The Church of St. Peter Purse Caundle
Annual Report for 2024
The APCM will take place on Wednesday 28 May 2025, at 6.00pm in Church
Review of the Year 2024
We look back at 2024 with encouragement and an enormous sense of pride. In an age where churches are closing and congregation numbers are dwindling in many districts, we view the year as a positive one for St Peter’s. We’ve had weddings, baptisms and funerals; our popular Easter Day Service and Harvest Festival were well attended –it’s wonderful to see a packed church again. We were also thrilled to be chosen to host Rev Belinda’s first Mass celebration after her ordination in June, with special guest bell ringers!
Our village cyclists, Sarah and John Howes, organised the route for more than 10 cyclists for the annual Ride & Stride event (Sept 2024). Their splendid efforts saw an impressive £1,300 raised, shared between St Peter’s and the Historic Churches Trust – a fantastic amount when you compare what other much larger parishes raise The summer cake sale organised by Sharon Vincent raised almost £200 and the Carol Service and Village Party hosted by the de Pelet family at The Manor House in December was particularly well attended, raising the largest sum for many years, just shy of £700
The online newsletter continues to develop and provides a cohesive way to keep our community updated and now has more than 60 subscribers. A ‘sister’ publication called Village Events was launched to broaden the appeal and reach more of the community.
Throughout it all, we hope that the PCC has demonstrated it is fully committed to continuing its work for the good of the village and for our neighbours. We wish to acknowledge and thank everyone for their support and help
Financial
In 2024 the total income generated from collections, donations and fundraising was £5,763, which was marginally higher, but largely in line with 2023.
Our expenditure came to £5,285, which included a part payment towards the Share (which is the amount paid to the diocese to pay for priests and a contribution to central church costs) and insurance and electricity
Whilst this means our basic running costs are covered, we have been unable to pay the full allocation of the Share but we are demonstrating our willingness to contribute by making sensible, viable part-payments. This puts even greater emphasis on fundraising. We are determined to re-introduce some of the favourite annual events and look at hosting new social events to build our reserves.
The rising annual costs for the Share, buildings insurance and electricity, mean that St Peter’s relies even more on income generated through covenants, standing orders, one-off donations as well as our regular Sunday collections and gift aid, which is eligible for tax relief.
Therefore, it is particularly important that in this review, we acknowledge and offer sincere thanks to everyone (including those who are not regular church goers) whose donations and support make a huge difference to our ability look after the church building.
We remain committed to ensuring that all monies that we are able to raise will be dedicated to preserving the wonderful building and maintaining a strong Christian presence in the village.
Church Attendance
There are 23 parishioners on the 2025 updated Church Electoral Roll – an increase on the roll figures in previous years. The average Sunday attendance was 15 but this number increases considerably at the key services such as Easter, Harvest, Remembrance and Christmas
In 2024 there were two baptisms and a funeral service. With further baptisms and another wedding planned for 2025, it is an encouraging sign that the Church is still very much part of modern village life.
Future Plans
Canon Richard and Rev Belinda are continuing to make huge, positive strides to improve the pastoral service for Purse Caundle and the surrounding parishes, and we are grateful to have their backing and support for our future plans to embed the church within the community. This includes potentially hosting a Catholic Mass Service at St Peter’s. We are in early discussions with the Catholic Diocese of Plymouth (which governs Dorset) with a suggestion of holding four services a year, allowing Catholics a chance to worship locally without needing to travel We will keep people posted on any developments via the newsletter.
We are hoping to organise a village quiz night and planning is underway for the popular annual events such as the carol service and Christmas party.
This September our Quinquennial Inspection takes place. This is an in-depth inspection of the church building by specialist surveyors, which takes place every five years. Depending on the outcome of their report, we shall plan for any preventative or repair measures and look to fundraise accordingly.
Overall, through our events and services we hope to strengthen our financial situation and work together in the community to raise funds for St Peter’s.
How the PCC Works
The PCC is responsible for the maintenance of the Church and meets at regular times throughout the year to discuss matters concerning Church events and funds. If you would like to support the PCC’s work or enquire about becoming a member, please speak to any member of the PCC – all levels of support, even on an ad-hoc basis, would be very welcome.
