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2022-12-31-accounts

ANNUAL REPORT

1 Jan – 31 Dec 2022

MORLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH Charity Registration Number 1083023

Correspondence to: Dr Raymond Baker 9 Hill Top Grove West Ardsley Wakefield WF3 1HP

Trustees: Raymond Baker Andrew Dalton Rowan Taylor

We confirm that this report and accounts are an accurate statement of activities and accounts for this year

…………………………………………………………………….. (Trustee)

………………………………………………………….………….. (Trustee)

MORLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH ANNUAL REPORT 1 Jan – 31 Dec 2022 for CHARITY COMMISSION

Summary of Objectives

Morley Community Church Trust exists to

(A) To advance the christian faith in West Yorkshire and in such other parts of the United Kingdom or the world as the trustees may from time to time think fit and to fulfill such other purposes which are exclusively charitable according to the law of England and Wales and are connected with the charitable work of the trust

(B) To relieve persons who are in conditions of need or hardship or who are aged or sick and to relieve the distress caused thereby in West Yorkshire and in such other parts of the United Kingdom or the world. All the activities by Morley Community Church described in this report fulfill these two objectives and have provided direct benefit to the public.

Public Benefit

The public have benefited through a range of activities and projects that have invited them to develop their spiritual awareness and grow in their understanding of the Christian faith. This has been through Sunday services, bible studies & prayer sessions, pastoral care by leaders and members. Age-related activities have been provided for children, young and older people. All of these activities have been open to the general public, whom we have regularly invited by means of distribution of leaflets, parish magazines, press articles, the church website, social media and display of banners and ‘A’ boards near the regular place of meeting. The Christian faith has been shared in both word and deed through a multitude of activities and projects. The church has organized activities and projects often linked with other organizations (other churches, Christian agencies and secular organizations) to achieve this objective. The church is concerned about issues of poverty, deprivation and social justice. It is working to promote community cohesion through innovative social projects and initiatives. The church has been active in providing youth activities for local young people as well as offering support to the elderly in the town. People suffering from hardship, poverty, sickness and distress have been helped in practical ways both in Morley and surrounding area plus other parts of the world. Examples would be gifts of food, parcels, calendars and other items to local poor and elderly people. The church has been able to donate 28 sacks of clothes and bric a brac to Leeds City Mission for their Re-Store Charity Shop. Significant quantities of food have been made available to people in need/unemployed people who are struggling to make ends meet either directly through church referrals or to other agencies. A total of 274 trays of food plus 2120 items of fruit have been obtained and distributed in this way. Recycled aluminium foil and cans have been recycled and the money raised has been sent to support the work of good causes. The benefit to the public has been recognized by local civic leaders. Full details are found in the various sections in this report.

Please note – throughout this report figures in brackets usually denote the previous years’ (2021) (2020), (2019), (2018) figures. Statistics indicated by an asterix * represent historical figures for January – March 2020 only (pandemic year).

A Year of Encouragement

Morley Community Church gives thanks to God for his blessings of encouragement during 2022. An increasing number of people have been attending Sunday worship services – an approximate 30% increase in the year. Nine new people have made the church their spiritual home this year. A small Sunday School class has recommenced. There have been good numbers attending the midweek bible study. There have been a number of opportunities to share gospel hope. Special events/guest services have been well patronized. The age profile of the church is becoming younger – the 26-35 age cohort in particular demonstrating significant growth. Levels of activity and velocity in church life have begun to accelerate.

Sunday Services

Most Sunday services have been held in Zion Chapel, Merlyn-Rees Avenue.

There have been 57 (55) worship, devotional and evangelistic services. Five (2) services had a missionary focus, five were guest services, two (1) were joint services.

Service venues –Zion Chapel– 54, Jubilee Court –2 (1), Birstall Community Church – 1.

Excluding visiting preachers & their spouses/colleagues, a total of 222 (122) (54) (95) (108) different adults and 12 (3) (2) (12) (5) teenagers attended these 57 (55) (12) services/events in 2022.

