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2022-12-31-accounts

THE CHURCH OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, PETTS WOOD

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2022

ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL AND THE PARISH

SECTION 1

The Benefice

The Parish of Saint Francis of Assisi, Petts Wood is located in the London Borough of Bromley and is within the Church of England Deanery of Orpington, in the Diocese of Rochester. Fr Stephen Niechcial has been parish priest since 19[th] April, 2018.

The Parochial Church Council ("PCC") – Function

The PCC is a corporate body acting through the provisions of The Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 (as amended). Its responsibilities include co-operation with the minister in promoting in the Parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It has responsibility for discussion of all appropriate matters and for representation to Deanery Synod. Its powers and duties also include responsibility for the financial affairs of the Parish including the care, maintenance, preservation and insurance of the fabric of the church and its goods and ornaments and the fabric of the hall. The PCC is a registered charity (No 1127654) and the members of the PCC are its trustees. Address for Correspondence

St. Francis Vicarage, 60 Willett Way, Petts Wood, Kent BR5 1QE Tel: 01689 829971 Website: www.stfrancispw.org.uk

PCC & Deanery Synod Membership

The Parish Priest is the PCC Chairman and other members of the PCC are either ex-officio, i.e. members by virtue of being a churchwarden or a member of Deanery Synod, or elected. At the Annual Parochial Church Meeting ("APCM") on 22[nd] April 2018 Rule 16(3) of Church Representation Rules 1969 (as amended) was adopted whereby all elected members are elected every year at the APCM. The adoption of Rule 16(3) expires following the APCM in 2023 and will need to be reconsidered at the APCM 2024. Parish representatives to Deanery Synod are elected to serve a continuing 3-year term with the next election in 2023. During 2021 the PCC members were:

PCC Chairman

Fr Stephen Niechcial.

PCC Ex-Officio Members

Mr Anthony Burlace (Vice Chairman and Deanery Synod member) Mr David Ince (Churchwarden).

Mrs Susan Burlace (Deanery Synod Representative)

PCC Elected Members

Mr Bami Cole (Finance Officer), Mrs Claire Davis, Mr. Alex Graham, Mrs Rosemary Hughes, Mrs Theresa Hull ( Treasurer ), Mrs Irene Jones ( Safeguarding Officer ), Mrs Rose Parrington, Mrs Pam Thomas ( Secretary ),

PCC Appointed "Parish Children, Young Persons and other Vulnerable Persons Representative"

Mrs Irene Jones.

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PCC Meetings

The PCC met 6 times: on 18th Jan, 15[th] March ,10[th] May, 12[th] July, 27[th] Sept and 22[nd] . Nov . Additionally, there was a short meeting after the APCM for the election of officers. For reasons of Convenience, the meetings were a mixture of ‘live’ and hybrid. Minutes of PCC meetings are e-mailed to members of the congregation who have agreed to receive them and are displayed in Church.

PCC Committees

The appointment of a Standing Committee is a statutory requirement and the PCC may appoint other committees and subcommittees for the various branches of its work and these may include non-PCC members. In the previous year the PCC had 4 committees as follows which are convened as required

: Standing Committee It has power to transact the business of the PCC between meetings thereof, subject to any directions given by the PCC. Hall Committee Manages the church Hall Social Committee Attends to the Parish’s social activities Fund raising and Building Steering committee Raises funds for and manages new capital and specific project works

Of these only the Standing Committee now remains formally in existence. The functions of the remaining three committees are exercised by ad hoc volunteers as the need arises.

Safeguarding Protection Policy

The Parish adheres to the Diocesan Policy, Procedures and Practice for work with Children, Young People and other Vulnerable Persons in Parishes, which includes DBS checking for all those working with vulnerable people in the Parish, and also has due regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. The PCC recognises that safeguarding is the responsibility of all of us.

Charity Governance Code

The PCC has reviewed the Code and will continue to consider its guidance. In 2022, 4 members of the PCC had served more than 9 years. While the PCC encourages new members to come forward, there were insufficient nominees to fill all vacancies and the 4 long serving members all brought expertise which was needed. The PCC was pleased to welcome 2 new members. The PCC encourages diversity by inviting nominations for election from all members of the congregation and by requiring all PCC members to stand for election each year.

