## **Christ Church Friezland** Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) # **Reports and meeting agenda** Sunday 28 April 2024 Covering the period Jan – Dec 2023 ## **Agenda** Chair: Sharon Jones 1. Attendees 2. Apologies 3. Minutes of the APCM held on Sunday 23 April 2023 4. Annual report (Sarah Ashworth) and Financial Statement (Deborah Thompson) from Parochial Church Council 5. Report of the Safe Church Policy / Child Protection Officer (Simon Clark) 6. Electoral Roll Officers report (Duncan Ross) 7. Consideration of Supplementary Reports - a. Team Rector report - b. Deanery Synod report (Duncan Ross) - c. The Fabric report (Tony Littlewood) - d. Church warden report (John Stevenson / Lindsay Gledhill) - e. Church Hall report - f. Eco church report (Matt Carson) - g. Junior Church report (Sarah Ashworth) - h. Fundraising report including coffee shop, Children’s Society and 100 Club (Lynda McCrea) 8. Election of Deputy Wardens 9. Election of PCC Representatives 10. Election of Sides-People 11. Appointment of Independent Examiners Close ## **ITEM 3: Christ Church Friezland Annual Vestry and Parochial Church Meeting held in Church, Sunday 23 April 2023 at 11:00** ## **Revd Dr Michael Meeting minutes** ## **APCM & Vestry meeting 11:00, Sunday 23rd April 2023** ## **APCM** ## **1. Attendees:** Simon Clark, Matt Carson, Deborah Thompson, Guy Betts, Jo Johnson, Kate Lane, , Rachel Edmondson, John Stevenson, Jill read, Terry Flynn, Chris Collett, Alan Collett, Sheila Ross, Tony Littlewood, Duncan Ross (Lay Vice Chair PCC), Julie Wood, Roy Crozier, Rev. Carol Schofield, Rosa Nixon, Verity Ford, Chris Ford, Yvonne Carson, Ann Forster, Charles Edwards, Lindsey Gledhill, (secretary/ meeting notes), Revd Canon Sharon Jones (Chair) **2. Apologies** : Revd Dr Michael Donmall, Lynda McCrea, Sue Brown, Rt Revd Dr Rupert Hoare, Sarah Ashworth ## **3. Minutes of previous APCM and vestry meeting from Sun 23[rd] April** **2022 –** correction required- Tony Littlewood referred to as Terry, approved subject this change. ## 4. **Financial report** Deborah Thompson, treasurer gave a short summary for financial period 1[st] Jan 2022-31[st] Dec 2022– Funds of £85,346 were recorded in the account, with £74, 591 made in payments, with a surplus of £10, 754, see report for more detailed breakdown. Parish Share: 70% of the Parish Share was paid (£27,517), which included gift aid from donations. The reason that the parish share was not paid in full was due to there was an overpayment by the HLF which had to be repaid, initially a figure in the region of £18000 was requested, however after discussion, £7046 was requested and this has now been paid back. The Parish Share should be paid in full this year. Question Jill Read: What about the Whit Friday Band Contest? Not mentioned in the financial report. Duncan’s response: The Band Contest has a separate bank account from the PCC. The Whit Friday Band Contest is not a sub-committee of the PCC and does not fall within the remit of church finances etc. Whit Friday committee funds were held to resurface the church hall car park. There is £5600 in the Whit Friday bank account and £4200 was made last year. John Stevenson reported that through the Sunday coffee shop, CCF had donated in the region of £1000 to charitable causes overseas; Ukraine and the Earthquake in Syria/Turkey. ## **5. Safeguarding** Child Protection / Safeguarding Officer Simon Clark read out the CCF Safeguarding Statement (see report) and reaffirmed our intention to continue to follow the Diocesan Safeguarding Policy – this is pinned up on the church noticeboard and available online – see report. One issue reported since date of last APCM, this is historical in nature and relates to a former member of the CCF congregation – see report. Junior Church leaders have DBS checks and actively undertaking diocesan safeguarding training. All attendees agreed policy. Sharon reminded the meeting that Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, not just that of the Safeguarding officer. ## **6. Electoral role officer Terry Flynn** Electoral role is steady. 