Excluding visiting preachers & their spouses/colleagues, Capernwray student team - we have welcomed 163 (94) (29) (93) (108) different adult visitors who have made a total of 358 (199) (37) (159) (116) visits/attendances. The majority of these have been close family or friends who have visited us for an occasional service or people who have responded to an invitation to a special service. Nine of these visitors have made Morley Community Church their spiritual home and were regular in their attendance at worship services and other activities by the close of the year

2022 was the first full year since 2020 operating without any pandemic lockdown restrictions and we stopped offering the service via a zoom link in January. As the year progressed there was a slow but steady increase of people attending Sunday morning worship services.

The worship service continued to focus very much on adults. There have been times of open and corporate prayer. The morning worship services have been taken by speakers from other churches as well as members of the congregation. We have also downloaded pre-recorded sermons for three services. Also one speaker was live streamed from their church direct to the chapel service. These represents 7% of all services during the year. There have been three ‘open’ services with people contributing testimony, prayer, scripture etc. The morning worship services continued to have a varied musical style with accompaniment on the piano, violins, guitars. flute, vocalists.

. There has been a wide variety of passages, topics, missionary and guest services throughout the year. The congregation has enjoyed messages on various themes and topics. These included a series on ‘Belonging To the Church’.

We have had 5 (2) (4) (8) services with mission personnel speaking about their work – Paul Linnell (Open Air Mission) 1 May, Michael Romagnoli (Caring For Life) – 29 May, Terry Garde (International Miners Mission) 17 July, Phil Benstead (People International Cyprus) 18 September, Rowan Taylor (Barnabas Fund) 16 October.

We also had 5 (3) (1) (5) guest services/event – Queen’s Platinum Lunch (5 June), Pensioners Harvest Supper at Jubilee Court (2 October), Remembrance Service (6 November), Pensioners Christmas Carols at Jubilee Court (4 December), Carols by Candlelight (11 December).

We have been well served by visiting preachers. 17 (10) (17) (22) (21) preachers plus 3 (5) (4) downloaded preachers, plus 1 livestreamed preacher from his church have taken a total of 30 (22) (22) (34) services between them. These preachers have come from 12 (7) (12) (15) different church groupings/societies & 13 (8) (11) (11) different churches. Our criteria for inviting them has been that they wholeheartedly believe the Bible and are experienced in preaching it! We have enjoyed their ministry enormously and our grateful thanks go to them. There have also been 3 (2) (5) (2) (4) ‘open’ services (13 February, 15 May, 21 August) with an opportunity for people to share a testimony, read scripture, prayer, give a message etc. These have worked well. Holy Communion was celebrated on eight Sundays (2 & 30 January, 10 April, 15 May, 3 July, 25 September, 13 November and 11 December.

Bible Studies & Prayer

Bible studies have continued throughout the year. They were held weekly on a Wednesday evening plus around six Sunday tea time studies located in members’ homes. A variety of bible passages and topics were covered including studies taken from the on-line bible Project. In September & October a seven-part series of joint bible studies were held with Gildersome Baptist Church in our new church building.

Church Personnel

Four deacons have served the congregation as its church officers supported by the Gap Year/Youth Workers. The church officers met 8 times during the year. In the absence of a pastor they have sought to meet the pastoral and practical needs of the church in various ways offering help, advice, spiritual counsel and encouragement. Practical help was provided for people struggling with life. Surplus supermarket food has been provided. Deacons have sought to promote a sense of family, unity and commitment in the life of the church.

Marta Vaczo and Zsoka Antal from Hungary continued as Gap Year/Youth Workers until July. In September two new Gap Year Volunteers (also from Hungary) arrived to replace them – Annadora Cziczo and Rebeka Kovacs. All have become extensively involved in church activities. Both were introduced to the church by Time For God on their (EU) European Exchange Scheme. They all spent their first few months gaining confidence and experience in youth work (Yzup, Gardening and Chattabox Clubs), working with families, pensioners, schoolchildren and youth. They are valuable assets in the life of the congregation adapting to English culture and British church life. They are acquiring a portfolio of experience for their future work and contribute their abilities and talents to the life of the church

A small team coordinated the musical, technical and logistical arrangements for worship services. A growing group of participants have made up the music group (piano, guitars, flute, violin, vocalists) and they have assisted in providing musical accompaniment for church services

Pastoral Support

Church deacons have taken 12 (26) (16) (9) (18) of the 57 (55) (56) church services 21% (48%) (29%) (16%) between them. Deacons met eight times during 2022. Advice, encouragement and practical help have been provided to a wide range of people. Regular contact has been maintained with the congregation. Where possible practical help has been offered.

