THE OFFCHURCH GROUP

Incumbent:                     Reverend Hugh Priestner

Bank:                              NatWest, Leamington Spa Independent Examiner:    Mr Michael Porter

Background: The Offchurch Group Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent in promoting, in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole message of the church – pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC is a charity exempted from registration with the Charity Commission.

Membership: Members of the PCC are either ex-officio or elected at the Annual

Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. During 2023, the following served on the PCC:

Incumbent:                               Rev Hugh Priestner – retired June 2023

Churchwardens:                       Mrs Amanda Lewis, Mr Graham Douglass

Elected Members:                     Mr John Denning – Treasurer

Mrs Liz Varnish – Secretary

Mr Stephen Evans, Mr Brian Green, Mr Robert Inman, Mr Andrew McGregor, Mrs Hazel Taylor, Mrs Marcia Watson, Mrs Anne Weald

 Ex-officio Members:                

Mrs Jackie Brown – Lay reader

Mr Richard Spicer – Lay reader

Co-opted Members:                 

Mrs Jane Inman, Mr David Ellis, Mrs Vera Male (resigned February 2023), Mrs Fiona Smith (joined November 2023)

Representatives on Deanery Synod:    Mrs Beverleigh Twohig-Howell, Mr Brian Green (resigned September 2023), Mr David Ellis (joined September 2023)

Safeguarding Officer: Mrs Marcia Watson

Cathedral Liaison Officer: Mr Mark Hancock

Electoral Roll Officer: Mr John Mander

Committees: The Parochial Church Council (PCC) acts through the Standing Committee, the only committee required by law. It has the power to transact the business of the PCC between its meetings, but is accountable to the PCC.

Last year, I commented that 2022 had seen life more or less return to normal following the upheaval of the pandemic the previous year. So we welcomed in 2023 optimistic that this normality would continue and we would, at last, enjoy some sense of stability throughout the year. This was not to be – in June, Hugh Priestner, our vicar of six years retired! So, we were faced with uncertainty for the future, and still are, as we put together our Parish Profile – an important and necessary document which will form part of the advertising for a replacement for Hugh.

Structure

The shape of the Parish structure remains unchanged. The PCC, (the overarching strategic body), currently comprises sixteen members. In the absence of an incumbent, our two lay readers (Jackie and Richard), have been meeting regularly to apportion worship leading month by month. The Standing Committee, comprising two Churchwardens, Treasurer and Secretary have continued to meet between PCC meetings either face-to-face or through email as and when necessary. Our three PF groups PFF (Prayer, Fun & Fabric), PFO (Prayer, Fun and Outreach) and PFW (Prayer, Fun & Worship) met regularly throughout the year and, along with the Treasurer, the Churchwardens, the Safeguarding Officer and the Deanery Synod representative, regularly reported to the PCC. The PCC met six times in 2023.

Worship services and attendance

So, for the first six months of the year, we settled happily into a manageable routine in TOG and stability and normality did indeed reign. Our services continued to follow a similar pattern to previous years. Apart from a couple of well-deserved breaks, our young folk took responsibility for our Come2Worship services at St Margaret’s, Hunningham on the first Sunday of the month. Two Holy Communion services and a Service of the Word accounted for the remaining three Sundays – all of these services took place in St Gregory’s, our Parish Church. Where there was a fifth Sunday in the month, we ensured that we held a morning service in one of the Chapels of Ease. A dedicated team, from the congregation, led our intercessions at these services. A monthly Evensong service took place on the second Sunday of the month and every Thursday evening a prayer group service was held on Zoom. In addition, every Monday morning, a thriving Bible Study group met at a parishioner’s home with Zoom being available for those unable to travel. A Prayer Fellowship group prayed regularly for the parish, the prayers being guided by requests for thanks and praise, as well as for those in need, not just in The Offchurch Group, but also beyond. A summary was circulated weekly.

