United Team Benefice Allerton Bywater, Kippax and ST. MARY’S CHURCH, SWILLINGTON

ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 2019

Membership of the Parochial Church Council (PCC): Team Rector Reverend Canon Rosemarie Hayes Team Vicar Reverend Diane Flynn Churchwarden Dawn Marshall Diana Puxty Deanery Synod Representatives Margaret Forth (PCC Secretary) Gill Weatherhead Elected Members. James Puxty Alison Westmoreland Dianne Wilford Anne Howcroft Susan Wheeler Kathleen Harrison Mark Sigsworth (from April 2019)

Electoral Roll The Electoral Roll was fully revised in 2019 and the number on the Roll is 59..

Review of the Year The PCC met 9 times, 6 scheduled meeting and three extra meetings to make urgent decisions. There was an average attendance of 75%. Following the APCM the PCC formally set up 6 sub-groups to enable the work of the Church within the Parish. The Standing Committee and Safeguarding Sub Group, Finance Sub Group, Social and Fund Raising Sub Group were already in meeting. The 3 new subgroups set up were: Fabric and Health and Safety; Worship, Nurture and Outreach; Communications. These groups meet between PCC meetings but report back with recommendations that are then discussed by the whole PCC. There have been several new initiatives to try to meet the needs of our community and to help in the mission of the church. Open the Book into School and the Share and Care Cafe. The installation of the new projector and screen, and relaying the main church path have taken much time as well as some urgent repairs. We were sorry to hear that our Team Rector, Rev Canon Rosemarie Hayes, is to retire in March 2020. We will really miss her. We would like to record our thanks to her for all she has done to facilitate the formation of our Team and her hard work in bringing us together. She has blessed us all with her unfailing support and cheerfulness and we pray that God will bless her with a very happy and fulfilling retirement. We would also like to say how grateful we are to her husband Maurice for playing his guitar with our Music Group at our All Age Services

United Team Benefice Allerton Bywater, Kippax and Swillington.  The Team Council has met four times in the year. The Clergy and Church Wardens continued to meet regularly for updates and sharing of information across the Team  The Team joined for services on Maundy Thursday, in September for our Patronal festival and for an Advent Sunday Service.  Lent lunches were held with each church taking turns to host over 5 weeks. Invited speakers spoke on The Beatitudes and promoted much discussion.  A Team Songs of Praise followed by tea was enjoyed in September with excellent attendance.  Team Wedding Preparation took place twice in the year, led by lay team and clergy  Clergy continued to share the Sunday and the 3 Midweek Communion services and the Funerals, Weddings, Baptisms and Burial of Ashes across the 3 churches, with great thanks to each of the Teams at each Church who are involved. Thanks are also given to the retired Clergy who have also helped this year, especially Revd Gordon Cooper, covering illness and holidays.

Team Church School C of E Primary Rev Diane took weekly collective worship in school for Years 1-6. Festival Worship for Reception, Nursery, Bright Sparks (Pre School) and their families also took place in School for Easter, Harvest, Christmas and End of Year, which were all very well attended by families. Years 1-6 came into ABW Church for their Festival worship at Harvest, Christmas, Easter and Year 6 Leavers with good attendance from families. Years 1-6 and families also had Christingle/Candlemas services in school with families helping and attending. The School Worship Committee were involved in leading and sharing worship in school and church. They represented School on Remembrance Day at Great Preston monument service and attended a 40th Anniversary of Bells Service at Swillington. Good links have been made by School and Rev Diane with Great and Little Preston Parish Council, supporting and advertising each other’s activities and events. (Many school families attended the Great Preston Remembrance Service and village Christmas Light Switch On). Rev Diane supported staff through the year with monthly Staff Prayer meetings and providing pastoral care whilst in school. There has been continued good communication with School and the ABW Church community, with mutual sharing of information and events e.g. the school corner on the church internal notice board. Rev Diane as Foundation Governor attended and contributed to the Main Governors meetings/work and one of the Subgroup meetings/work, attended Safeguarding Training, checked SATs processes and went with Year 6 to the Leavers Service at Ripon Cathedral. We are still in need of a second Foundation Governor (as Libby Miller sadly had to retire from that post). Please speak to Rev Diane if this is something you are interested in being involved with. Safeguarding:  This continues to be an item at every PCC meeting. The Diocesan Safeguarding Policy was adopted by PCC and website and notices now conform to requirements. All DBS checks are up to date and the Safeguarding Officer informs everyone of available training.

