Section
Disclosure
Is8£ CC32. Indapèndènl examination of eharlty aCCOUnL8' dlrÉcth)ns and
guidanc& for examiners).
Glve here brief detalls of
any h•mB that th•
examiner wishes to
dlsclos•.
St Paul's
Church
TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORTS & FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
For the year ending 31st December 2024
INCUMBENT
Rev Chris Spfftle The Vicarage Churth Rd Skdm8r8dale
CURATE
Rev Lw Ferguson 6 Wilcove Skelmersdale
BANK
Barclays Bank
INDEPENDE￿ EXAMINER
A¢wunting Clini¢
V￿pOOl Business School
John Moortrs University
Registered Charity No'.1128068
Diocese of Liverpool
12

Administrative InfO￿allOn
CHARITY COMMISSION
FOR ENGLANO ANO WALES
Independent examlner's report on the
accounts
Th8 Parish Church of St Pauls Skelmersdale, Church Road, Skelrnersdale, WN8 8ND.
Official correspondence to Pansh Administrator, Parish Office at Ihe atx)ve add￿ss.
Section A
Independent Examiner's Report
Reporttothe trnate
The Parish Cmrch of St Paul's 8k&lmersda
PCC M8rnbers are..
On a¢¢ount$ forthe year
éthd4d
31￿ De(xmb&r 2024
eharfty no
1128068
Incumbent
Curate
The Revd. Chris Spilde Ichairpersonl
The Revd. Lizzy Ferguson
Sotouton pages
9and10
Church Warden
Mr John Taylor
I reportkn the Iru51ees on rny exaffl1nal1￿ of the accoun15 of the atK)¥8
thariiy I'thè Tr￿gi"> for ihÈ Y&arÉnd￿ 3111212024.
Deanery Symd Reps.
Mrs J Cliff luntil 20261
Mrs J Jolley (until 20261
Mrs S Price lunlil 20261
R•gponslbllltI•9 and
of report
As the charty's tmstees. ￿ are resFA)nsible lor lth preparation of t
t￿OUnt& in acttYdan¢t with lh8 r8quirements Of th8 Charit*S A¢1 2011
I'th& Ad l.
ElÉetÈd Membèrs
r K Skellon lunts"120251
Mrs D Bennett lunb"120261
Mr J Davies (until 20261
Mrs E Kenyon (until 20261
Mrs L Lornas lunlil 20261
Mrs 8 Curry (until 20271
Mrs L Oakley lunlil 20271
I report in respect of my examinabon of th8 TnJ5t"s accounls raFried out
￿￿er SÉthiDn 145 of the2011 Act and In carrying Oui my èxaminatlon. I
have fdlowed all the appliCa￿e DireGtKK%s given by the Charity covnm15￿OTr
U￿eT section 14515llblof the Act.
IndepBndent I havè complÈtèd my èxaminabon. I confim thai no mstèri4 mattèrs have
•X3mlnArfs StaternAnt Gotne lo my attention in conneclioD with the examination which gives me
Cause to beliWè that In. any ma￿n31 respect..
thè accounting rétords wsts kopl in a¢cordancè ￿1th Secti￿ 130
ol the Charit￿5 Act., or
th& accounis did not actsyd the a(muntlng records., or
th¥ acwnt$ did not comply with tho applitsblo rèquiromsnt$
conceffling the lom and conlenl of acGounis sel out In the Charit￿8
IAccounts and Reports) R8guLgthDns 2008 othèr than any requiY6mént
Ihal the acccMJnls give a'lrue and fairf viewwhich is not a matter
considered as part ol an Independent examination.
I havè no cortèrns and havè com& across no mattérs In (xmnèrtlon
w￿h the eXaM￿all￿ lo which allenlK>n Shou￿ be drawn In this report In
oFd8r lo enable a proper understandiw ol th8 aCCDunts to bè lèached.
' PkBs• dèhto Woyth in ths brnckètslffthoydDJ)Dt&pWy.
Treasurer
Mrs J Price
Secretary
Mrs L Lornas
Child Proteelion Officèr
rs A Tawor
Vulnerable Adults Manager Mrs A Ta￿or
Bank
Ind8pendenl ExarniDer
Architect
Barclays
Liverpool BUS1r￿$S School Accounting Clinic.
Mr R Wolley
Signed..
21105125
Day to day management control of the church is exerased by tt)e In(Lmbent ar
Warden, contactable via the Church offi￿ on 01695 716439 orthe Vicarage on 01695
722087.
