OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2021-12-31-accounts

All Saints Daresbury Ministry Team Report for APCM 2022

The worship leaders have met weekly all through the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond

In relation to the involvement of worship leaders and pastoral workers in ministry and mission both within the parish and beyond, we need to return to our Vision Statement and our 4 Core Values and reflect on our contribution in each category over the last year whilst identifying any gaps or need for improvement. Only then can we begin to look ahead at our potential developments for future planning.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a major influence on our responses and continues to have a lasting effect on our ability to meet together effectively as community in what is perceived to be a safe space for all.

During this time, Revd Canon David Felix retired as Vicar at the end of July 2021 so this too has had a considerable impact on how we manage worship and pastoral matters during the last 10 months of interregnum and I want to thank my colleagues in ministry for helping to ensure that things continue with Christ at the centre of all we do.

Vision Statement

We strive to be an inclusive and outward looking Christian community embodying the life of Christ and bound together by the love of God and love for each other, welcoming everyone who wants to learn about and be involved in the Christian journey of faith.

Our welcome and inclusivity which is central to who we are, has been severely tested under Covid19 regulations which have been adhered to, in order to best protect people. This has demanded that we think outside the box and be creative in order to keep in contact with people. We have been rapid in our response to adopt new technology and so we have live-streamed services through Facebook, when the church building had to close and have been amazed to find a new audience online. The live-streaming of services has continued when our church re-opened, to give sustenance and hope to people who may feel vulnerable and unready to return to face-to-face worship and to those who may be sick or housebound. It also feeds those who became a new audience but may so far not attend church and continues to reach out in an easily accessible way to non-church attenders.

We have kept in touch with people by offering on-line Morning Prayer services and business and social meetings using Zoom. One advantage has been less time and cost spent travelling, although there has been something missing in the social interaction. There have also been weekly news updates by e-mail by the clergy and saving paper, sending out Sunday service sheets electronically. For those who are technologically challenged, phone calls from pastoral workers and between each other, have been a lifeline to combat the sense of loneliness and isolation felt by many.

As we return to a “new normal” in living with Covid, we notice more and more people returning to face to face worship, children and young families are beginning to come again and it is important to be sensitive towards each other as we are all at different stages of coming to terms with a very different scenario in worship. We continue to hand sanitise, and singing of hymns and use of hymn books has now returned, but we continue for now, as the majority of Anglican churches, to receive

communion in one kind, with only the person presiding, taking the chalice and we have a whole different way of sharing the peace to avoid the hand touching.

We have resumed meeting for a chat and tea and refreshments after the service and we have resumed Thursday morning Holy Communion services at the Milner Institute with chat and refreshments afterwards, both recognising the importance of social interaction and friendship for positive mental health.

We have returned to being more outward looking and have welcomed back into church the community Remembrance day procession, Christmas Carol services from local groups and our Christingle, along with our outside Carols in the carpark and Community Christmas tree lights switch on. More recently we have enjoyed several children attending for Mothering Sunday and for Easter with our Easter egg hunt and Simnel cake sharing.

Provision for children and families within worship is an important area for further development, as is working in partnership with our wider community on projects and events, especially in Sandymoor.

Core Values

We turn our vision into action by recognising and valuing: -

We have engaged in ways to deepen our faith – during Covid we started our weekly Zoom Bible study and lively discussion meetings – we have looked at several books of the bible, both Old and New Testament and have used resources about climate change from USPG and about growing faith through social action with the Growing Good toolkit from the Church Urban Fund.

Our Breathing Place in the church yard continues to develop and is a wonderful way to contribute actively to the Climate crisis and ecology, and to share in and learn more of our native trees and flowers and the diversity of creatures that inhabit that space. Many visitors of all ages have encountered the wonders of our Creator God and the deep peace of the place. I think it breathes hope and life in an unexpected place, usually associated with death.

