THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY'S SHORTLANDS ANNUAL REPORT and FINANCIAL STATEMENTS of the PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL for the year ended 31st December 2024 Incumbent: Vacancy Churchwardens: James Hollingdale (until 19105/2024} Robin Hogg (from 19/05/2024) Glo Sherman (from 19/05/2024) Treasurer: Tim Dawson Independent Examiner: Graham Smedley
TrLSteeg AnnLo1 Rel 24 Reportand Finanaal Statements of the ParCKlI Clxwth Cn( of St Marfs Churth, Shortlands Aim and Purposes St Mary's Parochial Church Council {PCCI has the responsibility under the Parochial Church Councils {Powersl Measure 1956 of cooperating with the Incumbent in promoting in the ecdesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church- pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also specrfically responsible for the maintenance of the Church buildings, halls and grounds of St Mary's, Shortlands. Objertives and Activities Our Mission is "Sharing the love of God" and we as a PCC place great value on being and welcoming and inclusive to all. Our Vision develops our Mission in four key areas: our heart for God- building fellowship and confidence: becoming a community hub.. and, in time, becoming prophetic and challenging- the'go to place, in the community for spiritual support and encouragement. The PCC aims to reflect our mission, values and strate8ic objertives in its development of leadership. programme plannin& site development and governance of the church. Key activities in the church are under the leadership of committees: mainly managed by volunteers and supported in some cases by paid staff. Committees include Standing and Finance, Children and Youth {including Uniformed representation}, Fabric. Future Generations (physical development of site), Vision and Mission, Pastoral and Worship and Ministry. We are also committed to serving our local community with representatives on Deanery Synod, Churche5 Together in Beckenham. Welcare and Shortlands Residents, Association. The PCC is reliant on volunteers who contribute to various tasks, including maintaining the buildings and grounds, ensuring a warm welcome to our servlces, decorating the church weekly and especially for major festivals, catering for events, administration and ushering for occasional services. The officers of St Marfs are also volunteers, specifically the Treasurer, the Secretaryto the PCC and the Churchwardens. Achlevements and Performance Our Vision and Mission was adopted at the beginning of 2023. after extensive consultation. under the guidance of our Vision and Mission team. This has given us a strong foundation to build on and we have a dear sense that there is much more that God is calling us to be and to do. This year we have continued to work on embeddin8 the Wision and Mission values and ensuring we have a healthy culture. Ourvalues are that we should be: Christ<entred Inclusive and Flexible Kind and Caring Learning and Growing Page 1 of 11
Open and Nurturing Welcoming and Valuing Revjane Kustner continued to support us through to 31 March 2024 as our interim priest In charge and we would like to register our thanks for her leadership, guidance and loving care over that period after which we were in an interregnum. After the departure of Rev Jane Kustner we were able to advertise the post for a new Incumbent quickly as we had been developing our draft parish profile as part of our preparation for lookingfor a new incumbent when Revjane left after Easter in 2024. During that year. we completed our parish profile as part of our preparation for looking for a new incumbent. Describing our activities in our draft parish profile has helped us focus on how we are applying our Vision and Mission in practice and how we are looking to develop our Mission. This in turn has enabled us to clarify what we are looking for in a new incumbent, and the commitments we need to make as a church family, as reflected in the draft parish profile. We see huge potential for St Marfs through carrying out our Vision and Mission, as it evolves over time. To do this though we will need to harness our collective gifts, working together as a church under the leadership of our new incumbent. Worship We celebrate the diversFty of Anglican worship and seek to give people of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to worship in ways that enable them to build their spiritual live5, reflecting the first part of our Wision: -it stt7rts with us ond our heartfor God." In seeking to grow as disciples. we want to: ensure that our Liturgy reflects our rich heritage and meets diverse needs; embrace our vibrant musical offering- choral tradition. modern and other worshlp music; encourage wider participation in leading worship; and encourage ouryoun8 people to create and deliver worship. We are blessed with a relatively high attendance at our main Sunday services with 65-70 adults and between four and eight children joining us and especially at the major Christian Festivals. Mothering Sunday. Parish Picnic. Harvest Festival and Remembrance Sunday services attract around 40+ children and I130 adults. These are parade services which include our uniformed organisations and are Services of the Word. Services during Advent are also very popular, attended by members of the local community with 62 children and 135 adults joining for Christingle. 312 for our service of Nine Lessons and Carols- which was the Civic service for our LLM David Jefferys. year as Mayor of Bromley 63 children and 158 adults for our very popular Crib Service and 90 sharing Midnight Mass. There is a wide-ran8ing programme of other special and occasional services which take place throughout the year, including infom)al evening services led by the Music Group. There are opportunities to introduce new ways to worship, such as our Come Holy Spirtt offerin& and to experiment with different timing. We now hold 3 9.00 am Sunday Said Holy Communion (CW) when a Service of the Word has been our main service. Occasional services for 2024 have also included seven Baptisms, with one child prepared forfirst communion. and we had two weddings and five interments. Page2of11