Church Attendance

At 31 December 2022, there were 79 parishioners on the Church Electoral Roll. Attendances during the year remained lower than pre the Covid 19 pandemic. However, all services remained open to a live congregation as well as being live streamed. Attendances remain similar to the previous year at around 30 for 10.30 Sunday Mass. During the year the PCC and our fellow parishioners were delighted to welcome new members into our Church family, while at the same time greatly missing those who left us- mainly through death. It was a particular blessing to receive one new member by adult confirmation.

SECTION 2

Review of the year

As always the Church has relied upon, and has been blessed by the grace of God and the generosity, hard work and goodwill of its people. We have continued to publicise the Church through our website, www.stfrancispw.org.uk , our Facebook page and our Newsletters, all of which give details of all our services, news, information and activities. We also update our entry on ‘A Church Near You’.

The Covid 19 pandemic is generally behind us, but it has left its mark on the local community in terms of remaining anxiety and caution. The church has been open for personal prayer and meditation daily throughout the year and we have streamed our weekday and Sunday services so that people can take part in their homes. Fr. Stephen and our members have

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ensured that others have been kept in touch with and supported. In these and other ways we hope we have been a source of strength and comfort to all.

The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our church and to become part of our parish community. Our usual programme of social and community events revived again, and we managed to host a number of concerts and events, including our usual Summer Fair, Garden Party and Quiz Night. Our Christmas Eve, Christingle Midnight Mass, and usual Christmas Day services were held. The Christingle was up to its pre-pandemic level of attendance for the first time. Our Hall has continued to serve the whole community of Petts Wood as venue for a daily pre-school group and for various social and recreational activities.

Our Holy Week services were held in full in church.

Our monthly Family Services have continued and our Children’s Corner was re-equipped by means of a generous donation.

We continued to be active in Petts Wood Churches Together, including St Francis once again leading an Ecumenical Lent Group, and participating in the Good Friday Walk of Witness. The Bereavement Help Point sited at the Methodist Church has continued to grow and Flourish.

Our St Francis Support Network continues to ensure that friendship and help in times of need is available to all our congregation.

In 2021 the Parish, as part of its outreach and mission to serve those in need, supported several charities, including The Childrens’ Society, St Christopher’s Hospice, St Francis Hospital Katete, Welcare and Orpington Food Bank.

Father Stephen’s Report

After the uncertainties of the previous two years, 2022 has been a return to pre-Covid times as far as worship is concerned. In common with most churches of most denominations, our attendance levels are still about 20% down on 2019.

I celebrate Mass daily. Evensong on Sunday evenings has also continued. Sadly, we suffered losses of long standing and much loved members by death throughout the year. We have had the joy of both an adult Confirmation (Maxine), Infant Baptism numbers were down on 2019, but one wedding postponed from 2020 took place.

In addition to the above-mentioned ‘regular’ events, we did a lot of things in 2022, as if making up for lost time in the previous two years!

A flourishing ‘Bumps and Babies’ group was initiated by Rosemary Hughes. Rosemary was also commissioned as an Anna Chaplain.

We launched and ECO group which, amongst other things, achieved a Bronze Award for our church.

Together with the URC we ran drop-in centres for Ukrainian refugees.

Bromley Boys Choir, Petts Wood Operatic, and other musicians organised by Dave and Sarah Ince gave lovely concerts in church. Sara Skyrme gave monthly organ recitals.

We took a large part in Jubilee Celebrations including the kind donation of wonderful fireworks by one of our members.

Claire Brew took the initiative to get saplings for us for the churchyard, and we enjoyed a community planting session.

Our Mothers’ Union remained a cornerstone of our Parish life, and has been able to begin meeting again. Members have been very active in their support of each other and the Parish as a whole.

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Of particular importance for our Church life was an ‘away day’ meeting of discernment for Church Members which took place at Aylesford Priory and which led to the planning of the Repair Cafe- a major new community engagement project for our Church.