Our shared faith encourages us to be open to opportunities to share God’s love with others as we are sent out from every corporate act of worship.

We are nothing unless we are grounded in regular corporate prayer and worship - action follows as it feeds and refreshes our mission. For us, both Word and Sacrament are important. The liturgy we use takes advantage of the church’s seasons and our strong choral tradition. We have continued with our 10.30 Parish Communion service using Common Worship Order 1 – the Eucharist being central to who we are. However, we have not been able to reinstate post-Covid, our 9.00 Holy Communion using Common Worship Order 2 and this needs to be reviewed when we have a new Incumbent.

We have returned to monthly 6.30 Choral Evensong every first Sunday, and retained live-streamed 4.00 BCP Evening Prayer for the rest of the Sundays.

We have continued to live-stream our services – we still need more volunteers to help with this. We also need more volunteers to be sidespersons, to join the rota for doing the bible readings and to do intercessions. Help and guidance will be given – if interested let me know.

The use of our outdoor space for worship could be further developed. Some ideas are:-

the possibility of Forest Church maybe monthly, particularly attractive to children and families, Harvest and thanksgiving services for God’s gifts in Creation, guided day retreats. To attract and encourage more young people and to explore different music and styles of worship, a development may be a monthly Prayer and Praise evening, open to all.

As soon as we were able to, we opened the church building from 10-7 so as many people can have access to such a beautiful and holy place, and we do have many visitors who come because of the Lewis Carroll connection but recognise something deeper through many centuries of tradition and the celebration of both Word and Sacrament in the building.

But our community is made up of people and post Covid, we have been pleased to welcome people back to church and those new to church, including several Christian friends from Iran, temporarily housed in the Daresbury Park hotel, whilst they wait for their asylum application to be processed.

For many people, the first contact with us is through wanting to be married, or to have a child baptised or through the death of a loved one and needing support in planning a funeral. For joy or sorrow, these contacts are especially important times in which to share our faith in the love of Christ, which is for all people. I have been privileged to meet several wedding couples over the last year – some couples had to make the difficult choice to postpone their wedding because of Covid restrictions on the number of guests and others opted for a very different slimmed down version of the wedding they had been anticipating and had the difficulty of turning away some guests. Conversations have required particular pastoral sensitivity and plenty of time to listen and to care for each couple in their particular situation and feelings. Some have lost relatives through Covid and all have been affected in some way and are still processing their thoughts and feelings. Yet many are brought closer to God in this and have wanted to discuss the big questions of life and death so it has provided opportunities to share faith at a deeper level.

Our baptism coordinator has been contacted by many families post Covid to arrange or rearrange a postponed baptism and again, it is such a privilege to get to know families in this way and to support and nurture their faith in every conversation. Because there were no baptisms conducted for a while there has been a back log which we are managing by offering additional services and by explaining that there is an understandable wait and most families are patient and understanding. It has been a real joy to welcome whole families with their friends at such an important rite of passage and to explain the love of Christ is open to all.

Particularly difficult through Covid, has been the contact with bereaved families and the care of those very ill and dying as at times, I, along with many others, including relatives, have not been able to visit hospitals or nursing homes. This has been a desperately sad situation and the aftermath of listening to some harrowing tales has been painful for many. I have prayed with and for people over the phone, and as rules changed, held home communions in the garden, or I sat in the garden and posted the sacrament in an envelope through the door of the conservatory. We have had to be flexible and innovative in being as responsive as we can to every changing need and circumstance, and it has often involved compromise, pragmatism and sadness. We have had the privilege of taking many funerals and of deeply caring for bereaved families and praying with and for them in such difficult times.

A number of people have come forward recently, to request a burial of ashes service for their loved

one who may have died several months ago, and they have been waiting for Covid restrictions to end.

We also need, when considering mission, to have particular regard for the Five Marks of Mission

Our mission is all that I have already written for each of the vision and core values – and then some more…. extending our reach and growing our faith both wider and deeper.