69 on electoral role in 2022. Terry reported that the figure is on the region of 60 currently and that 5 people have been added to the electoral roll in the last few weeks. ## **7. Consideration of Supplementary Reports** Sharon thanked the church for the teamwork that goes on; it's about what we can achieve together. Thank you and your work is much appreciated. The new team vicar, Sachin Awale has been appointed; we are still awaiting a date for his licensing. ## **Fabric Report** Question– Jill Read- do we have any come back on the Tower Project? Tony replied- The quinquennial review does not make good reading. The HLF Tower Project grant was received to repair the spire, but it's still causing problems. We have appointed a new architect, Richard Storah. Duncan has exchanged paperwork to make this appointment, but a signed copy is awaited. It is hoped that the new architect will help complete the work that needs to be done. It may be that the original church architect George Shaw was at fault. The organ loft and vestry roof are both causing problems (flat roofs). ## **Church warden Report** Sharon - we have said goodbye to Howard Wrigley due to his ill health, thanks to John for taking on all the work. ## **Worship Group Report** Orders of service are being updated. ## **Junior Church Report** Yvonne- thanks to our junior church leaders ## **Little Lights Report** Lindsey Gledhill- Elaine and Dave have moved out of the area and need someone else to take this on. ## **Vestry meeting** Attendees and Apologies: as APCM meeting, above. ## **Appointment of church wardens** Lindsey Gledhill, Proposed: Duncan Ross, Seconded: Simon Clark. John Stevenson, Proposed: Duncan Ross, Seconded: Simon Clark. All for, no votes against. ## **Election of deputy warden** Duncan Ross elected. Rachel Edmondson has stepped down. ## **Election of PCC members** Julie Wood and Sarah Ashworth (PCC Secretary) were elected. One vacancy. ## **Election of Sides people** Pauline Richardson, Dave Richardson, Duncan Ross, Sheila Ross, Alan Collet, Terry Flynn, Jean Worrall, Yvonne Carson, Guy Betts Thursday service- Rachel Kelly, Sarah Garcia Reyes, Sarah McGladdery **Independent examiner** re-elected – Jane Cooksey ## **AOB** Nomination of new charities for Sunday coffee shop to take to PCC – Dr Kershaw’s Hospice (Sheila Ross), Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis (Julie Wood), United churches Healing Ministry (Lindsey Gledhill). ## **The meeting closed with The Grace** ## **Reports** ## **ITEM 4: PCC annual report and Financial Review** ## **Report and Accounts for the Parochial Church Council of Christ Church Friezland** (Registered Charity No 1186595) Financial year 1st January – 31st December 2023 ## **Aim and purposes** Christ Church Friezland Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of cooperating with the Team Rector, Team Vicar and all Assistant Clergy of the Saddleworth Team Ministry in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also specifically responsible for the maintenance of the Church and Church Hall of Christ Church Friezland. ## **Objectives and Activities** The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our church and to become part of our parish community at Friezland. The PCC maintains an overview of worship throughout the parish and makes suggestions on how our services can involve the people that live within our parish. Our services and worship put faith into practice through prayer and scripture, music and sacrament. When planning our activities for the year, we have considered the Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the supplementary guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. In particular, we try to enable ordinary people to live out their faith as part of our parish community through: - Worship and prayer; learning about the Gospel; and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus. - Provision of pastoral care for people living in the parish. - Missionary and outreach work. To facilitate this work it is important that we maintain the fabric of the Church of Christ Church Friezland and the Church Hall. ## **Worship and Prayer** The PCC is keen to offer a range of services during the week and over the course of the year that our community find both beneficial and spiritually fulfilling. A Tuesday morning service is offered monthly, attended by a very small number of worshippers, whilst the Thursday evening service now has an average of 50 children and adults attending. Many of those attending Thursday evening services have ties to other Parishes within the Benefice. The service of Morning Prayer on the 3[rd] Sunday of each month are led by Lay people and continues to be well supported, using a variety of authorised themes for these services. All