Church Library –Church has continued to operate a small library of Christian books encouraging attenders to read for their spiritual profit. People are encouraged to borrow a variety of books covering devotional, bible study, biography, missionary and historical topics. The library has approximately 200 volumes in stock. There has been a welcome usage of the library as people have had more time and opportunity for reading.

Location

The congregation have settled into the new premises at Zion Chapel acquired in 2021. The new location in the centre of the town has heightened the profile of the church and has been an important factor in the significant increase in numbers attending church services/activities.

New storage racks have been erected in the Annexe Room. 20 additional stacking chairs and 4 collapsible tables have been acquired. A new connecting pathway and gate to the adjoining Hayden Court has been installed in cooperation (and financial support) with Places4People Housing Association. This has vastly increased accessibility of local people as well as regular worshippers and deliveries. Discussions about the future configuration and facilities of the building have been initiated. Artic Associates Architectural Practice has been commissioned to assess and present development options for the church premises. A very detailed ‘Needs & Options’ Questionnaire has been completed. The plans for renovation/extension will go forward in 2023.

Community Garden Project

A volunteer team continues to implement the strategy to renovate the graveyard and create a Community Garden (Zion Community Garden).

Key work undertaken:

Total number of volunteer hours: 1076

Total number of volunteers: 25 (17 regular attendees of MCC; 8 visitors)

Grants/donations: Monetary grants and donations in kind have been received to enable edible plants, bulbs and flowers to be acquired for planting

Harvest:

Potatoes, Onions, Leeks, Garlic, Kale, Chard, Beetroot, Strawberries, Squashes, Tomatoes, Rhubarb, Selection of culinary herbs

Produce was regularly made available to members of the congregation as it was harvested and local residents passing through the garden were also invited to harvest produce at their leisure.

Planting:

Saturday morning drop-in sessions (10 am - 12 noon) were launched in March and ran fortnightly until October. The sessions mainly attracted members of the congregation and occasional visitors. The average number of volunteers per session was seven. In addition, a growing number of positive relationships have been formed with locals passing through the garden, some of whom have attended outreach events and special services.

Outreach

Outreach Week:

It was possible to resurrect and organize the annual outreach week with a team of eight students from Capernwray Bible School. They had an intense eight days of outreach. The Pilgrims Progress Bible Exhibition was delivered in 7 primary schools with 12 presentations, 630 pupils plus accompanying staff attending. 460 copies of the Day One book ‘John Bunyan’ were given out to pupils as a workbook. 50 pensioners attended the Luncheon in the Labour Rooms. Two literature drop sessions circulating around the target area of the church. Coffee mornings at Chartist Court and in Zion Chapel were limited in numbers but useful in their own right. All the activities helped the church restart its activities and its interface with the local public after the Covid pandemic.

Queens Platinum Lunch - Sunday 5 June

A special lunch to commemorate the 70[th] year of the Queen’s reign was organized after church on Sunday 5 June. This was held inside the chapel due to inclement outside weather. Every home in the target area around the church received information leaflets via a letterbox drop – 9 local residents, 2 spouses of church attenders plus Mayor & Mayoress plus church congregation attended. The Mayor gave a speech. 10 Jubilee New Testaments & Psalms were taken home by those attending.

Remembrance Service – Sunday 6 November

An innovative Remembrance Service and Wreath Laying Ceremony focussed on the war graves in the churchyard from both World Wars was held the Sunday before Remembrance Day.

Lay Reader Ian Wilson from St George’s Church in Leeds officiated at this service. Invitations were sent to key local people and organisations. The local branch of the Royal British Legion turned up in force complete with a Standards (ie flags) Party which accompanied the Mayor, Mayoress and Deputy Mayor in a formal march through the graveyard and into the chapel for the special service. Half a dozen local councillors also attended. Local MP Andrea Jenkyns attended and rendered a solo song. A talk with powerpoint pictures of the men who were killed was delivered by the church secretary. The awful detail of their deaths gripped the congregation. Relatives of the casualties also attended.