Church Fabric and Churchyard:  The Quinquennial Survey was carried out in October 2018 but, despite repeated requests to the Architect, the report has not yet been received.  Church Path. Permission was received to relay the main path using original York Stone when possible but much new stone will be needed. Work started on this in October but was delayed to allow vehicle access in December. It should be completed early 2020. A List B application for the installation of a handrail will be done in 2020.  Asbestos in Boiler House: This should have been removed some years ago. It was all removed in December and all contents of Boiler House were either removed or cleaned. The boiler room door was repaired and repainted. A new ceiling to protect the Vestry above will be installed in January 2020.  Projector and Screen. The Faculty was granted in July and the installation was completed in December.  Electrics. The five year survey was done at the same time as wiring for the projector and screen.  Garden of Rembrance: Permission was given to replace the broken wooden edging to this area and Alan Walker is undertaking this work.  Bench: It was agreed that Swillington in Bloom could put a bench in Garden of Remembrance once permission was granted by Diocese. A List B application will be applied for in early 2020  Closure of Churchyard. This is still being explored.  Headstones: Some checking done but still to be completed..  Upkeep of the Churchyard continued by the dedicated Churchyard Volunteer Team and Swillington in Bloom for which we are very grateful. We are also grateful for the support of the Community Payback Team and the work they do in this area.

Welcome, Nurture and Pastoral Care.  Worship: The Sunday pattern of services continues, as well as the growing 9.30 Holy Communion Wednesday service. Baptisms are now offered at 12.30 as well as during the 10.30 service. New Baptism liturgy for both services has now been updated and used.  Prayer: Morning Prayer continues on Wednesdays and Thursdays and there are prayer stations around church (Candles and Prayer Tree). Healing Prayers with anointing have been offered after

services on a number of occasions.  All Age Service: The planning group continues to meet regularly to plan the worship and include young people from the Uniformed Organisations as much as possible. There was another popular Songs of Praise in September  Monthly worship services continue to be held across the Team. (Celtic, Healing, Choral Evensong, Iona, Taize, Café Church, Common Worship)  Harvest Praise and Harvest Communion, Remembrance and Memorial services were all very well attended,  Advent and Christmas Services: Christingle, Carol Service, Crib Service and Midnight Communion were all very well attended.  Holy Week: There was a good mixture of worship across the Team. At Swillington, there was a Holy Week Compline, the Team Maundy Thursday service, Good Friday devotional service at 2:00 pm, Easter Dawn Praise at 6am and a very well attended Easter Communion Service  Nurture Courses:. The Lent Groups with invited speakers and a light lunch were very well attended. These were held for five weeks and rotated round the three churches.  Singing Cafes were held in July, October and December.  House Groups: The Monday Group met regularly and a new Tuesday afternoon Group was also established.  Free Resources. Bibles, prayer cards and Lent/Easter and /Advent/Christmas resources have been given away all year free to visitors and church members.  Home Communions. These took place monthly for those who were unable to attend Church.  Pastoral Visits continued to be made by volunteers to all those wanting a visit. Outreach and Mission  Share and Care Café: This was started in September and is open to anyone who is bereaved, lonely or wishes to share problems. A group of volunteers staff the sessions on the first Wednesday of every month. Training was given by Diocesan Lay Trainer and in-house.  Pop-In: This continues to provide a friendly get together for people of all ages who can just chat or join in activities which include crafts, jigsaws, lego and singing, among others.  The Fund Raising and Social Group has continued to co-ordinate various events. The Snowdrop Festival was held again in February ending with a concert by the White Rose Male Voice Praise Choir. A Silent Auction was poorly attended but raised funds and was very enjoyable. Two Afternoon Teas were well attended and much praised by participants. The Autumn Fair was successful.  Open The Book: This is a new venture of taking Bible Stories into School once every half term. So far the volunteers have presented 3 stories in Swillington Primary School and these have been well received.  Swillington Primary The Team Vicar, Reverend Diane Flynn, visits the school regularly to take Collective Worship with Years 1-6 and was also invited into school to discuss Christianity with Year 6 and Year 3. Worship with Nursery and Reception took place in Church each term with parents and for their Harvest and Christmas services. Years 1-6 came into church at Harvest and Christmas. These have been very joyful services and have been well attended by parents. School was also represented at the 40th Bell Anniversary and Carol Service.  The Christmas Card was distributed to every house in the village as usual detailing all the Christmas and regular Services.  Christian Aid: Unfortunately it was not possible to organize a door to door collection this year but £710.was raised from a Coffee Morning and voluntary contributions.  Open Church: The Church continues to open every Wednesday morning from 8:30 am to 12:00 noon.  Facebook and Instagram: There has been increased use of Social Media to keep the community up to date with what is going on in Church, to promote events, worship and to post prayers.  The Occasional Offices for the year were: Baptisms 15 children, 1 Thanksgiving for a Child; 1 Wedding, 15 Funerals with 13 having a service in church and 2 going directly to the crematorium, 6 Burial of Ashes. Follow-up ministry continued with the sending of 1st wedding anniversary cards, baptism anniversary cards and for funerals: 1st anniversary cards; invitations to hear prayers said in intercessions; invitation to Memorial Service; Remembrance Book and Share and Care Café.  Elderberries: Good connections have been made with this village elderly group (with church people attending and volunteering).  Mining Heritage: Good connections have been made with ex miners in the local area. Rev Diane was asked to take part in a gathering for the commissioning of a Coal Tub on the Green (in memory of the

