## The Parochial Church Council of Cheltenham St Paul
Annual Report and Accounts Year ended 31 December 2020
## Trustees Report
1
## **Administrative information**
St. Paul’s Church is situated in St. Paul’s, Cheltenham. It is part of the Diocese of Gloucester within the Church of England. The correspondence address is St Paul’s Old School, St Paul’s Rd, Cheltenham GL50 4EZ.
The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a registered charity with charity number 1130330.
**PCC members who have served from 1[st] January 2020 until the date this report was approved are:**
|**oved are:**|||
|---|---|---|
|**Incumbent**|Rev R Widdecombe|Chairman|
|**Wardens**|Mr B Booth|Vice Chairman|
||Mr J Platt|From Apr 2019|
|**Elected Members**|Mrs C Sandys|To July 2020|
||Miss H Skerratt|To Oct 2020|
||Mr M Constance||
||Mr N Denniss||
||Miss S Hillman||
||Mr M Hirst||
||Mr A Jenkins||
||Mr C Meredith|Treasurer|
||Mr S Russell||
||Mr D Chatfeld|From Oct 2020|
||Mrs L Constant-Ford|From Oct 2020|
|**Co-opted Member**|Mrs J Fellows||
## **Structure, governance and management**
The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.
## **Objectives and Activities**
St. Paul’s Cheltenham PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent, Roger Widdecombe, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has maintenance responsibilities for St. Paul’s Church and associated property.
2
## A **chievements and Performance**
## **Church attendance**
There are 114 people on the Church Electoral Roll; this number is 4 more than last year. There were thirteen PCC members throughout the year. The average weekly attendances, counted during October, were 87 adults and 46 children, but these numbers increased significantly on special occasions such as the Christmas services. It is also worth noting the effect of the pandemic on physical attendance.
## **Review of the Year 2020**
2020 was one of the most unexpected years in recent history, due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, the subsequent social restrictions put in place and even ‘lockdowns’ where we, along with the rest of the country, were required to stay at home. The unforeseen nature of this health crisis meant that 2020 became a year of constant adaptation for our church community and activities. Maintaining a sense of ‘community’ and pastoral care became the chief concern for both our church and local community throughout much of the year, as members of our congregation experienced isolation, anxiety for their health and the health of loved ones, and a greater practical need due to job insecurity and those in vulnerable groups ‘shielding’.
By God’s grace, the local St. Paul’s area did not experience many COVID-related deaths, and the wider church family was also kept mainly safe. However, the impact of social restrictions and lockdowns was keenly felt by all, and we are still aware of a need for people to heal from and process their experiences. Through all of this, however, we have also felt God’s guidance and a clear sense that He will use this time for His glory. In particular, we have come to see the ‘ceasing’ of our usual programme of activities and ways of gathering as a long-term blessing as, in this slowing-down, we have been able to evaluate our vision and direction as a church and explore God’s will for St. Paul’s in a deeper way than we may otherwise have done.
## **Gatherings**
From March to July 2020, the first national lockdown prevented us from gathering people physically. Using recordings of talks and sung worship, as well as a new technology called ‘Zoom’ to gather virtually, these months were spent exploring how people could be church in their homes. Small groups continued to meet online and provide a place of deeper connection, prayer support and other pastoral care; it was perhaps clearer in 2020 than ever before how much they are the lifeblood of the church. Later in the year, a relaxation of the restrictions allowed some people to gather physically in limited numbers. We invested in technical equipment to allow us to ‘livestream’ from the building, and we accepted a ‘mixed-mode’ of church for a number of weeks, with some people attending physically and others continuing to engage from their homes. Finally, we took the opportunity created by the temporary easing of restrictions for Christmas gatherings and held a Nativity Trail, Carols in the Churchyard and our Christmas Morning Celebration outdoors on the church grounds; all of which were a real blessing at the end of the year.
## **Community Mission and Care**
A significant portion of our time and resources in 2020 were spent on meeting practical and pastoral needs in the community and reaching out to them with the gospel. The pandemic brought to light many immediate needs of local people, such as food and someone to collect medicine and go shopping for them. We set up a dedicated email address for the community to get in touch, and joined the Long Table ‘Feed The Five Thousand’ scheme to deliver healthy ready meals to many in the St. Paul’s area over the summer. At Christmas, we once again distributed some Long Table meals, and also gave away around 100 turkeys and additional food to local families on the doorstep of the church.
