Rectors Report for 2022
This is my fourth APCM report as Rector. 2022 was a year of losses as across the benefice as a number of longstanding church members died -
Our vision continues to focus on how we are “Christ centred and Jesus shaped” for our communities, that offer a simpler, humbler, bolder church to meet the needs of those we serve in our parishes. The 3 focus strands, which sit alongside the 5 Marks of Mission, are:
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a church of missionary disciples : through prayer, worship and scripture
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a church where mixed ecology is the norm : through parish, chaplaincy, Fresh Expressions, digital and church planting
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a younger and more diverse church : multigenerational, all age and looking like the community we serve
As I hope you will read in this report there is much to celebrate that is happening within our churches and in supporting our wider communities. We still face challenges, but it feels like 2022 was positive and we should all be encouraged by that.
Clergy
As you know at the end of May Revd Lulu retired and took a 6 month break from the benefice. The impact of Lulu’s retirement has been felt by many of us across the benefice. In June we invited Bishop Donald to speak and be a part of a service celebrating ministry along with Lulu we thanked Revd Arthur and Mary Blanchard for their many years ministry in the benefice.
In January 2023 Lulu asked for her Permission to Officiate (PTO) to be within the benefice which I duly agreed. Her role will be significantly different to what it was previously, she has offered one service a month and to help out with occasional offices (especially funerals).
During the summer of 2022 a small benefice wide group began the process of job description and benefice profile to advertise for a House for Duty Assistant Priest. These documents were agreed by PCCs towards the end of 2022 and went to advert early 2023.
Revd Angela has continued to bless the benefice with her preaching and teaching in this her third year of four as our curate. During the latter part of 2022 she co-led, with Claire Reetz, Happiness Club which was an afternoon school group at Greens Norton. Feedback from parents and children included how much they appreciated it and asking what might be next. A reminder that Angela’s role is House for Duty that means she doesn’t receive a stipend but is given a church house to live in. For this she offers to be available 3 days plus Sundays, her normal working pattern is Sunday to Wednesday, with some Saturdays in order to take appointments and lead services at Easton Neston.
My role as Rector continues to include ‘things they never taught you in theological college’. As I said in last year’s report, there is a considerable number of administrative duties which go with 5 churches, often meaning I take the lead to deal with new benefice issues or crisis – of which there continue to have been many. The place of prayer, pastoral care, preaching and teaching need my equal amounts of my time and attention.
Lay Minister and Officers
The Ministry Team consists of clergy, licensed lay ministers and our Children and Families Worker. We continue to meet monthly and had two Away Days during the year.
John Booth and Chris Hammett regularly lead worship and preach both in church and on zoom. Mary Blanchard retired from her role as Pastoral Minister and we miss her coordination of our pastoral visitors. Due to unforeseen circumstances Dawn Valentine’s re-licencing as our Parish Evangelist didn’t take place, however I am pleased to say that in March 2023 she has been relicensed to her role. Jane Small had a successful surgery on her hip and is back visiting people in their homes, taking home communion and as chaplain to the diocese licenced lay ministry course. Claire Reetz is coming to the end of her CMS (Church Missionary Society) training and was licensed as a Lay Minister in September. Claire regularly leads Family Worship working alongside both lay and ordained leaders. She works closely with our church schools and has been recognised nationally for her work with under 5s. Jane Jakes was licensed as a lay minster in September and is now in her final year as a Lay Reader. She has been working alongside Chris and John learning to lead BCP services and on zoom.
Towards the end of 2022 the Benefice Office saw significant changes, with Louisa stepping down from her Admin Assistant role in July and Rona Cambray retiring from the Office Manager role at the end of the year after 16 years. After completing the advertising and interview process, we appointed Sara Corsini and Michelle Cocker to Admin Assistant Roles and changed the opening times of the office to 9:30am-1pm Monday to Friday. A special thank you to them all as the front face of the churches who handle enquiries, administration, and printing across the benefice.