The PCC is keen to offer a range of services during the week and over the course of the year that our community find both beneficial and spiritually fulfilling. In addition to our 10.30 am Sunday and 10.CQ am Wednesday services. services take place on major feast days such as Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and A5cen5ion Day. We were pleased to be able to continue providing these services durin8 the vacancy. All these services demonstrate how we are lookingto build on and to realise the third part of our Wision: "reaching out to the community." Music The musical tradition of St Martys comprises the robed choir and the music group. Claire Tillotson, Direttor of Music. IDOMI has embraced both groups and enabled greater cooperation and creativity, includin8 the combined Taizé service which is very popular. In response to requests for increased diversity in worship our'come Holy Spiriy has been well received. and is led by our lay ministers and other lay members as well as the incumbent and ordinands. The Cholr The choir have had a very successful year and continue to develop and flourish. In June we hosted a concert Wtth The Ynysowen Male Voice Choir which was highly attended and both choirs were given a wonderful applause. We hope to continue this friendship with them and hope to go to Wales to return the favour. In early July the choir was invited to sing at Holy Trinity Church on Bromley Common for the Mayor of Br0mleS Civic Service and we also hosted the Mayorfs Civic Carol Service at St Marfs. July saw the choir sing the weekend services at Rochester Cathedral where they received a warm reception and have been invited back. They will be lookingto do another Cathedral trip in 2026. Last Palm Sunday the choir sang Stainerfs Crucifixion. and this year will be doing a joint Taizé service with the music group. The choir also sang at St George's Bloomsbury for the annual ABCD Carol service and again they are looking forward to our being back with them next year. We are always looking for new junior members to augment our junior choir. The juniors are doing really well andlsaac in particularly is proving to be an excellent Tenor. We continue to provide Choral Evensong once a month as well as the usual Sunday morning Eucharist services. The DOM extends her thanks to the choir for all their support and commitment to her and the Church. She is also very grateful to Richard Pilliner and Adrian Lamboume for playing the organ. Page3of11
The Music Group The music group continue to play for some mornin8 services and their evening liturgies are very popular. They are a very committed group of people who provide alternative music to that of the choir and there have been services wherethe musicgroup and the choir have sung together. The music group are a valuable asset to the music at St Mar¢s and thanks 80 to them for their hard work in making each service so successful. Children and Youth Children and Youth ministry continues to grow at St Mary's. A new children's service was introduced in January which, whilst not well attended by families, was well received by our f egular congregation with Many enjoying the different service, especially the puppet show. Good numbers attended services over Christmas, especially the crib service and Christingle which were well attended and enjoyed by all. Both Youth Group and Teatime Together are thrivin& with a number of the same families attending regularly. and we have started seeing some of them at other services too. Thanks are extended to all those who support Junior Church, preparing and leading on Sunday mornings- the Youth Club team, who help control the many teenagers who come on a Sunday evenin& to those who regularly lead and support Teatime Together- and finallyto the congregation of St Mary's for supporting Rachel in all she is tryin8 to do to increase frdmily participation at St Mary's. Baby and Toddler Group The Baby and Toddler Group at St Marfs continues to attract large numbers, having 3545 children in the morning group with at least 30 adults. It runs from 9.30 until 11.30 am. 15-20 children attend the afternoon group which runs from 12.30 to 2.00 pm. Many parents and children from the Pre-school come to this session, bringing their lunch alon& and it is a good social learning experience for them. The Group had a very successful summer party with over 70 children attending with their carers. There was a summer service and puppet bible story. A bouncy castle and ball pond were hired which will be used again this year. The Christmas service with puppets attracted