are welcome to attend our regular services. The average weekly attendance, counted during October, was 106. Over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 88 people attended our services. On Easter Eve and Easter Day we welcomed 71 people to our services. As well as our regular services, we enable our community to celebrate and thank God at the milestones of the journey through life. Through baptism we thank God for the gift of life, in marriage public vows are exchanged with God’s blessing and through funeral services friends and family express their grief and give thanks for the life which is now complete in this world and to commend the person into God's keeping. We have celebrated 7 baptisms, 6 weddings and 6 funerals in our church during 2023. ## **Church and Community** The PCC has reviewed our Mission Action Plan to ensure it continues to reflect the 5 Marks of Mission. Work has been completed on the restoration of the Tower and West Wall, action has been taken to maintain our bells and to minimise noise transfer to near neighbours. As a Silver status Eco Church we are setting ourselves and the Community some challenging targets with the aim of ‘going for Gold’. We are grateful to the Carson family for all the hard work that goes into these successful awards and enabling us to care for God’s earth. The weekly Thursday afternoon Coffee Shop continues to offer hospitality to our community, and we are grateful to both our volunteers and those who visit. Friezland Little Lights baby and toddler group continues to attract new families to join our Worshipping family. We acknowledge the huge amount of time and effort, from our volunteers that goes in to making this venture the community success that it is, also generating a significant amount of income for Church. The Whit Friday Brass Band Contest continues to build on its reputation for being a family friendly venue, much appreciated and supported by the community. PCC would like to recognise the leadership of Jill and John Barrett, who will step back from coordinating the contest after this year. Our historic building continues to attract a variety of musical concerts and events, as fund raisers both for Church and for charities, as well as being enjoyable community events. The Christmas Fair was once again held in Church and was very successful as a community outreach event. Our Church Hall continues to be a great asset to both the Church and the local community and we acknowledge the work of all those volunteers who make it succeed, in particular for the leadership of Guy Betts. Our Junior Church carries out weekly Sunday morning meetings in the church hall, followed by a short presentation after the Sunday service in church. We are grateful for all the hard work that goes into these weekly sessions. ## **Pastoral Care** Our Pastoral Care Team is led by Gill Stott, assisted by a small team. ## **Mission and Evangelism** Helping those in need is a demonstration of our faith. During the year we have supported several charities. Our after service refreshment donations raising a significant amount for our chosen charities which include Dr Kershaw’s, Christian Aid, Disaster Appeals Committee, amongst others. The Oldham Food Bank and the Booth Centre continue to receive regular donations. We have delivered Christmas cards and Easter Services around the parish. In September we held our annual Heritage Open Weekend and Art Exhibition. We continue to support the Children’s Society through Christmas card purchases and the Christingle service, which was combined with our Crib service on Christmas Eve. ## **Ecumenical Relationships** The church is a member of Churches Together in Saddleworth and supports all events organised by them, including joint services during the week of prayer for Christian Unity and the Whit Friday Procession of Witness. ## **Volunteers** We thank all the volunteers who work so hard to make our church the lively and vibrant community that it is, as detailed in the reports from groups and committees that supplement this report. ## **Structure, governance and management** The PCC is registered as a Charity with the Charity Commissioners and has the Registered Charity number of 1186595. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. At Christ Church the membership of the PCC consists of the Team Rector, Associate Priest, Churchwardens and members elected by those members of the congregation who are on the electoral roll of the church. All those who attend our services / members of the congregation are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC. The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish including deciding on how the funds of the PCC are to be spent. New members receive initial training into the workings of the PCC. The full PCC met four times during the year. Given its wide responsibilities the PCC has a number of committees each dealing with a particular aspect of parish life. These committees, which include Worship, Church Hall management, Maintenance, Fund Raising and Little Lights baby and toddler group are all responsible to the PCC and report back to it regularly with minutes of their decisions being received by the full PCC and discussed as necessary. The Safe Church Policy has been reviewed and reaffirmed at the PCC held on 9 April 2024. The Child Protection Officer has reported no incidents of concern during 2023. ## **Financial Review** The PCC has a Legacy Policy, to provide a process for accepting and acknowledging gifts made to the Church in Wills. The PCC supports in principle the General Synod motion challenging church members to assess annually their financial giving as a proportion of income and asks our church members to aspire to a target of giving 5% of their income (subject to personal interpretation) to and through the Church and a similar amount to other work that helps to build God’s kingdom. Total receipts on unrestricted funds were £114,543 of which £33,516 were unrestricted voluntary donations through regular giving, collections at services and one-off donations. A further £5,325 was from Gift Aid and was allocated directly to the Diocese towards our Parish Share. Fundraising events raised £3,919, the Thursday Coffee Shop generated £3,124 and Little Lights £4,258 A total of £105,657 was spent from unrestricted funds to provide the Christian Ministry from Christ Church Friezland. Routine building repairs and maintenance during the year were higher than last year at £7,898. The sum of £3,790 was spent on churchyard maintenance. The contribution we made to the running costs of the Team Ministry was £5,705 We were unable to pay our full contribution to the Diocesan parish share, which largely provides the stipend and housing for clergy. In 2023 we paid £17,825 which included £1,245 in gift aid, amounting to 50% of the £35,348 requested. However, in January 2024 we were able to pay £14,000 towards parish share for 2023, bringing it to £31,825 (90% paid). The net result for the year was a surplus of receipts over payments of £8,886 on unrestricted funds. There is a balance of £3,275 in the Graveyard bequest. ## **Reserves Policy** In line with Charity Commissioner requirements, it is PCC policy to try to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds which equates to at least three months unrestricted payments. This is equivalent to £26,414. It is held to smooth out fluctuations in cash flow and to meet emergencies. The cash balance held on unrestricted (including designated) funds at the year-end was £28,625. |was £28,625.|||| |---|---|---|---| |**Cash Funds**|**2023**|**2022**|**2021**| |Current account|14397|4517|7670.15| |Savings account|2739|1512|309.03| |HLF account|0|10082|1281.95| |Church hall account|11489|5667|5856.55| |Graveyard Bequest|3275||881.31| |**Total**|31900|21778|15999.49| ## **Table: CCF Assets and Liabilities** |**Investment Assets**|**2023**|**2022**|**2021**| |---|---|---|---| |Investment - market|||| |value|3775|3447.87|3905.58| |Investment - cost|500.18|500.18|760.59| |**Current Liabilities**|||| |Loans|6000|8000|10000| |Net Reserves|26400.18|14278.18|6760.08| (See Appendix 1 for detailed Income and Expenditure accounts and report of Assets and Liabilities.) ## **Administrative Information** Christ Church Friezland is situated on Church Road, Greenfield and is part of the benefice of the Saddleworth Team Ministry in the Diocese of Manchester within the Church of England. The correspondence address is Team Office, Parish Centre, Station Road, Uppermill, Oldham OL3 6HQ. The PCC is a body corporate (PCC Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2006) and a charity currently registered with the Charity Commission. PCC members who have served at any time from 1[st] January 2023 until the date this report was approved are: ||**Ex Ofcio members:**||**Elected**
Members| |---|---|---|---| |Team Rector: The Reverend