Nam•'.
Tha ACc￿ntIrng Chnic
R•l•vant prof•$$lorwl
quallfica16onl81 or body
Ilf gnyl..
Address..
No Trustee re￿Ived a payment fr)r being a Trustee. However, during the year ended
31st December 2024 some Trustees re￿iVed expenses and payments for servi￿$
rende￿d in a capaaty outside their role as Tnjstee.
Liverp￿￿ Business sth￿l. Liverwd John Moores Univer5rty. L3 5LJG

Sktlmersdale, SIPaul (Charty Rty.11280681
Re￿[pts and PaymèntslLcount
For th• p8riod from 01 January2024 to 31 Docembor 2024
Structurè Mana
èmant and Govèrnanc•.
St. Paul's Skelmersdale PCC operates under the Parochk81 Church Counol Powers
Measure 1956. It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission The method
ol appointrnent of Ihe PCC members is set out in the Church.
Representation Rules. All Church members are encouraged to register on the
Electoral Roll and stand lor election to the PCC.
91NS*
.51
AO
*ts21￿ 119,31193
16141d
The PCC operates two subcommittees bthen needed..
1.IA67
17
Irr￿trrth
1T8J7
48501
The Standing Committee.. Incumbent, Treasurer, Secretsry, Church Wardens and
three elected mernbers.
TI¥WFts
147
107M48
The Finance Committee,. Incumbent, Treasurer, Secretary, and Church Warden5
plus any member of th& PCC who would like lo attend.
11x67
1A9&74 1￿,£1￿17
IQ7J7U7
11W7
Flnanclal Risk.
The PCC continually revièws the fin8naal position. Alh￿9￿ our financas ar8 a
use for Con￿M, particulady in light Of iising prices, there is no immediat6
financial risk.
7m
2￿1
391 I2￿7.Co)
H•alth and Safè
The PCC is conducting an ongoing review of our Health arKI Safety procedures. Al
formal risk assessments are listed within the PCC'S Risk Register.
11511fj91
7AO.n 11,5*A4 IM712th 211WI
11DW41 WI1￿ 231,71UI
Every yearthe Fire Aami is checked to make sure that it is in g(KJd working order
and the fire extinguishers are also cheeked on an annual basis. A five yeady
Electrical Inspection is undertaken. A survey ol Ihe trees in the churchyard t(KJk
place in 2018.
Chll(l and Vuln•rabl• Adult Protection.
At Sl Paul's the safety and well-being olall people, especially children and vulnerable
adults. is taken seriously. We continue to follow correct procedure and policy so that
all people are recruited lo teams and roles using the official 'Safer Recruitment.
procedures. We are grateful to Mrs Ann Taylor who is our Safeguarding OffI￿r for
her work and for all the people in Sl Paul's who volunteer on our various teams,
groups and PCC. They all have a lim cornrnilment to a safe culture and all Oiscbsure
and Barring Service checks are up lo dale. There were rrf) formal safeguarding
incidents in 2024,
Mr$ Taylor ￿pOrtS that "The Di0¢0so hav8 introdu¢ed a new system for P8ri$h
SÈl8guarding Officers to help thern rn88t Ihe ne¢e55ary requirernents ¢A118d Th8
Dashboard. It is basèd on 3 lèvèls and currÈnUy w8 havé completed most of Lèvèl 1
and have moved to Level 2. The Vicar is able to view the Dashboard and could show
il to the PCC. The PCC members all have an up-to-date DBS and have completed
Safeguarding Training. All volunteers have also completed Safeguarding Training and
where ne￿Ss8ry have a DBS. Safeguarding is discussed at each PCC meeting to
which I send a letter with any new information or con￿mS..
10

SkthKrJitsh. SIPaul(Cha￿Rv￿.l12￿l0j
Ob'8ctlves and Actlvltles.
The PCC IPowersl Measure 1956 states thallhe PCC is lo cooperate with the Minister
in promoting in the Parish the whole miss￿￿ ol the Church, this includes the Pastoral,
Evangelistic, Social, and Ecumènical ministry.
$1•1otwitof*A￿￿￿TrdLWMtt Iby cod•l
at 31 Decenthr￿24
Tol¥
Al Sl. Paul's we have a Mission Stalemenl which confinns our mission lo proclaim the
Gosptsl of our Lord Jesus Christ according lo the doctrines and practices ol the Church
of England, both through the proclamats'on of the word and lo enc￿rage rnembers of
the congregation lo put their laith into acts'on. as we serve Christ in the Parish.