at least 65 children, and nativity story books and Itttle stockings knitted by the craft and chatter group, and containing a chocolate figure of a snowman. were 8iven to the children by Father Christmas after the service. The Group is looking forward to its Easter puppet service and Easter egg hunt at the end of this term. At present the Group has three/four helpers for the morning but only one for the afternoon which adds pressure on tidying up the equipment. although some help has been given with that. No other volunteers have come forward on a regular basis forthe afternoon. At present someone from the morning session has to wait until the leader for the afternoon session arrives at about 1.45 pm as she works at the Pre-school in the morning. Hopefully the afternoon group will be able to continue. Pre-sd)ool St Marfs Pre-school Shortlands is held in the church hall each weekday morning during term time. The Pre-school is a separate organisation which is financially independent, but operates under the oversight of the PCC and usesthe same CharÈty number. The PCC also approves the three trustees for St Marfs Pre-school board and the Chair of the board. Page4of11
The children sing in church during the Mothering Sunday senrfice and visit the church at other times such as takin8 Harvest goods into church. The children are sometimes allowed to play the organ under the 8uidance of the DOM. The parents are invited into church for the pre- school AGM, a Christmas service and the end of school year leavers, service. Parents are also encouraged to join in with church activities such as the Parish Picnic and Christingle whi¢h help families feel part of the church community. A recent OfSTED inspettion graded the Pre- school as"Good" which was an excellent result. Stewardship Stewardship is the Christian expectation that, as a demonstration of our discipleship. members of the congregation make regular donations to finance the activities of their Church. Regular giving is currently by standing orders and weekly envelopes. A Stewardship campaign was held early in 2024 to focus on promoting regular giving. The church joined the Parish Giving Scheme (PGSI in 2024. which is run on behalf of parishes by the Church of England. Thi5 was a great succe55 With 35 members switching to the PGS from other schemes. We also receive donations from members of the community who, while not active members of the Church, appreciate the presence of the Church which is open to the whole communty. Fabric and Maintenance Following an agreed plan to address the findings of The Quinquennial Survey report delivered in late 2022, work has been carried out to addres5 all the high priority, and almost all of the medium priority, issues. A detailed report on the Fabric and Ornaments for 2024 15 circulated separately. Mission and Evangelism Mission and evangelism are what we, as individuals and a church, are called to do. These take many forms, and at St Mary's they are part of all that we do in sharing God's love with the community and beyond. We have an open doors policy of welcoming all to our services and to our regular and special events. Our spaces are used by many in the community for meetings. social activities and charity events. Our Mission Beyond the Parish exemplifies our care for others. Mission Beyond the Parish- Mlsslon of the Month For many years the Church has nominated and supported many worthy causes close to the hearts of the congregation and the wider parish. In October each year a meeting is held to decide which charities will be supported the following year. The meeting is open to all those who are interested in this aspect of our outreach, not just those who are nominating a particular charity. A different charity is supported each month and the aim is to have a mix of local, national and international charities each year. Some charities are supported annually, including Christian Aid and the Children's Society, with others supported every few years or as "one offs" and the charities do not have to be Christian, but many are. Some have 3 particular resonance with individuals because of a family connection with loved ones having need of a chariWs input, specifically St Christopherfs Hospice or The Chartwell Trust. Those nominating a charity usually become its °rep". acting as the liaison between the charity and St Marls. writing a short article for SPAN plus providing information on the charity board at the back of church. With recent charities as varied as Welcare in Bromley. Mission to Seafarers. Bromley Homeless Shelter, the MinesAdvisoryGroup and ABCD Bethlehem IAction Page5of11