At the conclusion of the service the dignitaries, guests and congregation gathered outside the chapel in the graveyard. The Last Post was sounded, the standard bearers of the British Legion lowered their flags and Mayor, Councillors, Legion members, MP, serving member of the Armed Forces, relatives and others laid their wreaths on the graves. Refreshments were served at the conclusion.

This unique endeavour was well worth organising. It took a lot of advance planning. It was deliberately held on the Sunday prior to Remembrance Sunday itself as it is normally a very busy day for such groups as the British Legion & civic dignitaries. Guests outnumbering regular worshippers. New relationships were formed. And the profile of the church was raised.

Pensioners Harvest Supper – Jubilee Court 2 October.

22 residents and friends from Jubilee Court attended this seasonal event. The Gap Year Workers were introduced, a harvest quiz was held and a bible message presented concluding with supper together.

Pensioners Carol Service – Jubilee Court 4 December.

A Carol Service and Christmas Tea was held at Jubilee Court which was well received by 15 residents and friends who attended.

Carols by Candlelight Service Sunday 11 December

A large congregation of 52 people attended this seasonal service – 44% of whom were visitors. A leaflet drop (1000 leaflets and 900 calendars) was undertaken in the preceding week and some people attended as a direct result of this. This was a most enjoyable and successful evening.

Day One Living Word Gospel Calendars :

A total of 1260 (1430) (1430) (500) (495) calendars (2023 were distributed in December. These were via a targeted letterbox drop in the area surrounding the church and also three Sheltered Housing Complexes (Schofield, Jubilee and Chartist Courts) in the town, MEA Office reception and the Town Hall coffee morning, personal friends, contacts etc.

Day One Gospel Diaries

362 (100) (25) (80) (80) diaries were distributed this year – 250 (2022 diaries) in the Capernwray Outreach Week, 60 from literature table on Good Friday (2022 diaries) and 52 (2023 diaries) via church members, Morley Elderly Action and other networks at Christmas.

Schools

The church has continued its relationship with Seven Hills Primary School. The Headteacher continued to welcome the church running a weekly Chattabox Club (Year 4). Eight weekly sessions of a gardening club for Year 5 pupils were held on Wednesday & Thursday afternoons in the first half of Spring term. For the second half of the Spring term and Summer term this was followed on by the Gap Year Workers doing additional reading work in their classes using bible stories. All these provide good opportunities to teach bible stories and Christian values and help pupils in their spiritual development. It was also possible to place Gap Year Worker Marta Vaczo in school to help in Year 5 classes on Thursdays, followed by Rebeka Kovacs in the Autumn (Fridays).

We have continued to nurture relationships with eight schools (Gildersome, Seven Hills, Newlands, Victoria, Asquith, Queenswood (Private), St Francis Primary & Churwell Primary Schools). We were able to make a presentation of SU Its Your Move booklets in Gildersome (60), St Francis (29) Seven Hills (60), Churwell (60), Newlands (88) Asquith (60), Victoria (60), Queenswood (3) Primary Schools.

St Francis School hosted the placement of Gap Year Worker Zsoka Antal on Mondays until the end of the summer term. They also welcomed (at short notice) the running of a Holiday Club on their premises during the Easter holidays. The positive disposition of the headteacher to the work of MCC has been most encouraging.

Victoria Primary School welcomed a visit of the Bible Exhibition (plus assembly) by Capernwray Bible Students in March. Also a placement of Annadora Cziczo in school (Year 4) one day each week in the Autumn Term has helped to nurture the relationship.

Older People

All Gap Year Workers have attended weekly coffee mornings both in the Town Hall and at Jubilee Court OAP Sheltered Housing Scheme engaging pensioners in conversation and friendship. The outcome of this has been reflected in the numbers who have subsequently attended events eg Harvest Supper, Carol Services. The vast majority of these elderly folks are long standing Morley families, thus we are establishing a presence and witness with family networks which have been around for generations. This is a fruitful area of work and needs to be continually nurtured.