The flower displays and cleaning in Church are done on a monthly rota basis – thank you to all those who volunteer. If anybody would like to help out with flower arranging please contact Mrs Charlotte de Pelet on 07974 802175
A Church email has been set up for St. Peter’s Purse Caundle. You can use stpeterspursecaundle@gmail.com to email any suggestions or ideas for village events.
Membership of the PCC
During 2024 the following served as members of the PCC:
Canon Richard Hancock TSSF Chair
Mrs Charlotte de Pelet Churchwarden
Mr Richard Taylor Treasurer
Mrs Kate Cox
Mrs Sharon Vincent
Secretary & Deanery Synod Representative
We would always welcome additional members so please get in touch if you wish to learn more.
From Canon Richard Hancock TSSF
The past year has been a year of steady progress for our Benefice as we have begun work on the short and medium-term goals of our parishes 10 Year Mission Action Plans This has been underpinned by the Benefice Vision, to be YES PEOPLE, INCARNATIONAL, and ENBOLDENED BY THE HOLY SPIRT.
All our parishes and PCCs have earnestly engaged in the task of trying to ensure their church is at the centre of community life. However, it’s fair to say that the task of “Making Jesus Known” today and relevant in a world that seems more divided, selfcentred and indifferent to religion is challenging. This has not been helped by the institution of the CofE, which has lost its way, focusing on preserving the institution and the power and privilege that goes with it rather than the needs of Christ’s own flock. The resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury on 12 November 2024 for his failings to protect the vulnerable and the continuing scandal of not dealing with abusers by the Archbishop of York and other senior leaders, has left the CofE in crises. As I write this report the Roman Catholic Church appointed a new Pope, Pope Leo XIV, in just two days of conclave, following the death of Pope Francis. However, seven months on there is no clear sign as to when we will have a new Archbishop of Canterbury with only the hope of an announcement in the Autumn. I feel this highlights a senior appointments process that is no longer fit for purpose in the CofE, decisions being made by a privilege few who get to sit on the Crown Appointments Committee. The conclave may be a secrete vote and only consist of male Cardinals, but at least its democratic in nature with Cardinals representing Roman Catholic communities around the world. Should not the Anglican Communion as a whole, clergy and laity, be able to elect the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion? As a parish priest my trust and confidence in the institution and leadership of the CofE has never been lower. I hope and pray that the Holy Spirit will bring us new leaders who are shepherds and
not CEOs, focused on God’s people and not the preservation of power and privilege in a failing institution.
At Diocesan level things are much brighter, we are blessed to have a team of Bishops, in Stephen, Karen and Andrew, and Archdeacon Penny who are supportive and genuinely understand the challenges that our small rural churches face. I would like to thank them for their encouragement to us this year. It was good to have +Stephen visit us in October, who commented: “It’s wonderful to just come and worship with you and not be asked to bless a new toilet or open an extension”. +Karen visited the Beehive Café at Stourton Caundle in October where she commissioned Rachel Page as our Pioneer Minister who is now also training as a Licensed Lay Reader. +Karen was delighted to see the church serving its local community and bringing people together.
Across the benefice new initiatives were undertaken to reach out to the local community. These included the very successful “Welcome to Stalbridge” event which took place in September. This welcomed new people who had moved into the community recently and highlighting all the clubs and organisations that operate in the town. The Stalbridge Ringers have also been increasing their membership and welcoming in new ringers. They are also embarking on a larger project to restore the chime barrel and improve the bells, which will make ringing easier for those learning to ring.
JAM (Jesus And Me) was launched in Stourton Caundle and ran for over 8 months and, though enjoyed by those who attended, it didn’t attract the young families we had hoped for. However, the PCC are exploring other possibilities including running a family event in school holidays and a family service. Stourton Caundle did launch its breakfast church and after initial uncertainty it has grown in popularity. This just demonstrates the need to try things and not to worry if they don’t all bear fruit as some things will reap a harvest.
Stock Gaylard with Kings Stag have developed a pub quiz night which proved popular and great fun along with carol singing outside the Green Man pub. They also hosted a special Advent evensong with the Benefice Choir, who are making a great contribution to the worship across the benefice as well as bringing people together for the love of singing.