around Bethlehem Children with Disabilities). it is important that St Man<s continues to help those in need both at home and abroad. Pastoral Care Several members ofour congregation are unableto attend church sernices or events because of infirmity and illness. The pastoral team visit, run services in nursing and residential home5 and take home communion as requested. They also are present at our weekly Communtty Café sessions should anyone need their support. They meet weekly for sharing in confidence, mutual support and prayer. Healing prayers are also offered monthly during the main Sunday service. Deanery Synod The Beckenham Deanery Synod continues to move and grow the Anglican churches and Christians. We welcomed Revd. Rachel Winn (St Paul'sl, Fr Russell Stagg (St James with St Michael and St Augu5tine}, and Rev Andrew Smith as Curate (St George's Beckenhaml and said goodbye to Rev Jane Kustner (St Marfsl and Rev David Jones1St John's). In our February meeting at St John's Penge the main topic was a presentation by Anna Khan. the CEO of Welcare, a charity that works with families and young children. She highlighted the work being done in schools with the well-being and mental health of vulnerable children and the work with Dads and their children. She thanked the churches for their continued support in their vital work. At our June meetin& held at Christ Church. Anerley, we worshipped together on the topic of Fragrance, followed by Deanery discussions around diversity and inclusion. We recogni5ed that we Christians were the living Bible that used to be on shelves in every home. Parishes shared good news including the successful bereavement course at Christ Church. The Area Dean reported that he had had contact with our new MP Liam Conlon, 3 practising Christian, as had the Lay Chair. and he was keen to visit a Deanery Synod or Chapter meeting. Our October meeting was held at St George's Beckenham. The Area Dean spoke on diversity and inclusion, stating that diversity is a given whilst inclusion 15 a choice. There was discussion about the spiritual and practical implications of both within our churches. There was a report from the meeting held between Churches Together in 8eckenham {CTiBI and Deanery churches ClerwIth Liam Conlon. There was an opportuntty to 5haregood news from around the parishes, and cfiB are holding a Lent Course in 2025 which was warmly welcomed. St Marfs continues to play a part in the Deanery, with Glo Sherman on the Deanery Synod Standing Committee and on Diocesan Synod. We look forward to continuing our engagement with our Deanery colleagues to further God's kingdom in Beckenham. Ecumenical Relatlonships Our church is committed to Churches Together in Beckenham and several members of the church take part in cfiB activities. cfiB is an active group which organises a range of joint attivities. Over recent years St Marfs has maintained links with cfiB through participation in their regular meetings of clergy and lay representatives. These occur four or five times a year, with representation from most churches in Beckenham. and they provide an opportunity to plan and praytogether and to share fellowship and news. A small numberof church members participate in CTIB and related activities. including the Good Friday Walk of Witness, services Page6of11
and activities in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, CTIB Lent groups in 2024 and services for the World Day of Prayer, and some joint fund-raising activities for Christian Aid were arranged. Twinning/Jumelage This year marks the 30 anniversary of our Twlnnlngjjumelage with the Parlsh of St Francls of Assisi in Douai. We look forward to welcoming a group of French parishioners on the th weekend of 3 14 May to celebrate this great achievement. Realistically it may be the last such exchange visit as everyone is getting older, and travel from France is not so easy in this post-Brexit era. Our French friends will enjoy a trip to a local place of interest, evening meal and home hospitality with parishioners from St Marfs. On the Sunday we will celebrate the Eucharist together in a bi-lingual service attended by the Mayor and Mayoress of Bromley, our own David Jefferys and his wife Ann-marie. followed by a special lunch in the church hall. We are looking for ways in which the Jumelage could be preserved/continued without the annual visits and would welcome any suggestions towards this. Social Media As well as the website. we use Facebook for streaming services and have several WhatsApp groups for wider communication. Our church newsletter, SPAN, is produced 11 times a year and is published on the church website. The Facebook page has over 778 followers and seeks to provide real time. more informal updates about St Marfs. During the pandemic Services were streamed via Facebook. with upto 50-80 viewers remainingonline forthewhole service. Online numbers reduced substantially at the end of lockdown, but the streaming of Sunday services remains particularly important for congregation members with access issues. Services were livestreamed on our Facebook page up until July, where unfortunately due to lack of trained personnel we had to stop streaming the services. Funerals were also livestreamed, which was welcomed by those who could not attend in person. A new, improved system was installed to livestream services and there is a pressing need for more volunteers to help run the streaming and audio-visual system. A detailed social media policy is in place, and we subscribe to music copyright licences suttable for online services. The website is also a good place for information about the church and what's going on, as well as giving access to the weekly pew paper and SPAN. Café St Marfs Community Café. on Wednesday momings. clearly fulfi15 a need in the community to bring people together. It is a thriving hub of warmth and conviviality. The atmosphere in the Café is relaxed and con8enial. It is a popular meeting place for those who look forward to the companionship on offer as well asthe delicious homemade cakes. We always welcome new visitors. It is now traditional to celebrate milestone birthdays for our regular Café guests and during the year we had several birthdays in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Community Café takes place every Wednesday of the year except if it is on Christmas Day. The Café welcomes people from our parish and beyond. As a dementia-friendly church, we welcome those who might need a bit of extra help. and their helpers who might appreciate a chat. We tryto ensure the church is a safe, warm space in winter land a safe, cool space in summer!). Members of the pastoral team are always on hand should anyone require a deeper conversation. The Café is approaching its 4th Anniversary, and this would not have been possible without the full support of St Mary's Page7of 11