Morley Elderly Action officers have appreciated the input of the church recognising its positive contribution to the well being of older people in the town. Relevant statistics have been compiled for MEA and these illustrate the positive partnership and relationship enjoyed between both organisations.

Missionary

We believe it is important to support the work of the gospel both in the UK and to the wider world and have done this in a number of ways

We have had 5 (2) (4) (8) services with mission personnel speaking about their work – Paul Linnell (Open Air Mission) 1 May, Michael Romagnoli (Caring For Life) – 29 May (Terry Garde (International Miners Mission) 17 July, Phil Benstead (People International Cyprus) 18 September, Rowan Taylor (Barnabas Fund) 16 October.

A TEAR Fund Quiz Evening was held on Saturday 19 November. A church gathering saw 28 attendees (5 visitors) who enjoyed the BIG QUIZ evening. £415 was raised for this relief agency.

The war in Ukraine brought a plea for help from former gap year worker Stacey Chalchynska. Her family had decided to remain in Odessa and provide a Christian school to keep education available. In addition to regular prayer support, a total of £920 was given specifically for the work in Ukraine and - topped up by funds from the church – we were able to send a total of £2420 to support the Dream School in Odessa

We have prayed for a number of missionaries in our prayer sessions.

Home Missions

Leeds City Mission – practical help has been given to Leeds City Mission to support their work – 28 (49) (48) (55) (38) (24) sacks of clothes and rags, and various other items were donated for their Re-Store Charity Shop. 156 (96) (44) (42) (44) trays of food were donated to their Pantry Project plus 20 (57) (132) (175) lunches provided for volunteers & addicts-in-recovery. 250 plastic milk cartons were also collected and donated for use in the Pantry Project . Quantities of used postage stamps were also donated to LCM in their fundraising efforts. In addition hundreds of greetings cards were collected and donated to LCM use for conversion into gift tags. All of the Gap Year Workers have each assisted (on average one day each week) in the LCM Charity Shop now located in the new LCM Hub in Armley, Leeds.

Dewsbury Community Outreach

Three members of the church are trustees of Dewsbury Community Outreach (DCO) and a further five persons from the church help on a regular basis at this charity. The Gap Year Workers also spend one day a week assisting at DCO. This charity operates out of 74 Daisy Hill Dewsbury and caters for the physical and spiritual well being of disadvantaged people by providing a drop-in where free meals are available and food,

clothing, toiletries and household goods are given away for free. The charity also provide wellbeing support and assistance with housing and other issues.

Youth & Children

Yzup

Yzup youth club focussed on 13-15 year olds has continued on Tuesday evenings meeting in the church hall. The programme is a mixture of activities, trips, craft, food, discussions. 34 sessions have been organised Around 10-12 young people have turned up for these youth sessions - although since the Autumn the figures have reduced to about 5-6 teenagers attending. A team consisting of six volunteers are assisting in running the club.

Youth Workers

Gap Year Volunteers Marta Vaczo and Zsoka Antal (Hungary) continued in their work until early August. They were replaced by two new Hungarians Rebeka Kovacs and Annadora Cziczo in September and they have settled into their responsibilities and are working hard for the church.

The recruitment of Gap Year Workers plays an important part in the life of the church and its ability to organise and deliver youth and children’s projects. They are already playing an important role in delivering Yzup, school lunchtime bible and afternoon gardening clubs as well as making a positive contribution to wider church life and community contact. Both are placed one day each week in a local primary school and also attend two coffee mornings to develop relationships with older people. They are also placed one day each week either with Dewsbury Community Outreach or Leeds City Mission helping in mercy ministries with those at the edge of society. They are gaining valuable experience for the future. We are grateful for the support of Time For God and the EVS scheme which enabled the church to run this programme.

Youth Camp

Sixteen young people aged 11-16 years were recruited for this camp in the summer holidays. A staff team of 13 volunteers (9 from MCC and 4 from other churches) accompanied them. Five full days at the Northwood Centre at High Legh near Lymm were spent enjoying the rolling Cheshire countryside. They participated in sport, games, trips, social activities and sleeping under canvas. Campers spent time visiting a bowling alley, a swimming pool. Full day activities included a visit to Blackpool Pleasure Beach and a further day was spent on the beach at Rhyll on the North Wales coast. Youngsters enjoyed the day swimming in the sea and playing on the sand. It was an action-packed week. Good weather was experienced for the week.

