St Mary the Virgin, Cleobury Mortimer

Annual Report and Financial Statement of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31st December 2023

Incumbent: Rev Ashley Buck, The Rectory, The Hurst, Cleobury Mortimer, DY14 8EG

Bank: Lloyds Bank plc, Oldham, PO Box 1000, BX1 1LT

Rector’s Report

Easter 2024

The life of Cleobury Benefice continues to change and evolve against a background of sometimes dark developments in the world, and evidence of failure of focus in the central Church of England.

Immediately after Easter I was profoundly grateful to enjoy a three month period of study leave which took me to Wales on a number of occasions, to France also for extended periods of time, to London and Oxford. We also had a lovely holiday with the extended family in Crete. I am very grateful for the privilege of this time apart which I hope has refreshed and renewed the ministry I exercise amongst you, and granted me important time for thought and reflection. Many thanks to all those whose hard work made it possible.

During this period the ever capable and helpful Sam Dolphin rejoined our team as Administrator in the Benefice Office, where she plays a key role in all that we do. Joe Simons finished his time of curacy with us where he has been so deeply appreciated and went off to take up a hybrid parish and diocesan post, with his pastoral ministry centred on the Brown Clee Benefice. In June Sarah Lupton was ordained deacon and her ministry across the parishes has been warmly welcomed with her particular blend of intelligence, warmth and humour. At the turn of the year Cleobury welcomed Helena Evans to lead the choir, complimenting the good work Chris Kippin has been doing with our music. The effects are immediately apparent. Chris was also crucial to the continuing rollout of the Tower Project. In the last few weeks we were also delighted to welcome back our dear friends Mark and Alex Daborn, as they decided to focus their retirement ministry in the Benefice. The team continues to grow and strengthen. We are exploring more areas of ministry especially ones of civic and pastoral engagement and work with our schools.

Cleobury Community Hub, born from St Mary’s Youth Project, has continued to grow in mission and service and we will soon be establishing new patterns of cooperation with it as its Bishop’s Mission Order comes into effect. This is a very exciting development, and I give thanks for Mark and Bev’s vision, and for the hard work of Mark Melluish from the Diocese to bring this into being.

We live a life of prayer, discipleship and care amongst the background I feel of a central church centred in London which struggles to articulate its vision. The international scene is as dark as I can remember it. But in Cleobury we do what we can to share the light of Christ, and I feel with increasing success. My huge thanks go out to churchwardens, readers, clergy and many others who make this enterprise in love possible.

Ashley Buck, Rector

Addendum

On reflection I feel that there are two extra things that should be reported on in this year. The first is the securing of funds for the splendid Beacon on the Hill Project in Doddington. This gives the Church community on the Clee Hill a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to the community and its enthusiasm for spreading the Gospel. Huge credit should go to all those who have made this possible.

Secondly, because I was on study leave in June of 2023, I was not present in Cleobury for the Coronation of Charles III. This obviously was a very important historical event in the life of our nation and our Parishes which was marked by much joyful activity which should go down on the record.

WAB

Churchwardens’ Report

This last year has seen many things settling with the Ukranian families either moving into their own rented properties to pursue jobs in this country or in one or two cases returning to their homeland despite the continuing war.  We continue to offer a lot of support in the community with pastoral care, the foodbank and other initiatives.  In all things, we have continued to work to keep the message of the gospel, a message of hope, for which our beautiful church stands as a living monument in the centre of the town, before the community.

Our Sunday morning Eucharist at 10.00 and on the first Sunday of the month a Family Eucharist is well supported and the congregation is growing slowly but steadily with some younger members now coming regularly.  Evening Prayer daily on Zoom at 6.00 pm is attended by a regular small congregation with one or two also joining this through the year – this is particularly valuable to those who are not able to get out and about so easily.

Church and Community

The church is open during the day and provides a warm and safe place for people to go for quietness, contemplation and reflection, maybe to pray or light a candle, which is so important in the current climate.  The Pastoral Care Group run a regular Drop in on a Thursday morning for free coffee, biscuit and a chat which serves an important pastoral role.  The church support for and participation in the running of The Foodbank is an important part of our mission and thanks must go to the congregation for their continuing generous support by way of donations. 