Unlike many churches, we don’t have a paid administrator here, and we remain very indebted to Sue and Tony who compile and print our weekly notice sheets, and to Steve for all the amount of work he does regularly in compiling high quality service booklets for Feasts and Family Services.

Our threshold Sunday Mass figure of 25 minimum to justify the cost of an organist has just about been met consistently. So we have continued to draw on a small pool of good itinerant organists for Sunday Masses with the exception of Family Services. Steve and I felt that retaining recorded music for these would maintain some variety in our musical diet. Peter Sanders very generously continues to play for our regular evening services without charge. Thanks go to our faithful choir who were able to sing again for most of the year, and again to Steve for all the work that goes into preparing music and rehearsing the choir. Our Carol Service took place this year with good attendance..

Our regular study group on Wednesdays took up meeting in person again, and is now Ecumenical with members from The Methodist, URC and Roman Churches in addition to us.

The work and activities of the Parish depend on the hard work and generosity of so many of our congregation. I must give most sincere thanks to all who have helped us to pay for the ongoing costs of the Church (especially so in the light of lost income from the hall during the previous year) and have supported us through giving their time and talents to church activities. We thank them all, including Choir members, Servers, Eucharistic Ministers, Sides Persons, Flower Arrangers, Cleaners, Gardeners, those who have helped with buildings maintenance, finance and administration, and all others who do so much to provide our services to such a high standard and keep the Church and grounds in good condition.

We all owe a debt of thanks to our PCC for carrying out the essential work to manage our church. I remain concerned though about the workload for some. For the past two years I have written, ‘We have had only one Churchwarden for over four years now, and despite some of the work being covered by Tony (which Dave and I are very grateful for), Dave has been combining this with the huge task of managing the church hall. We need and should have two Wardens and I really feel someone should be stepping forward as a second Warden’. Sadly the situation remains the same, and no one else has come forward.

There is a separate financial report from which you will see that at year end 2022 we were in a fairly good financial position thanks to hall income picking up again.. The PCC have begun to discuss ideas for how we might use Alice’s legacy wisely on improvement projects which would be an effective use of her gift and a fitting memorial to her. We have received an estimate to replace our heating system. We also have to factor in though that our organ has been estimated to need repairs in excess of £35K . We have some restricted funds remaining from our West End Project, some of which will be used towards other related additions and improvements at that end of church such as collapsible tables and chairs for Sunday coffee. We raised funds for a community de-fibrilator which has been installed.

I would like to encourage all members to think about the benefit of leaving a small legacy to our church. Our thanks go to Bami and Terri for their highly skilled and professional management of our financial resources.

As always, if you already donate by Standing Order I would urge you if you can possibly afford it, to update the amount annually by at least the rate of inflation which is currently reckoned to be running at over 10% If you currently give cash or envelope donations I would ask you to consider replacing them with a Standing Order, and better still join the Parish Giving Scheme which will update your giving automatically once a year. This would ensure regular income for us when you are not able to attend church, and knowing how much income we can count on weekly or monthly helps our financial planning enormously.

Thanks to Ruth’s work as Website manager, and the items from all who contribute, our website continues to be very comprehensive, attractive and gives a very good message about who we are and what we have to offer. With all your

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contributions, Judith is keeping our Facebook page and quarterly Newsletter lively. We need regular contributions for all of this, so please keep them coming..

Judith and I continue to feel very supported and valued by everyone in our church and we would like to thank you for all your love and prayers over the past year. I personally feel very honoured to be the Vicar of a church which has pulled so well together to show so much love and caring to each other and the community. My ministry here (which was due to end on my 70[th] birthday in July 2023) has been extended for 2 -3 more years.

Fr. Stephen,

Church Warden’s Report

Introduction

Fr Stephen started his ministry at St Francis over five years’ ago (19[th] April 2018) and I know that all of us appreciate his guidance and the pastoral and Christian outreach work which he and Judith undertake not only at St Francis but also within the wider community of Petts Wood, including Petts Wood Churches Together (PWCT). Their focus on, and support for, wider global issues like caring for God’s environment and trying to achieve lower carbon emissions is also well-received. Our Bronze ECO Award is a testimony of this. I am very pleased (and relieved!) to report that Bishop Simon has agreed to the extension of Fr Stephen’s tenure for two years after his 70[th] birthday (2023) and I pray that we may all use this time wisely. Let’s continue to be guided by Fr Stephen and to prepare for 2025! My thanks also go to Fr Bob who not only takes (and preaches at) services but concelebrates with us from Bromley College. His work in helping our pilgrims prepare for the Assisi trip was much appreciated.