3
Unable to finish our Spring Alpha course or run a second one in-person, we moved online and the team found that this was a great success. The Youth team also ran an online Youth Alpha course and again saw some great fruit, with many young people inviting their friends to join in. Many explored faith questions in this format and we have already seen some come to faith.
Unfortunately, the pandemic meant that Cheltenham Borough Homes shut the Hub for many months, and we were unable to continue some of our groups and activities there during 2020. However, we were pleased to be able to run our alternative to the annual ‘Craft Fair’ in partnership with CBH and the Hub, and this felt like another encouraging example of how God is allowing us to partner with others in the community.
## **Staffing**
We had some more changes to the staff team in 2020. With their temporary contract ending in the summer, Will Prothero moved on from Cheltenham and Isaac Watson renewed his contract as part-time Youth Pastor for a further year. We were delighted that Maddie Watson, Isaac’s wife, joined the team as the other part-time Youth Pastor.
Simon Fellows started his training for ordination in September, and became an ordinand with us for the academic year; taking on the leadership of Alpha amongst other general duties.
## **Fabric Report 2020**
Once again, very little happened with the building in 2020, largely due to the PCC policy of keeping on top of maintenance and executing the recommendations on the quinquennial survey.
The big item continues to be the creche development project, which has progressed painfully slowly, largely due to our architect being seriously ill with covid at the beginning of the pandemic. The plans are still being revised in the light of some new information and we hope to apply for planning in 2021.
A number of skylights in the Herrington Rooms and toilet corridor were vandalised this year, highlighting the need for the creche development project. The skylights were simply boarded as it is hoped the development will get underway soon.
The grounds provided the most interest with a number of new trees being planted to replace the ones that had to be felled due to their size. The lawn also received some attention as it was not being used for parking whilst the church was shut. Posts and chain have now been installed around the perimeter of the grass and it will not be available for parking apart from Sundays. This should mean that the grass has the opportunity to recover each week.
Quotes have been obtained for the repair and automation of the clock and we hope that will be done in early 2021.
## **PCC Report**
PCC had five full meetings, in February, April, July, September and November, as well as a brief meeting immediately before the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in October.
Compared with other years, less of the PCC’s time was spent on buildings; since much time was given to the ongoing pandemic response. However, approvals were made for the church clock to be repaired and eventually automated and chained posts to be installed around the churchyard grass; mentioned above. Due to the pandemic, progress with the building project significantly slowed.
4
Much of the PCC’s time was spent on discussion around worshipping during the covid lockdowns and, then, gradually reopening the church building in the late summer and autumn. In addition, PCC approved the church’s involvement in a community meals scheme run by a local social enterprise called The Long Table. PCC approved the purchase and distribution of over 600 meals to residents in the St. Paul’s area between April and September. Prior to the start of the pandemic in March, PCC approved the creation of a Hardship Fund for church members in need of relief in financial difficulties. This became a valuable resource which was used during the pandemic.
With the appointment of Maddie Watson, and looking ahead to the future recruitment of a new Youth Pastor, PCC also approved a new Recruitment Policy to strengthen the recruitment process of future staff members.
Jennifer Fellows continued in her role as Safeguarding Officer, and the church’s safeguarding practices and policies were reviewed and approved for the next year in September.
On the finance side we approved the previous year’s accounts, reviewed the financial position throughout the year and approved the 2021 budget. Some significant assumptions had to be made in light of the pandemic, however PCC were confident in approving a deficit budget.
Finally, PCC once again reviewed the policy on mission giving. We will continue to give at least 10% of unrestricted income to external giving. In 2020, we supported four main mission partners, AFIRM (India), Church Army/Superkidz (London), Development Aid Nepal and Rapha Medica (Nigeria), and also made sizeable donations to GodFirst Church (Barry), The Rock, Cheltenham Borough Homes, Psalms, Christians Against Poverty and International Justice Mission.