Our work in receiving visitors and giving them the best experience is exemplary – more volunteer visitor guides are always needed if you are interested in offering.

The organised group visits from schools and other groups have resumed and we have been receiving several enquiries – a great opportunity for sharing faith in a non-threatening way. Other targeted school work to build on already good relationships with local schools has yet to resume and is in need of encouragement and further development.

We have continued, as soon as Covid restrictions eased, to collect items for Runcorn and District Foodbank, and to encourage money donations. This is more important than ever, as the price of food and fuel rises and more people are pushed into poverty.

The arrival into our community of our friends from the hotel, most of whom speak little English, has challenged us to respond by welcoming and including them as brothers and sisters in Christ, in different ways – not just by smiling a lot and using various dodgy expressive hand signals, or attempting conversation using Google translate, but by our actions, rather than our words – by providing liturgy used in the service translated into Farsi/Persian, where we can, and listening to the Gospel read in Persian as well as English, which is important because it shows respect and honour for them. Where they have wanted to share their skills and help where they can, it has been important to accept their gifts and service offered whether filling the font, welcoming people into church, or digging the ground for seeding and creating pathways around the churchyard Breathing Place. This needs to continue to develop over time by e.g. learning some Persian hymns and songs from them, joining together to share meals from our different cultures, but one of the barriers is that we do not know how long the Home Office will keep them here.

We have encouraged them to join in with our community and fellowship activities – joining in with singing at the planned Platinum Jubilee Prom on 5[th] June, attending our recently set up weekly Community drop in for chatting to new friends and practising English, having a laugh together and playing cards, dominoes and board games with tea and cake thrown in.

Our new friends have been distressed and devastated by the recent Government plans announced that asylum claims from those who have arrived here using non recognised routes will be sent to Rwanda under a new deal, to be processed. It has been important to listen to their fears and to comfort them, to stand with them, to advocate and to send a petition to the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister, copied to our local MP.

Some of our friends have been Christians in Iran for a while and have even been tortured for their faith, but have not had an opportunity to be baptised – one person, so far, has asked to be

baptised and I am discussing with him the best way and time to prepare him and to gather the right liturgy in dual translation. There are also at least two people whose proficiency in English means they can act as interpreters. I am sure he will be baptised soon and more may then follow. Others have needed reassurance that their baptism in a different church and country will be recognised and they do not need to go through baptism again for them to be accepted. God continues to provide many opportunities to get involved in mission.

Thanks go to my colleagues for all that you offer and all that you do in Christ’s name – I could not make my contribution without you - to Linda and all who make pastoral visits and phone calls, to Gavin, Simon, Jocelyn and the baptism team, to Claire and the choir and to Mark and his live-streaming team and thanks to both Church wardens Steve and Mark for sharing the responsibility of leadership and to Doug, Church warden Emeritus for generously sharing wisdom and knowledge and to all of you for being supportive of the ministry and mission of this parish over the last year.

With love and prayer, as we move forward in trust and faith in God’s generous provision,

Gill Revd Gill Younger Associate Priest (SSM) All Saints Daresbury

22[nd] May 2022

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ALL SAINTS, DARESBURY.

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1130503

ANNUAL REPORT 2022 AND

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR 2021

1

From the Chair

Much has happened during the last two years. None of us could have predicted the profound effects of Covid on us as a community and individually. David has retired, leaving Mark, Gill and myself at the helm. We have tried to share the load between us, each taking responsibility for an area. Gill has in effect become our interim vicar overseeing Ministry, Mark looks after the Church building and liaises with the Diocese for the ongoing sale of the Vicarage, I have the Chair of the PCC and administrative responsibilities.

It would be fair to say that life during an interregnum is far from straight forward or simple.