local Pit workers), which involved prayers of blessing and refreshments with community and ex mining families in the Village Hall. Some of our church community via Elderberries were involved in the Blot on the Landscape Project, which looked at the mining heritage in the area.  Swillington Educational Charity: Rev Diane as Trustee and Chair has worked with the other Trustees on granting donations for young people’s grant requests. Good connections have been made with Swillington Parish Councillors and Great and Little Preston Parish Councillors, some of whom attended the 40th Anniversary Bellringing Service and Christmas Services.

Deanery Synod  There were three meetings this year. The main topics were Resource Churches, WYDAN (West Destitute Asylum Network), and The Diocesan Strategy. All three were reported back to PCC who looked at how they may be able to assist WYDAN although they were unable to offer to host. PCC are also looking at The Diocesan Strategy and how our own Mission and Planning connects with the overall strategy.

Financial Report and Stewardship: A full financial review, the 2019 Accounts and the Independent Examiner’s report are attached to this report.

Groups and Activities  Music: The Choir continues to sing at Sunday Services and has joined with Kippax choir to sing at the joint Team services and weddings. The Music Group has 4 adult members playing at the monthly All Age Service with some younger people playing on occasion. We are grateful to our 3 Organists who continue to play at all our Services. The Organ is serviced annually.  Bell Ringers and Tower. This year saw the 40th Anniversary, of the bells been transferred to Swillington St. Marys from St. Matthews . The service of re dedication of the bells by Bishop Paul Slater of was held on the 14th December 2019. Dean John Dobson of Ripon Cathedral, Rev. Diane Flynn Team Vicar and Rev. Bill Hulse also took part in the service. Special prayers to remember ringers who were no longer with us were said; especially remembering Edward Guy Cox and David Lockwood for all their hard work and commitment to the project. A quarter peal of Bob Doubles was rung on Sunday 15th December on the back 6 of the local band; Treble Edward G Cox (first quarter), 2nd Alan Walker, 3rd Tim Cox, 4th James Puxty, 5th Michael King (conductor) Tenor Robert J Cox (first quarter).Edward and Robert (both grandsons of Guy) qualified as full Members of the Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers.. A peal of Bristol Surprise Major will be rung on the 27th January 2020 organised by Pamela Hudson, the daughter of David Lockwood.  Mother's Union : There are 18 members, including 4 Indoor members. Meetings were held monthly with two of these taking place at our indoor member’s house. Visits this year included Primrose Valley to see the new AFIA Caravan, Ripon Cathedral for mid-day prayers followed by knitted Bible Exhibition at St. John’s, Sharrow. We also met the new World Wide President, Sharan Harper at . £50 was sent to the Make a Mother’s Day Appeal and £120 to AFIA. Collection and delivery of toiletries for the Joanna Appeal and St. George’s Crypt and items for Food Bank continues. Cards are given to all couples who marry in the church as well as to all those who are Baptised throughout the year.  The Uniformed Organisations continue to meet on a weekly basis and enjoy a wide variety of activities which include outings and camps. The young people and their Leaders attend and contribute to the All Age Service and Harvest Praise and are very supportive of fund raising functions for Church.  Coffee mornings for 200 club continued through 2019 raising much needed funds for the Fabric Fund..  Dedicated volunteers enabled smooth running of weekly worship

We would like to record our appreciation and gratitude to our Team Rector, Team Vicar, Churchwardens, PCC members and all the many people who contribute to the upkeep and running of all church activities. We thank God for all of you who spend many hours doing a wide variety of tasks, many unseen, that enable the church to provide worship, outreach, social activities and ensure the fabric of the church building and churchyard are kept in good condition. It is impossible to thank everyone individually but we really do appreciate all that is done THANK YOU. March 2020

Swillington St Mary’s 2019 Finance Report

This set of accounts shows all the receipts and payments made to and by Swillington St Mary’s church. We have been able to show that the difference between the opening and closing balances matches the difference between receipts and payments. This year there was an overall deficit of £19,316.46. Ways of Working The finances at Swillington are a real team effort.  The finance sub group reviews the overall state of the finances and ways of working and will feedback recommendations to the PCC.  We have a group of people who count the money received and pay this into the bank. A weekly income sheet is produced to show the details of what has been paid in. At least 2 people from the team take responsibility for this.  The cheque book requires 2 signatures and is generally used for smaller and local payments.  Online payments are made by myself but are checked by the finance sub group.  The gift aid officer takes responsibility for claiming back from HMRC from regular giving and donations.