While this report summarises the fabric of the church (see below), I must start by giving thanks to all of those who have continued to worship and support each other in the parish. The use of new technology like WhatsApp, Live YouTube, our well-designed website and Facebook channels is critical to the cohesion of our community at St Francis. We have also continued the professional running of the church in terms of our finances, accounting, operations, Hall management, garden/building maintenance, and the “day to day” running of services. All of this doesn’t happen by chance – it is the result of the dedication, commitment and hard work of many individuals. To all of you, who have made this possible, please accept my heartfelt gratitude.

2022 has been a year of many joyful moments: From our wonderful Platinum Jubilee celebrations in early June to the successful Winter Fair. The latter was the first time we used our card payment system to enable visitors to fully support the church without the need of any cash in their pockets! Other notable events were our successful, monthly Film Nights and how we all came together to help and support the Ukrainian refugees by offering the Hall as a drop-in centre. Our Quiz Night in February, as ever, proved very popular as was Fr Stephen’s and Judith’s Garden Party in late August. Our strong music tradition at St Francis has continued under the expert guidance of Steve and, as always, the Easter Triduum and Nine Lessons & Carols highlighted the importance of combining music to our liturgy to produce an enhanced spiritual experience. We also welcomed Petts Wood Operatics Society and Bromley Boy Singers to St Francis in December for some very entertaining and uplifting music performances. This is all part of our fellowship at St Francis. Once again, thank you to all of you who have made this possible and let’s strive to share Jesus’ love with others in Petts Wood.

Work Undertaken

It is clear to everyone who visits St Francis that the building, grounds, vicarage and the Community Hall are all maintained to a very high standard. A substantial amount of work has been undertaken both by external contractors and by parishioners acting in a voluntary capacity. There are too many people to mention by name but I would like to take this opportunity to formally thank all of you who have helped maintain St Francis in such a loving/caring way - I believe that our work here is a lasting legacy to the worshipping community in Petts Wood and one which we can all be proud of.

Please note that there are still outstanding actions regarding the maintenance of the church which will, hopefully, be addressed in 2023:

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organ which was spotted during regular organ maintenance. A claim has been lodged with our insurers and this will be paid to us in 2023. Fortunately, the damage has not stopped the organ form working – clearly, it was built very well! We think that the water ingress occurs very infrequently and is based on strength of rain and wind direction. Despite attempts to shower the roof and walls above the damage, it is not clear where we need to make the repair.

Other maintenance/service work in the Church and Church Hall has been regularly undertaken by qualified contractors e.g. Electrical PIRs (Periodic Inspection Reports); Fire Extinguisher Checks; Gas Safety Checks; Heating System Services; Hall Emergency Lighting; PAT testing. Please note that the technical checks for Asbestos and the Lightning Conductors are undertaken every other year and these have been scheduled for March 2023. A special, and well-deserved, “thank you” to Tony for organising most of this as well as the regular “work ins” which involve parish volunteers clearing the gutters, flat roofs, hoppers, gullies and surrounding gravel channels of debris and vegetation. As before, without our special group of volunteers, the cost of doing much of the work at St Francis would be prohibitively expensive. Please note that contractors were brought in to repair the West-facing guttering on the Hall and to replenish the stones which are part of the drainage system abutting the church (to the North and East sides).

Finally, I am most grateful to Fr Stephen and Judith for helping to insulate the Lady Chapel from drafts coming in from the external door. This has been achieved by re-using some of our old, red curtains and attaching them to a “slider fixing” above the door – a great example of re-use and re-cycle!

Dave Ince

Church Warden

Financial Review

Our financial results in 2022 received a slight boost as we continue to recover from the residual effects of the pandemic. We achieved better than budgeted results, as well as better outturn than last year. Total Income was £102,820 (£87,989) and we spent 85,280 (£80,271), giving a surplus of £17,540.

