## **DIOCESE OF CANTERBURY The Parish of the Bridge Group** Comprising the churches of St Peter’s Bridge, St Mary’s Patrixbourne, St Peter’s Bekesbourne, St Mary’s Lower Hardres and St Mary’s Nackington. ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2O22 ## **Incumbent** Reverend Estella Last ## **Bankers** _In respect of Bridge, Patrixbourne, Lower Hardres and Nackington_ Lloyds TSB bank PLC 49 High Street, Canterbury Kent CT1 2SE _And in respect of St Peter’s Bekesbourne_ Natwest _In respect of The Bridge Group Parish_ The Co-operative Bank PLC (account opened December 2022) and The CBF Church of England Funds 85 Queen Victoria St, London EC4 4ET ## **Independent Examiner** David Muggridge FCCA MAE Ackland Webb Ltd ## **Introduction** Since January 2020, the churches of St Peter’s Bridge, St Mary’s Patrixbourne, St Peter’s Bekesbourne, St. Mary’s Lower Hardres and St Mary’s Nackington have formed one ecclesiastical parish. This is now known as The Parish of the Bridge Group in the County of Kent, within the East Bridge Deanery of the Diocese of Canterbury of the Church of England. We are an episcopal church led by our bishop, The Most Rev’d and Rt Hon Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. He is assisted by The Rt Rev’d Rose Hudson Wilkin, the Bishop of Dover. Our Patrons are The Archbishop of Canterbury and the President and Scholars of St John’s College Oxford. This is the third Annual Report of the newly created Parish of the Bridge Group. ## **Aims and Purposes of this report** This annual report is made to the parishioners of the Bridge Group of churches and the members on the church electoral roll who live within or outside the parish. The Church Representation Rules (Rule 9 (1) (b)) require ‘an annual report on the proceedings of the PCC and the activities of the church generally’ to be received by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM). The APCM is invited to discuss it. The PCC sincerely thank all those people who voluntarily give their time and money to serving the church in many ways thus enabling the five churches in our Parish to flourish as a Christian community. ## **– 2022 the new normal?** It is becoming hard to recall the level of restrictions which were still in place at the start of 2022, as the Omicron variant of Covid swept the country. This proved to be the turning point, and over the following months the nation gradually returned to more normal patterns of work and facemasks in communal settings became the exception rather than the rule. The easing of Covid restrictions made possible an incremental return to more normal patterns of worship and the restoration of activities outside the church much missed during the pandemic. In addition to Messy Church and Little Lambs, a new Family Service was started and runs at 4pm on the third Sunday each month. School liaison, maintained with some ingenuity during the last two years, has been easier during the year. Services were held in June to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, an almost unique occasion and the source of great joy. This was followed all too soon by her death in September, again marked by special services and the opening of our churches for prayer and reflection. In July we were delighted to celebrate the ordination of our Curate, Miriam Hinksman, with a ‘bring & share’ lunch. As a church community, we are indeed fortunate to have such vibrant and inspirational leaders as Estella and Miriam. 2 The PCC’s financial situation remains challenging but under control. We have a new Treasurer who has been tackling the daunting task of amalgamating the finances of five separate parishes into a single, streamlined accounting system. After months of negotiation and bureaucracy a new Community Account has been opened with the CoOp Bank, and the unrestricted ‘general’ funds of all five churches are being steadily transferred into this. The PCC is now registered with the Charity Commission and will shortly be registered with HMRC for the purpose of reclaiming tax on donations made by GiftAid. The Parish Giving Scheme, set up to simplify regular donations and the claiming of GiftAid relief, has been rolled out across the Benefice with general approval and has made a significant difference to our income and cash flow this year. The period since the imposition of lockdown at the start of the pandemic has seen events unprecedented in our nation’s history and an unimaginable death toll. While there can be no silver lining to this, the consolidation of services during pandemic has brought our worshipping community closer and accelerated the unity of purpose envisaged when the Single Parish initiative was first planned over five years ago. There remains much work to be done. Rory Wetherell PCC Secretary ## **Vision for 2023** During the course of 2022 we have regrouped sufficiently as a Parish and as church communities, following the disruption caused by the pandemic, to begin to think about what we would like the future of our church to look like. Without fanfare or celebration we came to the gradual realisation that our previous ‘vision’ of becoming a single parish has substantively been achieved and that whilst there are still some aspects of our single parish life that we are working out together, the time had come us to think more carefully about where we go from here. On 21[st] May 2022 we held a Parish Vision Day at Lower Hardres Village Hall at which we reflected on and reviewed prayerfully where we have got to together and how we want to grow as a church community. Then during our Summer Service rotation we gave every congregation the opportunity to contribute their thoughts on our parish priorities on slips of paper collated in our ‘priorities box’. The notes form the Vision morning and the Priorities box were drawn into some key themes and presented to the PCC by our Curate Rev’d Miriam Bier Hinksman, broad agreement was reached on the direction of travel and PCC permission granted for this to be communicated to the wider Parish. The Vision and Mission Update leaflet which was produced and circulated in October 2022 recognises that in the life of our churches, while we have good relationships within our local Church of England Primary School in Bridge and some good work for children and families taking place, it is clear that we have all become mindful of ‘the gap’, the separation between young and old in our worshipping community. So the new Vision we have set for ourselves in 2022 is: 3 ## **“We, the churches of the Bridge Group Parish, aspire to becoming a fully intergenerational worshipping community which is welcoming and inclusive for people of all ages.” (October 2022)** This is not something that will be achieved overnight and it will take time to bring to fruition but it is a vision, which like the aim of becoming a single parish, will we hope begin to infiltrate and inform everything that we do together as we seek prayerfully to grow our church and share the gospel with a wider demographic in our community. We are of course always aiming to continue to work towards a sustainable future for a flourishing church community as One Parish, Five Places of Worship. The work on proposed 4 reordering projects for St Mary’s Patrixbourne and St Mary’s Nackington continue to play an exciting part in the future of our Parish and being responsible for the stewardship of our ancient buildings remains an important part of what we do together. Rev’d Estella Last Vicar ## **Updates from each of our Churches** ## **St Peter’s Bridge** ## **Services** Our service pattern has returned to normality following the Covid pandemic. The monthly service pattern consists of two communion services (2[nd] and 4[th] Sundays) with a family service on the 3[rd] Sunday, in the afternoon. Additional services (occasional offices) included Ash Wednesday, World Day of Prayer, Maundy Thursday, a Remembrance Day Service and the Platinum Jubilee Celebration. A service of Prayer and Reflection was held after the death of the late HM Queen Elizabeth II. There were five baptisms, three weddings, a wedding blessing and five funerals. The school held seven services, two pre-school services and the Scouts held one service. Bridge hosted the All-Souls Evensong. There was a Carol Service and two Christingle services in December. ## **Church Building** In mid-June the two 21-year-old gas boilers were replaced with two new (hopefully more efficient) ‘A’ rated gas boilers. At the same time the circulating pump was stripped down and overhauled. The new boilers keep the Church ‘comfortably