There was also an extensive social programme in the evenings. This included a Morley’s Got Talent session where youngsters had the opportunity to demonstrate a skill or talent to the rest of the campers.

In 2022 the separate bank account for the camp was closed and all funds were administered via the church bank account.

Children’s Easter Holiday Clubs (5-8 April)

Two Children’s Holiday Clubs were held in the week before Easter (5-8 April) – first week of school holidays. Four sessions were held at Seven Hills Primary school in the mornings and four sessions were held at St Francis RC Primary school in the afternoons. These were run by a small team of volunteers including the church Gap Year Workers. Lauren Rastrick (children and community worker at Morley Salvation Army) was invited to lead these clubs. The programme was a mixture of games, stories, singing, quiz, craft etc. An engaging programme with good content, suitable style and pitch was presented to a combined total of 49 children in both locations. Boys significantly outnumbered girls in both locations (usually the other way round) – exactly 57% boys and 43% girls in both schools. 32% of attendees at Seven Hills were ethnic minorities and at St Francis the figure was 19%. Morley ethnic minority figure is generally about 6-7%. There was also a significant percentage of children from poorer backgrounds.

Both these clubs provided a welcome opportunity to re-engage with two local schools and local families. Headteachers were very supportive. The practical support of the Salvation Army for this project was very helpful indeed

Chattabox Club

Seven Hills Primary School welcomed the operation of Chattabox Club on Thursday/Friday lunchtimes. Attendances by Year 4 pupils averaged 10-12 pupils each week (approximately 300 total) and a total of 28 sessions were held in the year.

Bridgebuilding

Since its inception Morley Community Church has recognized the need to develop and maintain meaningful relationships with individuals and families. In previous years press articles in the local newspaper has helped the church to foster such relationships. The absence of a local newspaper has denied the church avenues for positive publicity which assisted this process in former years.

Our relationships with Morley Elderly Action, Seven Hills Primary School, & Jubilee Court Sheltered Housing Scheme have been rebuilt in 2022. A revived relationship with Victoria Primary School has commenced through placement of Annadora Cziczo in school (Year 4) one day each week in the Autumn Term

We have continued to keep key community personnel informed to enable them to be familiar with the existence and activities of the church.

Women

Three women attended the EFCC weekend conference for women at Oldborough Congregational Church, West Midlands in March. The opportunity to engage with women from other churches in the denomination was both refreshing and very much appreciated.

Social Action

Recycling

6 sacks of foam pellets & bubblewrap were donated to Day One 250 milk cartons were donated to Leeds City Mission for their Pantry Project (foodbank) 356 bottletops were donated to a children’s play scheme (Play Hartlepool) 36 x 2 litre bottles were donated to Groundwork for an environmental project Quantities of used postage stamps were donated to Leeds City Mission Quantities of used greetings cards were donated to Leeds City Mission

Foil

Aluminium cans and foil continued to be collected, recycled and cashed in at the scrap yard. Alongside the surplus generated by the donations for food, the sums raised are allocated for International Miners Mission work.

Food

Surplus quantities of bread, confectionery, fruit, vegetables and flowers have been acquired from supermarkets – 274 (260) (266) (266) (266) trays in total. This food has been distributed to people attending church, people in need & Haydn Court residents during the course of the year - 100 trays (25) (34), Leeds City Mission – 156 (96) (44) trays; Drighlington Methodist Foodbank 30 (43) (43) trays, Christian agencies, other churches and other projects – 6 (3) (5) trays. 20 (57) (132) (175) lunches were also made up from this supply of food to feed volunteers & addicts-in-recovery working in LCM projects this year. A large quantity of apples (920) were picked direct from the tree – 600 to LCM, 120 to MCC and 200 to others. A total of 1200 clementines were also obtained and distributed via the same agencies. 41 packets of crackers were bought and donated to the ‘Christmas Dinner on Jesus’ project organised by St Paul’s Church

Fibres

21 (40) (43) (55) (38) bags of second hand clothes and 7 (9) (5) (7) (8) bags of rags plus other items have collected and donated to the Leeds City Mission Charity Shop (Re-Store) throughout the year

Fairs

A street stall was held in the church car park in Merlyn Rees Avenue – Saturday 23 April selling tulip plants (£149 sales). This was not primarily a fund raising event but for ‘awareness raising’ of the presence of the church.