## **Financial Review**
On ordinary unrestricted funds total receipts were £233702 and total payments £220799. On restricted funds total receipts were £32863 and total payments £10059. The largest item of expenditure was £70760 for staff employment. Total receipts were therefore £266565 and total payments £230858 giving a net result for the year of an excess of receipts over payments of £35707. Details can be found in the Financial Statements.
It is PCC policy to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds (if possible) to cover emergency situations that may arise from time to time. The PCC has funds restricted to the Vestries Building Project, Membership Hardship, Community Hardship and Organ.
It is PCC policy to invest fund balances in accounts that are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Approved by the PCC on ??? and signed on its behalf by
Roger Widdecombe
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**THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST PAUL CHELTENHAM**
## **FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2020**
|**RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT**|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Unrestricted|Designated|Restricted|Total|Total|**Notes**|
||Funds|Funds|Funds|2020|2019||
|**Incoming resources**|||||||
|Voluntary income|||||||
|Planned giving|184499|||184499|219877||
|Collections,donations and other giving|7381||29560|36941|25199|1|
|Income tax recovered|38214||3303|41517|45873|2|
|Legacies|||||||
|Activities for raising funds|||||||
|Lettings|1168|||1168|2209||
|Investment income|||||||
|Interest and dividends|1468|||1468|1490||
|Income from charitable activities|||||||
|Parochial fees|117|||117|2399||
|Other incoming resources|||||||
|Other|855|||855|1717||
|Total receipts|233702|0|32863|266565|298764||
|**Resources expended**|||||||
|Charitable activities|||||||
|Donations/grants to charities||30398|267|30665|49671||
|Mission and evangelism|10872|||10872|9559|3|
|Parish share|60040|||60040|56433|4|
|Clergy expenses|3361|||3361|4735||
|Church running expenses|28133|216||28349|34706|5|
|Churchyard maintenance|1674|||1674|2050||
|Cost of raising funds|||||||
|Running costs|||||||
|Support costs|3285|||3285|3779|6|
|Administration costs|77134|||77134|49071|7|
|Other|3490||9192|12682|4904||
|Major expenditure|||||||
|Repairs to church buildings|1295|295||1590|6378|8|
|Repairs to other buildings|606|||606|454||
|Capital purchases/additions|||600|600|1125||
|Total resources expended|189890|30909|10059|230858|222865||
|Net (outgoing) incoming resources|**43812**|**(30909)**|**22804**|**35707**|**75899**||
|Transfers between funds|(42812)|42812||||9|
|Net (outgoing) incoming resources|**1000**|**11903**|**22804**|**35707**|**75899**||
|_The Parochial Church Council of St Paul Cheltenham_|||||||
|_Annual Report and Accounts 2020_|||||||
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## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT**
||**2020**|**2020**|**2019**|**2019**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Payments**|**Receipts**|**Payments**|**Receipts**|
|**Missions and Charities Fund (Designated Fund)**|||||
|Church Army|1800||2545||
|Superkidz Community Trust|3450||2545||
|AFIRM India|5250||5090||
|Rapha Medica Project|5250||5090||
|Development Aid Nepal|5290||21090||
|Salvation Army Victim Care Fund|500||1500||
|CAP Cheltenham Debt Centre|1000||2000||
|International Justice Mission|1000||1500||
|The Rock|1000||2000||
|PSALMS|1000||2000||
|Godfirst Church Barry (R&R Gronow)|2200||2800||
|CBH - St Paul's Events and Activities|1000||500||
|Agape Freedom Fighters|1008||||
|CCP - Bramah House|||861||
|Children's Society|150||150||
|Community Fund|500||||
|Donations||||12860|
|Tax refunds||||3140|
|From PCC General Fund||27398||29566|
|Deficit||3000||4105|
|Totals|30398|30398|49671|49671|
|**Contingency Fund (Designated Fund)**|||||
|From PCC General Fund||15414||74007|
|Income||||1250|
|Expenditure|511||6378||
|Surplus|14903||68879||
|Totals|15414|15414|75257|75257|
|Vestries Building Project Fund (Restricted Fund)|||||