Church and the Team of Volunteers who transform the Church into a Cafe or bake for and serve in the Café . Volunteers Thanks are extended to all the volunteers who work so hard to make our Church the lively and vibrant Christian community it is, especially considering the difficult year we have all experienced. The time and effort put in byso many isgreatly appreciated. includingthe flower arrangers who keep the Church looking splendid week by week playing an important role in preparins the Church for our worship and special services- the Churchwardens, who have worked tirelessly on our behalf: rim Dawson and Robin Hogg who continue to provide sound guidance and judgement on the Church's accounts and its finances- the grounds and buildings team who ensure everything is in order- and those who staff the Community Café, bakers. servers, flower arrangers and the team who set up the tables and chairs every week. Flnanclal Review The Accounts forthe Year ended 31 December 2024 are appended at the end of this report. The financial position is set out on pages 12 to 20. As can be seen on page 13 our General Fund, which covers the dayto day running of the Church, made a loss for the year of £16.Cx)O while our restricted funds, which are restricted to be spent on major repair5 and our Future Generation Project, show a surplus of £18,000. so our net position improved slightly. The overall position is reasonable, but we need to increase the income in the General Fund with the objective of breaking even. In 2025 we will focus on Stewardship to achieve this objective. During the year the restricted funds benefited from a very generous bequest of £30,000 which will be spent on improvementstothetea station atthe backof church. We also spent£37,OlY) on repairs to the Church roof. Structure, Governance and Mana8ement The PCC is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure and is a Registered Charity. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. At St Marfs the membership of the PCC consists of the Priest in Charge, Churchwardens121. Deanery Synod representatives 131. members elected 1121 by those members of the congregation who are on the elertoral roll of the Church and one co-opted member. All those who attend our serviceslmembers of the congregation are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC. The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and Importance to the parish including deciding on how the funds of the PCC are to be spent. The PCC has six regular meetings durin8the year. but in 2024 met on seven occasions. An extra meeting called a Section 11 meeting was needed to address the recruitment of a new incumbent. The Standing and Finance Committee has powerto transact the business of the PCC between the meetings subjert to any directions given by the PCC to and financial limits. Other committees- Children and Youth. Mission Beyond the Parish. Twinning, Fabrlc Committee and Future Generations- report backto the PCC as required. Page8of11
The Friends of St Marvs is a separate charity which supports the Church in practical ways. raisin8 funds through subscriptions from members and fund-raising social events for "those little extras" that the Church cannot always afford. Electoral Roll At the last APCM there were 168 members on the Church Electoral Roll. 78 living inside the parish and 90 living outside the parish. A report from the Electoral Roll officer has been included with the papers presented to the APCM. Safeguarding The PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 {duty to have due regard to House of Bishops, guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults). There were no events reported during the year within our Church. There has been a complete overhaul of most of the training needsforthe Foundation module and both the Safeguarding Office training and Leadership courses. These training courses are all offered online under the direction of the Diocesan Safeguarding Team. The Diocese has a comprehensive Safeguarding website which gives details of all those who need particular levels of training and how to access them. In addition to the online Zoom training there are now face-to-face training sessions being offered in Chislehurst with plans for further venues. All details of face-to-face training sessions can be obtained from the Diocesan Safeguarding Team. Seismic shifts are taking place within the Church of England's Safeguarding structures and proceedings. Following on from Professor Alexis Jaws report on Safeguarding within the Church, the Church of En8land was found to be sadly wanting in many of its safeguarding procedures. Prof Jay reported that the Church needed a clear emphasis on independent scrutiny and the importance of professional advice in all the Church's Safeguarding work. These new recommendations would be implementedfollowingthetermination ofthe current ISB ( Independent Safeguardin8 Board). Sadly, following hard on the heels of Prof Javs extensive review we had The Makin Report which dealt with extensive abhorrent and long-term predatory activities of the late John Smyth. Kevin Makin pulled no punches when he stated the following: "De5Plte the efforts of some individuals to bring the obuse to the attention of the outhorities, the responses by the Church of England and others were wholfy ineffective and amounted to a cover up.