The Farmers’ Market has run very successfully each month which is a boost both to funds and to our general contact with the community through the ‘coffee shop’ run by church members at the back of church. 

The Grand Draw was organised again before Christmas and thanks to the generosity of those who donated prizes made just short of £1000 to help things along. The Crib Scene was once again displayed outside church during the Advent and Christmas season and we continued to light up the steeple at night as a beacon of hope to the community until Candlemas.  

The choir has benefitted recently from the arrival of a new organist, Helena Evans to join Chris Kippin.  Helena is now the Choir Leader and is doing excellent work with numbers in the choir doubling in the last 3 months with much planned for the coming year. Our thanks go to Helena and Chris for all their hard work and dedication.  

Holy week and Easter this year started with a performance of The Promise, as passion play, on the Friday before Palm Sunday when the church was full for a thought provoking and enjoyable evening.  The week saw good congregations at all the services and hope for the future.

The children’s corner in church has been moved from the back corner on the platform down to the front in the Nicholas Chapel and has proved a great success.  Now that we have several families coming with children it is important that they all feel included in the services.  Some additional items will be purchased to enhance this area in the next few months making use of a small legacy agreed for this purpose.

Development Plan

We are currently working on an update of the Development Plan now that the Tower Project has been completed.  It is great to see the very handsome new spiral staircase providing access to the ringing chamber. There is a small amount of work still to be completed to provide casing for the clock and upgrade the actual ringing chamber.

General maintenance to the building is continually under review and portable appliances had their annual check along with fire extinguishers and boiler servicing. 

We would like to thank you all for your continuing support both financially and with prayers.  We are delighted that our building continues to provide a haven in the town and support for all those who need it together with a joyful and steadily growing worshipping community.

May God keep us all safe as we move with hope and cheer, continuing to praise and worship in this community as so many people have done over the years.

Liz Smith, Nigel Hodgson, Churchwardens 

Electoral Roll

There are currently 79 names on the electoral roll: 70 resident and 9 non-resident.

Elizabeth Burton, Electoral Roll Officer

PCC Report

At the end of 2023 the membership of the PCC consisted of 11 members with 1 vacancy. There are 2 vacancies for Deanery Synod Representatives.

                           

Rev Ashley Buck, Incumbent, Ex officio

Nigel Hodgson, Churchwarden, Ex officio

Elizabeth Smith, Churchwarden, Ex officio

Francesca Boufarouj, Secretary, elected until 2025

Hannah Coleman, Treasurer, elected until 2024

Sunila Fernando, elected until 2026

Ina Hodgson, elected until 2025

Linda Lambert, elected until 2025

Barbara Martin, elected until 2026

Carole Turner, elected until 2025

Sarah Wilde, elected until 2025

Elizabeth Burton is Electoral Roll Officer but not a member of the PCC.

Six PCC meetings were held during the year (January, March, May, July, September and November) with an average attendance of 9.

The PCC has complied with its duty under Section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Disciplinary Measure 2016 (to have regard for the House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults). No safeguarding incidents were reported during the year.

Francesca Boufarouj, Secretary

Treasurer’s Report 

Fundraising in 2023 was predominantly from the monthly Farmers Market refreshments and The Grand Christmas Draw which raised £900. The Cleobury Country Centre contribution from the market to the church was over £600.

Our congregation continued to give generously in 2023 through the Parish Giving Scheme, planned giving (envelopes and standing orders) and the collection plate. The Sum-up machine was regularly used and had more or less replaced the need for the wall safe now. 

The general fund account has reduced by over £8,000 from 2022. We need to find ways to increase our income and to make savings on our costs. Costs of insurance, utilities and servicing continued to rise due to inflation. As a church, we should be looking at identifying ways to reduce the church’s energy needs and environmental impact in all areas.

We continued to support SMYP with our charitable giving of £275 per month and we met the promised Parish Offer of £20,000. 

Cash was paid in regularly at the Ludlow branch of Lloyds.

The church continued to bank funeral collections and distribute to charities in line with family wishes. More charities were able to take bank transfers, through arrangement, which proved a more efficient way compared to writing and posting cheques.

The restricted funds comprised the Tower Project funds, balance of the Building Development Fund (AfA grant), Rector & Churchwardens Discretionary Fund, children’s corner (funded by a bequest) and the choir fund.