CanonSharonJones-Chair||Anthony Littlewood|| |Associate Priest - Reverend
Michael Donmall||Church Warden: Lindsay Gledhill|| |Deanery Synod Member: Matt
Carson||Deanery Synod member: Duncan
Ross|| |Church Warden:JohnStevenson||LyndaMcCrea|| |Team Vicar:Sachin Awale||GuyBetts|| |JulieWood (deceased)||Jill Barrett|| |||Simon Clark: Child Protection
Ofcer|| |||Deborah Thompson: Treasurer|| |||Sarah Ashworth:Secretary|| Approved by the Parochial Church council at their meeting on 9 April 2024 Appendix I: Receipts and payments 2023 Chrlst Ch r¢h Friezlan Recel ts and Pa ments Account Year Ended 31 December 2023 2023 2022 Rostrlcted G8n8ral General Recei Envelopes Direct Giving Collections Book Stall Sundry Donations PCC Fees Sunday Coffee Money Church Card5 & Crafts Fund Raising Band Contest card payments CBF Deposit Fund 8ank Interest Thursday Coffee Shop Litlle L￿h1$ Charity Colleclityns Just Giving Oioce5e Grant lenergyl 100 Club Hire of Church Insuran￿ claim Trans.trom Band Contest Itarmacl Gift Aiij Tax Claim Restricted £4,338.38 £25,095.00 £4,083.04 £93.72 £1.424.57 £6,970.00 £1,901.89 £15.95 £3.919.10 £1,686.50 £103.17 £65.91 £3,124.52 £4.258.44 £13000 £3,612.10 £2,519.15 £778 00 £1.485.00 £7.210.90 £12,000.00 £5,324.91 £5,665 49 £23.305.00 £3,014.07 £34.01 £1,547.33 £5.390. £1,866.63 £33.30 £5,684.77 £10259 £9.39 £3,075.42 £4,236.27 £0.00 £1,261.31 £1.250.00 £1,044 00 £2,145.00 £1,500.00 £1,246.93 Receipts from Church hall 24.402.75 22,934.50 TOTAL e114,543.00 £85,346.01 ments Gas Electricity Maintenance- Church Churchysrd Maintenan Salaries & Wages Assigned Fees Junior Church Parish Share Charity Paym8nt Choir music Extra Ordinary Expenses Ecclesiastical Insurance Parish expen8e- team Water Rate5 License5 Prinlinglstationery Heating maintenance Tarrnac drivelHall car park Corre￿10￿ to investment cost Candle￿￿tar breadlmne Cash Coffeeltealpaper towels £6,150.07 £2,019 59 £7,897.e8 £3.790.00 £1,750.00 £2,822.00 £302.73 £17.824 91 £1,179.00 £141.78 £67.00 £4.347.60 £5.705 43 £447.94 £508.28 £376.10 £1.613.86 £15.975.00 £4,103.60 £1,883.09 £782.39 £5,110.00 £1.750.00 £3,238 00 £56.92 £28,746.93 £1,752.10 £000 £540.30 £3,837.38 £5,207.28 £340 42 £494.00 £180.33 £260.41 £501.19 £0.00 £182.63 £692.14 £526.00 £429.56 2023 2022 Re5trlcted Gon¢ral £216.00 £448.84 £700.84 £735.10 £100.00 General £234.00 £O.OD £700.00 £479.71 £114.00 £1,686 50 £7,046.00 £1,080.00 £1,170.00 Organ tuning and repairs Fund ra15ing exppns83 Whil Friday expenses Little Lights Accountant Band Contest card payments National Lottery Heritage fund Disconnect & redirect rainwater pipè Decoration to west gable Rt5trl￿ed Church Hall expenditur8 18,580.53 15,624.12 TOTAL £105,657.39 £74,591.67 Nett of Ree•lpts {- Paymentsl £8,B85.61 £10,754.34 Bank B818nce at 31st December 2023 HLF a¢counf at 31st December Church hall ba18n¢e Saver8ccount ba18llGe at 378¢December Graveyardbequest Inveslments at Gost £14.396.84 4517.41 1W81 9S 5881 93 2738.e6 3274.7 3235 $9 5UO.18 2227 274.7 aL3 I C￿lIrT￿ that tho Income8r￿ expEndllu￿ acc0uni¢on￿[8Wlkn th6 accounting records ..Jaw Cwksey FCCA 27 2024 Cash Funds CUr￿￿t account Saving5 account HLF account Church hall account Graveyard Bequ88t Total 2023 14397 2739 2022 4517 1512 10082 5667 2021 7670.15 309.03 1282 5857 881.31 15999.49 11489 3275 31900 21778 Investsnent Assets Investment- market value Investment cost Current Llabilities Loans 3775 500.18 3447.87 500.18 3905.58 760.59 6000 8000 10000 Nel Reserves 26400.2 14278.18 6760.08 ## **ITEM 5: Child Protection Coordinator’s Annual Report 2023** Since the last APCM, there have been no safeguarding issues that have required involvement of the Diocesan Safeguarding Team. Junior Church continues to have three leaders, all of whom have up to date DBS checks and who are fully engaged in the process of ongoing safeguarding training. In the second half of last year, bell ringing training sessions commenced with a particular emphasis on attracting younger people to bell ringing. The leaders of the sessions have also undergone the appropriate DBS checks and are similarly engaged with safeguarding training. In addition, Little Lights now has a new leader following Elaine and Dave Cartwright stepping down from the role and again, appropriate checks and training have been undertaken. I have performed a full review of our Health and Safety Assessments for the Church and Hall buildings and grounds, along with review of Risk Assessments