- He also stated that the Church and its associated organi5ations must learn from this review and implement robust procedures across their organisations that are governed independently l a very similar finding to that of Prof Jay). From the ground level we still need to be alert to unacceptable behaviours, and to be aware of those who appear to be nervous or apprehensive around certain people. All of us in the PCC owe it to our Church family to make sure we are aware of our safeguarding responsibilities. It is for this reason our Safeguarding Officer recommends that we make use of the excellent supplementary safeguarding training material. which comprises 16 realistic safeguarding scenarios. These typical scenarios offer suggested ways of dealing with each one after they have been discussed. Page9of11
DBS At the start of the Church year there were 34 p05t holders that should have held a DBS certificate. Underthe°3-year rule", which was introduced in January 2022, on 31 December 2024 there were none that were awaitin8 renewal. Since that date a 35th has been added. Risk Register The PCC. having introduced a Risk Assessment document and evaluation procedure in 2022, has reviewed and kept the risk assessments up to date. The PCC must identify, review and manage the risks facing the Church and the Risk Register currently lists 23 risks. For each one there is a rating of severity and likelihood, mitigation actions have been identified and a team or individual tasked with responsibility for managing the risk. This Register was last reviewed by the PCC in October 2024 and will be reviewed again as soon as the new PCC is in place, or when one of the risks changes or a new risk is identified. Administrative Inforniatlon St Marls Church is situated in Shortlands, and it is part of the Diocese of Rochester within the Church of England. The correspondence address is The Parish Office. Church House, 39 Kingswi)od Road. Bromley, BR2 OHG. Registered charty number 1130802. PCC members who have served at anytime from the date of the lastAPCM until the date this report was approved are.. Ex Officio Members: Incumbent: The Reverend Jane Kustner (until March 20241 Interregnum Wardens: Jame5 Hollingdale (until May 20241 Robin Hogg Ifrom May 20241 Glo Sherman (from May 20241 Elected Members: Catherine Bingham ILLMI Jan Boam Irepresentative on Deanerysynod) Pat Chase (Deputy Warden) Tim Dawson (Treasurer and Deputy Warden) Robin Hogg (Churchwarden & Assistant Treasurer) Ann-mariejefferys ILLMI (representative on Deanerysynod and Diocesan Synod) Dr David Jefferys ILLMI (Deputy Warden) Pauline Lambourne Isafeguarding Officer) Keith Mills Jay Sharma (Secretary) Glo Sherman (Churchwarden, representative on Deanery Synod and Diocesan Synod) Sue Slaney Ann Dalton {Deputy Warden) Canon Claire Tillotson {Director of Music) Craig Myers Page10of 11
PCC Attendance In 2024. Name Total Meetin85 2024 Noof Absences Glo Sherman- Churchwarden. & Deanery Synod Robin Hogg- Churchwarden Tim Dawson- Treasurer Jay Sharma, secretary Jan Boam- Deanery Synod Ann-marie Jefferys- LLM, Deanery Synod Catherine Bingham -LLM Dr. David Jefferys- LLM, Pat Chase Ann Dalton Keith Mi115 Crai8 Myers Sue Slaney Canon Claire Tillotson- Director of Music, Dr.Pauline Lambourne We thank all those who contribute to the governance. running and mission and ministry of the church. In particular we thank those PCC mernbers who retired during the year. Report approved by Si8nature Date Page 11 of 11
THE PAIUSH CHURCH OF ST MARY'S SHORTLANDS, KENT FINANCIAL STATEMENrs of the PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL ror the year ended 31$t December 2024 Incumbent: Rev. Jane Kustner (until 31" March 2024) (Vacancy from 1st April 2024) Churchwarden5: Mr Robin Hogg Mrs Gloria Shernian Secretary: Ms Jay Sham]a Tre&surer: Mr Timothy Dawson Independent Examiner: Mr Grnham Smedley