During Lent, a number of groups met weekly and during Holy Week, as well as our Compline services, we met for worship on Maundy Thursday whilst Good Friday saw a number of folk (not just from TOG) join our Pilgrimage stopping for prayer at each of our churches before moving on.

Zoom featured in all of our Sunday morning services and, although the numbers taking advantage of this medium decreased significantly in 2023, it still provided an invaluable asset for those unable to get to church. A small, but dedicated Zoom team controlled the technology.

Congregation numbers remained steady for the first six months and it should be noted that, despite being without a vicar from June, attendance figures remained buoyant – a testament to the dedication and commitment of our TOG family. As is usual, we saw increased numbers on special occasions eg Easter Sunday, Remembrance Sunday, Carol Service etc.

Since June, our lay readers have taken on the additional burden of finding someone to lead our worship. They themselves have taken responsibility for our Service of the Word, often assisted by members of the congregation. The challenge has been to find an ordained person to lead us in Holy Communion. However, we have been fortunate to have enticed a small group of ministers who have been happy to come to St Gregory’s and support us. So, despite the absence of an incumbent, we have settled into an acceptable pattern of worship.

During 2023, across The Offchurch Group, there were four baptisms, four weddings and a variety of different services (eight) marking the end of a life.

Finance

Each year I write that managing the finances has been a challenge and 2023 was no exception! Central to the framework within which they are managed is a TOG income / expenditure account. In addition, there are four separate Friends’ Accounts whose function is specifically to raise funds for the maintenance and upkeep of our parish church of St Gregory’s and our three Chapels of Ease. Whilst these accounts are managed separately, the PCC has ultimate responsibility for all four buildings and thus financial reports are presented to the PCC throughout the year. TOG ended 2022 with a deficit of £5326.00, with the deficit being covered by taking funds from reserves. This has also been the case for 2023 since TOG ended the financial year with a current account deficit of £3064.00. 2024 will see our Parish Share increase by 4.6% and other costs are also likely to increase. We are therefore, currently, in the process of raising awareness of Christian Stewardship across the whole TOG membership. So another challenging year ahead!

See the Treasurer’s Report for a more detailed account of the 2023 TOG finances.

Reports of all aspects of The Offchurch Group are detailed throughout this report. You will read that much was achieved during the year not least because of the commitment, dedication and enthusiasm of all those people in TOG and beyond. Some of these successes were apparent, whilst so much else went on behind the scenes. We thank you all. We bade farewell to Hugh and Carole in June and Jackie and Richard took up the reigns and continued to successfully guide us on our journey through church life together as, indeed, they still do.

We face the future with optimism as we wend our way through this interregnum and we look forward to welcoming a new incumbent into our midst – someone who will take up the reigns of The Offchurch Group and lead us, with God’s guidance, into the years ahead.

And finally, thank you all for your support over the past year.

 Liz Varnish

PCC Secretary

Electoral Roll

The Electoral Roll was revised during the first 21 days of April this year.

There were a total of 2 additions and 7 deductions.

The total of people on the list for The Offchurch Group is 87.

A copy of the revised list will be submitted to the Secretary of the Deanery Synod.

John Mander

Electoral Roll Officer

It was in August 1994 that the PCC decided to try to create conditions in the Churchyard to encourage all aspects of wildlife appropriate to the area. In September 1994 a grant application was made to the Warwickshire Rural Action Group for the Environment which was sanctioned. This was followed by our five year plan in October 1994. We planned a “summer meadow” “woodland grass area” and the introduction of native wild flowers. Also to create conditions for and to encourage birds, bats , hedgehogs , insects etc.

We started work on the 4th March 1995 clearing invasive weeds, like ground elder. Then planting wild flower plugs and shrubs. To our delight we found many spring wild flowers including primrose, celandine and bluebell which we were able to spread by splitting.

Bird boxes were made and purchased for tits, finches, robins and owls, also finally bat boxes. Many donations were received from people in the Parish. Our helpers were constant in their support working twice a month, cutting, tidying and planting. Their work paid for our grant at a notional rate. We also raised funds ourselves with a summer fair, a wine and cheese party and our annual ‘champagne and strawberry lunch’.