Planned Giving income was £37,476 (£41,360), although slightly lower than 2021, was more than compensated for by donations, collections and income from functions, which more than made up for the difference. Service collection offering was £5074 (£3848) and total donations amounted £9971 (£3484)

Hall income continued to recover well during the year to £24,879 (£19,104), an increase of 34%. This increase in Hall income of £5,775 played a crucial role towards achieving our overall surplus for the year. Expenditure overall increased by £5,009 compared to 2021, reflecting increased running costs, as the community gained confidence to undertake physical attendance, both at service and other activities as we approached the end of the pandemic.

Our current assets increased by £17540, to £124,366 (£106,826), an increase of 16.4%. Towards the end of the year, the PCC developed a new Planned Giving Scheme, the full effects of which will become clearer during 2023.

Reserves Policy

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Our reserves policy is that our freely available reserve (excluding restricted and endowment funds and restricted funds not currently available) should be between three to six months average expenditure.

At the end of 2022 the freely available reserve was £106133 (£91,148), which is about 2.5 times over the upper end of the current reserve policy requirement.

The Council’s bankers are HSBC, 249, High St, Orpington,BR6 0NR.

The Independent Financial Examiner is Mr. Rodney Bellis, whose report is attached to these accounts.

Approved by the PCC on 16[th] May 2023 and signed on their behalf by Fr Stephen Niechcial

Fr Stephen Niechial Chairman, St Francis PCC.

Annual Accounts 2022

Parochial Church Council of St Francis, Petts Wood

Statement of Financial Activities for the year ending 31December 2022

Unrestricte Restricted Endowmen Total Funds Total Funds Total Funds Total Funds
d t
Funds Funds Funds 2022 2021
INCOMING RESOURCES
Voluntary Income 65711 2500 70211 65778
Activities for generating funds 6145 1155 7300 1353
Income from investments 510 1
510
48
Church activities 26799 24799 20810
TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES 99165 3655 1 102820 87989
RESOURCES EXPENDED
Cost of generation of voluntary 0
income
Church activities and ministry 84180 1100 1
85280
80271
TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED 84180 1100 1 85280 80271
NET INCOMING/OUTGOING
RESOURCES 14985 2555 0 17540 7718
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Balances B/fwd 1 January 2022 99148 12678 3000 114826 107108
Balances c/fwd 31 December 2022 114133 15233 3000
132366
114826

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Balance Sheet at 31 December 2022
2022 2021
£ £
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible 8000 8000
Total 8000 8000
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors and Prepayments 3097 3426
Short term deposits 95172 78063
Cash at Bank and in hand 26097 25337
Total 124366 106826
LIABILITIES
Creditors
Total 0
NET CURRENT ASSETS/LIABILITIES 124366 106826
TOTAL NET ASSETS 132366 114826
PARISH FUNDS
Unrestricted 114133 99148
Restricted 15233 12678
Endowment 3000 3000
Total 132366 114826

These Accounts approved by the Parochial Church Council on 16[th] May 2023

and signed on its behalf by Fr Stephen Niechcial ,PCC Chairman)

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Financial Statements

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The PCC is a public benefit entity within the meaning of FRS102. The financial statements have been prepared under the Charities Act 2011, and in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 governing the individual accounts of PCCs.

Assets

Consecrated and benefice property is not included in the accounts in accordance with s.10(2)(a) and (c) of the Charities Act 2011. Movable church furnishings held by the vicar and churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal are inalienable property, listed in the church's inventory. Items costing less than £1000 are written off when purchased and other items will be depreciated on a straight line basis over four years. The Church Hall is within the church grounds, but the building is owned by the PCC. It is included at historic cost of £8000. Equipment used within the church premises will be depreciated on a straight-line basis over four years. Individual items of equipment with a purchase price of £1,000 or less are written off when the asset is acquired.

Fund accounting

Endowment funds are funds, the capital of which must be retained either permanently or at the PCC's discretion; the income derived from the endowment is to be used either as restricted or unrestricted income funds depending upon the purpose for which the endowment was established in the first place.