We have however made progress, although we are not very far forward in terms of a replacement for David. Our finances have been central to many of our woes, our income simply does not support a vicar full time. Therefore, based on current predictions, we will, in the near future, be seeking an incumbent on a part-time basis.The exact number of days has yet to be finalised. The PCC, along with support from the Diocese looked at vicar sharing option with St. Bert’s, Norton, but after due consideration the majority felt that this was not an option to pursue.

Having said that we have made considerable progress with our heating, and stabilising our finances.

On the social front, the Carols in the Car Park initiative led by Mark has been a resounding success, stimulating a Jubilee event. Various groups are now using the Church again and a vibrant community is emerging.

However, considerable challenges still remain.

On a personal note, I have found the responsibilities of Church Warden too much for my health, and have therefore decided to step away from the role. I have strived to fulfil the role and at times have enjoyed the challenge, but on balance it is time to let go with a little reluctance. I wish my successor all fortune in taking us forward. As we emerge from an unprecedented time I would like to use David’s words from the last report.

“In all the uncertainty we now face, the only one certainty is God’s love for us. We must keep the faith and show our faith to our neighbours and families. Worship is central to our Christian life. Prayer helps us to talk to God and God to us.”

“Our faith is centred around the idea of resurrection. Like the Disciples, we must look outwards and upwards. The past is portrayed in what follows, help us to learn where we have come from and energise us to go on.”

Best wishes, Steve.

2

THE PARISH OF ALL SAINTS DARESBURY

All Saints Daresbury Parochial Church Council (PCC) has, as its primary object the promotion of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the doctrines and practices of the Church of England , under the PCC Powers) Measure1956, has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.

As a registered Charity, the PCC has to demonstrate that it has an identifiable benefit or benefits and that those benefits must be to the public or a section of, the public. Thus the PCC works, amongst other things, to advance the Christian religion and education, and the relief of poverty.

Members are required to act to further both these sets of purposes. In order to do so the PCC adopted some year ago the following vision statement and core values to guide its work:

Vision Statement

We strive to be an inclusive and outward looking Christian community embodying the life of Christ and bound together by the love of God and love for each other, welcoming everyone who wants to learn about and be involved in the Christian journey of faith.

Core Values

We turn our vision into action by recognising and valuing: -

PCC Membership

Members of the PCC are either ex-officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. During the period 2021-22 the members were:

Clergy:

Licenced Readers:

Rev’d Canon David Felix, (Vicar and Chair, until July 2021) Rev’d Gill Younger (Associate Priest) Linda Mills Gavin Hall

James Baird (resigned August 2021)

Church Wardens: Steve Lander

Mark Longstaff

Representatives on Deanery Synod:

Jocelyn Squires Ian McIntyre Simon Lomas

Lay Representatives:

Elected until 2022: Suzie Li Lee Parkin

Phil Geddes (resigned September 2021)

Elected until 2023: Doug Johnson Kevin Johnson Myra Fye Jane Parkin (resigned January 2022)

Elected until 2024: Andrew Wang Sue McIntyre

Kathy Broom (resigned August 2021)

Officers of the PCC:

Vice Chair Steve Lander (Chair from July 2021) Churchwarden Emeritus Doug Johnson Assistant Churchwarden Phil Geddes (resigned) Safeguarding Officers Suzie Li

Steve Kirkbride Secretary Myra Fye Treasurer Jocelyn Squires Gift Aid Secretary Kevin Johnson Pastoral Care Lead Linda Mills Data Protection Officer James Baird (resigned)

Church Officers:

Director of Music Claire Longstaff Deputy Director of Music Gyopar Pavai Bell Tower Captain Christine Owens Parish Administrator Stuart Wigley Webmaster Mark Longstaff

Sexton Brian Heakin

Deputy Sexton Mark Longstaff

Safeguarding

The PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measures 2016 (duty to have regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults). More information can be found here

https:daresburycofe.org.uk/safeguarding

Proceedings of the Parochial Church Council

During the year the PCC met five times. In June an open meeting was held on Zoom and subsequent meetings were held in person, with Zoom being available if required.