for Junior Church, Little Lights and Bell Ringing Training and I have taken appropriate actions as required. These assessments are available to view on request. I have also undertaken the annual safeguarding audit recommended by the Diocese which is attached to this report, and which indicates satisfactory implementation of the adopted Diocesan safeguarding policy. The intention of the parish to continue to follow the Manchester Diocese’s safeguarding policy was re-affirmed at the PCC meeting of 9th April 2024. A copy of the policy statement is attached to this report and a signed copy is posted on the notice board within the church. A copy of the complete policy is kept at the rear of the church and is also available online through the Diocesan website. ## **Conclusions from 2024 Safeguarding audit** All areas are satisfactory. The dates of the last Health and Safety Inspections have been ascertained and full review assessments of the Church Building, Church Hall and the grounds of both buildings have been performed and recorded. First Aid Boxes have been checked and resupplied and will be reviewed on a rolling 3 monthly cycle, or sooner as required. Simon Clark, Parish Safeguarding Officer ## Policy Statement on Children, Young People and the Church of Christ Church, Friezland This statement was agreed at the PCC meeting held on 9th April 2024 - As members of this church, we commit ourselves to the nurturing, protection and safekeeping of all, especially children and young people. - It is the responsibility of each one of us to prevent the physical, sexual and emotional abuse of children and young people and to report any abuse discovered or suspected. - We recognise that our work with children and young people is the responsibility of the whole church. - Our church is committed to supporting, resourcing and training those who work with children and young people and to providing supervision. - Our church is committed to following the policy and procedures published by the Diocese. - The parish will adopt good practice guidelines. - Each worker with children and young adults must undertake diocesan safeguarding training, know the guidelines and undertake to follow them. Each shall be given a copy of the Parish’s agreed procedures and good practice guidelines. - As part of our commitment to children and young people, the PCC has appointed Simon Clark to be the Parish Safeguarding Officer. - Children and young people are an important part of our Church today - They have much to give as well as to receive - We will listen to them - As we nurture them in worship, learning and in community life, we will respect the wishes and feelings of young people ## **ITEM 6: Electoral Officers report** The Electoral Roll at the end of 2023 included 74 people. Electoral Roll next due for full review in 2025. We have also hosted fundraising events for: Friezland School; Oldham Inner wheel; and provide a venue for the Whit Friday Band Contest. Recommendations are being made via word of mouth and via social media which is encouraging. Many hall enquiries are now coming via the website (www.friezlandchurchhall.co.uk) which has proved very useful for advertising our facilities. ## **Treasurer’s report and financials** The church hall had an excess of receipts over payments of £5822.22 during 2023 which is down slightly on 2022 after excluding contributions to church funds. £4000 has been transferred to church to assist with paying the 2023 parish share (not included in the accounts) and a further £3000 transferred in April 2024. Income from parties and functions was increased but offset by increases in costs of insurance and waste management. The expenditure was significantly increased by hugely increased gas and electricity costs, almost £4500 more than we paid in 2021. Gas and electric prices will fortunately be reduced from this peak in 2024. Friezland Church Hall Statsment of Recel &Pa ments for 2023 Balan￿ BIF Guides Brownies Rainbows Pre-sthool Group Steve martial arts Fbw aub Parties & Ajnctions 5 666.93 473.50 294.00 294.00 19 212.50 390.00 2 338.75 bar rting group k&pfft 1295.00 105.00 24,402.75 3.554.18 237.95 1,655.93 5,017.43 1,931.55 2,341.60 1,156.04 Totsl Income 30,069.68 Caretsknng and deaning aeaning Materials Insuran El&tri¢ity Indoor Maintenan Exterior Maintenan Transfer to Churth phone eX￿ptIOnal wa#e man￿￿nent 893.91 1,791.94 Total Expendlture 18,580.53 li 9.15 Defi¢it Isu lus 5 822.22