Christmas

A total of 60 (39) (64) (28) (49) presents were obtained from a charity & individuals. Sixteen were used with local Morley families in need and 23 (52) (20) (39) presents were passed to Leeds City Mission for use with needy children/young people at Christmas in connection with their Toy Project. Substantial numbers of used greetings cards were donated to Leeds City Mission for recycling into seasonal gift tags. LCM donated back 1150 greetings tags and these were then distributed to a number of local organisations – Town Hall Coffee Morning – 300, MEA Office – 300, Ukraine Appeal – 300, Morley Central Methodist – 200, Mayor’s Event - 50

Emergency Support

Significant quantities of food have been made available to people in need/unemployed people who are struggling to make ends meet either directly through church referrals or via other agencies outlined above in the ‘Food’ paragraph.

Environmental

The transformation of the church graveyard into a Community Garden continued throughout the year. Derelict graves were reclaimed to grow both plants and vegetables. 2000 bulbs & 25 roses have been planted along with perennials, annual edibles, fruit trees and shrubs. Plant pots were acquired and supplied to the Gardening Bulbs project at Seven Hills Primary School. These were distributed to local pensioners in the Spring

Flowers

13 appropriate graves have been used as raised beds for growing edible and ornamental plants. 121 (41) surplus flower bunches supplied by supermarkets have been delivered to 60 (25) different individuals (eg housebound pensioners) and these have been gratefully received.

Instruments

MCC received a generous donation of 5 trumpets, 1 clarinet, 9 violins, 3 keyboards and 1 guitar from Seven Hills Primary school – all surplus to their requirements. These were passed on to Morley Salvation Army for their use.

Publicity

The publicity boards are put out each Sunday and signs are displayed outside the front gates of the church on Merlyn Rees Avenue. Also by the boundary wall with Haydn Court. A new banner continues to drape the old Zion Chapel noticeboard at the front of the car park.

We continued to advertise on the world wide web and can be found in the “ Find A Church ” Directory (findachurch.co.uk). A completely new website was produced by Antony Hepworth and uploaded onto the World Wide Web and can be found at www.morleycommunitychurch.org.uk . This new website has elicited a number of visitors to the church. We also have a publicity page on Facebook.

We are listed on the Leeds Network Directory of Churches website. Also the EFCC website, EA Directory and Affinity Directory.

We sent the church magazine to most church ministers in Morley and the leaders of key churches in a five mile radius.

The demise of the local newspaper in 2020 has meant there has been no local news coverage in print for the church. However it has been possible to publish some news on Facebook. The Community Garden Project has its own Facebook page

There have been five editions of the church magazine in the year. Circulation is usually 100 copies but we estimate approximately 250 people read it. The magazine is primarily designed for people who are not

regular in church activities. Its significance is that it has provided a public face externally raising our profile locally in the church and bringing a sense of identity and common purpose within the congregation. The issues have been produced by the collaboration of Tony Gray (Birstall CC) and Andy Dalton (Morley CC) who share material that appears in the respective magazines of each church. Articles are syndicated to two other churches for use in their magazines.