The churchwardens in 4 parishes continued to serve for 2022. I am immensely grateful to those who undertake this responsibility, and those who enable the day to day running of our churches including those serving on the PCCs, some in more visible ways and others more hidden but no less vital. With fewer people coming forward to volunteer for roles our Churchwardens have picked up a lot of things that other used to do or covering for sickness. This is particularly so in Greens Norton where Paula and Ann have covered the sacristan role (setting up for communion services) and preparing the reading, sides-person and intercessions rotas. Rather than people grumbling that something is not right or not been done please can I ask across our churches that I hear you saying “good morning [churchwarden] how may I help you today?”
At last year’s APCM Jonathan Garton stepped down as treasurer for St Mary’s and were grateful to Michael Alcock who agreed to stand for treasurer there. Teresa Exell announced that she would be standing down as secretary for St Bartholomew’s at the end of 2022. To date we have not been able to permanently fill that role, although Roberta Woolridge-Smith has offered to take minutes at meetings, for which I am grateful. Early 2023 Donna McCarthy announced with immediate affect her wish to step down as treasurer for St Bartholomew’s, a role Chris Hammett has offered to step into for an interim period. Chris as well as being our lay reader is also trustee and treasurer for Renew169 and treasurer for diocesan lay readers.
Worship
Our regular worship pattern has settled into one that offers both in church and online worship. Sunday worship includes communion, informal and lay led services for which we are heavily reliant on our lay readers John Booth and Chris Hammett as well our Reader in training Jane Jakes. We continue to offer service from Common Worship (in both traditional and modern language) as well as Book of Common Prayer Communion and Evening Prayer. During this year Revd Angela and Chris Hammett have started the seasonal addition of Night Prayer (Compline) via zoom during Advent and Lent.
Some of our Sunday morning congregation sizes have still not returned to pre-COVID levels and there are a number of reasons for this including deaths, people moving away and people is worship habits changing. We have seen a return to pre-COVID levels at our Family Worship in both Greens Norton and Towcester, which is down to the work that goes into our relationships with our baptism families and our church schools. We also have a lovely and
regular zoom congregation, there is a good core number in the teens and others who dip in and out depending on where they are and what they are doing. The worship and fellowship of this group offers should not be underestimated.
What has been a delight to see this year is people who are willing to travel to other churches if there is not a preferred service in their church on a particular Sunday. Rather than thinking ‘no church this Sunday’, I want to encourage you to consider travelling to another church in the benefice or joining via zoom.
As I mentioned in last years report outside of Sunday worship there is a considerable amount of other leading worship that takes place. As you will see from the occasional office figures we continue to take a large number of baptisms, weddings and funerals each year. This not only provides income to the parishes, which in turn helps us pay our parish share, but also generates pastoral opportunities. I am grateful to the small and dedicated team of volunteers who act as welcomers at these services. This role is sometimes called verging or sides-person and is essentially preparing the church, welcoming visitors and assisting the clergy person as is necessary. If you think you can help with this please speak with the office, Revd Paula or Revd Angela.
Alongside occasional offices there is also our leading worship / assemblies in all four primary schools, both in school and in church. Again, these are a great opportunity to welcome parents and carers into church to share with them the gospel. Claire also works with small groups of children in our church schools encouraging them to explore spirituality for themselves.
During 2022 we built upon our work with Family Worship. As already mentioned, we have seen the numbers attending these service return to pre-COVID which is encouraging. As a newly formed team we have been learning to work together with one another’s different styles and approaches. In December, we meet and identified five areas of priority during the first part of 2023 we are focusing on the first two:
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God Centred
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Process
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Engaging Participation 4. Pathways 5. Wider Community
September saw the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and so the protocol Operation London Bridge was put in place. Within a few hours of the announcement, I was meeting with our Churchwardens and we began to put in place the process for our churches to be open with Books of Condolence, when and how Bells would be rung, adapted planned services for during the period of morning, organised plans for Civic services in both Greens Norton and Towcester. I am very grateful to everyone who stepped up and helped make this process as smooth as possible.
Remembrance Season started with All Saints and All Souls services; thank are extended to Revd Lulu and Chris Hammett stepped in to lead these. Remembrance Sunday saw the return to larger congregations and more uniformed groups. Although it was noticeable the fewer World War II veterans there were a number of young veterans within our congregations. We provided an outside PA in Towcester which again meant passing people stopped, listened and took part.