In September 2001 we received first prize in the Calor/CPRE Conservation Competition – we have now won a ‘First’ in both of the local competitions. In 2008 another award came our way, a special prize of £50 was received under the ‘environmental’ section of the ‘Best Kept Village Competition’. Having completed our five year plan in 2000, we all agreed to continue along the same lines on an annual basis. Hey! Another prize in 2009, we won third prize in the ‘environment’ section in the Warwickshire Calor Village of the year competition for the Churchyard. £50.00 prize money.

2023 was our twenty eighth year and the team was getting smaller in number and older, the loyal and regular volunteers had given monthly support over all these years and we found this couldn’t continue. The decision had to be made to finish the “Wildlife Churchyard”. So with great sadness that I have to offer my most grateful thanks to everyone who has helped in so many ways over what seems a lifetime. Thanks and goodbye.

Mike Porter

St Margaret’s, Hunningham

During 2023 two blocks of Hunningham Churchyard were left to grow wild as in 2022. The trees have been trimmed where needed, and the grass has been mowed and strimmed by Andrew Webster who has looked after our churchyard over many years.

Hazel Taylor

St John the Baptist Church, Wappenbury

A significant amount of work has ben carried out in the churchyard to remove overgrown laurel and to remove an ash and two sycamore trees which were becoming hazardous. Thanks go to the team of Wappenbury residents who carried out the ground-level work, and another resident who funded nearly two thirds of the costs of the professional work.

Now that the ivy has been removed from the base of the Wellingtonia, we can proceed with obtaining quotations for a survey into its health and stability.

Work to upgrade the electrical distribution board has been completed, so the church now has its electrical safety certificate. This work was funded through the generous support of the Janet and Bryan Moore Trust.

The PCC are also grateful to the Eathorpe, Hunningham, Offchurch and Wappenbury Joint Parish Council for its annual contribution towards the cost of churchyard maintenance.

There were no burials in 2023.

David Ellis

St Michael’s, Weston-under-Wetherley

Andrew Webster will continue with mowing this year albeit at the increased charge of £100 per visit. Dorothy Stratford’s memorial stone has now been erected. A sunken area of the gravel path at the entrance to the porch has now been filled and levelled. The lights all the way up the Church path are much appreciated in the winter months.

Valerie Evans

Southam Deanery Synod Report Deanery Synod Report

Many people often ask ‘is the Deanery necessary’. The answer is ‘Yes’, as it is the voice of the parishes in the Deanery to inform the Diocese of relevant information, which would otherwise go unnoticed. An example – many parishes are now struggling financially, and it is incumbent on the Diocese to help wherever possible. Also, throughout the year at the Deanery meetings, it has been voiced that work to be carried out in various churches that the faculty for such work takes far too long, and is often very pedantic. However, it is good to report that the general feeling is of hope for the future. We of course look forward now to having a new Bishop of Coventry to replace the ever popular Bishop Christopher, not forgetting Bishop John; both of whom have been supportive and inspirational to all of our churches.

Brian Green

Deanery Synod Representative

I am pleased to report that all of the urgent repairs highlighted in the Quinquennial Reports for Offchurch, Wappenbury and Hunningham have been completed. I am particularly pleased with the rebuilding of the medieval Bell Tower at Hunningham. With St Michael’s Weston nearly half of the repairs are done and Hancock of Warwick are due back shortly to complete the repointing which had to be deferred last Autumn for fear of frost damage. The balance due on completion will be ££4,380 including VAT.

Stephen Evans

Messy Church

The Messy Church Team offered four sessions of Messy Church plus three consecutive days of the Messy Holiday Club through 2023. The make up of the sessions remains much the same with a warm-up activity, story, crafts to reinforce the story, a short time of worship with a song and a message linked to the theme ending with refreshments.

The age group of the children attending is younger than previously and this may be accounted for by members of the church now helping with the toddler group in Weston. We were delighted to welcome 16 new families to our summer holiday club.

