Annual Report

ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH, NASH

Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church

Council for the year ended 31 December 2024

Rector of the Blackthorn Chase Benefice: Rev Jaqueline Dove

Bank: Lloyds Bank

Parochial Church Council (PCC) membership

Members of the PCC are either ex officio or are elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.  The following served as members of the PCC during 2024:

Annual Review 2024

Administrative information

All Saints’, Nash, is situated in the middle of Nash, a small Buckinghamshire village between Milton Keynes and Buckingham. The church was designed by G E Street and the foundation stone was laid in November 1857. A Thornton benefactor gave the land on which Nash church was built, so the parish is called Thornton with Nash and consists of the two villages. Thornton Church is now redundant and under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.

The PCC is a charity exempted from registration with the Charity Commission.

Thornton with Nash, together with Beachampton, Thornborough and Whaddon, is part of the Blackthorn Chase Benefice.

Church services

Nash had the full range of services but continued to recognise that some people remained cautious about cross infection and so, at communion services, there continues to be the option of having the wafer intincted by the priest.

There were 55 services with a total attendance of 976 adults and 39 children. Except for the major festivals, the service pattern continued to be Holy Communion on the first and third Sundays, with morning or evening prayer on the second Sunday, and a family friendly Church4All on the fourth Sunday.  When there are five Sundays in the month the service on the fifth Sunday is a Benefice Service which rotates round the four parishes in the Benefice. The average attendance at Holy Communion services (including the various festivals) was 20. For the Morning/Evening prayer services the average was 9 and for the family friendly Church4All services it was 10 adults and 1 child.  The church also held an All Souls Service in November to remember loved ones. The mid-week Sacred Space meditation took place throughout the year in the Church – the figures for those attending Sacred Space are not included in the above service and attendance figures. Three services were held in Nash Village Hall when the electrical work was in progress.

The weekly “Church at Home” sheet continued, giving readings, a homily, and intercessions.  It was distributed by email with a few copies hand-delivered for those without internet access.  Thanks are due to Rev Dove and Pam King (and to those who contributed homilies and intercessions) for producing this sheet and to Pam for the delivery.

There were two funeral services, one of which was followed by a burial in the churchyard.  There was one burial following a service in Thornborough church when Nash church could not be used because of the electrical work. There were two burials of ashes. There were no baptisms or marriages in 2024.

Thornton Church had one service, a carol service, in 2024.

The Church Electoral Roll had twenty-seven members, including 6 non-residents.

Review of the year

The APCM to review 2023 was held on Wednesday 8 May 2024 in All Saints’ Church. The Annual Report and the Financial Statements for 2023 were approved.

Margaret Morgan said that she did not wish to continue as Church Warden. She was warmly thanked for her service and elected to the PCC. No-one was willing to become Church Warden and so the position remained vacant with the essential duties undertaken by other members of the PCC. The other officers and PCC members continued as before.

In 2024 the church was rewired and new lighting and heating installed.  The main path from the Stratford Road was renewed and the path from the Village Hall replaced and widened. Details of this are given in the fabric section below.

The pastoral and worshipping highlights of 2024 were:

• The Prayer Group (with six regular members) continued to meet on a fortnightly basis to support the work of the Benefice, Nash Church, individuals in difficult situations and various national and international events.
• The Nash Fellowship (with up to ten members) met nearly every two weeks and was led by Rev Dove and Margaret Hedges. Members appreciated the opportunity to meet and share, and to study a range of biblical and other themes. Thanks are due to Eileen Horton and Linda Beech for hosting the group.
• Sacred Space – a short time of meditation in the Church was led weekly by John Hamilton with up to eight people attending.
• A soup lunch was held on Ash Wednesday following the communion service.
• Potted primulas were given to the ladies at the Mothering Sunday service and delivered to church families in the village for those who were unable to attend the service.
• The church held a village lunch in July which was a sell-out.
• Activities for young children across the Benefice were held on Good Friday and 24 December. The children enjoyed various craft activities related to the relevant church festival. The numbers attending were 12 for Good Friday, 4 for Christmas. In addition, a holiday club was held in August.
• The Nash village fete was reinstated in June 2024 and was blessed with almost ideal weather. Thanks are due to Pam King for running the organizing Committee. This was a social and financial success.
• The church participated in the Nash Annual Produce Show.
• The church organized a harvest tea and auction of fresh produce on the afternoon of the Harvest Thanksgiving Service with the funds being given to the Red Cross Emergency Fund. The dried goods were donated to the Buckingham Food Bank.
• From October, Rev Dove organized WILD – an activity for young children. She was assisted in this by Pam King and Gracie Court.  The sessions are held on the second Sunday of each month in Nash Village Hall and the children usually spend some time in Nash church.
• The church organized a “spring” clean of the church and a churchyard clear-up in November in association with its patronal festival. The annual Service of Remembrance was held the following day with a short service at the War Memorial followed by a service in church.
• The Nash Choir sang at the Christmas Carol Service on 22 December. The church was nearly full, and the congregation enjoyed Christmas cake, mince pies and mulled wine afterwards.
• The church continued to have responsibility for the bi-monthly Nash church/village magazine with Mrs Anna White as editor.