warm’ as we try to keep our energy bill to an acceptable level. St Peter’s, like the other churches, was granted financial assistance from the Diocese to help with rising energy costs. In mid-August *******, our Architect, visited. He inspected the internal wall on the south side of the chancel which had been drying out for a year following redecoration in 2021. He was satisfied that it could be given another coat of paint, subsequently applied by *****. Andrew also inspected a flaking capping stone on the sloping roof to the Vicar’s vestry. He sought a quote for a replacement from Colman’s Builders (not yet received). The metal sloping roof to this vestry was painted with bitumastic paint to keep its appearance good, also carried out by ******. The fire extinguishers were serviced in mid-February. The organ was tuned in early December prior to the Carol Service. Cleaning, flower arranging, clock maintenance, flag flying are all tasks carried out by numerous volunteers, to whom we are extremely grateful. Rosemary Whatley is our Sacristan (along with other roles for the whole Parish) who amongst other things ensures the correct colour altar frontal is in place during the year. The church silver and vestments remain in good order. ## **Churchyard** 5 The churchyard is mown by the City Council’s Contractor during the mowing season, normally fortnightly but during the very hot, dry summer this was on a 3-weekly cycle. The Churchyard Restoration Group, led principally by ******, resumed in late February. Volunteers meet for 3-4 hours on a Tuesday afternoon. When available a gardener from The Pig helps. The work during the year mainly consists of ongoing tidying, weeding, leaf clearance etc, and work finished for the winter at the end of November. The City Council employed their contractor to successfully remove a diseased sycamore tree. Laurence Dunderdale and Evelyn Andrews, Churchwardens Sacristan: Rosemary Whatley ## **St Mary’s Patrixbourne** Services have been held monthly throughout the year with a congregation of between 25 and 40 coming from across the Parish. One wedding, one funeral and one burial, after a funeral service at Bridge, have taken place over the course of the last year. Early in the year storms caused damage to two mature larch trees in the churchyard, with one large branch coming down over gravestones in the front of the churchyard. We are grateful to Mr and Mrs ****** from Bridge for removing the branches in a prompt manner; luckily no lasting damage was done to the gravestones. An inspection of the trees suggested larch beetle activity. A tree surgeon removed the tree from the front of the churchyard and removed branches to the trees at the rear to make the trees safe. The cost of the work was kindly funded by a Patrixbourne resident. Moles in the churchyard have been a problem but have been deterred with apparent success by solar powered sonic devices. We now have a neighbour’s beehive in the churchyard. They are hoping that when the bees in the church chimney swarm this coming summer some might settle in the beehive. We are trying to look after the churchyard, being mindful that we are an eco-church. The weeds on the church path have been treated using a solution made from non-toxic ingredients. The church is kept open every day and visitors started to return in the spring. The number of people undertaking pilgrimage, especially along the Via Francigena has increased dramatically in the last year and some pilgrims have stayed overnight in the church. In September St Mary’s participated in the Dover Pilgrim Festival with a evening of poetry and music, ‘O Roma Nobilis’, staged by ***** and*****. Late in the year ****** who was walking the whole of the Old Way from Southampton and back also stayed overnight in the church. His whole journey, including his time in our church, when he recorded himself singing, was published on Twitter. We continue to have a fruitful relationship with ****** of the British Pilgrimage Trust especially with their Sanctuary Project. The church was once again used by the Pilgrims 6 Hospice as a refreshment stop on the day of their Annual Sponsored Walk in June, and the church again participated in the Friends of Kent Churches Sponsored Bike Ride in September. Fundraising to allow us to build our extension is on-going but funds are difficult to come by. One funding organisation responded to a grant application by saying that at present all their money is being donated to the Trussell Trust. We are grateful for all who supported the on-line Auction early in the Year. The faculty to allow us to complete the project to renew all the lighting in the church with LED lights was finally obtained in the Autumn. Work commenced in December and is due to finish early in 2023. The clock and the roof alarm system have also required attention. The sudden death of Queen Elizabeth II resulted in the postponement of our harvest Festival until October. A photograph of the Queen was placed in the church along with a Book of Condolence for people to sign. Remembrance Day was marked by the Year 6 Children of Bridge School who walked to the church and held a very moving service at the War Memorial in the churchyard. The Carol Service on December the 23[rd] was well attended and took a different format this year. Early in December we asked the residents of Patrixbourne for nominations for Carols to be included in the service and the most popular carols were sung at the service. Patrixbourne residents read the lessons. The service was much enjoyed and concluded with singing the rousing choice of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”. The churchwardens would like to thank everyone who helps at the church with flowers and cleaning, the services, looking after the churchyard and supporting fundraising concerts and other events. Andrea Nicholson and Pauline Pritchard, Churchwardens ## **St Peter’s Bekesbourne** Our Songs of Praise service continues to be very popular. It is a lay-led service which takes place on the first Sunday of the month at 10.00. A small team plan the services around a particular theme. In 2022 there has been increased participation from different members of the congregation which makes for a more inclusive and informal service. Refreshments are served after the service and everyone is encouraged to stay and chat. There were two Holy Communion services, a carol service on Christmas Day and extra lay-led services for Mothering Sunday and Easter Sunday. During 2022 there were four funerals; two weddings; one baptism and an interment. The bell ringers held their AGM in December. There are eight ringers. The new members, ******** were all passed as competent ringers and can now become members of the Kent County Association of Change Ringers. The bell ringers provide a valuable service to the Church, by ringing before all 7 our services, for weddings and on special occasions. They rang for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and then sadly for her funeral. An inspection of the bell tower was carried out by ********* . Everything is satisfactory. Helping those in need is a demonstration of our Christian faith. Charitable donations were made during the year to Friends of Kent Churches, Porchlight , the British Legion and the Children’s Society. At our Harvest service all donations were sent to the Canterbury Food Bank. We are grateful to ******** and the members of the buildings sub-group of the PCC who organise any necessary work and monitor the condition of the fabric of the church and keep the Terrier and Log Book up to date. The high winds in February bought down a substantial amount of roof tiles. Repair work was carried out in April. This was paid for by Ecclesiastical Insurers with the excess paid by the Friends. Our Bevington organ is regularly serviced and is normally played at all services.