Messy Church is ‘Church’ for the families who attend so we do not expect them to attend other church services but an experiment of combining Mothering Sunday with Messy Church in March 2024 was well received and attended and gives us encouragement to do more in the church buildings in future.

We are grateful to Fiona Strutton from Thrive who has supported us for many years and helped us to stand on our own feet. Her training and encouragement have helped us develop what we offer and how we do it. We are also grateful to Jonathan Griffiths from our Hub Church, St Paul’s for providing guitar music for us and Anne Weald who sends birthday cards to around 90 children each year.

Hazel, Jane, Marcia and Wendy Messy Team Leaders

It is a pleasure to write our Pilgrim Puppet Report for May 2024.

I am amazed at the events we go to, and the achievements of all our Puppeteers. In 2023 after a difficult start when we did not have enough adults to go into Care Homes and schools, we had an answer to prayer, and Jacqui Suffern joined us (the wife of the new vicar of Long Itchington).

In 2023 Pilgrim Puppets did 17 Performances PLUS 6 Come 2 Worship Services and 2 Messy Church. Our 17 performances included going to 6 Care Homes and 2 Schools.

We also took our Puppeteers to EQUIP (before known as The European Festival) in Rugby with some financial help from TOG. We all developed new skills and ideas from this experience. Also at EQUIP – Alfie Brown was part of THE ACADEMY which is a team of the best Christian Puppeteers in the country. He performed brilliantly.

We also entered a SONG competition at EQUIP, and came 3rd in a very high standard of competition.

Unfortunately, Theo and Annie, who were with us for 6 – 9 months have left us as they found their commitments clashed with other activities they were part of. Also Alfie has difficulty fitting in all our commitments with his work but we are very grateful of all his help and advice during our weekly rehearsals.

Both The Crib service at Weston (Dec 2023), and The Puppets and Pancakes (Feb 2024) at Hunningham were very well supported, mostly by non-church-going families. We are working with Messy Church to bring young families into a spiritual relationship.

In 2024 we have already done 5 performances, 3 Come 2 Worship services and 1 Messy Church. These include visits to 2 Care Homes. We are continuing our intention of helping non church goers to have a spiritual relationship with God.

In addition our Puppeteers have decided they want even more involvement in our Come 2 Worship service. Zion, Jet and Elijahlee have joined us to help in this area. The young people are now involved in a lot of the preparation, as well as presenting it in the service. We can see how they are getting a deeper faith, as well as improving in their presentation skills. We are so “blessed”.

The Pilgrim Puppet Team: Alfie Brown; Dan Ellis; Eva Brown; Jet Wills; Elijahlee Wills; Josh Perry PLUS Zion Wills

Adult Team: Sarah Sellars; Marcia Watson; Jacqui Suffern; Hazel Taylor. Thanks to Marcia for all the work she puts in to keep us going!

Hazel Taylor & Marcia Watson Team Leaders

The PFW group has met on 5 occasions since the APCM in 2023.

The main task has been to take on the responsibility of planning and organising the ministry and worship that TOG has had over the last year. This has been discussed at each meeting working on a 3-month period, 3 months in advance (for example, July to September planned in the previous April) giving time to contact the people, both lay and ordained, needed to lead that worship.

The programme of worship provided has been similar to that under our last Vicar, Reverend Hugh Priestner. The majority of services have taken place at our Parish Church, St Gregory’s in Offchurch. Monthly services of Come to Worship with our young people and The Pilgrim Puppets and Evensong have been held at St Margaret’s Church in Hunningham and St Michael’s Church in Weston-Under-Wetherley respectively. A few services, mostly on the 5th Sundays, have been held at St John the Baptist’s Church in Wappenbury.

We have been fortunate to have found clergy to preside over Holy Communion twice a month. We are particularly grateful to Reverend Jane Close as well as Reverends Clive Hicks, Mark Norris and Hugh Priestner. Jackie Brown and I as Readers have regularly led worship and preached. In addition, TOG is blessed with many talented lay people who have led worship and given reflections.