Restricted funds comprise (a) income from endowments which is to be expended only on the restricted purposes intended by the donor and (b) revenue donations or grants for a specific PCC activity intended by the donor. Where these funds have unspent balances, interest on their pooled investment is apportioned to the individual funds on an average balance basis.

Unrestricted funds are income funds which are to be spent on the PCC's general purposes.

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2. INCOMING RESOURCES

INCOMING RESOURCES Unrestricted Restricted Endowmen TOTAL TOTAL
t
Funds Funds Funds 2022
2021
Voluntary Income
Planned Giving:
Gift aid donations 37602 39620
37602
Tax recoverable 12780 12780
10545
Other 1740 1740
1740
Collections 3919 1155 5074
3651
Donations,appeals 9471 2000 11471
7829
Tax recoverable 179 500 679
1393
Legacies 19 19
1000
Activities for generating funds
Fairs, raffles, social events 1353
Sponsorship 6145 0000 6145
0
Income from investments 510 510
Bank and Deposit account 48
interest
Income from Church activities
Fees 1920 1920
1706
Church Hall lettings 24879 24879
19104
TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES 99164 3655 102819
87989

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3. RESOURCES EXPENDED Unrestricted Restricted Endowment TOTAL TOTAL
Church Activities Funds Funds Funds 2022 2021
Missionary and charitable
giving
Welcare 550 550 2810
Friends of Rochester Cathedral 20
St Christophers Hospice 150
Childrens Society 300 300 131
Romney House Cats 110 110 0
Last Chance Animal Rescue 0
St Francis Hospital, Katete 200 250 450 150
Orpington Deanery Synod 0
Shelter 300 300 155
Petts Wood Churches Together 60
Sub Total 610 1100 1710 1686
Ministry
Diocesan Parish Offer 44162 44162 42675
Other Ministry costs 2888 2888 4245
Church running and 23454 23454 20274
maintenance
Training 0
Parish Website 660 660 234
Church Grounds upkeep 1320 1320 630
Church Hall running costs 7906 7906 7112
Printing and stationery 3180 3180 3415
TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED 84180 1100 85280 80271
Surplus/deficit 14985 2555 17540 7718

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5. Donations from the PCC

Under the Charity Governance Code for Smaller Charities, and in line with the practice advised by the Diocese, the Parish is advised to disclose the aggregate of the total amount of donations received without conditions from the PCC during the Financial Year. For 2022, the aggregate donations received without conditions from members of the PCC (whilst in office) amounted to £28364 (2021 £20379), an increase of 39%.

6. Debtors. Tax recoverable £2748 (£3194 in 2021)

8. Current liabilities. Nil. (2022 Nil)

9.Funds

The unrestricted funds comprise the General Fund , Hall Fund and designated Church Repair Fund. Some General Fund income from collections and fund raising and donations is restricted for particular purposes. Donations of £2500 (Plus £500 GA) was received towards the setting up of a fund to assist Ukrainian Refuges. A donation of £20 was received towards the Organ Fund, making a total of £2656. The main restricted Fund is the Project Fund, for identified major projects to improve church and hall facilities. The endowment funds are the Lamp Maintenance Fund which is an endowment of £3000 given to pay for the sanctuary lamps.

FUNDS MOVEMENTS General Church Hall Project Lamp Total
Fund Repair Fund Fund Fund
Fund
Balance at 1 January 2022 54728
12917

31504

12678

3000

114826
Incoming resources 72686
1600

24879

3655

1

102820
Resources expended 76274
0

7906

1100

1

85280
Transfer between Funds 0
0

0
Balance at 31 December 51139
14517

48477

15233

3000

132366
2022
Increase/decrease -3588
1600

16973

2555

0

17540
ANALYSIS OF NET
ASSETS BY FUND
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment TOTAL TOTAL
2022
2021
Tangible fixed assets 8000 8000
8000
Current assets 106133
15233

3000

124366
106826
Liabilities 0
0

0
0
0
Total 114133
15233

3000

132366
114826

12

14985

2555

17540

Increase/decrease for year

0

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