Much of the business of the meetings was concerned with discussing the proposal to share a vicar with the parish of Norton, and the open meeting provided an opportunity for the wider congregation to hear the proposal, ask questions, and express their views. A majority of the members of PCC voted in favour of the proposal when it was put to the vote, but a sizeable minority of members were not in favour, and further discussions and a second vote repeated the pattern. A third vote then produced another close result with a majority voting to seek a part-time vicar solely for Daresbury, rather than a shared vicar with Norton.

The decision of the diocese to sell the vicarage and replace it with a new property was agreed.

The parish profile is being drawn up.

Arrangements for the interregnum have been discussed and implemented.

Reports from the various committees of PCC have been received, discussed, and actions taken as necessary.

A budget has been set for the year.

Myra Fye,

PCC secretary.

Facilities Team Report 2022

The Facilities team have been responsible for the upkeep of the Church, its structure and surroundings. The Facilities team which has again done an excellent job this year, is made up of the following members, Mark Longstaff, Steve Lander, Graham Lancaster, Phil Geddes, Stuart Wigley, and Gill Younger. Our regular meetings take place on the first Friday of the month in the LC Centre.

One of the major problems we have had to attend to over the last 12 months has been the heating system for both the main church building and the LC Centre.

The problem of fumes in the church from the boiler had been ongoing, so we instructed a new heating contractor to survey the boiler and flue to advise on a suitable solution. Following their findings, a new external flue has been fitted along with associated new, one-piece ducting, fitted from

the boiler exhaust through to the flue, and this has now cleared the problem of fumes in the church. This solution was more cost effective than getting the old internal flue that runs inside the stone work of the bell tower cleared, and a liner fitted. The contractor has also serviced the boiler and has been requested to carry out regular servicing to ensure efficient running of the boiler.

At the same time as we had problems with the church boiler, the underfloor heating controller for the LC Centre failed! The same contractor was used to upgrade and replace that controller so hopefully, both our heating systems should be good for the next few years.

With regard to our church heating system, we received recommendations from an independent heating engineer to help us achieve zero carbon emissions by 2030, but the systems suggested at present were very very expensive, and some only very new to the market and as yet no real reliability results, so for the time being we are waiting to see what developments are coming in heating systems, and will monitor this situation.

I would also like to thank the team for again helping to construct the stable for carols in the car park, and helping with the construction of the stalls and power supplies for the carols event, with thanks to Webbs of Runcorn for supplying hardware for the stable again this year.

The ongoing safety solution of grating to cover the moat around the church should hopefully be completed within the next few months. We had to apply to the DAC for a faculty to carry out these works which we did in October last year, the faculty application is now in its final stages and we are just waiting for the registrar to complete their final examination of our application.

The cost and maintenance of the church lighting system has been a major project that the Facilities team have been looking at over the past few months, as we need to upgrade to a more efficient, cost effective solution, due to power costs and the redundancy and inefficiency of the current light sources. We have looked at a few new led lamp replacements, but these have been proven to be incompatible with our current lighting control system, but after consultation with the original installer of the lighting we may have a solution which will give us a substantial cost saving in power usage and maintenance of the lighting. Thia solution will require less light fittings due to the improved output from the new light source. The team will report any findings after testing of the new fittings has been carried out.

The organ and church clock have both recently been serviced, with the clock requiring an additional service call to replace a failed backup battery, which had failed after a number of power outages in the village earlier in the year.

We have also had a roofing contractor survey the church roof and repair some minor leaks. We are awaiting his report on the general condition of the roof.

The team are making plans for the construction of a storage area at the back of the car park towards the woods, which is needed as we have lost the storage we had at the vicarage. This will be subject to the relevant planning permission.

Once again I would like to thank the Facilities team for their hard work and ongoing support over the past year and look forward to continuing with the upkeep of the Church in the most cost effective and efficient way.

Paul Turner,

Chair, Facilities Team.