FOR THE YEAR ENDING31 DECEMBER 2022
Last Year
£ £ £
OPENING BALANCES
Lloyds Bank accounts&Petty Cash 28,904.93 14,747.72
RECEIPTS
Donations 17767.89 10190.20
Gift Aid Tax Refund 3594.38 1727.29
Zion House Rent 6300.00 1932.24
Heart For Truth Funds 501.11
Sale of Furniture 435.52
Council Tax Refund 150.00
YSix - Trip fees&Tuck shop income 161.00
Zion Chapel Rent 30.00
Insurance Refund 24.76
Bank Interest 14.69 1.71
Zion Trustees 7894.15
Refund of conference fee 340.00
Contributions from other churches 146.00
Plant Sale 130.00
Transforming Lives (Food distribution) 100.00
28979.35
Reserved Funds
Zion Community Garden (See R1) 732.85 1055.58
Morley Camping Venture (SeeR2) 3620.88 1532.00
Specified Donations
for Leeds City Mission 1063.39 779.67
for Dream School Ukraine 920.00
for Tear Fund 415 49.51
for Salvation Army 83 84.00
for IMM 300.00
for Educate Africa 160.00
for Gideons 60.00
2,481.39
TOTAL RECEIPTS 35,814.47 26,482.35
PAYMENTS
Reserved Funds
Zion Community Garden (See R1) 1031.95 704.75
Morley Camping Venture (SeeR2) 3097.83 1910.00
Charitable Donations
Dream School Ukraine 2420.00
Leeds City Mission 1725.08 578.75
International Miners Mission 1000.00 300.00
Open Air Mission 1000.00 50.00
Tear Fund 415.00 75.001
Salvation Army 104.50 104.00,
Royal British Legion 40.00
Local needs 33.54 1629.671,
Educate Africa 200 .0~1
Gideons 60.00
6,738.12 2997.42'

Outreach
Holiday Club 1983.25
Booklets/BiblesNideos for School Work 1045.20 560.00
YZUP! 609.86 182.14
Capernwray Students 452.85
Pensioners Events 441.11 47.35
Special Services (food ,BSbooks etc. ) 196.78 191.44
Calendars, Diaries, Christmas 127.10 559.54
Chattabox&Gardening Club 46.15 98.26
Community Kids 30.98
4,902.30 1,669.71
Pastoral Support
Youth Worker's Living Costs 7904.34 1521.22
Youth Workers Expenses 2388.3 422.89
10,292 .64 1,944.11
Zion Building
Utilities 1151.46 306.04
Zion House Maintenance 458.00
Zion Chapel Repairs 193.98 285.80
Consumables 153.27
1956.71 591.84
Other
Insurance 1469.33 131.84
Membership Subscriptions 1047.50 838.88
Speakers' Expenses 770.00 55500
Publicity 211.91 160.73
DBS Checks 268.75 153.50
Small Capital Items 35.97 18.98
Administration 3.09 41.88
Address Stamps 21.50
Rent 405.00
Training Courses 180.00
3,806.55 2,507.31
TOTAL PAYMENTS 31,826.10 12,325.14
NET SURPLUSIDEFICIT FOR THE YEAR 3,988.37 14,157.21
CLOSING BALANCES
Lloyds Current&Deposit Bank accounts 32619.47 28 ,564.81
Petty cash 273.83 340.12
32,893.30 28,904.93
Signedbytwo trustees on behalf of all the trustees
Signature Print Name Date
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Last Year
£ £ £
Opening Balance 310.83 0.00
RECEIPTS
Gifts 391.97 115.58
TCV Chestnut Fund Grant 275.88
Refund 65.00
Morley Glass Grant 500.00
Neighbourly Grant 400.00
TOTAL RECEIPTS 732.85 1015.58
PAYMENTS
Plants and Equipment 944.22 704.75
Water&Fuel 87.73
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 1031.95 704.75
ACCOUNT BALANCE 11.73 310.83

Last Year
£ £ £
Balance from MCV Account 148.05
RECEIPTS
Leeds City Council Grant 1210.00
Campers Fees 1610.00
Gifts 500.00
Bookstall&Tuck Shop 152.83
TOTAL RECEIPTS 3472.83
PAYMENTS
Rides, Attractions and Activities 1036.65
Food&Tuck Shop 529.42
Premises 550.00
Speakers Expenses 500.00
Travel Expenses 420.78
Prizes&Gifts 60.98
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 3097.83
ACCOUNT BALANCE 523.05

Last Year
£ £ £
Lloyds Current account 991.45 2051.48
Lloyds Deposit account 31628.02 26513.33
Petty cash 273.83 340.12
3289330 28,904.93
OTHER AS.SETS
Laptop Computer 70.00 94.50
Barbecue 21.00 28.00
LlABILlTIIi:S
Heart For Truth Funds 501.11 Nil