Independent Examiner's Report to the St Mary'8 Shortlands Parochial Church Coun¢il 12- I report on the Financial Statements of the Church for the year ended 31st December 2024, which are set out in pages I to 20. Respective responsibilities of tstee5 and examiner The Church's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The Churcb's trustees consider that an audit is not requir¢d for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) but that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibiIity to." Examine the accounts under sethion 145 of the 2011 A¢t To follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145{5)(b) of the 2011 Act: and To state whether particular matters bave come to my attentio Basis of Independent Eiaminers report My ¢xamination was carri¢d out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. Th¢ examination includes areviewofthe accounting r¢rdS kept by the Churcband a comparison ofthe accounts preted withthose records. It also includes Considering any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trSteeS concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do notprovide all the evidence that would be required in all audit, and cotwuently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts give a "true and fair vieW' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the sfatement klow. Independent emminer's statement Since the gross income for the year ¢xceeds th¢ amount provided in section 145 (1) of the ACL I confirm that l am quaIified to act as an indeident examiw under the provisions of that section ofthe Ath. In connection with my examination no matter has come to my attention: (l) which gives me reasonable cause to lIeVe that in any mat¢rial resp¢ct the r¢quirements (i) (li) to keep accountin8 records in a¢¢ordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act. and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the requirements of the 2011 Act Ikave not been mel or (2) to wbich, in my Opinio attention should be drawn in order to ¢nable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Graham Smedley Address: 30 Sco£ts Date RI OLL
16.2127r2r24 13- STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIWTES forthg yoar onded 31st Dm¥T2024 Aifwes n fs Funds Ful) To¢41 2024 Tot 2023 INCOME AND ENDO¥thIENT$ Voluntary Inc 4101 124.701 30.125 154.826 130.485 Aclp/rfi&s fc¥wr81¥w r[US 4lbl 12.832 14.791 41cl 5.312 10,297 15,fA)9 13.482 InGorne IlDm Chtsrch 4(dl 49.W2 .793 TOTAL INCOME 233.(69 2riJ 551 EXPENDrruRE chUA Aciv 197.737 37,454 235.192 201.646 5(bl 70 TOTAL EXPENDITURE NET IN¢QMW(EXPENDrruRE) 8EFOREJNVESTMENT GAINS Is.rMJi 12.1221 NEf GAIN ON INVESTMENTS 14.967 NET IWENDrruRWMCOMg 14.5321 1,873 22.802 TRANSFER BETW1 FUNDS 112.1th1 12.10 NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS 116.5321 18.405 1.873 22,2 BALANCES BROUGHT FORWARD 62.1 425.558 BALANCES CARRIED FORWARD
14. BALANCE SHEET ASAT 31ST DECEMBER 2023 N< FIXEO AS8Ef8 2023 TarvJlftx•J 8ssets Inv88lm8ntas$ots 8(&1 8(bl 750.(XIO 7.0() 92 136 CURRENT ASSETS D$blors Shortterm deposls.. Dkncase of R(neSter ¢h at bank hand 3.717 2.412 293,472 23 31a384 313.428 LIABILrriES Cr&thJr8"._Amunts fal y8¥ 10 147.2381 (44162) NET CURRENT ASSErs 266.1 273.222 TQTAL NEf ASSEfs 1.198,358 FLINOS UnreStr- Gerjer eted. D9Veb fund ReBrrktsd . Church par fa R081r . H8U rtyar fijnd 13(81 13(al 62,561 179.677 123.131 216.182 13(al 2.693 450233 448.360 R8strtod. Hal v8bJatkx) reserve 750,IMJ T,(1 TOYAL FUNDS 1, 198 36Q Approved by the Parochklctrrch J (Ir,, l Robn Hogg IWardEnl T 08wsth (Hrywary Tr&urerl Thè notes numbèred or b)sv C th8
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMEKrs for the year ended 31" Deeember 2024 I. ACCOUNTING POLICIES The PCC is apublic benefit entity within the meaning of FRS102. The financial statements have been Prepared under the Charities Act 2011 and in accordance with th¢ Church Accounting Regulations 2006 governing th¢ individual accounts of PCCS. and with the regulations-1rue and fair view. provisions, and also prepared under FRS102 (2016) as the applicable accounting standards and the 2016 version of the Statement of Reconjmended Practice, Accounting and Rep)rting by Charities (SORP(FRS102)) 2. ASSETS Consecraledproperty Consecrated and Ixneficed proikny is excluded from the accounts by Section 10(2) (a) and (c) of the Ckwities Act 2011. Movable Churchfvnishings Movable church furnishings held by the Incumbent and Churcbwardens on special trust for the PCC, and which require 2 faculty for disposal, are accounted as inalienable property unless consecrated. All expenditure incUed during the year on movable church furnishing5, whether maintenance or improvement. is separately disclosed and usually written-off as expenditu in the accounts. Any exceptions to this p)licy are fully disclosed. Other Property SORP 102 was introduced in 2016 and allows three differeni bases for valuing fixed &ssets. We have opted to include the Church Hall in the accounts at ils vaIuation on the introduction of SORP 102. in 2016. The Church Hall is therefore included in the accounts at its value on l January 2016. This represents the insurance value in 2006. No depreciation will be Charged as any charge would be offset by an incre&se in the value of the Hall. Otherf(r¢s. fittings and office equipment Other assets are usually charged to the income and expenditure account when purchased. Im?estmenfs Investments are shown in th¢ accounts at theirmid market value at the yearend and the un- realised gain or loss is reflected in the statement of financial activities. Short ferm Deposits These ar¢ cash deposits held with the Diocese or one of our bat&s.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year end¢d 315t December 2024 3. FUNDS Unre3lrictedFunds These represent the funds of the PCC that are not subject to any restriettons gardIng their use and are available for use for any purFK)ses by the PCC. Reslricfed Funds These represent the funds that have been received that are intended to be used for speciflc pUoses. Details of the restricted funds held and the relevant restriction are shown in th¢ notes to the accounts.