Lewis Carroll Centre Team Report

The Covid-19 restrictions meant that no bookings were taken for group visits during the year. We did have some enquiries from schools about arranging a workshop session once they had returned to face-to-face teaching, but it was felt that we needed to proceed cautiously, and wait until the 2022 season before we accepted bookings. It is therefore pleasing to report that school groups and coach parties are now beginning to return, and we are looking forward to welcoming visitors once again.

In October, at our first meeting to be held in person since February 2020 the matters for discussion included: the ways in which we might recruit church guides to take the place of those who had decided to stand down; the use of LCC by community groups; possible fund raising opportunities; and how we might mark the 150[th] anniversary of ‘Through the Looking Glass’ in 2022, and Heritage Open Days.

The kitchen was inspected and again received the Grade 5 rating. Notices were placed to remind users about Covid-19 guidelines, and use of the dishwasher. A stock-take was done at the end of the year.

Thanks to everyone who provides a welcome for our visitors, whether it’s by showing them around and sharing Daresbury’s story, by cleaning and polishing, arranging flowers, or making and serving refreshments. If you would like to find out more about being a church guide, please speak to Irene Rutter, or any of the LCC team.

Deryk Fye,

Chair, LCC Team

Daresbury Church Fellowship

The Fellowship continued to meet throughout 2021, once lockdown was lifted. We began by holding restricted meetings outdoors, and kept to the rules, wearing masks and keeping a safe distance. It was so good to see everyone in person again!

We met at the Ring o’ Bells in Daresbury for our Christmas lunch, when 15 of us were able to get together.

We meet in the Lewis Carroll Centre on the third Tuesday of the month at 2 pm. Sometimes we have a speaker, and it was lovely that our first speaker after lockdown was our own Rev’d Gill, who shared with us the story of her journey to ordination. We also enjoy discussing current topics and having an occasional outing. In April we visited the new botanical house at Walton Gardens, and concluded with a welcome cup of tea in the Stables Café. In the coming year we hope to continue with visits to more local attractions.

Irene Rutter

Children’s Society

We have supported the work of the Children’s Society for many years in two ways, through the house boxes, and by the Christingle service held in Christmas Eve.

Those families who were able to come to the service this year received bags containing the Christingles ready to light up when the time came. It had been touch and go, with a hitch in our orange supply chain, and my thanks go to those who took on Christingle making at the last moment.

Let’s hope this year everything goes to plan, and we’re able to make the Christingles all together once again, in the LCC.

The house boxes are opened in February through to March each year. Sadly, we have lost several box holders in the past year, and some other supporters have decided to make a donation direct to the Children’s Society, online, rather than use the house box. Lockdown also meant that cash to save in the box, dried up for a while. However, the amount raised from the boxes this year was just over £215, and this has been sent to the society.

Thank you to all box holders, direct donors, Christingle helpers and friends for your support for the work of the Children’s Society.

Myra Fye, Parish contact.

Crafters

Crafters meetings resumed in July 2021 following the pandemic restrictions. Numbers attending were maintained at pre pandemic levels, being approximately twelve members at each meeting. This was very pleasing with what we had all been through and it was lovely to see everyone again.

Sales took place twice last year. Our annual week of sales in early November raised £1034-83p for church funds. In December at the Carols in the car park event our stall raised another £148-10p. A fantastic result. My thanks go to all helpers, members, contributors, purchasers, and those who ‘man’ the stalls when required.

We continue to meet on the third Wednesday of the month, (except for December), from 10am – noon, in the Lewis Carroll Centre. We’d love you to join us for some crafting, chat, and of course refreshments.

Andrea Evans.

Deanery Synod Report 2021

March 23[rd] held on Zoom.

The Rural Dean shared our responses to the ways that we had been managing during Covid19 restrictions; encouraging us to consider what we had learned and how to make use of this in the future.