2019 Exceptions Whilst legacies shouldn’t be a regular source of income we have been blessed over the last few years. This continued in 2019 with a further £6,400 from the Bedford legacy. To aid in our services we have seen the installation of a new projector. The cost of this was £11,700. The main footpath to church was in serious need of repair and work is currently in progress. So far we have paid £4,300. Both the work on the path and the projector have only been possible with the money left from the legacies. Without these exceptions we are running the church at about a loss of £10,000 for the year. To stem these loses in 2020 we will be reviewing our spending and running another stewardship campaign.

Parish Share In 2019 we again chose to pay our parish share in full at £25,144. Again this is our biggest outgoing for the year. By continuing to pay this in full we are benefiting from seeing our historical share (arrears) written off. From a total debt of £33,284 we have seen £11,095 written off in both 2018 and 2019 and fully expect to see the same again in 2020. Utilities This year we have started to pay for water. This shouldn’t be a major expense at an additional £120 per year. The payments for gas did pause earlier in the year due to previous over-payments which had been refunded. This means our totals utility bills would have been roughly £1,000 less than a normal year. Electricity and refuse collection have remained fairly consistent. Other significant payments Insurance payments remains the same as last year. Team and clergy expenses are now consistent at £100 that we pay monthly. Overall across administration and the general running of the church, the costs are fairly similar to last year.

Income Regular giving is down very slightly from last year. The standing orders that have been set up remain the same but we are seeing less from the envelopes and plate collections. Having said that this is still our biggest source of income boosted by the £3,900 that we get back from gift aid. It is great to see that the fundraising events are still going strong and in fact the coffee mornings are seeing over £300 more income in 2019 compared to 2018. The profits from weddings and funerals are down from £5,000 in 2018 to £3,000 in 2019. We are currently reviewing the payments taken for the remembrance book. Whilst this is not designed to make a profit it does appear to be making a loss overall.

A big thank you from me and the PCC goes to everybody who gives to the church both though their financial gifts and their gift of time. It is only through the time of volunteers that we can keep the church going and it would be impossible to put a value on this resource.

James Puxty, Treasurer.

Swillington St Mary’s Church Financial Summary 1st January 2019 – 31st December 2019

General Fund 1st January 2019

HSBC £135,658.45

Petty Cash £17.80

GF Investments £0

Total £135,676.25

Fabric Fund (restricted) 1st January 2019

HSBC £35,449.00

FF Investments £0

Total £35,449.00

Total Church Funds 1st January 2019 £171,125.25

General Fund 31st December 2019

HSBC £110,150.81

Petty Cash £17.80

GF Investments £- Total £110,168.61

Fabric Fund (restricted) 31st December 2019

HSBC £41,640.18

FF Investments £- Total £41,640.18

Total Church Funds 31st December 2019 £151,808.79

Total difference -£19,316.46

Swillington St Mary’s Church General Fund (Unrestricted) 1st January 2019 – 31st December 2019 Receipts 2018 2019 Regular giving £16,033.56 £15,231.13 Collections £3,509.03 £2,232.47 Designated income £10,257.00 £6,359.46 Donations £1,396.69 £795.02 Tax recovered £12,619.40 £3,979.10 Refunds £62.70 £417.47 Legacy £31,500 £6,418.25 War Grave £30.00 £30.00 Remembrance book In £530.00 £270.00 Events £2,850.79 £3,009.74 From Fabric Fund £0.00 £0.00 Fees £8,386.50 £5,205.31 Clergy expenses contributions £0.00 £0.00 Magazine £0.00 £0.00 Interest £0.00 £0.00 Total £87,175.67 £43,947.95 Payments 2018 2019 Giving to charities £1,100.00 £1,000.00 Designated expenditure £4,833.30 £4,292.99 Parish share £28,103.08 £25,144.00 Clergy & Team expenses £1,677.25 £1,208.91 Church running costs £4,389.70 £4,481.94 Music expenses £209.89 £494.00 General church maintenance £778.20 £504.02 Remembrance book Out £221.76 £687.97 Upkeep of services £821.44 £12,831.26 Upkeep of churchyard £3,941.78 £4,813.49 Utilities £4,959.36 £3,641.12 Administration £633.71 £865.61 Magazine expenses £0.00 £0.00 Fundraising expenses £124.50 £67.50 Major building repairs £2,774.40 £1,259.00 Transfer to Fabric Fund £0.00 £6,111.78 Wedding and Funeral Fees £3,127 £2,052.00 Total £57,695.37 £69,455.59