******* , our organist, plays at all our Songs of Praise services and does not take payment; we give him a ‘thank you’ gift at the end of the year. We would welcome visiting organists to come and play as the organ would benefit from being used more often. The churchyard is an ‘open churchyard’ and is maintained by volunteers. It continues to be our policy to maintain the churchyard by balancing ecologically sound management, good accessibility for present and former parishioners to visit their family graves, and a beautiful setting for the church. A number of working parties organised by ******** tidy the churchyard and cut back trees and shrubs where necessary. Visitors often comment on how well the church and churchyard are maintained. Routine mowing is done by a local contractor. We are again grateful to the Parish Council of Bekesbourne with Patrixbourne who give a substantial grant towards this work. The Bekesbourne team wishes to thank all those people who voluntarily give their time and money to serve our village church in many different ways, enabling Bekesbourne to flourish as part of the Bridge Group worshipping community. Nicky Fry, Churchwarden ## **St Mary’s Lower Hardres** We continued with the new pattern of services set up in the autumn of 2021 where there was an Evensong service held at St Mary’s Lower Hardres at 6pm on the first Sunday of the month. This service has had a good regular attendance with an average congregation of 20. The lowest figure, unsurprisingly, was for 2[nd] January when there were 12 people present and the highest was a congregation of 28 people on the first Sunday in May. Coffee and biscuits are provided at the end of each service with an opportunity to stay and chat. We are very grateful for the support of the choir, led by ********, at these services. 8 We had two Group Parish Family Communion services, one on the fifth Sunday of the month in May with a congregation of 42 and the other in August with a congregation of 51. This service was both our patronal festival for St Mary and a celebration to mark the 190[th] Anniversary of the consecration of the ‘new’ church built in Lower Hardres to replace the old Saxon church which had fallen into considerable disrepair. The new church was paid for by a wealthy parishioner, James Tillard, and was consecrated on 10[th] August 1832 by Archbishop William Howley. Wine, soft drinks and nibbles were provided at the end of the service. On Sunday 13[th] November, a short Act of Remembrance was held at Lower Hardres Village Memorial, led by our Curate Miriam, where a wreath of poppies was laid, the Roll of Honour read and a bugler played the Last Post and Reveille. It was, as always, a moving occasion and very well supported. We had a Carols and Christingle Service in December with a congregation of 36. Mulled wine, sausage rolls and mince pies were enjoyed afterwards. There was a wedding at St Mary’s in July and a baptism in October. We also had two funerals take place this year. St Mary’s Church is open as usual, all day, every day of the year for visitors and private prayer. I am very grateful to the small team of helpers who keep the church clean and tidy and who help make the church beautiful with flower arrangements throughout the year. The churchyard is open and is mown regularly by Mr ********. We are grateful to the 9 Parish Council who make a donation towards the upkeep of the churchyard every year which enables us to keep it looking well cared for. Thanks also to the volunteers who help with the general maintenance of the churchyard. Areas of the churchyard are left ‘wild’ to encourage wildlife and we have been part of the God’s Acre Project for many years. We did not have a service on Mothering Sunday but instead welcomed everyone to join us for tea and cakes from 3- 5pm in the afternoon. Palm Crosses were left in the church on Palm Sunday for anyone to collect and there was an Easter Egg Hunt held in the John Baker-White Hall organised by two local mums instead of the traditional egg hunt in the churchyard. Our vicar, Estella, and some of the church team provided refreshments and some Easter treats for the children taking part. On 6[th] February this year the Queen celebrated her Platinum Jubilee and this was marked by a four-day national holiday from 2[nd] -5[th] June. The Friends of Lower Hardres Church joined with the Parish Council to organise a ‘big’ lunch at the John Baker-White hall for the whole village community with an ice cream van, commemorative mugs and a bouncy castle amongst other things. It was a great success and a lovely way to mark such a momentous occasion. In April the Quinquennial Report was carried out by the architect ********. Her report showed the building to be in a ‘Fair’ condition with numerous things that need attention, but nothing urgent except some electrical work that had shown up as unsatisfactory in the electrical survey carried out prior to the Quinquennial Report. The most urgent work, which involved the earthing of the porch light and other electrical defects with associated safety and fire risk, was carried out immediately at a cost of £500. A quote of £2,300 for further electrical work to be carried out has been received. On 8[th] September we heard the terribly sad news that the Queen had died. The following day the church bell was tolled for an hour at noon along with all the other church bells in the country as a mark of respect and sorrow. There were candles provided to light for prayers and a book of condolence was also available in the church. For the third year running, an Advent Calendar was organised in the village with different households choosing numbers to decorate their houses in the countdown to Christmas Day. Community Carol singing in the John Baker-White Hall was again organised by members of the church, the Friends and the village social committee. As before, the singing was led by Estella, our vicar, with everyone enthusiastically joining in and with ******* accompanying on the electric organ. Mulled wine, hot chocolate, sausage rolls and mince pies were enjoyed afterwards. We have lost several of our friends and supporters this year either because they have moved away or have sadly died. Our working church team has also got significantly smaller over the past couple of years for various reasons and so we are actively encouraging other people to join us from our wider Friends group or the community at large. 10 Thanks to all the Friends of St Mary’s Lower Hardres and the members of our church team for their invaluable support over the past year. It is greatly appreciated. Carol Day, Churchwarden 11 ## **St Mary’s Nackington** The service pattern remains unchanged with the 8am Holy Communion on the first Sunday and Morning Prayer on the third Sunday. The numbers in the congregation are down from pre Covid but loyal attendance continues for special services and occasions. We thank John Meardon and Katherine Rutherford for their ongoing work towards the church improvements. The first part is to upgrade the electrical power supply. A new cable from the pole outside of the churchyard in Nackington Farmhouse will be run into the vestry. A new fuse board at the now regulation lower level will be installed. This work will commence this summer and we are waiting to hear the date from the electrical contractor now. We thank ******* for his tireless work at maintaining this area around the War Memorial so well over so many years; he has now handed this role over to ********. The area has been cleared and a granite hard standing surround has been laid around the memorial .This was necessary because the ground had become unstable and unsafe due to the mole hills. This work has been done with help from the parish council and after consultation with the War Memorial Trust, Historic England and the CCC. The site looks hugely improved. We thank ******* for their help with the boiler, the safe, the flowers & the Friends. We thank ********* for the music and advertising of services. Daphne Reece and Scilla Wright, Churchwardens ## **Friends Organisations** ## **Friends of St Peter’s Bridge (FOSP)** The Friends aim to increase our outreach into the local community. In December 2016 FOSP experimented with holding a Coffee & Cake Concert: it was an enjoyable success, and a regular variety of musical events has followed. The Coffee & Cake Concerts format continues to be successful and the concerts in 2022 were: - ‘To be a Pilgrim’ in February (£342.35 for FOSM); - ‘****** & the Lion’ in April (£295.00 for FOSM) - ‘Prelude for the Platinum Jubilee’ in May (£232.00 for Eco Church) - Rev Miriam’s favourite things’ in September (£74.25 for Harvest Appeals & £194.25 for NSPKU (the National Society for Phenylketonuria) - *******’s Birds, Bees & other friends’ in October (£269.00 for Eco Church) - the Annual Carol Concert in December (£200.00 for Canterbury Food Bank and £125.50 Bridge Church heating fund) More Coffee & Cake Concerts will take place in 2023. 