Our thanks go to Lyn Martin who gives her own time to audit and check our books. She has kindly agreed to continue as our independent examiner for 2024 subject to the approval of the PCC.

Hannah Coleman, Treasurer

Notes from the Independent Examiner: Mrs Lynette Martin:

Banking. The Cheques issued listing, has been kept up to date showing all Lloyd’s cheques issued. The incoming cash is cleared earlier than incoming cheques through the banking system at Lloyds. I am assuming there is a checking system in place for monies collected on a Sunday, kept in a secure safe and banked as soon as possible.

The accounts have been prepared on the Receipts and Payment basis with figures taken directly from the Bank Statements.  

The Utilities in the Cash book have been separated into electricity £755.48 and Oil / Gas £11103.33

Hannah has confirmed she has the login for the Parish Giving Scheme and receives a monthly Donor Statement showing Donations received and Gift Aid received which she checks against the bank entries each month.

The Restricted Funeral Donations schedule shows the Disbursement of Funerals ‘Blackburn and Skelhorn’ from Dec 2022 paid out in January 2023. Funerals during 2023 have been dispersed to the various Charities. All funeral monies received, have been dispersed to the correct Charities.

I can confirm I have seen copies on email of the following invoices that have been paid during the year: Steve Morris £1054.46, £1698.64, £1659.00, and £1648.50. Hands on printing £32.00. RS Young Organ Tuning £396.00, Hayes Finch £149.87, GE Bright Electrical £208.56, Gear 4 music £38.98, £38.98 and Grange Heating £312.00.

The Music and Ministry covers all Service Consumables and organ tuning. The Property Maintenance has been kept separate.

The Sum-up donations are from the electronic donation box in the Church which is fitted with a PayAz sim card for which there is a £4.20 charge each month. 

The Miscellaneous figure in the Expenses in the Cash book is to reimburse L Smith for the purchase of a kettle.

Hannah has kept detailed lists of the Restricted Funds for the year showing the Building Development Fund, Tower project fund, Restricted fundraising (beer festival), Rector & Church Warden Disc. Fund, Messy Church, choir and Children's Corner. The Beer festival monies, Messy Church and £124.24 of The Rector & Church Disc. Funds have been moved from the Restricted to unrestricted funds. I have re-designed the Restricted General funds and Funeral funds sheet, to separate them.

The Fund-Raising Income and Fund-Raising Expenses are shown as separate figures in the Income and Expenditure account. 

Hannah and I have agreed that any Charity cheques donated during a funeral will be sent straight to the Charity and not form part of the donations to the Church.

Documents Included:

Balance Sheet

Income and Expenditure Account

Bank reconciliation. 

Restricted Funerals and general restricted funds.

Restricted Building Development, Projects summary.

Outreach

Open the Book

It is fantastic that Open the Book is an ecumenical opportunity with members of the team coming from different, local church congregations wanting to serve Jesus in their community. It is so important to communicate our thanks to Jenny Rand who led and steered the group for over 12 years. Her dedication and commitment has meant that hundreds of children have heard the scriptures come to life over the years and for that we are so grateful. It is through these early encounters that seeds are planted and faith exploration continues, sometimes many years later, because of those early seeds! Jenny helped create a special bond with Cleobury Mortimer Primary School and that is something that we will not take for granted. We will cherish it and continue to grow it into the future. The Cleobury Community Hub took over the subscription of Open the Book in the summer of 2023 and the members of the team are:

Naomi Cornell

Pete Blackburn

Joyce Leech

Ryland Robertshaw

Mary Blackburn

Mark Greaves

Mark Greaves, Director Cleobury Community Hub 

Pastoral Care Group

First of all, my thanks must go to all members of the Group for their continuing hard work on behalf of all the community with their care and commitment to the well-being of all. 

We have worked hard this year with our programme of visiting those who are housebound in our community or who find the mental challenge of coming out too much to cope with.   We have also organised a consistent response to both funeral and baptism families so that regular visits take place there where necessary.  It is very noticeable that many are facing increased challenges as a result of the ‘lockdown effect’ and the cost of living crisis.  Our weekly Drop In on a Thursday morning still provides a valuable first step destination for those struggling to come out and we welcome a steady number of people calling in.