Purse Caundle has continued with its themed monthly services which make the monthly service an event for the whole community. This has resulted in good attendance figures throughout the year. They are now exploring the possibility of offering Eucharistic Hospitality to local Roman Catholics which will hopefully result in St Peter’s hosting a Roman Catholic Mass once a quarter. +Karen has given her blessings for this, and the PCC has written to the Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth.
Purse Caundle also hosted Rev. Belinda’s first Mass following her ordination to the priesthood in June. It was a wonderful celebration with Belinda’s grandchildren acting as servers for the occasion. It has been a delight to see Belinda grow into the role of priest and just recently baptising her own grandchild at Purse Caundle.
Worship across the benefice has continued to develop and I’m thankful that all our churches have had new people join them over the past year. This is in part down to our ministry team, both lay and ordained, delivering meaningful worship in our churches as well as not being afraid to try new things. Our Christmas and Easter services were well received this year with good attendance overall. Having the Maundy service at Stalbridge with a procession to the Altar of Repose and the watch worked well. I particularly enjoyed marking Good Friday at Stourton Caundle with the Stations of the Cross followed by the Good Friday Liturgy. Also, during Lent a meditation group was set up by Simon Witcombe at Stalbridge which is going to continue. Overall, the attendance figures for our rural churches are stable with some new membership, but there is still a gap in reaching younger individuals and families. Stalbridge has been working hard with its family service, particularly in developing its link with the school. This has been hard, but they are now starting to see young families attending. Our Bible group continues but they would like to attract more members. Penny Johnson also led a reflective group “Play with Words” which was well received by those who attended. We had a good benefice retreat last May at the Community of St Mary the Virgin Wantage and most recently with the Franciscan community at Hilfield, some participants experiencing a retreat for the first time.
Financially it has been another challenging year for all our churches and as a benefice we have failed to meet our total share contribution of around £74K to the Diocese but have paid around £56K which was an increase over last year. Worryingly we are still not meeting our direct ministry costs which should be about 80% of our share around £59K and estimates from our treasures for 2025 suggest we may struggle to meet this again this year. The new Diocesan share calculation has benefitted the benefice overall with a very small reduction in share over the next 3 years, but the calculation has gone against some of the smaller parishes that will see a considerable increase. I hope we can work together as a benefice to make share payments across the benefice churches as fair and manageable as possible. In the long term if we can’t meet our share, it will bring the validity of a full-time post here into question. It is unlikely that the post will be removed while I am here. The challenge may arise in the future if the post needs to be replaced after my departure. Can I thank all our Treasurers for their hard work and diligence this year.
I would also like to thank Rev. Belinda West, Judy Waite LLM, Rev. Angela Syer, Rev. Graham Hitchins and Rev. Joe Edwards our Assistant PTO clergy and our team of Lay Worship Leaders, Sarah Bollen, John Worth and Rachel Page our Lay Pioneer Minister, who along with those who read, lead intercessions, are welcomers and those who clean and prepare our churches and get them ready for worship. We are also lucky to have talented musicians in our benefice, thank you to our regular organists Maggie Cubb and Sue New and to Helen Hitchins the director of music for our Benefice choir.
I would also like to thank all those who have served our churches in the past year, particularly our church wardens. Special thanks to Simon Witcombe who is now stepping down as Church Warden and Foundation Governor. To Judy Waite for her long service to Stalbridge CofE School as Foundation Governor and Chair of Governors. Also, thanks to all our PCC members for their hard work over the past year. A special thankyou to Helen Hitchins our benefice administrator whose support enables me to focus on the spiritual and pastoral life in the benefice, along with Rev.
Graham who always has an open-door, listing ear and tot of rum when needed. Thank you, also to my wife Kate who is always an encouragement to me in my life and ministry.
Finally, I am looking forward to my sabbatical which will be from 1 June to 31 August. During my time away from benefice duties I will be looking at some other rural church and diocesan projects around the country. I will be spending five weeks in Italy visiting Rome and Assisi in my first week then in Genova with the Diocese of Europe looking after the Church of the Holy Ghost, which does a lot of work with refugees. In August Kate and I will be traveling out to Japan to see our son Ben and will have a chance to look at the Christian Church in Japan as well as the Buddhist and Shinto traditions there. I hope to come back refreshed and inspired many thanks to all those who will be holding the fort while I’m away.
Blessings
Canon Richard Hancock. TSSF
Rector Spire Hill Benefice
Published May 2025