Annual Report 2019

Parochial Church Council of St Oswald's SowerbyAnnual Report for the year ended 31 December 2019

Vicar: Revd Nicola Carnall to 25 September 2019; thereafter vacancy

Associate Priest: Rev Pauline Percy

Independent Examiner: Mr William Pearson ACA, FCCA

Bankers: HSBC

Church Architect: David Beaumont

Independent Financial Advisor: Ellis Bates Group

Website: www.stoswaldsowerby.org.uk

Administrative informationSt Oswald's Church is situated in Sowerby in North Yorkshire. It is part of the Diocese of York within the Church of England. The correspondence address is: The Vicarage, The Close, Sowerby, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, YO7 1JA.

Members of the Parochial Church CouncilMembers of the PCC are either ex officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. In 2019 the APCM was on 14 April.

During the year the following served as members of the PCC:

Vicar: Revd Nicola Carnall (Chair) to 25 September 2019

ChurchwardensDavid Tucker (joint Vice Chair)Simon Birkbeck (joint Vice Chair)

Deanery SynodGayle HartleySue Binns Jill Drew

Diocesan Synod Chris Carnall to 25 September 2019

Elected Members from 14 April 2019

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Retiring in 2020David BrookeHelen Irving Cecily RandsPeter West (Secretary)

Retiring in 2021Pauline AldersonMaureen CarrJohn KennedyMorna Stoakley

Retiring in 2022Yvonne BowlingRichard HalkyardAndrew McCormackGraham Merriam (Treasurer)

Structure, governance and managementThe Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a corporate body established by the Church of England. It operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The PCC is registered as a separate charity with the Charity Commission.

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.

The full PCC meets six times a year or more as needed. This is supported by the Standing Committee, consisting of the Vicar (to 25 September 2019), Church-wardens, Treasurer and Secretary. In addition, there are a few working groups whichreport to PCC. Our Deanery Synod Representatives attend meetings during the yearand report back to the PCC.

Objective of the PCCSt Oswald's PCC worked with the Revd Nicola Carnall and during the vacancy with the Area Dean the Rev Fiona Mayer-Jones in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also responsible for the management and maintenance of Sowerby ParochialHall and Annexe. The Church, the Parochial Hall and the Annexe are well-used and valued community assets and a base for our service to members of the congregationand wider outreach to the parish as a whole. When planning our activities for the year, we have considered the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the supplementary guidance on charities for the advancement of religion.

Review of the year 2019

Our Mission At St Oswald's we try to live out Jesus' call to love God and love our neighbour.

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LeadershipWe are grateful to all those in positions of leadership who have worked throughout the year. In particular we would mention our assistant priest (Revd. Pauline Percy) and our Readers (David Brooke, Diana Wild and Chris Carnall (until 25 September 2019)).

Numbers At the annual meeting in April 2019 we had 107 names on the electoral roll. During the year we had 20 baptisms, 9 weddings and 20 funerals. 7 members of the youth group and several adults were confirmed by Bishop Paul at St Oswald's on 7 July.

Average Sunday attendance in 2019 was 70 adults and 11 children. It should be noted that the average attendance figure does not include special services where theattendance is often much higher. Also, we do a lot of valuable work with children, young people and families (see below) - some of which is not primarily worship, and some is not on Sundays, so it is not included in the Sunday attendance figures. We also participated in the ministry to farmers at the Rural Business Centre.

Children, Young People and Families Pauline Alderson continued in the half-time post of Children & Young People's Development Worker. Pauline worked closely with committed volunteers from St Oswald's, as well as Sowerby Methodist Church and St Mary's, Thirsk. Many of the activities referred to below were run jointly with Sowerby Methodist Church.

Messy Church, which met approximately every six weeks in the Parochial Hall, continued to flourish with new and regular families enjoying the crafts, worship and shared meal.

'Open the Book' assemblies continued at Sowerby Primary Academy and Sessay CEPrimary School four times a term. We also started Open the Book events at the new Keeble Gateway Academy.

Our 'Little Wonders' parent and toddler group met on Monday mornings in church during term time.

The Kids' Club continued to meet during 10.30am Sunday services. On the first and fourth Sundays of the month the children took part in 'Godly Play' in the purpose-builtfacility in the Annexe.

Pram Service for pre-school children and parents/carers met monthly on Friday lunchtimes. Youth Groups met on Sunday evenings.

Special events for children and young people in 2019 included a trip to Lightwater Valley, Holiday Club (Going Bananas) and Follow the Light Night (alternative Halloween event). In addition, the Youth Group put on a Youth Cafe for parents and church members.

Sowerby Primary Academy held their Easter, Harvest and Christmas services in church again during 2019. Keeble Gateway held their first nativity service in church.

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Worship, Study, Prayer & FellowshipThe pattern of services continued unchanged throughout the year with assistance from the Area Dean and retired clergy during the vacancy.