We visit a number of people each month with Home Communion and this is welcomed by those who are now confined to their homes for a variety of reasons.

Our programme of Wholeness Services ran monthly and is valuable as a space for more anxious people or for those who just enjoy a quieter and different form of worship.  We are altering the programme slightly to reflect changes in how people are using their time but it is still enjoyed by some who do not necessarily get to the Sunday services.

We continue to work and pray for the whole town community and to offer support wherever we are told there is a need.

Liz Smith, Co-ordinator

St. Mary's Mothers’ Union

We continue to meet in each others’ homes every third Thursday. The exception to this are our Eucharists, which are held at St. Mary's Place (usually followed by a light lunch).

We have had a wide range of speakers this year. In May, Dr Mark Baldwin gave us a talk on the ‘women who broke the Enigma’. Wendy told us about her life as a physiotherapist. Our annual strawberry tea is always well attended. Our Enterprise Rep came to visit in September, and Clare Hadwell gave us a fascinating talk with pictures about her long cruise around South America and the Antarctic. The year concluded with our members joining in our Christmas Services.

As always, everyone is welcome to join us at our meetings. The monthly details are on the pew sheet.

Heather Birch 

St. Mary's Bellringers

The last 12 months has seen excellent progress on the Tower project, which is being spear-headed by Chris Kippin. The notorious ladder used to access the ringing chamber has now been removed, replaced with a handsome black painted steel spiral staircase which was installed in February. This now gives a much safer and less daunting access to the ringing chamber.

The clock, which is now electrically wound following its’ return last year is slowly becoming more reliable after some maintenance visits by Cumbria Clocks and adjustments by Chris Kippin to improve the chiming and time-keeping. Chris is also in the process of completing a wooden cabinet to house the clock to help protect it from dust and dirt.

There are some small items which will remain to be completed this year, these are, a new ringing chamber carpet; some revised benches; installation of six new bell ropes; some modifications to the central trapdoor to allow emergency access.

Sunday service ringing and Tuesday practices are now well attended as we have 4 new recruits.

There were five quarter peals and one peal rung in 2023. Three of the quarter peals were rung by a local band, these were dedicated to -  The Coronation of King Charles III; The Ordination of Sarah Lupton as Deacon; The Golden Wedding of Rev’d David and Gabrielle Eve.

Edward Lupton, Tower Captain

Friends of St. Mary's

2023 saw the country returning to something like normal following the pandemic and happily, The Friends arranged four successful events; the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra, our popular Wine Walk, the Phoenix Swing Band concert and an illustrated lecture on Simon Evans expertly delivered by Dr Mark Baldwin.

 

Because of your support as a Life member, we are now in a position to make a substantial contribution to the costs of repairing and installing the ancient church clock, together with the refurbishment of the vestry and installation of a spiral staircase to the ringing chamber. Future projects currently being considered and researched include improvements to the lighting and the installation of a kitchen. So we keep fund raising! Our initial programme of events for this year that we are working towards is as follows:

 

AGM – 7.00 p.m. Thursday 14th March in Church

Friday 21st June – Wyre Forest Swing Band concert in Church

Sunday 7th July – Open Gardens

October – A talk by Dr Mark Baldwin

Events may be changed or rearranged due to unforeseen circumstances

Diane Waddington, Chair and Membership Secretary 

St. Mary's Breakfast Club

We have 34 members who meet at Cleobury Golf Club at 07.25am in the 2nd Tuesday monthly. In 2023 we had 12 meetings, one outside just Eat and Natter with no speaker, one at Neen Sollars Station House with bacon baps from the Live and Let Live and Joanne Dudley who spoke on Zoom. We have a full calendar in 2024.

Every member gives £1 on top of their breakfast cost, which goes towards our speaker's breakfast, and £10 for their favourite charity, and we made £152;which was divided between the Friends of St. Mary's Church, Cleobury Community Hub and the Scouts and Guides agreed at our AGM.

I am most grateful to all members who say the Grace and give the Vote of Thanks, and to Mark and Diane for their Clarion inputs every month. We celebrate our 35th Anniversary in September 2024.

Angela Drennan, Chair, Treasurer and Secretary