|Donations||6000||9000|
|Tax refunds||1500||1250|
|Expenditure|600||1125||
|Surplus|6900||9125||
|Totals|7500|7500|10250|10250|
|_The Parochial Church Council of St Paul Cheltenham_|||||
|_Annual Report and Accounts 2020_|||||
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## **THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST PAUL CHELTENHAM**
## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT (CONTINUED)**
||**2020**|**2020**|**2019**|**2019**|**Notes**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Payments**|**Receipts**|**Payments**|**Receipts**||
|**Community Fund (Restricted Fund)**|||||11|
|Member donations||1110||||
|Tax refunds||275||||
|Net community meals expenditure|611|||||
|Gift to Feed Cheltenham|267|||||
|Donation from PCC||500||||
|Surplus|1007|||||
|Totals|1885|1885|0|0||
|**Hardship (previouslySamaritan) Fund (Restricted Fund)**|||||12|
|Donations from members||21450||1000||
|Tax refunds||1528||||
|Grant (Barnwood Trust)||500||||
|Gifts to members|8581|||||
|Surplus|14897||1000|||
|Totals|23478|23478|1000|1000||
|**Organ Fund (Restricted Fund)**||||||
|There were no transactions in either 2019|or 2020.|||||
|_The Parochial Church Council of St Paul Cheltenham_||||||
|_Annual Report and Accounts 2020_||||||
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## **THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST PAUL CHELTENHAM**
## **STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES**
||**Unrestricted**|**Designated**|**Restricted**|**Total**|**Total**|**Notes**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2020**|2019||
|Fixed assets|||||||
|24 St Paul's Street North|250000|||250000|250000||
|**Current assets**|||||||
|**Cash funds**|||||||
|NatWest current account|20000|56677|29927|106604|70897||
|Virgin deposit fund||15000|70000|85000|85000||
|Shawbrook (CAF) deposit fund||85000||85000|85000||
|Total current and deposit accounts|20000|156677|99927|276604|240897|13|
|**Other monetary assets**|||||||
|Income tax recoverable||9800||9800|8525||
|VAT refundable||59||59|839||
|Hire income receivable|||||455||
|Total other monetary assets|0|9859|0|9859|9819||
|**Total current assets**|20000|166536|99927|286463|250716||
|Total assets|270000|166536|99927|536463|500716||
|**Liabilities**|||||||
|Utility companies||901||901|308||
|Diocese of Gloucester (fees)||199||199|1709||
|Mission giving||208||208|2400||
|The Cheltenham Trust||500||500|||
|Building work|||||3333||
|Other liabilities|||||100||
|Total liabilities|**0**|**1808**|**0**|**1808**|**7850**||
|Assets less liabilities|**270000**|**164728**|**99927**|**534655**|**492866**||
|_The Parochial Church Council of St Paul Cheltenham_|||||||
|_Annual Report and Accounts 2020_|||||||
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## **THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST PAUL CHELTENHAM**
## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS**
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 using the Receipts and Payments basis.
Moveable church furnishings held by the churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal are recognised but not necessarily valued in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.
The expenses paid to the incumbent and to Mrs Fellows may include a small immaterial proportion which relate to their functions as PCC members. Mrs Fellows received £26000 as assistant pastor. This payment includes pension contributions. No other payments were made to PCC members.
## **Note**
- 1 Analysis of donations and other giving
|Unrestricted donations
7381
Vestries building project donations
6000
Hardship Fund donations
21450
Community Fund donations
1110
Barnwood Trust Grant (Hardship Fund)
500
PCC donation to Community Fund
500|Unrestricted donations
7381
Vestries building project donations
6000
Hardship Fund donations
21450
Community Fund donations
1110
Barnwood Trust Grant (Hardship Fund)
500
PCC donation to Community Fund
500|
|---|---|
|||
|2
The 2020 figure relates to donations received between October 2019 and September 2020 inclusive.