Christmas on the whole also saw the return of larger congregations. The benefice choir came together for both Advent and Christmas Carol services, thanks to all involved in preparing music and readings. Christingle and Crib Services were well attended – especially Christmas Day at Greens Norton which the previous year was very small. In addition to our church schools, Nicholas Hawksmoor, for the first time in a number of years, held a service at St Lawrence for Christmas and Sponne School Year 7 service also returned to St Lawrence. Churches Together Carols in the Square was on a very cold night, whilst not a massive gathering, there was a good number and the atmosphere was positive and cheerful.
Learning and Prayer
Throughout the year John Booth has led a Bible Study group which during the year moved from virtual to ‘in person’ at the Chantry House.
Morning Prayer is still said via zoom Monday to Saturday at 9am (except the first Tuesday of the month when there is a 9am communion service at St Lawrence followed by Ministry Team meeting). Despite the death of two members this past year, the Greens Norton Wednesday Prayer Group still meets at 3:30pm in church and is always willing to welcome new people.
During Lent, along with Churches Together we offered 3 in person groups (lead by John, Revd Lulu and Angela) looking at the Book of Ruth. In September we offered an Explorers course through the Bible Society call The Bible Series (lead by Revd Paula and Jane Jakes). The offshoot of this group in Lent 2023 is a confirmation course. In Advent we offered 3 discussion groups (lead by John, Revd Angela & Revd Paula) where we followed Stephen Cotterill’s book Walking Backwards to Christmas. This received mixed reviews; some people enjoyed the fictional narratives while others felt it took us too far away from the biblical text. This means that when we look at courses for 2023 we will be careful to make sure we balance the material we use in order to meet the needs of both groups.
Occasional Offices
During 2022 the clergy and lay ministers officiated at 41 baptisms, 5 weddings, and 41 funerals. Compared to 2021: 19 baptisms, 14 weddings, and 40 funerals 2020: 7 baptisms, 2 weddings, 33 funerals; and 2019: 31 baptisms, 12 weddings, 23 funerals.
Pastoral Care
Much of this work goes unnoticed, and rightly so, but should not be unaccounted for. This should not be something that just the clergy do, but something that we all share in. I am grateful to those who do keep in regular contact with one another that is a real blessing. The clergy are not in the same church week after week so please if you see someone has not been for a few weeks or you hear that they are unwell please mention it to a member of the ministry team who will pass that information on to myself or Revd Angela.
During 2022 we continued to take services in our local residential and nursing homes. On a monthly basis we visit Brook House, Ridgway House, The Lakes and Duncote Hall. Unfortunately, we stopped visiting Leeson Court as no one was turning up to services.
Coffee mornings are an important extension of our outreach and ministry beyond Sunday mornings. A big thank you to those who support these.
Buildings
Quinquennial works in Easton Neston are now complete. Bradden has moved on to the next level of priority. Towcester has completed its roof repairs and now move on to look at stonework. Greens Norton has not made as much progress as they would have liked due to churchyard wall collapses and these becoming more urgent. In January a section of boundary wall collapsed on the Falcon Manor drive. This was caused by three trees in the churchyard, which were subsequently removed (following required planning and DAC permissions). The wall subsequently has been repaired. The other two collapsed wall sections (which occurred January 2021) were still
unresolved at the end of 2022. However early 2023, a meeting was held between both parties and the following joint statement is being released.
The Greens Norton Community will be aware that in early 2021 two sections of the boundary wall between St Bartholomew’s Church and Falcon Manor collapsed. We know that many have been disappointed at the seemingly lack of progress in a repair, much has gone on behind the scenes in the last two year to seek resolve the matter. This joint statement on behalf the PCC of St Bartholomew’s Church and neighbouring property owners wish to advise the community jointly we have reached an agreed resolution in terms of repairs to the existing collapsed sections and the ongoing responsibility for the boundary.
The Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) feasibility study was completed in the summer. As well as recommending alternative heating sources (like air source heat pumps and solar panels) suggests included blankets and using curtains. All churches now have a supply of blankets and those that have door curtains are using them to retain the heat as we have all experience significant rises in energy costs. Carbon Zero by 2030 is on the diocese agenda as well who are looking at how we might go some way in achieving this through grants etc. The benefice subcommittee plan to meet in 2023 to move the feasibility study forward to the next stage and start producing some firm suggestions.
Charitable giving
One of the questions that was raised at APCMs last year was support of other charities and how that seems to have fallen by the way side during COVID and the financial challenges we have been facing. Therefore, I have added this section from last years report so that we can name some of the charities we have supported this year. Whilst this section says a lot about the collection type stewardship undertaken, let us not forget the many members of our benefice who give freely of their time – thank you to each and everyone of them.
In 2022 a huge amount of fundraising was undertaken on behalf of the Ukraine War and it all started with the church offering to be the overflow of aid that was being collected by a nail bar in Towcester. Whilst this has been Towcester centric every parish in the benefice has been involved. The initial collection saw 26 ton of clothing, shoes, food, batteries, torches, and sleeping bags being sent. As Ukrainian families began arriving in Towcester and the surrounding area, we organised two events for hosts and guests to meet one another. One sentence really doesn’t sum up the importance of these events. There were tears and laughter. Children were playing together and enjoying being children, some of whom had seen the horrors of war. The first of these events promoted the Renew Café to set up a Monday morning drop in for Ukrainian as well as seek funding for a professional help with trauma and to provide English lessons. As we got to know local Ukrainian families links were developed that meant we were able to target the aid requests to more specific items. Towards the end of 2022 the first of 3 trips successfully made it to Lviv. Unfortunately, the next two vehicles broke down and so began the difficulty of getting them back, but thanks to member of our wider community and a haulage firm from Northampton these where recovered and further successful trips have taken place in 2023.
In addition to Ukraine, we have continued to support Royal British Legion through our Remembrance Sunday collection, the Children Society with Christingle Service collections. We signposted people to local collection points for Syria / Turkey earthquake or to Christian Charity financial donation appeals. This year over 70 meals were delivered across the benefice at Christmas to people who would otherwise be on their own at Christmas. We continue to provide collection points for the Foodbank and having moved the one in St Lawrence church to a more visible place this has made a huge difference. Churches Together Carols in the Square collection supported the Towcester Foodbank and Caritas International.
After many years of supporting Operation Christmas Child the Greens Norton PCC decided to stop supporting them. Instead we supported Baby Basics in Northampton and invited team members to speak to us about their work with in providing items Moses baskets filled with essential items for new born babies and their mothers.
Mental Wellbeing has been identified by PCCs as an area for focus, within the Chantry House we have hosted for many years ‘Time 2 Talk’. This is a youth counselling service and having increased their sessions from one to three during 2022 have, in early 2023, have set up a wellbeing drop in café. Additionally in the coming months we have Renew Café coming to speak at Greens Norton and Towcester about the work that they do and how churches and individuals might support them. We are also in conversation with the perinatal team at NGH to see if we can support the work they do,
For many years, Friday Coffee Mornings in Towcester have supported the Dehli Brotherhood’s work with children on the street and this continues with 50% of taking going towards this vital ministry
Finances
2022 proved no less challenging that 2021. As you will see from the accounts, significant fundraising, for the main two churches, is now not the icing on the cake but essential to helping us make ends meet. Moving from the financial impact of COVID into an energy crisis, due in part to the war in Ukraine, really has stretched us. With the addition of some one-off donations, we did manage to end the year more positively than predicted.
With so many deaths from our church communities in 2022 we are likely to see an impact on our regular income in 2023. The need for a constant stewardship drive is ever present, not forgetting the time and talents people already give to the running of our churches. I feel we all need to be more awakened to the yearly shortfalls that now regularly need to be bridged. We also need to be much more strategic about how we make best use of the assets we have, or not, as the business case may lead. We likewise need to educate people better about how our finances work and how we are funded.