PFW has also discussed making our worship more modern and contemporary. We have started to put together services with less liturgy and more modern worship songs. These have been generally well-received, particularly over Christmas.

We have liaised with the TOG PFO (Prayer, Fun and Outreach) Group who have had responsibility for planning Messy Church. Jackie Brown has been a link between PFO and PFW, attending the meetings of both groups.

Finally, as Chair of PFW, I thank all the members for their input over the past year and also thank Rob Inman who has been our minutes secretary.

We look forward to the next year, and we pray that sometime during that period we will welcome an Incumbent to work with.

Richard Spicer Chair

2023/4 has seen the members of TOG increase their level of care within the community. Rotas have been initiated for and by members of the community who need visiting and monitoring. Individuals have continued to be brought to Church or to a place where they can access Zoom thus enabling them to meet their spiritual needs. Groups have prayed for the health and well-being of individuals in need. Several members of the parish have died this year and those that were close to them have been supported in a variety of ways.

The PCC and members of the Parish have been very understanding about the level of confidentiality that is imperative with the sensitive issues connected with safeguarding. Thank you all.

The PCC continues to be supportive and has complied with its duty to have due regard to the House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding vulnerable children and adults (under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016)

Thank you to all members of TOG who have supported this work.

This will be my final report as Parish Safeguarding Officer. I am placing this role in the safe hands of Fiona Smith. I am confident that you will all give her the amazing help and support you have always given to me. Thank you.

Marcia Watson

Safeguarding Officer

Attached is a summary of TOG’s income and expenditure for the 12 months ending 31 December 2023.

Accounts in which income and expenditure are recorded in more detail, which enables us to understand and manage our finances and also report them in the detail required by the Diocese, are available on request.

TOG’s income and expenditure are recorded and managed under around 25 different sub-accounts, which fall into three main categories, as follows.

‘Unrestricted’ income and expenditure. This income is used to cover TOG’s operating costs and therefore determines whether TOG is financially ‘solvent’.

‘Restricted’ income and expenditure. This income can only be used for the purposes specified by the donor.

‘Pass-through’ income and expenditure. This is income that simply passes in full through TOG’s bank account to third parties.

Total income in 2023 was £65,713 (2022: £67,958), which included accrued income of £12,094 in respect of the Gift Aid claim for 2023 that was paid by HMRC after 31 December 2023 and collections made in December 2023 that were not paid into the bank account until January 2024. Total expenditure was £64,275 (2022: £64,308), which left a surplus of £1,438 (2022: surplus of £3,650). TOG’s Nat West account balance at 31 December 2023 reduced to £39,969 (2022: £49,263), which reflected the net effect of the 2022 and 2023 year-end accruals and the 2023 surplus.

Unrestricted income and expenditure were £37,984 (2022: £36,753) and £41,048 (2022: £42,079), respectively, leaving a deficit of £3,064 (2022: deficit of £5,326) and a corresponding reduction in the unrestricted closing balance to £33,974 (2022: £37,038). This is the third year in succession in which TOG has drawn on its unrestricted reserves in order to cover all its costs, including paying its parish share in full, which it has never failed to do.

Notable movements in unrestricted income included reductions in regular donations by standing order, plate collections and donations and bequests, which together were more than offset by increases in fees for weddings and funerals and ad hoc donations. Nevertheless, falling income from regular standing orders is a concern that is being addressed by the PCC.

Notable movements in unrestricted expenditure included increases in parish share, utility costs, offset by reductions in expenditure across a number of items, the largest of which was the aggregate cost of maintaining or servicing items such as organs, boilers, fire extinguishers and bells.

Restricted income was £12,566 (2022: £12,383) and restricted expenditure was £7,419 (2022: £5,809), leaving a net surplus of £5,147 (2022: £6,574). No accrual has been made for restricted expenditure, because opportunities to use this income for the purposes specified by its donors have not yet been identified.