Groups for Bible study and fellowship for all 5 parishes continued to meet regularly during the year, including special groups for Lent and Advent.

Prayer continued to be offered before PCC meetings. Mothers' Union meetings included prayer and worship as well as fellowship. A group met weekly to pray for the church's work with children, young people and families and a group met monthly to pray for mission. A new group called Looking Forward to Next Sunday met on Monday lunchtimes to reflect on the coming Sunday’s lectionary readings.

Mission and GivingAt the start of the year, the PCC held a morning ‘away-day’ to think about our parish mission. At Easter, Autumn and Christmas, cards with details of services at St Oswald's and Sowerby Methodist Church were distributed in the parish, including to the new homes on Sowerby Gateway.

Many members of St Oswald's were involved in Christian Aid Week. Our Christmas collections were sent to the Church Army to support their work.

We continued to support Jigsaw Kids Ministries in the Philippines through regular gifts to CMS (to support their mission partner Tim Lee) and to Jigsaw.

Many shoeboxes of gifts were given by church members for Operation Christmas Child and we supported the Children's Society through our Christingle service. Our Harvest gifts were sent to Thirsk Clock as well as donations to their food bank to meet extra need during the summer and Christmas school holidays. .

We continued to have a Traidcraft stall in church most Sunday mornings and a special Traidcraft event was organised before Christmas, with opportunities for people to see a wider range of products.

Many funeral collections were shared with a charity chosen by the family.

Church Buildings and ChurchyardOur Church building was used by a variety of groups for visits, services etc, as well as for regular worship. We continued our strong link with Sowerby Music and severalother concerts were also held in church during the year.

Our new architect, David Beaumont, undertook the Quinquennial Inspection (QI) of the church building in late 2019/early 2020 and duly produced a QI report. This indicates that the building is generally in a sound state and requires only small worksover the next 5 years. Copies of the report are available on request. There have been no changes to any goods or ornaments in the church.

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The Parochial Hall and now the Annexe were well used by the wider community and well managed by the Parochial Hall Management Group. The 100 club monthly draws to support the Parochial Hall continued to be popular.

FinanceMany thanks are due to all those who continue to contribute to the work of the church. Further details are set out in the attached accounts. We had, yet again, received a substantial donation from Sowerby Methodist Church which was used to support our Children and Youth Work; this was spread over future years so as to ensure a solid financial footing. It is shown in the Sowerby PCC accounts for transparency.

EventsThe Events Group organised a Parish Lunch, a Daffodil Festival with photo competition on Easter Sunday and Monday, and Coffee, Cakes & Crafts in November. Members of the group also helped with catering on a number of smaller occasions.

Pastoral CareThe church's Pastoral Assistant Cecily Rands, and Yvonne Bowling from February 2019 contributed a great deal to the church, as did others who offered their pastoral gifts. Holy Communion continued to be taken to people in their own homes as well as to Sowerby House, The Limes, Meadowfields and Orchid House.

The Luncheon Club continued to provide a cooked meal for older local people on a monthly basis. A monthly Coffee Hour for people on their own or carers was appreciated by those who attend. The email Prayer Circle was used and appreciated. The 'Singing for Joy' group continued at Orchid House, meeting monthly.

SafeguardingElizabeth Allen continued as our Safeguarding Officer. Information was presented to PCC about changes to the law in safeguarding matters. All PCC members are now to be DBS checked and must complete a Confidential Declaration Form and complete an on-line safeguarding training course. St Oswald's PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have regard to House of Bishop's guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults).

CommunicationsThe church website and facebook page was well used by church members and many others The monthly Saints Alive magazine and weekly notice sheets were also used for sharing of news and information amongst church members. The churchand the Group of 5 parishes both have a Facebook page and St Oswald's has a Twitter account.

AdministrationJayne Molyneux resigned as part-time Administrator for the 5 parishes in September

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2019. We appointed Joanne Headdock as her replacement in October 2019. She worked in the office at St Oswald's on Saturday mornings.

Developing ministryAt St Oswald's we remain committed to helping people explore their calling to all kinds of ministry and service. We are very grateful for all that our Readers, RPAs and lay worship leaders contribute. Our RPA with responsibility for mission is Helen Irving.

EcumenicalLinks with Sowerby Methodist Church remain strong and regular meetings were heldto plan our many joint events and services. As previously mentioned, much of our children's work is done together. Church members continued to take part in events and services planned by Churches Together Thirsk & District throughout the year, including the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

ThanksGrateful thanks are expressed to all at St Oswald's who work so hard and with so much dedication for the benefit of the church and wider community. May we continueto love God and our neighbours near and far as we seek to serve Christ in this place.

Approved by the PCC and signed on their behalf.

David TuckerSImon Birkbeck

Churchwardens

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