The church building and churchyard

The review year saw the removal of the previous ceiling mounted halogen light bulbs and their replacement by the installation of new LED lighting on the side walls.  As the new lighting is now lower down, it should make the replacement of light bulbs easier in contrast to the previous lighting where scaffolding was required.

At the same time the previous wall mounted heaters were removed (the working ones were donated to Beachampton Church) and eighteen electric heaters were installed under the pews with a further two electric heaters under each of the two rear choir stalls; three wall mounted panel heaters were also installed in the Chancel and in the children’s area at the back of church.  The existing wiring was also replaced.  The new wiring was run at ground level and painted to match the walls, greatly enhancing the appearance of the church.

The main church path from the Stratford Road was replaced as it was in a state of disrepair.  The path from the Village Hall to the church was replaced and widened at the same time.  Now two people can walk side by side and it is easier for wheelchairs etc.

In February the trees in the churchyard were inspected by Mr Gary Broderick.  He identified that various works were required and, as a result, a cherry tree and a sycamore tree were both felled as they were diseased.  A horse-chestnut tree by the Village Hall was pollarded, and other minor works carried out to other trees in the churchyard.  These works were carried out in May and October.

At the end of the year the church’s Quinquennial inspection was carried out by Mr David Pendery.  Whilst this revealed a fair number of remedial works that need to be carried out, no major works were identified.  In the review year the lightning conductor was inspected and found to be in good order.

The grass in the Churchyard was cut by Alan Wall on a voluntary basis, for which the PCC is very grateful.

Finance

The Financial Statements and associated notes, which have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis, are attached.  They have been independently examined by Mr L York, ACIB,

2024 was another exceptional year as the PCC used the funds it had raised and some of its reserves to meet the cost of the building and tree work described above. A grant of £6,000 from Garfield Weston and further donations were received in 2024.

The £4,487 of income tax reclaimed from HMRC under gift aid and the gift aid small donations schemes has been added to the associated type of giving and is not listed separately.

The cost of the electrical projects was £54,025.  The paths cost £6,516.  In addition, the PCC spent £2,400 on tree work, including the felling of a large sycamore next to the Stratford Road which was diseased.

Eleven members of the congregation make monthly payments by standing order which gives the church a regular monthly Income, but the continuing generosity of those who donate at services through the brown envelopes is important for the financial health of the church, enabling the PCC to pay its parish share in full and, by committing to monthly payments to the Diocese, to get a 1% reduction.

Summary: The 2024 financial statements show a deficit as payments were £33,835 higher than receipts.  As explained above, this exceptional result arises from the expenditure on the two major capital projects and the tree work.  Other important factors are:

• The regular giving through standing orders and the weekly brown envelopes increased slightly by £62.
• The parish share increased by £439.
• The Gift Day was nearly £4,000 less than the exceptional year in 2023.
• There were substantial donations in 2024 (which are unlikely to be repeated).
• There was a fete in 2024, of which the church’s share was c£1,800.
• Fees continued to be substantial, contributing nearly £2,000.
• Interest rates were higher, and grants and donations earned interest between receipt and paying the bills; interest income was up by £900.
• The grass in the churchyard was cut by a Nash resident on a voluntary basis. The expenditure shown relates to his expenses. This reduced payments by £745.
• The church continued the practice started in September 2023 of paying its insurance by monthly instalments and so the 2024 figure represents twelve months whereas the 2023 figure covered four months.

Comments on the various headings are included in the detailed notes.

Parish Share 2025 and beyond: The parish share for 2025 is £9,775, a 5% increase on the parish share in 2024. The Buckingham Deanery was given a 5% increase by the Diocese and the Area Dean, Deanery Chair and Deanery Treasurer have passed on the 5% to all the parishes. There has not been a meeting of all the Treasurers to discuss relativities between benefices and parishes.  The PCC needs to remember that the parish share allocated to the Blackthorn Chase Benefice represents only a bit over half of the incumbent’s employment costs.

Thank you

Particular thanks go to the Ministry Team for the Blackthorn Chase Benefice led by the Rev Jacqueline Dove, ably assisted by Rev John King,  Rev Rupert Bursell, John Hamilton LLM, Pam King and Sally Green. Thanks are also due to the Rev Ron Bundock for taking a service.

Nash Church would not function without the hard work of the people who give of their time to help the church to operate. We are a small parish and depend on the dedication and hard work of all who help to facilitate the work of the church. In particular, thanks go to:

• Each and every member of the PCC for their valued contributions
• Our organists and volunteer choir members
• Our Fabric Officer
• Our Treasurer
• Our flower arrangers
• All who carry out the valuable work of cleaning the church
• Alan Wall for cutting the churchyard
• Members of the village and congregation who helped us clear-up the churchyard and clean the church, and who contributed generously on Gift Day this year and in previous years which had built up the church’s reserves.
• For those who carry out all of the other work and assistance which is not specifically mentioned above
• Nash Village Hall Committee for the free use of the Hall when the electrical work prevented services being held in the church
• Michael Williams, for continuing to pay for the village website, on which the church (and other village organisations) have pages
• Anna White for editing the bi-monthly Nash Newsletter

Nash PCC, March 2025