Social and Outreach
As noted above fundraising is an important part of us making ends meet. Each church undertook events based on their own capacity. Bradden were unable to hold their Lent or Harvest Lunches due to broken heating in the Reading Rooms / Village Hall, but they have every intention to restart these. The heating challenges at the Village Hall meant that the WI asked to use the church on occasions in order for them to meet socially distanced. Easton Neston, following the cleaning and repair of their stain glass window, had an open day event which attract a number of people who had never been there before. Greens Norton worked closely with Friends of Greens Norton School (FROGS) to organise the school and church fete a significant fundraiser for both groups. Thanks to Sorrel and James for hosting this event at Bengal Manor. A small group of PCC and church members organised a Harvest Supper at the community centre to which the Greens Norton Community Choir provided entertainment.
Towcester Social Committee organised on a good number of events from smaller event like Whirly Gigs to larger scale events like the reenergised fete, which goes from strength to strength. The fete included a peal in memory of James Atwell and performances from children from Towcester Primary School and TC Dance. Towcester also held its second Christmas Tree festival with over 30 decorated trees on display for 4 days.
Looking forward
I continue to be hopeful for 2023. Whilst what we see or perceive on Sunday morning as dwindling congregations this does not really show the true and full nature of the life across our benefice. As this report shows there is so much more mission, ministry and outreach that is taking place. We see glimpse of God at work in the most surprising of place if we just take time to look. Yes, we continue to struggle for volunteers and struggle to fill legally required roles on PCCs, but we are seeing encouraging signs of congregations returning. We are seeing people asking questions about faith and joining us for worship. We are seeing church members supporting the life of our churches, our communities and much wider afield, with their time and their talents. Even on those days when it feels like it’s a uphill struggle, God is good. One thing I would ask is that every time we feel aggrieved something has not been done as we would want it done or in a manner we expect it to be done, that we stop and consider what else might that person be dealing with today. If we each considered what we might do to help rather than hinder, that would make for a happier ministry for us all.
Finally, I would like to say thank you to the Ministry Team, Benefice Office staff, Churchwardens and PCC members for the care and support they continue to show me. I continue to be excited about the future and believe that God does indeed have a plan for the churches and communities of the Tove Benefice.
Towcester St Lawrence PCC
Financial Report
For
Financial Year ending 31[st] December 2022
Towcester St Lawrence PCC
Statements of Financial Activity from 1st January to 31st December 2022
This page sets out the summary accounts for each of the types of fund for which the PCC's Trustees are responsible.
The following pages break down these totals into more detail followed by the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, reconciliations and, finally, the report of the Independent Examiner.
Type of Funds:
General Fund or Unrestricted fund can be used for any purpose budgeted for and agreed by the PCC. Designated Funds are also unrestricted but allocated to purposes decided only by the PCC. Restricted Funds are those that may only be spent for the purposes for which money has been given.
| Note | Link | Budget | 2021 | Flag | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Fund | ||||||||
| £ | £ | £ | ||||||
| Receipts | ||||||||
| Donations and Grants | 1 | 86450.79 | 78885.00 | 85641.99 | ||||
| Activities for Generating Income | 2 | 10420.07 | 9850.00 | 6995.52 | ||||
| Church Activities | 3 | 3533.00 | 4250.00 | 4139.00 | ||||
| Other | 5799.00 | 6272.00 | 6272.00 | |||||
| Interest | 3.06 | 0.15 | 0.20 | |||||