The Lay Chair led the main discussion which was about the Clergy Covenant and Clergy well-being, and also How Clergy Thrive. Synod was divided into groups designed to raise our awareness that clergy are individuals and that laity need to be mindful of their needs and how to respond to them.

September 22[nd] held at St Wilfrid’s Grappenhall

The Guest Speaker was the Rev’d Nikki Eastwood Chair of the diocesan advisory group for Living in Love and Faith. This is the Church of England national course on Christian teaching and learning about

identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.

Synod was guided through the 6 Pastoral Principles for living well together.

It was also explained how the course works through video stories around the experiences of Christians of differing sexualities as they live out their beliefs in Love and Faith.

Synod was informed that Bishop Mark, Bishop Julie and Bishop Sam are visiting the Deanery in November. Bishop Sam came to Daresbury and met church members over tea in the Lewis Carroll Centre. On November 23[rd] an open meeting was held at St Thomas’s for all congregations in the Deanery to meet the Bishops.

Jocelyn Squires

Finance Team

T he R esponsibility I s O urs

L eaving E verlasting G ifts A ppreciated in C oming Y ears

Parish Profile – Finance

Invariably, “finance” is a challenging subject and not one addressed easily. Daresbury has faced similar challenges over the years. We have run various initiatives, including the Chester Diocesan G iving Initiative and Liverpool Diocese Giving in Grace, Love to Give programme, yet the need to discuss the finance issues which support the church’s mission often remains difficult.

In recent times, the Parish has focussed on TRIO – T he R esponsibility I s O urs and LEGACY giving – L eaving E verlasting G ifts A ppreciated in C oming Y ears. Each in their time had some impact; however, that has not been sustained nor fully balanced the books.

Parish financial matters are managed by the Treasurer, supported by various persons with backgrounds in business, industry, commerce and human resources, three of whom are trustees of other charities. They are further supported by a paid professional bookkeeper. Together they form the Parish Finance Team. This team seeks to ensure that the mission of the church can be met from the resources we have available.

The bedrock for this is the annual budget which seeks to balance predictable income against the anticipated expenditure; that is, essential to support the church’s mission to the parish and beyond. The Parish has been unable to achieve that financial challenge for some time, with the consequence that during the past 10 years it has depleted its reserves (legacy gifts) in covering “everyday” running costs (specifically seeking to fund the Parish Share in full), alongside securing long- and short-term building maintenance projects.

The utilisation of Legacy Reserves over the last 10 years: The 2022 based value (blue line) is the buying power of the reserves in today’s terms against the historic holdings – today’s buying power is one quarter of what we started with; in terms of residual value, thanks to wise investments the residual value is half of what we started with 10 years ago (red line). “Capital” and “Revenue” refer to how we used the liquidation of the investments.

It has always been the policy of the Parish to fully fund the Parish Share out of the “church family giving” , something Daresbury has not achieved since 2016. In 2017 the Parish Share requested (PSR) was 96% of our giving income; the full requested share now stands at 165% of the 2022 budgeted giving income.

The parish share weighting was reviewed (down to 115%) in 2014. Until 2017 the Parish paid the requested amount in full. Since then giving income (blue line) has been less than the requested payment, which was not met in full thereafter. The red line is the share requested as a proportion of our giving income (significantly over 100%), whereas the yellow line is the portion of our giving income we have actually paid towards the parish share.

In 2022, the projected “church family giving” should just cover the £40,000 Parish Share commitment. This calls for other giving, fund raising and ad-hoc donations to fund the rest of the Church’s expenditure.

Treasury – Parish Office – The Village Hall – Daresbury - Warrington WA4 4AJ Registered Charity - 1130503

Daresbury has only survived financially since 2017 by declining to pay the (then £68,777) Parish Share requested in full. Instead, we have paid what was reasonably agreed we could afford – £40,000 per year. Even at that low level, the Parish Share contribution paid (PSP) consumes most of our giving income.