Pass-through income was £15,163 (2022: £18,822) and pass-through expenditure was £15,808 (2022: £16,420), leaving a net deficit of £645. Expenditure in 2023 exceeded income, because some income received in December 2022 was not paid out until 2023, a situation that was not repeated across the 2023/24 year end.

Having refined the way in which income and expenditure are treated, this was applied retrospectively to 2022, which resulted in some movements between unrestricted and restricted income and expenditure, but total income and total expenditure have, of course, remained unaffected and continue to reconcile with bank statements.

As noted in the attached summary, TOG has cash or cash-equivalent assets totalling some £62,336, including a CCLA investment of £18,663.

TOG’s accounts are due to be independently examined before the APCM and a copy of the examiner’s report will be made available.

John Denning Treasurer

Attached is a summary of St Gregory’s Friends’ income and expenditure for the 12 months ending 31 December 2023. Accounts in which income and expenditure are recorded in more detail are available on request.

Income was £6,294 (2022: £6,018) and expenditure was £9,317 (2022: £9,317), leaving a year-end deficit of £4,044 (2022: deficit of £3,299) and the current account balance at 31 December 2023 was £33,261 (2022: £38,266).

Income

Income in the form of donations by regular Standing Orders reduced and, given these donations are largely Gift Aided, tax reclaimed from HMRC also reduced. But income from other sources, mainly from donations and bequests, increased to leave income slightly up on that in 2022. However, the fall in regular income from standing orders continues a trend over recent years, which is a concern. Once again, our grateful thanks go to the Offchurch 100 Club, which donated half the net funds it raised in 2023 (£750) to St Gregory’s Friends’.

Expenditure

Expenditure increased to £10,339 (2022: £9,317), mainly because the cost of installing a trench arch drain for the kitchen and for the toilet, which will be built adjacent to the rear of the church tower, plus the cost of pollarding trees in the churchyard, together exceeded expenditure on maintenance and repairs in 2022. The funds used for the kitchen and toilet project and for the churchyard are managed within separate ‘Restricted’ sub-accounts, which can only be used for those specific purposes. We also continued to benefit from a significantly lower insurance premium, after moving from Ecclesiastical to Trinitas, with whom we have a combined policy covering TOG and all four of its buildings.

Year-end balances

In addition to the Nat West current account balance of £33,261, St Gregory’s Friends had other assets (investments and debtors) of £32,099, making total assets of £69,827, of which £24,603 is Restricted for the kitchen and toilet project. Expenditure on trees in the churchyard took the Restricted churchyard sub-account £969 into the red at the year end.

Outlook

No further expenditure on the kitchen is expected, but the remaining Restricted balance of £24,603 is unlikely to cover the full cost of completing the toilet, so this is likely to draw on reserves. Hopefully, the toilet will be completed within the foreseeable future, with the exact timing dependent on whether the current Planning Consent can be varied to allow a minor change to the design and on the availability of the builder.

The key question going forward is whether there is sufficient annual income, backed by adequate reserves, to cover general running costs and deal with maintenance and repair costs. This is a difficult question to answer, given the unpredictable nature of repairs and maintenance costs. Also, some non-urgent repairs identified by the last Quinquennial Inspection have yet to be carried out. Excluding Restricted funds, total reserves at the end of 2023 were around £40,000, which seems reasonable. But they are being eroded year-on-year, which is unsustainable, so annual income needs to increase in order to arrest this decline.

The aim is to have these accounts independently inspected before the APCM and a copy of the inspector’s report will be made available.

John Denning, Treasurer

The purpose of the Friends scheme is to maintain the fabric of St John the Baptist church, Wappenbury, a Grade II* Listed building, and meet the annual running costs associated with keeping the building open to the public.

There are 7 regular contributors to the “Friends” scheme. The scheme currently has no formal structure or constitution, with David Ellis acting as the Scheme’s co-ordinator and treasurer.