Receipts subtract payments -£25,507.64 Opening balance 1st Jan 2019 £135,676.25 Closing balance 31st Dec 2019 £110,168.61 Closing balance subtract opening balance -£25,507.64

Swillington St Mary’s Church Fabric Fund (Restricted) 1st January 2019 – 31st December 2019

Receipts Due to fabric 2018 due from fund but paid to 2018 general fund 2019 general 200 Club £400 £600 £0 £750.00 Money Recovered £0 £0 £0 £1,834.40 Coffee Afternoons £0 £0 £0 £0 Church Boxes £2.89 £114.89 £0 £56.74 Other Donations £10,295.50 £396.89 £0 £250 Interest £33.52 £0 £79.40 £0 Grants £11,040.00 £5,000 £0 £0 Transfers in from General Fund £0 £0 £6,111.78 £0 Total £1,865.48 £6,111.78 £6,191.18 £2,891.14

Payments Payments 2018 2019 Transfer to General Fund for work on the building £0 £0 Total £0 £0

Receipts subtract payments £6,191.18

Opening balance 1st Jan 2019 £35,449.00 Closing balance 31st Dec 2019 £41,640.18

Closing balance subtract opening balance £6,191.18

Diane Brown, Five Gables, 5a Gunthwaite Lane, Upper Denby, Hudds, HD8 8UL

PCC, St Mary’s Church Swillington

09/02/2020

Dear members of the PCC,

This is the fourth year I have been engaged by the PCC to carry out an independent check of the annual accounts of Independent Examiner. Since I last completed the last annual check there does not appear to have been any changes and I have presumed that the criteria ascertained at my last examination are still applicable. Introduction An independent examination provides an external check on the accounts and can be carried out by a person with the relevant ability and experience, except where gross income exceeds £250,000. An examination is a less onerous form of scrutiny than an audit and provides less assurance in terms of the depth of work which is to be carried out. An examiner is only required to confirm that no evidence has been found that suggests certain things have not been done for the church. The examiner is not acting as an auditor and so is not required to plan their work or identify material fraud or to test the internal financial controls in operation. My Findings Firstly, I looked at the 2019 Finance Report and considered it to be satisfactory and gave a good overview of the financial year being examined. In addition, I was pleased to note that James Puxty the Treasurer had included a way of working paragraph in his report which stated the roles of the persons involved in the administration of the accounts. I examined the accounts for 2019 and found them to be satisfactory. The PCC uses both cheques and internet banking to make payments. Cheques are used for small expenditure amounts. I sample checked the invoices and found them to be reasonable and for legitimate church expenditure. There is an excellent audit trail for transactions, and I could clearly see from the bank statements provided the carry forward figure from 2018 and the end of year carry forward at the end of 2019. The PCC has two bank accounts the Fabric fund and the main account. At the year end 2019 there was £41,640.18 in the Fabric Account and £110,168.61 in the General Fund. As I have previously stated James has a very logical way of working and the accounts are presented in a logical format which are easy to follow. I verified that:  Records are kept to support the accounts and are complete.  The accounting records are up to date and were readily available  They provided the basic information from which the financial year can be ascertained, not only at the year-end but also on any selected date.  The accounting records contained details of all money received and spent and the nature of the transaction. I noted again that I could not verify the year end petty cash amount of £17.80 which was the same amount carried forward at the previous year end and the year before. This suggests that petty cash is not actually used and therefore should cease, and this amount paid in to the General Fund. I noted that bank statements were checked by other PCC members and signed as proof of examination. The checking and certifying of bank statements is an effective control and evidences that management are checking that the amounts in the bank account are correct. Another area I have mentioned before is to ensure that the PCC has an adequate Asset Register and is adequately insured. I have not seen the Asset Register so cannot comment further.

Conclusion

Having read the guidance for an Independent examination I can state that the accounts presented to me were adequate and provided the financial information necessary.

I would like to thank James for his help during the Independent examination process and wish the PCC all good wishes for the future

Diane Brown 09/02/2020.