12 Alan Barber ## **Friends of St Mary’s Patrixbourne (FOSM)** A number of factors combined to make this another slow year. There was an understandable reluctance on the part of our ‘regulars’ to gather in enclosed spaces early in the year and a planned series of concerts by students at Canterbury Christchurch University fell victim to the serious illness of the CCCU organiser. (I am pleased to report that he seems to have made a good recovery and we hope the concerts will now go ahead in 2023.) Our one ‘in church’ event of the year was an evening of poetry and music as part of the Dover Festival of Pilgrimage in September. This was performed at churches along the Via Francigena on successive evenings but we were able to turn it into a fundraiser by adding refreshments. The major fundraising event of the year was the online auction run for us by ******* at the start of the year. Parishioners bid for goods and services offered by others and raised over £2000 for our funds. We would like to reiterate our thanks to ****** for all her hard work on this. We could never have managed it without her expertise. A separate ‘fundraiser’, though not strictly under the auspices of FOSM, occurred when two trees in the churchyard suffered serious damage during Storm Eunice. As we did not have the money readily available to pay the tree surgeons’ bill, we leafleted all the houses in the village, describing our predicament, and raised more than the sum required in very short order. We are very grateful for the generosity of our villagers and their obvious affection for our lovely building. ## Pauline Pritchard ## **The Friends of Bekesbourne Church** The Friends’ support the church by organising fundraising events. It is made up of people from the village, who are not necessarily regular church-goers. The function of The Friends’ is to raise money for St. Peter’s and, in particular, for “the maintenance and enhancement of the church building and churchyard”. Funds raised by the Friends are used to pay for the annual insurance premium on the church building and various items of essential maintenance and repairs .The Friends’ paid the excess of £250 on the Ecclesiastical insurance for the roof repair in May. Plans to renovate the lych gate were put on hold until we are sure we have sufficient funds and that materials are readily available. Our post Covid fundraising started with an organ recital in the church. In May the Friends held a Wine and Wisdom in the village hall in Littlebourne. At the end of September the newly refurbished village hall reopened. This was the venue for the Wine and Wisdom in October and the Christmas Bazaar in December. Money raised at these two events went to the church account. Steve Thomas organizes the 100 Club for the benefit of the Friends. ******* Chair of the Friends of Bekesbourne Church. 13 ## **Friends of St Mary’s Lower Hardres** For various reasons the Friends of St Mary’s did not hold any fund-raising events this past year. Their efforts were instead concentrated on forming and strengthening the links between the church and the village community as a whole with several social events organised jointly with the village Parish Council and the village social committee. The main event this year was the ‘Big’ lunch which was organised to join in with the nationwide celebrations held to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth ll in June. Earlier in the year refreshments were provided for Mothering Sunday, the Easter Egg Hunt and again at the end of the year for the Community Carols. The 100 Club, which had been set up in the summer last year, finished its first year in July and enabled us to pay for the insurance for the church this year with the profits made which was a great achievement. Sadly, however, we were not able to renew memberships for a second year because of difficulties with accessing information from our bank account. A refund has been offered to those members who paid for a second year automatically by Standing Order and renewal letters are ready to go out to restart the 100 Club later in 2023. The Friends group will be organising some fund raising activities in the year ahead and are meeting together to plan these. They will also continue to work with the social committee and Parish Council to organise the celebrations planned for the Coronation of King Charles III in May. Carol Day ## **Friends of Nackington Church** The Friends organised three events in 2022, a travel talk by ****** , an evening of local wine tasting with Heppington Vineyard, and Carol Singing in December with the Salvation Army Band. All three events were well attended and ticket sales amounted to £1,466 in total. A retiring collection of £581 was presented to the Salvation Army following the Carol Singing evening. Donations and Christmas Card sales amounted to £272.50. We hope to upgrade the electricity supply shortly, the first step of our reordering project. ********* ## **Christian Aid report for APCM 2023** Like all charities Christian Aid is finding it hard to maintain the level of fund-raising of earlier years. Delivering and collecting envelopes door-todoor during the annual Christian Aid Week in May is becoming a less viable option, partly because many supporters are ageing and unable to carry, but also because fewer people keep ready cash at home. At Bridge we have opted to use deliver-only envelopes in the last two years with local houses and businesses identified for returning them. Christian Aid campaigns for social justice and particularly on the issue of climate change, a major cause of world poverty. Climate justice was the theme of Christian Aid Week 2022, with a focus on how women farmers in Zimbabwe cope with drought. In our Parish 16 volunteers delivered 14 envelopes in Bridge, Patrixbourne, Bekesbourne and Lower Hardres and two soup lunches were held during the week. The total raised was £1,270.70 which, although a good result, was considerably less than the previous year. The envelopes also included the Canterbury CA Group’s Just Giving page address, so people may have given online but we were unable to record this. A few individual donations were also received during the year, including one from the Caring and Sharing Group. We are uncertain as to the most effective way to raise money in our Parish during Christian Aid Week 2023. A single fund-raising event, a limited deliver-only envelopes scheme, envelopes in the pews in all our churches and/or the opportunity to donate online using a special e-envelope are all possible options. The Canterbury CA Group, which consists of representatives from 12 churches, had fewer fund-raising events in 2022 but more are planned for this year. A produce sale at St Peter’s Anglican Church held in May was successful and a few of our people kindly donated plants and other goods. It will be repeated this year and it is hoped that it will be well-supported by our parishioners. The annual Christian Aid Week service at St Stephen’s Church was poorly attended. This has been the general trend over the past few years, so it has now been discontinued and individual churches are being asked to hold their own themed services at the start or end of Christian Aid Week. As always, many thanks to all our loyal envelope-deliverers and to everyone who supports Christian Aid in any way. ******** ## **- Parish Eco Church Team report for APCM 2023** The eco- team have been busy over the past 12 months trying to maintain and advance our eco-church credentials. We made the decision to reassess our eco-church award (achieved in 2019) to ensure that we have kept up with our responsibilities as eco-churches and to plan for future developments. We are pleased to report that, even through the restrictions posed by Covid-19 over the past few years, we have been able to maintain our silver status across all five churches. Our eco-church status has also benefitted the finances of the parish as this was a contributing factor in our receipt of the diocese winter heating grant. This year we have welcomed the addition of some new members. As well as the 12 eco-church team members we now have seven regular volunteers manning the recycling station within Bridge Church. The recycling station is well used and the team assess which products are most frequently recycled and update the station accordingly. We would welcome anyone from the local community who may be interested in joining or supporting the team. We continue to support the environmentally friendly management of our church yards and are encouraging more wildlife by ensuring a variety of plants and flowers and by implementing sustainable mowing. Thanks to a link with a local bee keeper we have also installed bee hives at Patrixbourne. We are just awaiting out first swarm of bees to make it their home! 15 Highlights from the past year have been the launch of our eco-newsletter