Donations from the Friends in 2023 amounted to £1,070. The Friends also received a £200 grant from the Joint Parish Council towards maintaining the churchyard, a grant of £1,800 from the Janet and Bryan Moore Trust and investment income of £724, bringing the total income for the year to £4,029.

Expenditure was £480 more than last year, principally due to higher electricity costs. Despite the low usage (through the frequency of services held in St Johns), the standing charge has recently increased to 95.9p/day (£350 per year). The largest item of expenditure was £1,126 for buildings and public liability insurance through the TOG-wide policy with Trinitas. Total expenditure for the year was £1,492.

The end of year balance in the Friends account at 31/12/22 was £6,095. The Friends also hold 2,565 shared in the CBF Fixed Interest Securities Fund, which was valued at £3,713 on 31/12/23.

This figure includes the grant of £1,800 from the Janet and Bryan Moore Trust, which is ring-fenced to cover the cost of upgrading the consumer unit to bring it in line with current electrical regulations. The Friends have yet to reimburse TOG for the cost of the quinquennial survey (£660) carried out by the architect. Taking these two items into account brings the end-of-year cash position to £3,635.

The appointment of a chairman and secretary to the Friends scheme and the agreement of a constitution would help to formalise the group’s governance and increase the membership.

David Ellis

The saga of the bellcote started in August 2022 with the five yearly inspection of the church by the Diocesan Architect. This inspection noted that there were at least four weatherboards on the south and east slopes that needed replacement. However, when scaffolding was put in place at the beginning of 2023, a closer inspection revealed that a large number of the horizontal planks in tanalised soft wood were rotten beyond repair.

M&G Roofing, a trusted local contractor, who had re-built the Bell Tower in Compton Verney the previous year, were instructed initially to remove all the cladding for a proper inspection of the structure itself under the guidance of Stephen Evans, who is responsible for the fabric of each of the four churches in The Offchurch Group, and our appointed Architect Stephen Oliver.

It transpired that the whole framework of the tower had dropped on the east side, and was lacking proper support from the very substantial medieval oak framework. The Architect was so concerned that we sought the advice of a Structural Engineer.

Due to the effect of rainwater leakage over many years, the Structural Engineer advised serious repair work, splicing seasoned oak into the defective and damaged sections. He was satisfied that the damage could be repaired for long term preservation. Instead of the previous tanalised softwood external boarding, kiln dried oak boarding was specified, after first netting the whole internal framework in stainless steel mesh and fitting lead soakers to all corners. This is one of the reasons it was all so expensive.

The work was finished at the end of February at a cost, in total, approaching £40,000, including Architect’s fees. That we are able to pay this money is due solely to the villagers of Hunningham, plus some of our earlier churchgoers, who, in the course of the past seven years have helped to raise funds for an emergency of this nature.

We are indebted to Stephen Evans, who coordinated the work procedures from beginning to end, and who, via his contacts in the trade, was able to save us £5,000 on the cost of the seasoned oak timber.

The end result is impressive.

Paddy Taylor

We currently have a healthy balance of £39,324 and the only immediate repairs amount to £4,380. The “Friends Account” continues to pay for Insurance cover, gas, electricity, churchyard mowing and boiler servicing.

Quite apart from repairs and maintenance to this Grade 1 Listed Building.

The Architect’s Report warns of the state of repair of the tiled roofs to the Lady Chapel and the Chancel, both of which will require complete re-tiling in the near future.

We have approximately 18 worthy people supporting the “Friends”, mostly on monthly Standing Orders.

I am very grateful to our Treasurer Lesley Wise.

Stephen Evans

Well, what a year we have had in 2023. As they say in football punditry, definitely a game of two halves, 5 months with an incumbent at the helm; Reverend Hugh Priestner and wife Carole living in the parish at the vicarage in Hunningham, then 7 months relying on our own wits to keep the parish TOGether. And, you know what, you could hardly see the join!