| Total Receipts | 106205.92 | 99257.15 | 103048.71 | |||||
| Payments | ||||||||
| Parish Share | 4 | (63265.00) | (63265.00) | (63264.96) | ||||
| Church Activities - fees & expenses | (4755.09) | (3650.00) | (2360.43) | |||||
| Cost of Fund Raising | (102.05) | (170.00) | (160.73) | |||||
| Property Costs - Church | 5 | (10677.93) | (16200.00) | (10675.00) | ||||
| Administration | 6 | (23964.24) | (25215.00) | (24384.61) | ||||
| Other including Donations | (20.20) | (500.00) | (375.48) | |||||
| Total Payments | (102784.51) | **(109000.00) ** | (101221.21) | |||||
| Surplus/(Deficit) | 3421.41 | A | (9742.85) | 1827.50 | ||||
| Designated Fund - Chantry | Committee | |||||||
| Receipts | ||||||||
| Chantry House | 7 | 3729.30 | 1950.15 | 2270.01 | ||||
| 42 St Lawrence Road South | 10750.00 | 10750.00 | 10635 | |||||
| Total Receipts - Chantry Committee | 14479.30 | 12700.15 | 12905.01 | |||||
| Payments | ||||||||
| Chantry House | (6501.91) | (7531.54) | (6760.62) | |||||
| 42 St Lawrence Road South | (3707.80) | (1920.00) | (1512.00) | |||||
| Total Payments - Chantry Committee | (10209.71) | (9451.54) | (8272.62) | |||||
| Surplus/(Deficit) | 4269.59 | B | 3248.61 | 4632.39 | ||||
| Contribution to PCC Reserves | 7691.00 | |||||||
| Restricted Funds | ||||||||
| Christmas Lunch - Isolation Fund | 1725.31 | 1675.38 | ||||||
| St Lawrence "Little Sprouts" | 469.33 | 712.93 | ||||||
| Fabric Fund | 7632.13 | 7632.13 | ||||||
| Chantry Refurbishment Section 106 | 8 | 30000.00 | 0.00 | |||||
| Ringers Bell Maintenance | 2653.22 | 3768.07 | ||||||
| Total Restricted | 42479.99 | C | 13788.51 | |||||
| Increase in Restricted Funds | 28691.48 |
Page 1
Towcester St Lawrence PCC Notes to the Accounts
This page gives more detail of the summary totals shown on the previous page.
| Note 1 Giving: Planned Giving Tax Recovered Hicks Charity Combined Charity Collections Donations Total Note 2 Fund raising has, again, been v of clothes, Christmas events an Vicarage Summer Fete Grand Draw Concerts |
£ 36329.03 10737.09 26385.00 3001.18 1049.60 8948.89 |
|---|---|
| 86450.79 | |
| ery successful. d a garage sal £ 3561.08 2885.56 1064.97 |
Fund raising has, again, been very successful. There has been a range of activites including the collection of clothes, Christmas events and a garage sale. The highest three sources of receipts were:
Note 3
Church Activites shows the receipts from weddings and funerals.
Note 4
Paying Parish Share is the priority for the PCC Trustees. For 2022, it was paid in full and on time.
Note 5
Although payments are under budget, the true impact of energy price increases will be felt next year. Steps have been taken to reduce the financial impact, including recharging the cost of heating the Church, moving "Little Sprouts" into the Chantry and adjusting the timing of the boiler's use for Church Services. An Energy Grant of £750 has also been received from the Diocese.
The contract for gas, renewed on 1st April 2022, reflected an increase of almost 900% before the Government discount scheme. This is the reason for flagging up this item as amber as the cost of gas use for heating the Church will be significant for the foreseeable future.
Combined Charities met the full cost of the Church's Insurance premium of £3001.08.
Note 6
Administration:
| Salaries Printing & Stationery Telephone & Broadband Website Other costs Total |
£ (15667.55) (5821.59) (1947.10) (456.00) (72.00) |
|---|---|
| (23964.24) |
Note 7
Room hire receipts for the Chantry have increased throughout the year and are almost 100% over budget. The budget for 2022 was set at the hire receipts for 2021 at £1750, with actual income being £3446. The increase reflects both the moving on after COVID impacts and and the attractiveness of the venue and rates for hire.
Note 8
A grant of £30,000 has been received from West Northamptonshire Council to meet the costs of an agreed programme of work. This grant is funded by housing developers and forms a condition of the Planning consent. It is flagged as amber as the advance cannot be used to pay for VAT, leaving the PCC with a potential funding gap of £6000, which will have to be met from reserves.