and our trip to Forest school. Our second newsletter was published in March 2023 and included lots of practical tips on being more environmentally aware and even included a recipe for animal safe weed killer which we are using in our churchyards. The trip to Forest School at Bridge and Patrixbourne CEP allowed some of our members to get a taste of what the younger generation are learning about in school and we hope to be able to continue to support this excellent project in the coming years. ********* ## **Choir and music report for APCM 2023** There is little change from last year’s Choir report. There are eight regular members (plus the Vicar) who sing at two Parish Communion services at Bridge each month and one Evensong at Lower Hardres. At Bridge the choir sings a hymn or anthem, usually _a cappella_ , during the act of Communion and the Evensong service is fully choral, with the choir singing responses, psalm, canticles and anthem. We are fortunate to be able to call on one soprano and three basses to help cover occasional absences and several additional singers joined us as usual for the Christmas Carol Service, including past choir member Bettina Walker who was visiting from Somerset. The choir was pleased to sing at the Sung Communion service at Patrixbourne in June when the church was beautifully decorated by the flower arrangers. Other important services were the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and later the Memorial Service for her death, the Tenebrae service on Maundy Thursday introduced by Revd Miriam and the Patronal Festival and 130[th] Anniversary service at Lower Hardres. Two of the Saturday Coffee and Cake concerts, one for the Platinum Jubilee and the other pre-Christmas, provided an enjoyable opportunity to sing music not usually heard in church, when we formed a Community Choir with other singers from the Parish and villages. We are indebted to the other organists and pianists who play regularly for services in the Parish: ****** (who also willingly accompanies at the C&C concerts), *******, ****** and ******. ******* and ******* tand in occasionally when our organists are unavailable. Mander Organ Builders continue to tune and maintain the organs annually. Patrixbourne and Bridge churches are affiliated to the RSCM and an annual fee is paid. Jean Barber ## **Bridge CEP School** Bridge and Patrixbourne School had finally almost returned to “normal” following the disruption of Covid and enjoyed another productive year under the careful leadership of ******, the Senior Leadership team and the Governing Body. 16 The school remains oversubscribed with a full role of nearly 420 pupils and 70 staff members. Estella is on the Board of Governors and PTA committee and the ministry team lead collective worship in school weekly. The PCC nominates two Foundation Governors (Graham Duplock and ********). The year started in the shadow of the previous year’s Covid restrictions and high numbers of pupil and staff absences. Through the Spring Messy Church, weekly parents’ prayer meetings, interschool sports events and school trips were restarted . Careful discussions were had with pupils explaining the situation with the war in Ukraine and events supporting the people of Ukraine were held. During terms 5 and 6 school life further returned to normal with outdoor music performances and the year 6 production of “Matilda the Musical” taking place. The joint School/Church Bridge Fete took place successfully for the first time since 2019 and end of year church services were held again. An unfortunate fire in the Reception area at the start of the Summer holiday caused extensive smoke damage and meant starting the new school year with Reception classes in the year 6 classrooms and utilising the School Hall for year 6. Everyone pulled together to minimise successfully the effect on the children’s education. With school back to normal year 5 and year 6 (rescheduled from the last year) Residentials took place. Church visits for Commemoration of our Queen, welcoming reception children and parents and Harvest Festival took place. Plans for resumption of Messy Church with a new team in January were formulated. The first PTA Firework Display since 2019 took place. Our usual preparations for the Christmas Festival; Church Christmas Card design competition, Salvation Army concert, children’s Nativities, senior citizens’ party, Carols in the village and Advent church services all took place. Finally, Reception doors and canopy were replaced to complete repair of the fire damage. Estella continued to lead sessions for both teaching staff and governors on implementation of the SIAMS Framework within the school community. In the autumn a new SIAMS inspection framework was announced for introduction from September 2023. Our Christian vision and strands are now being re-examined to match the new framework. The foundation governors would like to thank the staff, parents and PTA for their continued support for the school throughout the year. Despite the above the school community has continued to provide a Christian foundation for its children and the community. Graham Duplock, Foundation Governor ## **Parish Magazines** **The Lower Hardres and Nackington Village New** s has been in existence for approximately 30 years. It is run by a group of Volunteers 17 and is an independent publication. It accepts content from numerous sources including the church. 150 households currently receive the ‘Village News’ and it is sold in the local farm shop. **On the Nail** is the Parish magazine for the villages along the Nailbourne (Bridge, Patrixbourne & Bekesbourne). In 2022 there were 11 monthly editions from February to December. 490 copies are produced each month. There are 295 regular subscribers in Bridge, 43 in Patrixbourne and 115 in Bekesbourne. Copies are available in each of our five churches. Complimentary copies are available at The Pig for guests and are also available in commercial premises in Bridge. Copies are posted to former residents who have moved away, and Estella and Miriam have copies to hand out as they choose. The annual subscription remains at £5.00, unchanged for several years. Subscription income from Bridge and Patrixbourne along with all advertising income during the year amounted to £4550.00; Bekesbourne currently retains their subscription income. Our printing costs rose to £3370.00 in 2022. Megan Shirley, our Parish Administrator, is responsible for editing and typesetting before printing and ******* (Bekesbourne) co-ordinates the advertising on behalf of the Parish. A few advertisers chose not to renew in October 2022, so there are a few blank spaces currently. Our thanks go to ******, ***** and all the volunteer distributors who deliver the magazines across our 3 villages. ## **Digital Church** During the first half of 2022 we continued to film and upload services to YouTube and to send a link with a regular weekly communication to an extensive email list of parishioners. The PCC (and especially Pauline Pritchard and Laurence Dunderdale) spend a not inconsiderable amount of time working to try to achieve the installation of Broadband at St Peter’s Bridge. We were thwarted in these endeavours by the inflexibility of BT and the challenge of working with Grade I listed ancient fabric. Rev’d Estella continues to film and upload services on an ad hoc basis, for example when special services take place, when the service location is difference from usual and when her time and capacity allows. Little feedback is received in relation our online services although numbers of views on YouTube are usually between 15 and 30. ## **Single Parish** ## **Electoral Roll** The total on the Electoral Roll for the parish was **162** , two fewer than the previous year. The figures for the previous two years are given for comparison: ||**2020-20212021-2022**|**2022-2023**| |---|---|---| |Bridge/Patrixbourne|66
66|63| 18 Bekesbourne 61 59 59 Nackington/Lower Hardres 39 39 40 **Total 166 164 162** Forms have been placed in each church for new applicants and there will be notices about the new Roll in pew sheets and On the Nail. Applications should be returned by April 10[th] so that the new Roll can be displayed for two weeks before the APCM. ## **Safeguarding** I am pleased to report that there have been no Safeguarding issues during 2022. We have worked to meet all the requirements, displaying our Policy for Safeguarding on the website as well as in the churches, reviewing that policy annually and completing DBS checks for all whose roles in the churches require