Fix•d￿￿t.
32J
99&
ID1FAQ
IJ)174Q
Tol
4,313.95
4313.95 172&B9
Mls¥lon Staternent
Jesus Says, 'Go and make Disciples., we try lo do this through..
the leaching of the Bible as God's Word lo us in all matters ol faith and moral
btshawour,
allowing GcM¥'s Holy Spirit lo work in us in order lo make us more like Jesus,
• worshipping together." listening lo God,. tslking lo Him," responding lo Him and
encouraging one antslher.
using the diffe￿nI gifts God ha5 given us lo love and serve Him, each other
and the local community.
making Jesus known lo olhtsrs by what we say and what we do.
encouraging and 5UPPOrting children and younger member5 of the Church
family at St. Paul's and Trinity Anglicanlmethodist School and making every
effort lo ensure that we are a'child Friendly. Church.
seeking io work with other Christian5 and by building links with thè world-wide
church.
developing our small group life.
improving our pa51or81 carè.
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160,OUO.OD 1Eo.riJo.riJ
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25WS.15 11.146
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S45n2 39fj0111
707 3JX43
1.171
11324.191 56,711M 11.14&81
116U4.47 71.35&YI
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141
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610.LbJ
811.rij
11.QW.141 216,781AO 1D.$3&86
21&318.42 234.74LBI
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11.QW.141 216,711.&) 1IS3&81
21Q318.41 2M741.BI

Reserv•s Poll
It is PCC policy lo maintain a balance on unrestricted funds lif possible). which equates
to appioxirnately thr88 fflonths unrestrictod payments, to cover 8m8rg8ncy situations
that may arise from time to time.
There has been much to celebrate and give thanks lor in 2024.
The Financial StatÈmènts tan ￿ ft>und on pages g and 10.
In our I￿rshippir0 lrfe we have seen grovrth ar*J attendar￿￿ moving towards pre-
Covid levels.
The Trustees have carried out a ￿lAeW of the Parish's intemal financial controls during
the year.
We can confirm Ihat all fUr￿S designated as reStr￿ted or endowed are correcdy
orded as such and are complete.
Addr85sing our financial ch8118nges has b89n an ongoing priority lor th8 Parish. We
continue to encourage use of the Parish Giving Scheme and contactless gNing using
a card reader. In 2023 printed materials were prOdU￿d, encouraging giving and
explaining ils importance,
We took the decisMJn lo introduce a monthly Infom￿1 Holy communic￿ C￿ the first
Sunday ol the month to offer a mre refiectNe and creative *Drship time. Th¢5 has
been appreciated by those who atteThJ.
E88ler end Chrf$lm88 88Nk•$ wero wdl-8tteThJod. the Chrl$bngl• 8wI¢• wa$
particularly full. A planned Iravelling Natsvty service around lh6 parish had to relocate
to church in the light ol bad weather bul is an inrthatKJn we h)pe to introduce in 2025.
Al Easter we once again offered a Way ofthe Cr05s seNce in Hoty Week. and an all.
age Maundy Thursday servrA with evening rr￿￿1. These newer inrovalions h8ve both
b88n w611 r$ceiv￿. Hok11ng 811-398 sèrvw in Tnnty sch￿1 on a règular basis ha$
led lo irKreased altendances and a numberof newcomers I￿nif¥J us at these services.
Signed . . C B Spittle .
Signed . p￿iCe
The Bright Lights worshipping communty has from slrength lo stsngth and is
now held monthly. 11 is not unusual lor atteThJances to approach 100 children and
8dulls.
Nam6... Chns Sprtuè..............
Position.. Trustee
Name...JunePrice.....................
Position." T￿3$U￿r
The annual menx)rial Serv￿ also drew a large nunts of pgjple to give thanks for
the lives of loved ones.
In June and July we ran the SWE CwTre ffi TIW￿daY moming and evenings
Èxploring Spiritual Gifts IGod's Uniq￿ gift5 to y￿1., Hèart's Désirè (what motsv818$
and exotes you", what you love to dol," Abilrties lyour tslents, knowledge and skillsl.,
Personality lyour character, Fersonal qualth'es aThJ strenglhsl", Experience lyour lrfe
experiences and what you've gained from them).