Page 2
Towcester St Lawrence PCC
Reconciliation and Reserves Policy
| The table below shows that the accounts have been Note Restricted Funds Designated Funds Chantry Committee Surplus Payment - electric repair 9 Payment - electric repair 9 General Fund Free Reserves Total movement in Account Balances Bank Balances St Lawrence Lloyds Bank a/c Bellringers HSBC Bank a/c Cash St Lawrence CCLA Chantry Committee COIF Chantry Committee HSBC Total |
reconciled with the bank and other fina Balance b/f Balance c/f Link £ £ 13788.51 42479.99 C 9026.85 4269.59 B (407.39) (1667.00) 11222.05 26866.23 30287.64 A 49681.59 83989.68 38916.06 81326.01 3768.07 2653.22 334.37 10.45 365.02 0.00 385.98 0.00 5912.09 0.00 49681.59 83989.68 D |
ncial statements. Movement £ 28691.48 2195.20 3421.41 34308.09 42409.95 (1114.85) (323.92) (365.02) (385.98) (5912.09) 34308.09 |
|---|---|---|
Note 9
During the year, PCC approved the use of Designated Funds to meet the cost of electrical repairs at the Church and the Chantry. These repairs followed a Risk Assessment by the Insurers; failure to complete the work could have resulted in the Insurance Policy being lapsed.
----- Start of picture text -----
The Chart below shows the level of available Reserves compared with the PCC approved Policy.
----- End of picture text -----
----- Start of picture text -----
Reserves
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
Reserve Policy Minimum PCC Funds
The Policy, which is in line with Charities Commission guidance, states that the PCC should hold a minimum level of
reserves equivlent to 3 months of operating costs.
Opening balance JanuaryFebruary March April May June July AugustSeptember OctoberNovemberDecember
----- End of picture text -----
The line will continue to track down until the contribition to Parish Share is received, subject to the Trustees of Richard Hicks Charity agreement and the achievement of the Charity's investment returns. Holding sufficient reserves is important to enable unexpected costs to be absorbed and to meet the stresses to the PCC's finances from things like COVID and significant increases in energy costs.
Page 3
Towcester St Lawrence PCC
Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31st December 2022
| Note Cash Funds Total from bank statements 10 less balance held for Wildlife Trust plus credit note Total cash funds Investment Assets 42 St Lawrence Road South 11 Shares in Traidcraft 12 Total investment assets Assets retained for Church use The Chantry 13 |
31/12/2022 £ 83989.68 (550.00) 19.25 83458.93 23000.00 1.00 23001.00 60000.00 |
31/12/2021 Link £ 49681.59 D (550.00) 19.25 49150.84 23000.00 532.50 23532.50 60000.00 |
|---|---|---|
Note 10
This line is taken from the figures shown in the reconcilation at link D. Figures for 2021 are taken directly from the accounts. For several years, the PCC has held £550 in the bank account for the Wildlife Trust; falling outside the remit of the PCC it needs to be excluded.
An historical credit note for gas supply to the Chantry remains unused.
Note 11
In line with accounting regulations and the Charities Act, 42 St Lawrence Road South is shown as an Investment Asset and is stated at the cost of acquisition.
Note 12
These shares were purchased in 2011. Following difficult trading conditions, the business has been restructured. While it is still recognised as a going concern, trading in shares has ceased. In effect, the share holding has no value but is shown in the accounts at £1 to recognise their existence.
Note 13
The Chantry was bequethed in a Will dated December 1982. In 1985, proposals were agreed to convert the house into a Church centre to accommodate the office and a community meeting place. The asset is shown at the best estimate of the value at the time the gift (bequest) was made.
The above Statements of Financial Activity have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 using a Receipts and Payments basis and in compliance with the Charities Act 2011.
Peter Morris Treasurer Towcester, St Lawrence PCC
5th January 2023
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CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl rnembers of The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Lawrence, Towcester On accounts for the year ended 31st December 2022 Charity no {if any) 1130077 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity {'the Trust") for the year ended Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance wilh the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act.). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515llbl of the Act. Independent I examiner's statement Delete I l if not applicable. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination louw d98@. which gives me cause to be5ieve that in, any material respect.. the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act, or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records,. or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair, view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have Gome across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Pleas elete t words in the brackets if they do not apply. Slgned: Date: 16th January 2023 Name: Brian ning IER Oct 2018