this. PCC members have completed online training in safeguarding provided by the Diocese and this should continue to be updated every three years. Enhanced DBS checks for all lay people who assist in the parish are up to date. The Diocese requires that these should now be renewed every 3 years instead of the previous 5-year period. As Safeguarding Officer, I receive regular updates from the Diocese and will act on these as necessary so that the Parish continues to fulfil Safeguarding requirements. Rosemary Whatley ## **Deanery Synod** Deanery Synod met three times in 2022. At the March meeting the Rev Estella Last explored the need for the Deanery to prepare a Deanery Plan in which we addressed the need to create a shared vision of the future of the Deanery, in terms of growth in our churches. A presentation on encouraging Lay Ministry in our parishes was given at the July meeting and a member of our eco-church group also spoke to those present about eco-churches. Our Parish is the only Parish where all our churches have eco-churches credentials. Officers from the Diocese attended the September meeting of the Deanery Synod to explain current Diocesan finances, which have been pared down as much as possible, and how this impacts Parish Share for the coming year. During the early part of the year the opportunity to participate in an on-line ‘Living in Love and Faith’ course was offered to members of the Deanery. The course was facilitated by the Area Dean, the Rev Stefan Thomas. In the Deanery the Littlebourne Benefice remains in interregnum, and Rev ******* of the Canonry Benefice retired at the end of the year, leaving another vacancy. 19 Andrea Nicholson, Amanda Barker, and Daphne Reece- Deanery Synod Representatives. ## **Parish Giving Scheme** In early 2022 we successfully launched the Parish Giving Scheme; this is a simpler and easier way to donate to our churches in The Bridge Group Parish. Gift Aid donations have previously been processed through Diocesan House but to reduce Parish Share costs this facility will cease in May 2023. The majority of our regular donors have, over the past 12 months, signed up to the PGS. The process to join is straightforward; it necessitates setting up a direct debit (which cannot be changed without consultation). Monthly, quarterly, annual or one-off donations are acceptable and donors are able to opt in or out of an annual increase in their giving. The PGS team are extremely helpful and easily reached by email or phone. The scheme enables our parish to monitor cash flow and to also manage our finances and time more efficiently. Evelyn Andrews, Gift Aid Secretary ## **Financial Review for the Year Ending 31st December 2022** Since the amalgamation of parishes in 2019 the financial figures represent a consolidated view of the accounts of the three former PCCs plus the Benefice Group. The results of the Friends of Bekesbourne Church (FoBC), which had been reported separately in 2020, were integrated into the Parish accounts for the first time in 2021 and continue to be included in a comparable manner for 2022. Each PCC is required to pay its allocated “Parish Share” to the Diocese of Canterbury, which goes towards the overall Diocesan budget for selection, training, stipends, housing and pensions of the clergy, and administration of the Diocese. Effectively it is the cost of providing ministry to the Parish. The 2022 parish share quota was decreased by approximately 8% compared to 2021 to £68,919. As a group we successfully paid the full amount for 2022 (noting that the final Bekesbourne payment for 2022 was made in the first week of January 2023). This successful, _full_ payment of our Parish Share was a step improvement from 2021 when we paid £64,554 (86% of the annual quota) and 2020, when we paid £59,884 (83% of the annual quota). This success, combined with the fact that we ended the year with cash reserves in our current accounts is felt to be a wonderful achievement and something our whole community should be proud of. From an accounting perspective, 5 months of Parish Share for Lower Hardres and Nackington was paid from the Patrixbourne with Bridge funds, but this was due to the amount of giving now coming through from the Planned Giving Scheme into the 20 Patrixbourne with Bridge account, and partly in recognition that LH&N had fewer services. The Statement of Receipts and Payments Accounts for the year is attached. As required by the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 and the Charities Act 2011, this Statement has been subject to an independent examination*. We have had our challenges during 2022, in particular with the energy price increases. Our heating costs have increased considerably, but from some hard work of our volunteers, we successfully applied for and received grants towards our energy costs for each church. In total for our 5 churches we received £6,100 in energy grants in December 2022. Noting that this is to help towards our energy costs for the whole winter, not just for the winter months of 2022. In Unrestricted Funds, both total receipts and payments were higher than previous years, due to increased activity within the Church community. The positive outcome is that our total receipts were higher than our total payments so we finished the year having met all of our financial commitments, and held more funds within our Unrestricted accounts than we started the year. This was in comparison to 2021 when we had a deficit of £12,030 (and a deficit of £7,241 in 2020). There were a number of legacy gifts received throughout the year, mostly designated for Restricted Funds. As in prior years, our churches received varying levels of Parish Council grants for churchyard maintenance (£1,900 in total for 2022); these grants only partially offset the actual cost of churchyard maintenance. The Restricted Funds showed a net deficit of £1,487 although there were some notable works during the year. For example, £6,736 was spent on boiler works at St Peter’s Bridge and towards the end of the year, £5,000 was spent on St Mary’s Patrixbourne (lighting and electrical works). Church building insurance premiums were reimbursed from Restricted Funds similar to previous years, but the following is to be noted: Bekesbournes Friends contributed to the full costs of the building insurance whereas for the other 4 churches, half of the annual premium was paid by the respective Friends accounts. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for the support of all those who have generously contributed to the life of the Parish over the past year, especially in the areas of planned giving, collections and donations. In addition, we are grateful for the ongoing support of our Parish Councils who again, kindly provided maintenance grants. Peter Turrell, PCC Treasurer ## **Administrative information** The PCC is a body corporate (PCC Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2006). Under these rules, the PCC must meet four times during the year and conduct an Annual Parish Meeting. The 21 administrative load has increased since the formation of the single parish, and we have increased our number of meetings so that we meet every other month. Since the formation of the Parish of the Bridge Group on 1[st] January 2020, the annual turnover of the PCC has exceeded the threshold for registration with the Charity Commission. Registration was successfully completed on 13[th] January 2022; the PCC’s Registered Charity number is 1197483. 22 ## **PCC Membership** PCC members who have served during 2022 are: ## **Ex Officio members:** Incumbent: Rev’d Estella Last Curate: Rev’d Miriam Bier Hinksman Lay Chaplain: Miriam Westendarp Lay reader: Margaret Clarke Wardens: Laurence Dunderdale Nicola Fry Evelyn Andrews Scilla Wright Andrea Nicholson Daphne Reece Pauline Pritchard Carol Day Deanery Synod Members: Amanda Barker Andrea Nicholson Daphne Reece Hon. Treasurer Peter Turrell Safeguarding and Electoral Roll Officer: Rosemary Whatley (Co-opted member) Secretary: Rory Wetherell (also elected rep Patrixbourne) **Elected Members:** Rosy Atkinson (elected rep Bridge) Alan Barber (elected rep Bridge) Bob Thomas (elected rep Nackington) John Meardon (elected rep Nackington) Amanda Barker (elected rep Bekesbourne) Graham Duplock (elected rep Bekesbourne) Sue Isard (elected rep Lower Hardres, resigned Feb 2022) **Finance Committee** – appointed by the PCC as a sub-committee Rev’d Estella Last (Incumbent) Peter Turrell (Treasurer) Evelyn Andrews (Gift Aid Secretary/Assistant Treasurer, Bridge, Patrixbourne, Lower Hardres & Nackington) Zan Clifford (Gift Aid Secretary/Assistant Treasurer, Bekesbourne) Laurence Dunderdale Bob Thomas This Annual Report has been approved by the Parochial Church Council by correspondence (email) on 12[th] April 2023 and signed on their behalf by ## **Rev’d Estella Last, PCC Chair** 23 # **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE BRIDGE GROUP ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2022** ## **CONTENTS** |