A good nurnber of churth rnembers attended and valued the ses5ion5. This led on lo
thè Cultivate Course sharad j(xntty l*lween U)è Frt for MissK)n parishès but hosted by
ourselves and St John's, Bursc(MJgh. This explored the planb.ng and growth of new
worship ¢￿￿munitieS through the en¢(￿ragement ol fresh ￿anting, the development
ol lay leaders, and the grovAh of miss￿31 disopleship. A number of church members
attended this course.

Considerable b.me was given in 2024 to Fil for Mission. Orrnskirk Deanery was in the
second cohort within Liverpwl DI0￿Se to diwm whether to engage with this
process of 5 Programme Actions,. 1 } Planting & Revitalising through Cultivate and
Leading your Church into Growth, 21 Working lo our strengths in18rger teams and
portfolios 31 High-quality support and clear lines of accounla-bilily 41 Having the right
buildings lo support future mission 51 Larger parishes with high-quality suprx)rt
services and simpler administration.
We have continued lo be blessed in the area of Vocations 8nd Ministry. This has been
a significant movement of thè Spirit 81 Sl Paul's in recent years. Rev Lizzy Fergu50n
has ¢ontinued her cura¢y at St Paul's, and we have been blessed by her ministry and
a number of innovaknons she has intrThluced to church life. During the year she led on
the creation of a pastoral visiting team as we recognise this as a key area for
development. Lizzy's curacy will come lo an end in 2025.
We have been blessed by Lizzy, Jon and Aoife being a part of the Sl Paul's family and
we shared Iheirjoy al the a￿1Val of Simeon al the end of 2023.
As part of this discemm8nt process clergy, churchwardens, treasurers 8ThJ
safeguarding officers mel together and valued the collegiality that has been fosltrred.
Some Parish Snapshot evenings also allowed us lo reflect on our church lif8 aTrJ
consider vision and plans for the future.
Paul Davies has Continued his ordination training and placement at Sl Paul's. He will
be ordained in 2025.
A number of church members attended th8 licensing of Rev Sandra Jones as Hub
Leader in Wigan South HLJb.
A third SPA weekend was held al Quinta in shropshi￿. We were hugely blessed by
our speaker Mark Greenwood. A booking has been made for 2025 and we are looking
fO￿ard lo Greg Downes joining us as our speaker. The men also enjoyed another
excellent weekend 8w8y al Knock Christian Centre and were pleased lo welcome Rev
Canon David 8anbury as our speaker.
We greatly valuè our partnership with Trinity OUT churth school, and that partnership
has continued lo grow and bear fruit. In 2024 Helen Winslanley our Deputy Head
teacher was appointed to the Head's role, and Matthew Fairhurst to the Deputy
Headship. An increasing amount ol St Paul's members are involved in ministry lo the
school and that Helen is a rnember of the Sl Paul's congregat￿n brings significant
blessing and opportunities for ministry in an¢J with the schcK)l.
We identified greater involvement in our community as an obje¢lwe for 2024, and
achieved this (among other waysl through the ongoing work of the Renew wellbeing
café now running on two days a week and the chaplaincy in the Concourse shopping
centre under the leade￿hIp of Paul D8VleS.
We were pleased to run Experience Easter and welcome four local schools (Trinity,
Crow Orchard, Kingsbury and Sl Edmundsl lo explore the true meaning of Easter.
The chaplaincy team is growng and involves rnembers from other local churches. This
in turn led to an approach from West Lancs College for Chaplain¢y there and in the
aulumn Paul Davies look on that role. Right from the stsrt this ministry has been
appreciated by staff and students alike. How this continues and develops is one of our
considerations fof 2025.
The PCC would like to thank everyone who has worked through this year to make our
Church a lively, loving and welcoming worshipping community.
isnow 119.
Church Bulldln
Mr. Ken Skellon continues lo work as "Building Managerf. He has organised minor
work that needed lo be (3rried out on the church building. There is an ongoing
programme to improve the chLJrch fabric. Important checks such as the electn'cs, boiler
and fire appliances are all up lo dale.
St Paul's has also becorn8 a hub for FUSS, offering free second-hand school uniform
for local schools.
Communion is taken into local Nursing Homes, and the monthly service al Stocks Hall
in particular has drawn logtrlher not only residents bul Iheii families lor much
appreciated times of worship.
A Quinquennial Inspe¢tion of the Church took pla¢e in 2023, which although broadly
positive, raised some concerns about the roof and perimeter walls. Remedial work
was undertaken on the roof during the year.
In November we installed a new kitchen in the Vestry kindly donated by Howdens. We
hope that this will allow further use of the building by both church and commLJnity
groups.