts are shown below:|||||| |||Income|Expenditure||| |Dividends Received from Investments||575|||| |CCLA CBF Deposit Account Interest Income||4,305|||| |Donations for cherrytrees||1,600|||| |Gift Aid on designated donations||400|||| |Lions Donation for Defibrillator||500|||| |Fabric - Bulbs,Trees,Bird Boxes|||188||| |Fabric - Grounds Work|||3,604||| |Legacy- Porch,Path & Lighting|||7,238||| |Legacy- Defibrillator|||1,977||| |||7,380|13,006||| ||||||| |**8. Transfer between funds**|||||| |No transfer between funds in 2024|||||| ||||||| A-8 INDEPENDENTEXAMINER'SREPORT TOTHE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL'THE PCC" (TRUSTEES) of St GEORGE'S CHURCH PRESHUTE Registered Charity Number 1184256 Year Ended 31 December 2024 I report on the Receipts and Payments Accounts, pages A-1 to A-8. whi(* are attaC￿d to the Trustees. Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2024. Respective responsibilitles of trustees and examlner The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance wtth the reqU1￿MentS of the Charities Act 2011 Cthe 2011 Acf). The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Act and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to.. examine the accounts under section 145 of Ihe 2011 Act, to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Chartty Commission (under section 145{5}(b) of the 2011 Act. and lo state whether particular matters have oome to my attention. Basis of independent examinefs stalement My examination was carried out in accordan￿ with general Direcbons given by the Charity Commission. An examination indudes a review of the accounts'ng 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 s*king explanations from the truslees conceming any such matters. The procedures urKlertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audiL and consequenuy no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view and the report is limit￿ to those matters set out in the statement below. Independent examlne¢s statement In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe thal in any material respect.. accounting records were not kept in accordan￿ with section 130 of the Charrties Act or the accounts do not accord the accounting records I have no COn￿mS and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should te drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the a￿oUnts to be reached. Signed: Date.. Roger Wheeler Accountant Roger John & Co 1 Farrar Drtve Marlborough SN8 1TP