Independent Examiner’s Report

Receipts and Payments Account

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

Notes to the Accounts Continued
|Page
1
2
3
4 - 5| |---|---| ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT** ## **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE BRIDGE GROUP** This report on the financial statements the PCC for the year ended 31[st] December 2022 is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 (“the Regulations”) and section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). ## **Respective Responsibilities of the PCC and the Examiner** As members of the PCC you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements. You consider that the audit requirement of the Regulations section 44(2) of the Act do not apply. It is my responsibility to issue this report on those financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Regulations. ## **Basis of this Report** My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) of the Act and to be found in the Church Guidance 2006 edition, issued by the finance division of the Archbishops’ Council. That examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a comparison of the financial statements with those records. It also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the financial statements. ## **Independent Examiner’s Statement** In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: 1. Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements to: a. Keep accounting records in accordance with Section 130 of the Act; and - b. To prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records and comply with the requirements of the Act and Regulations have not been met; or 2. To which in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached. 23-4-2023 David Muggridge FCCA MAE Ackland Webb Date 1 ## **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE BRIDGE GROUP** ## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] DECEMBER 2022** |||**2022**|| |---|---|---|---| ||||| ||**Actual**|**Actual**|**Actual**| ||**UNRESTRICTED**|**RESTRICTED**|**ALL FUNDS**| ||**Full Year**
**2022**
48,088
12,884
12,331|**Full Year**
**2022**|**Full Year**
**2022**
48,088
12,884
12,331| |**_RECEIPTS_**|||| |**VOLUNTARY**
Planned Giving
Collections
Gift Aid Recovery
**Voluntary Subtotal**
**OTHER**
Parish Contributions to Benefice
Other Voluntary Receipts
Fund Generation Activities
Church Activities Receipts
Other Receipts
Investment Income
**Other Receipts Subtotal**|||| |||0
0
0|| ||**73,303**|**0**|**73,303**| ||7,343
31,758
26,540
0
1,900
423||7,343
41,006
33,855
0
1,900
3,400| ||||| |||0|| |||9,248|| |||7,315|| |||0|| |||0|| |||2,977|| ||**67,964**|**19,540**|**87,504**| ||||| |**TOTAL RECEIPTS**|**141,267**|**19,540**|**160,807**| ||67,940
7,343
6,943
35,668
7,211||67,940
7,343
6,943
56,695
7,211| |**_PAYMENTS_**|||| |**Church Costs**
**Diocesan Share**
**Benefice Contribution**
**Church Activities Payments**
**Church Running Payments**
**Benefice Administration Payments**|||| |||0|| ||||| |||0|| ||||| |||0|| ||||| |||21,026|| ||||| |||0|| ||||| |**TOTAL PAYMENTS**|**125,105**|**21,026**|**146,131**| ||||| |**SURPLUS/ (DEFICIT)**|**16,162**|**-1,486**|**14,676**| |**TOTAL RESERVES AT 1.1.22 (RESTATED)**
**FUND TRANSFERS**
**TOTAL RESERVES AT 31.12.22**|**10,434**
**(13,271)**||| |||**213,059**
**13,271**|| ||||| ||**13,325**|**224,844**|| 2 ## **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE BRIDGE GROUP** ## **STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AT 31[ST] DECEMBER 2022** ||**2022**|**2022**|**2022**|**2021**| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||| |**CASH BALANCES**|**UNRESTRICTED**|**RESTRICTED**|**ALL FUNDS**|**ALL FUNDS**| |Bank Account (see notes 1 & 2)
CBF Deposits (see note 7)
Cash in Hand|13,325
15,252
28,577
209,592
209,592
-
-
-|||31,915
199,247
31| |Cash at Bank and in Hand: End of Period|**13,325**
**224,844**
**238,169**|||**231,193**| |||||| |**OTHER MONETARY ASSETS**||||| |Investments (see note 10)|**9,650**
**16,209**
**25,859**|||**29,567**| |||||| |**OTHER ASSETS**||||| |(See note 3)|**-**
**-**
**-**|||**-**| |||||| |**OTHER LIABILITIES**|**-**
**-**
**-**|||**-**| - 1 £500 is held within the PCC Lower Hardres and Nackington Lloyds Account which is restricted for the use of the Lower Hardres 100 Club. ## **ST NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2022** ## 2 **Bank balances as at 31st December (non CCLA/Investment Accounts):** |Bridge Group Parish PCC
The Bridge Group of Parishes
PCC of Bekesbourne Current Account
PCC Bekesbourne Reserve Account
PCC St Marys Lower Hardres
PCC Lower Hardres & Nackington
PCC St Marys Nackington
PCC Patrixbourne with Bridge|**2022**|**2022**|**2022**|**2021**| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||| ||UNRESTRICTED|RESTRICTED|ALL FUNDS|ALL FUNDS| ||10
N/A
10
315
N/A
315
3,285
N/A
3,285
N/A
14,752
14,752
488
N/A
488
152
500
652
500
N/A
500
8,575
N/A
8,575|||-
176
2,746
14,720
-
1,588
-
354| ||**13,325**
**15,252**
**28,577**|||**19,583**| - 3 As at the 31st December 2022 £550 of gift aid is recoverable from gifts received during 2022. 3 ## **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE BRIDGE GROUP** ## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] DECEMBER 2022** - 4 The Financial Statements of the PCC have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006, using the Receipts and Payments basis. - 5 Other Assets - The Movable Church Furnishings are listed in the inventory (held by the Church Wardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal). - 6 Reserves Policy - it is our policy to invest funds' balances with the CBF (Church of England Deposit Fund). - 7 The Restricted Funds comprise the following accounts and values at year-end: |St. Peter Bridge & St Mary Patrixbourne
Sale of Vicarage Land (General) Fund
**SUBTOTAL**
St. Peter Bridge
Fabric Fund
Choir Fund
**SUBTOTAL**
St. Mary Patrixbourne
Fabric Fund
**SUBTOTAL**
St. Peter Bekesbourne
Friends of Bekesbourne Church
**SUBTOTAL**
St. Mary Lower Hardres
Fabric Fund
Daisy Law Churchyard Fund
Friends of Lower Hardres Church
Lower Hardres General Fund
Lower Hardres 100 Club
**SUBTOTAL**
St. Mary Nackington
Fabric Fund
Friends of Nackington Church
Nackington General Fund
Chancel Income Fund
**SUBTOTAL**
**TOTAL**|**2022**||**2021**| |---|---|---|---| ||138,752
138,752
13,373
126
13,499
9,578
9,578
12,387
12,387
966
3,618
544
50
500
5,178
5,863
20,370
2,684
1,780
30,697
**210,092**||141,888| ||||141,888
19,369
100| ||||19,469
3,366| ||||3,366
12,331| ||||12,331
1,410
3,572
1,090
50
1,670| ||||7,792
5,082
18,390
3,284
1,646| ||||28,402| ||||**213,248**| 4 ## **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE BRIDGE GROUP** ## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] DECEMBER 2022** |8
9
10|**2022**
**2021**
Parish Share Covid arrears:
-
10,378
Parish Share arrears:
979
-
**2022**
**2021**
St. Mary Lower Hardres
**Units**
RECTORY LAND FUND (Unrestricted)
CBF Investment*
208.5
4,307
4,883
CBF Fixed Interest Securities
378
518
597
* Dividends are credited quarterly to the church's general fund
St. Mary Nackington
RECTORY LAND FUND (Unrestricted)
CBF Investment*
208.5
4,307
4,883
CBF Fixed Interest Securities
378
518
597
* Dividends are credited quarterly to the church's general fund
**TOTAL UNRESTRICTED INVESTMENT ASSETS**
**9,650**
**10,960**
NACKINGTON CHANCEL FUND (Endowment)
CBF Investment**
182
3,758
4,262
**Dividends are credited to the Chancel Deposit Fund
MISS DORIS RYE BEQUEST (Restricted)
CBF Fixed Interest Securities***
6515
8,900
10,317
St. Peter Bekesbourne
WARDELL BEQUEST (Endowment)
CBF Investment****
172
3,551
4,028
**** The income from this bequest is credited to the St. Peter Bekesbourne current account.
**TOTAL RESTRICTED INVESTMENT ASSETS**
**16,209**
**18,607**
Voluntary Parish Share contributions for 2020 and 2021 were not paid in full due to reduced income as
a direct consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Due to a slightly late payment for the December 2022 Parish Share we underpaid by £979. This was
swiftly rectified in early 2023 when is was paid in January 2023.