Admittedly, we had a lot of support from both local and Diocesan sources. Hugh left us a list of ordained folk willing to come and preside over our Holy Communion services for the next few months following his departure. Richard and Jackie, our Readers, continued to contact these people to assist us with our twice monthly Holy Communion services and thankfully we didn’t put them off because we have welcomed the same faces several times during the latter half of the year! Even at times when a priests time is at a premium, such as Christmas and Easter, we managed to attract someone to celebrate with us here in TOG.

We were pleased to be able to invite Revd Hugh to our Christmas Carol Service at St Gregory’s because his enforced 6 month exile period had ended.

Before Hugh and Carole’s departure, there was a hedge planting at Hunningham Churchyard, part of the Churchyard Biodiversity Project in February. That month also saw Bishop John celebrating Communion at St Gregory’s.

A Parish Day was planned for the end of March at which we would plan the future direction of the parish. Revd Daniel Corlett from the Rural Hub Church came along to facilitate our discussions. Regrettably I missed this event, due to contracting Covid at the wrong moment.

In April we tried having the Annual Parochial Church Meeting immediately following a shortened service in St Gregory’s church. In May the Coronation of King Charles III was marked with a Flower Festival in St Gregory’s and a Sunday service the day after the Coronation on 7th May.

In May we learned that Bishop John was also going to retire, leaving in August with a farewell service in Stratford on 29th July. This had an effect on TOG because Bishop John lived in Offchurch opposite St Gregory’s! Later in the year we also discovered that Bishop Christopher was moving on to another position and would leave in November. It felt as if we were being abandoned and change was being thrust upon us; after all not many of us relish change in our lives.

We marked Hugh and Carole’s departure with a grand Afternoon Tea on 4th of June, the date of his last service with us. The weather was glorious, enabling the cutting of the cake outdoors on the field.

Then we were on our own! Entering into the scary INTERREGNUM!

A lot of work lay ahead to prepare for finding a new incumbent for the parish. When this had happened before we were advised to base the Parish Profile; our shop window as it were, around the 8 Essential Qualities survey results from the Natural Church Development scheme. This was undertaken by all 4 church communities individually because we had only just merged into TOG. We were given the opportunity in the summer to repeat this survey, free of charge, so we felt it would be good to complete it as a single parish community this time, in order to see what, if anything might have changed. The results could still be incorporated into a revised Parish Profile but, no longer mandatory.

We met with Archdeacon Barry Dugmore who talked us through the Interregnum process and finding a new priest for TOG. It was not going to happen soon and we are currently working through the requirements, such as a revised ‘shop window’, what our goals and priorities are going forward and what sort of person we are looking for.

TOG introduced a few new things into the mix in the latter half of the year, a Bible verse of the month, the Zoom Link incorporated into the bulletin sheet and supported an interactive Christmas service for children called The Big Christmas Story.

I think you will agree that without all the marvellous people who support our church across all of our buildings, often unseen but not unappreciated, TOG just couldn’t function. I want to thank them all so much for everything they do, front of house and quietly in the wings. GOD BLESS YOU, EVERY ONE, to paraphrase Dickens.

Out church has lost some cherished members throughout 2023. We have also welcomed some new faces who have also enthusiastically entered into supporting church life in a practical way; (remember the Harvest Supper pies!) A wonderful injection of hope for the future. Messy Church appears to be steadily growing in strength and the Pilgrim Puppets continue to bring colour and animation to the Come2Worship services prepared by the younger members of TOG; as well as being invited to places in the wider community to spread their Christian message there.

Finances are quite tight at present being also precarious in that a small percentage of givers are supporting the majority of TOG’s income. Should one of those pillars give way we would certainly be in very straightened circumstances. We substitute shortfalls currently from reserves but they will run out eventually. Our church is unfortunately not like the NHS, in that the Government does not foot the bill. It is down to us to fund our own faith facility; with money, skill or time, whatever your circumstances allow.

As we wait for the future of TOG to be revealed I think we can be reassured that the TOG church family is strong enough to ride the roller-coaster of change, faithful enough to hear the will of the Lord guiding us and loving enough to support one another through the difficult bits.

Mandy Lewis, Churchwarden