To the end of 2021 this has resulted in an accumulated deficit of over £111,000 - with the consequence that any immediate incumbency will be part time only.

Given the proposed expansions in Sandymoor, Daresbury Garden Village and Wharford Farm there is however, a real need and opportunity for outreach requiring fulltime clergy support. This is predicated on meeting the full Parish Share. In 2022, this equates to approximately £76,300.

This is our fundamental aim – ideally within 3 years.

In the meantime, the Parish is highly focussed on ensuring that it can meet its continued commitment to find the £40,000 towards (our current) full Parish Share. This is, and continues to be, a key consideration for cancelling past debts owed to the Diocesan Board of Finance.

Income has declined quite markedly since 2017 and as with many parishes, this became a major challenge during the “COVID years”.

Between 2017 and 2022 nearly one-third of regular planned givers have been “lost” (for various reasons) and new members are not so forthcoming. The average weekly giving per planned giver has fallen from £10.34 in 2015 to £9.66 in 2021, 65% of the Diocesan average (£14.80).

Our general expenditure therefore continues to out-strip and exceed income, with generous donations (for specific purposes) accounting for most of the increase in voluntary giving (not shown below if not gift aided).

Recorded giving is PLANNED GIVING plus all other giving which is GIFT AIDED. Comparative figures are not available for 2012 and 2022 figures are from the income forecast.

Recorded giving profile over the last decade

2022 budget plan – revenue & capital:

The immediate future remains equally challenging with the 2022 forecast revenue expenditure exceeding the forecast income by just over £10,000. The headline details are:

Where the money goes to

Where the money comes from Percentages are as portions of the total expenditure budget

T he R esponsibility I s O urs

L eaving E verlasting G ifts A ppreciated in C oming Y ears

• Expenditure (revenue) £91,720
o Parish Share £40,000
o Engagement £2,430
o Internet & Comms £1,100
o Oil £8,100
o Premises costs
o Upkeep of services		 £4,840
£3,280
o Insurance £4,500
o Electric £8,280
o Fund raising £820
o Admin £3,490
o Misc. £940
o Professional services £12,330
o Parsonage house
o Staff expenses		 £310
£1,625
• Income budget £81,430
o Church family giving £34,520
o Other giving £8,700
o PCC Fees £11,080
o Fund raising £7,020
o Other PCC Fees £1,675
o Other funding £9,100
o Gift Aid £9,340

The forecast overspend excludes any consideration of the cost of clergy housing. In recent years, the annual costs for clergy housing were approximately £4,000.

Expenditure (capital)

The parish has several major projects which will need to be funded in the next five to seven years to maintain the good repair of the building and meet the overly challenging ambitions set by General Synod / The Church of England:

This amounts to nearly £100,000 (based on current estimates) which will need to be raised by various means during this decade.

The future

The solution to the financial crisis will not, cannot come solely from seeking more giving from the existing church membership. We need to develop new ways of encouraging and encompassing stewardship. Financial giving has its place but we should never overlook the gifts of time and talents.

We might hope to develop a Friends of the Church scheme, for example, allowing those with looser connections to the church to retain contact with the Parish. Daresbury is wellloved, not because of its historical connections or grandeur, but because the “staff” and building were always there when they were needed.

Friends of the Church would receive news of what is happening at Daresbury and they would be kept aware of the needs of the building with which they hold an affinity.

This must however, be paralleled by a strong concomitant approach which will grow the congregation. Several substantial new housing developments are underway, expanding our peaceful parish (close to Church House) into a very unique, vibrant semi-rural, suburban and internationally renowned scientific location. These are all opportunities for outreach and hopefully growth.

We thus seek an engaging, creative leadership willing to harness the emerging population with an emphasis on stewardship and development of the Parish’s mission. This, in turn, will grow Daresbury’s financial viability.

T he R esponsibility I s O urs

L eaving E verlasting G ifts A ppreciated in C oming Y ears