The Investment Assets comprise the following accounts and valuations at year-end:
*** The income from this bequest is restricted to the church's Fabric Fund and dividends are credited
to the St. Mary Nackington Fabric Fund.| |---|---| 5 # **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE BRIDGE GROUP ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2022** ## **CONTENTS** |
Independent Examiner’s Report

Receipts and Payments Account

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

Notes to the Accounts Continued
|Page
1
2
3
4 - 5| |---|---| ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT** ## **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE BRIDGE GROUP** This report on the financial statements the PCC for the year ended 31[st] December 2022 is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 (“the Regulations”) and section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). ## **Respective Responsibilities of the PCC and the Examiner** As members of the PCC you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements. You consider that the audit requirement of the Regulations section 44(2) of the Act do not apply. It is my responsibility to issue this report on those financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Regulations. ## **Basis of this Report** My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) of the Act and to be found in the Church Guidance 2006 edition, issued by the finance division of the Archbishops’ Council. That examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a comparison of the financial statements with those records. It also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the financial statements. ## **Independent Examiner’s Statement** In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: 1. Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements to: a. Keep accounting records in accordance with Section 130 of the Act; and - b. To prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records and comply with the requirements of the Act and Regulations have not been met; or 2. To which in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached. 23-4-2023 David Muggridge FCCA MAE Ackland Webb Date 1 ## **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE BRIDGE GROUP** ## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] DECEMBER 2022** |||**2022**|| |---|---|---|---| ||||| ||**Actual**|**Actual**|**Actual**| ||**UNRESTRICTED**|**RESTRICTED**|**ALL FUNDS**| ||**Full Year**
**2022**
48,088
12,884
12,331|**Full Year**
**2022**|**Full Year**
**2022**
48,088
12,884
12,331| |**_RECEIPTS_**|||| |**VOLUNTARY**
Planned Giving
Collections
Gift Aid Recovery
**Voluntary Subtotal**
**OTHER**
Parish Contributions to Benefice
Other Voluntary Receipts
Fund Generation Activities
Church Activities Receipts
Other Receipts
Investment Income
**Other Receipts Subtotal**|||| |||0
0
0|| ||**73,303**|**0**|**73,303**| ||7,343
31,758
26,540
0
1,900
423||7,343
41,006
33,855
0
1,900
3,400| ||||| |||0|| |||9,248|| |||7,315|| |||0|| |||0|| |||2,977|| ||**67,964**|**19,540**|**87,504**| ||||| |**TOTAL RECEIPTS**|**141,267**|**19,540**|**160,807**| ||67,940
7,343
6,943
35,668
7,211||67,940
7,343
6,943
56,695
7,211| |**_PAYMENTS_**|||| |**Church Costs**
**Diocesan Share**
**Benefice Contribution**
**Church Activities Payments**
**Church Running Payments**
**Benefice Administration Payments**|||| |||0|| ||||| |||0|| ||||| |||0|| ||||| |||21,026|| ||||| |||0|| ||||| |**TOTAL PAYMENTS**|**125,105**|**21,026**|**146,131**| ||||| |**SURPLUS/ (DEFICIT)**|**16,162**|**-1,486**|**14,676**| |**TOTAL RESERVES AT 1.1.22 (RESTATED)**
**FUND TRANSFERS**
**TOTAL RESERVES AT 31.12.22**|**10,434**
**(13,271)**||| |||**213,059**
**13,271**|| ||||| ||**13,325**|**224,844**|| 2 ## **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE BRIDGE GROUP** ## **STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AT 31[ST] DECEMBER 2022** ||**2022**|**2022**|**2022**|**2021**| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||| |**CASH BALANCES**|**UNRESTRICTED**|**RESTRICTED**|**ALL FUNDS**|**ALL FUNDS**| |Bank Account (see notes 1 & 2)
CBF Deposits (see note 7)
Cash in Hand|13,325
15,252
28,577
209,592
209,592
-
-
-|||31,915
199,247
31| |Cash at Bank and in Hand: End of Period|**13,325**
**224,844**
**238,169**|||**231,193**| |||||| |**OTHER MONETARY ASSETS**||||| |Investments (see note 10)|**9,650**
**16,209**
**25,859**|||**29,567**| |||||| |**OTHER ASSETS**||||| |(See note 3)|**-**
**-**
**-**|||**-**| |||||| |**OTHER LIABILITIES**|**-**
**-**
**-**|||**-**| - 1 £500 is held within the PCC Lower Hardres and Nackington Lloyds Account which is restricted for the use of the Lower Hardres 100 Club. ## **ST NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2022** ## 2 **Bank balances as at 31st December (non CCLA/Investment Accounts):** |Bridge Group Parish PCC
The Bridge Group of Parishes
PCC of Bekesbourne Current Account
PCC Bekesbourne Reserve Account
PCC St Marys Lower Hardres
PCC Lower Hardres & Nackington
PCC St Marys Nackington
PCC Patrixbourne with Bridge|**2022**|**2022**|**2022**|**2021**| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||| ||UNRESTRICTED|RESTRICTED|ALL FUNDS|ALL FUNDS| ||10
N/A
10
315
N/A
315
3,285
N/A
3,285
N/A
14,752
14,752
488
N/A
488
152
500
652
500
N/A
500
8,575
N/A
8,575|||-
176
2,746
14,720
-
1,588
-
354| ||**13,325**
**15,252**
**28,577**|||**19,583**| - 3 As at the 31st December 2022 £550 of gift aid is recoverable from gifts received during 2022. 3 ## **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE BRIDGE GROUP** ## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] DECEMBER 2022** - 4 The Financial Statements of the PCC have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006, using the Receipts and Payments basis. - 5 Other Assets - The Movable Church Furnishings are listed in the inventory (held by the Church Wardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal). - 6 Reserves Policy - it is our policy to invest funds' balances with the CBF (Church of England Deposit Fund). - 7 The Restricted Funds comprise the following accounts and values at year-end: |St. Peter Bridge & St Mary Patrixbourne
Sale of Vicarage Land (General) Fund
**SUBTOTAL**
St. Peter Bridge
Fabric Fund
Choir Fund
**SUBTOTAL**
St. Mary Patrixbourne
Fabric Fund
**SUBTOTAL**
St. Peter Bekesbourne
Friends of Bekesbourne Church
**SUBTOTAL**
St. Mary Lower Hardres
Fabric Fund
Daisy Law Churchyard Fund
Friends of Lower Hardres Church
Lower Hardres General Fund
Lower Hardres 100 Club
**SUBTOTAL**
St. Mary Nackington
Fabric Fund
Friends of Nackington Church
Nackington General Fund
Chancel Income Fund
**SUBTOTAL**
**TOTAL**|**2022**||**2021**| |---|---|---|---| ||138,752
138,752
13,373
126
13,499
9,578
9,578
12,387
12,387
966
3,618
544
50
500
5,178
5,863
20,370
2,684
1,780
30,697
**210,092**||141,888| ||||141,888
19,369
100| ||||19,469
3,366| ||||3,366
12,331| ||||12,331
1,410
3,572
1,090
50
1,670| ||||7,792
5,082
18,390
3,284
1,646| ||||28,402| ||||**213,248**| 4 ## **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE BRIDGE GROUP** ## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] DECEMBER 2022** |8
9
10|**2022**
**2021**
Parish Share Covid arrears:
-
10,378
Parish Share arrears:
979
-
**2022**
**2021**
St. Mary Lower Hardres
**Units**
RECTORY LAND FUND (Unrestricted)
CBF Investment*
208.5
4,307
4,883
CBF Fixed Interest Securities
378
518
597
* Dividends are credited quarterly to the church's general fund
St. Mary Nackington
RECTORY LAND FUND (Unrestricted)
CBF Investment*
208.5
4,307
4,883
CBF Fixed Interest Securities
378
518
597
* Dividends are credited quarterly to the church's general fund
**TOTAL UNRESTRICTED INVESTMENT ASSETS**
**9,650**
**10,960**
NACKINGTON CHANCEL FUND (Endowment)
CBF Investment**
182
3,758
4,262
**Dividends are credited to the Chancel Deposit Fund
MISS DORIS RYE BEQUEST (Restricted)
CBF Fixed Interest Securities***
6515
8,900
10,317
St. Peter Bekesbourne
WARDELL BEQUEST (Endowment)
CBF Investment****
172
3,551
4,028
**** The income from this bequest is credited to the St. Peter Bekesbourne current account.
**TOTAL RESTRICTED INVESTMENT ASSETS**
**16,209**
**18,607**
Voluntary Parish Share contributions for 2020 and 2021 were not paid in full due to reduced income as
a direct consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Due to a slightly late payment for the December 2022 Parish Share we underpaid by £979. This was
swiftly rectified in early 2023 when is was paid in January 2023.
The Investment Assets comprise the following accounts and valuations at year-end:
*** The income from this bequest is restricted to the church's Fabric Fund and dividends are credited
to the St. Mary Nackington Fabric Fund.| |---|---| 5