The 2019 figure relates to donations received between October 2018 and September 2019 inclusive.||
|||
|3
Analysis of mission and evangelism costs||
|||
|May Fayre
Craft Fayre
Hub
Alpha
Food Bank
Children
Youth
Tiddlywinks
Other mission costs|40
774
174
1557
2416
2944
2424
40
503|
|||
- 4 A grant of £13660 was received from the 'Bias to the Poor' Fund. This is shown as a reduction in Parish Share.
- 5 Analysis of church running expenses
|Training|1580||
|---|---|---|
|Discipleship and pastoral care|573||
|Prayer and worship|4928||
|Servery|352||
|Vicar's discretionary fund|883||
|Utilities|4496||
|Hire of rooms|7000||
|Minor capital expenditure|1729||
|Cleaning and materials|3178||
|Servicing and other routine church maintenance|3630||
|_The Parochial Church Council of St Paul Cheltenham_|||
|_Annual Report and Accounts 2020_||10|
10
## **THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST PAUL CHELTENHAM**
## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED)**
## **Note**
- 6 Support costs are the expenses of the assistant pastor, the youth pastors, the administrator and the personal assistant.
- 7 Administration costs consist of the employment costs of the assistant pastor, the youth pastors, the administrator and the personal assistant (£70760), visiting speaker costs (£1300) and general administrative expenses (£5074).
- 8 Repairs to church buildings consists of £1818 for prayer room refurbishment and £492 for roof survey and repairs less £720 received from the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme for VAT refunds on work carried out in 2019.
- 9 The transfer between the General (unrestricted) and Contingency (designated) Funds has allowed for a General Fund surplus of £1000 so that the working capital in the General Fund is increased to a more appropriate level. (see note 10).
- 10 The PCC has decided to hold only working capital (defined as one month's unrestricted expenditure, which in 2021 will be approximately £20000, in its General (unrestricted) Fund and to hold any surpluses in the Contingency Fund. Every month a regular transfer is made from the General Fund to the Mission and Charities Fund to ensure that sufficient funds are available to make mission gifts when required. Following this the necessary adjustment is made between the General and Contingency Funds.
- 11 During the year the Community Fund was set up to assist people in the local community who are not church members but who are in particular need. It is funded primarily by donations from members. During the year it was used to purchase meals as part of the 'Feed Cheltenham' initiative.
- 12 The Hardship Fund (previously the Samaritan Fund) is funded entirely by church members and is used to assist other church members who are in particular need.
- 13 The £20000 in the General (unrestricted) Fund reflects the policy described in note 10. The £99927 restricted monies comprise £259 remaining from the 2014 Wolfson Foundation grant to be used for window refurbishment (this is held in the designated Contingency Fund), £81330 in the restricted Vestries Building Project Fund, £1434 in the restricted Organ Fund, £15897 in the restricted Hardship Fund and £1007 in the restricted Community Fund. The designated Missions and Charities Fund contains £11000 and the Contingency Fund contains £145677 designated monies.
During the year PCC decided that expenditure on minor window repairs could be taken out of the Wolfson grant. £1675 had been spent between 2015 and 2019 and previously paid from the General Account. £511 was spent during 2020. The residue from the grant has therefore reduced from £2445 at the start of the year to £259 at the year end.
_The Parochial Church Council of St Paul Cheltenham Annual Report and Accounts 2020_
11
Independent examine3 report to the PCC of St Paul's Cheltenham
I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020.
Respectlve responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity's trustees are responsible for the pparatiOn of the accounts. The charity's trustees
consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144{21 of the Charities Act 2011 (the
2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility=
lo examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act..
lo follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission
under section 145151{bl of the 2011 Act., and
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basls of Independent examlnefs report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity
Commi55ion. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by Ihe charity and a
comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any
unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees
conceming any such matters. The procedures undèrtaken do not provide all the evidence that would
be required in an audit and consequenuy no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a
'true and fair view, and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
(11 which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect
the requirements..
to keep accounting records in accordance with seGtion 130 of the 2011 Act., and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and compty with the
accounting requirements of the 2011 Act
have not been met", or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of
the accounts lo be reached
Andrew J Ellis FCA
60 London Road,
Cheltenham.
The P8rochi81 Cl?urch Councilof Sl Poul ClJellenh8m
Annual R8POrt antlAccounts 2020.