17- NOTES TO THE FINANCLAL STATEMENTS l¢ontlnu•dl fortho yoarend•d 3181 December 2024 INCOIAE AND ENDOVIMENTS Funds Funds Total 2024 Totsl 2023 4181 vOnry In¢omtr Planned GNrq.' 76.872 76,872 29.024 6.384 12.545 73.930 22.47S - InGometsx reco¥er8t* Cotsclknns Donations ac 125 12.545 16,826 10.(N)O 124701
J,125 154 826 41bl A¢INit foroenerelroj [$ Span Rent Ln Cmwch Hw$e Fkl 10.152 4(¢) Incorne frOmhve8trFrrtS Owhnds on CCLA lnveslrrts Interest on Fur h8kl 91 the Dbx88& 4,912 401 4,912 10.698 15.809 4.703 10.297 qdl Incom& from Church Fe8s for w&1dkJ$ kner* H81 let 2.S11 47 49,? 2.541 47.251 49.802 4,153 50.793 TOTAL INCOA 1Y2.647 209.551
18- NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Icontlnuedl fortha yèarended 31st Doumber2024 5. EXPENDITURE Unwtrfcted Funds Fund• Total 2024 Tot•1 2023 al ChUrchActs$ and Ghariy 9VY &576 2.4T5 825 . Over8OBS P8rBb sh8r8 Oth8r klln&lry $ts Church runniNJ aj man1ce ¢(ots May)r repars Repatr$ and Mainten Ground5 Church dev8N)pmw Expenthr8 on Span Or9anist, chr and must PJmlntstrator'$ drect crnts Bank charge 7T.715 6270 77.715 6.270 00.173 37.454 2.W7 837 4.751 62.958 7,065 4191 &515 10.0th7 37.454 2.917 13.Ir28 13,028 435 7.923 7.874 17,566 590 207 640 197.n7 37.454 51bl R8tsNwFurK4s siewardshp expe$ 70 70 TOTAL RESOLIRCES EKPENDED 197.737 37.454 235.192
19- NOTE$ TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS IntiNU1 forthe yeat èndod 31st DecÈmb•r2024 2023 STAFF COSTS Wages 8nd satsr 36.932 41 240 Aver89È numbw of8mpbye25 thJrkng the yogr Ihe Church Èt8ff CrryrL8'. a Drector ofmust. Mi fv Church Olltg. ¥ Y¢xth Wcrfk8r. and cerS. Payments EQ Visthg CW arnl (YgantS areakn m aTrY li crffjts. Tho clwgy are P8KI by Ihe DKttss•axl Iher ae ffttrd5 Al staff are part timè. 7. RELATED PARnES No payrnenls or exwtses of any kknd. p•Jto Y PCC ther. w8c¥ ¢kiBety rdabj b) LY p¥tss, kn CnectIjn with rok on Ihe PCC. 8. FIXED ASS5 FOR USE BYTHE PCC 8lal Tan• flxed8s$0ts Church Ha Gross aNJ Not V 7XJ.MO 750 C0 750.000 T5Q 000 H81. exchjdiig knnd. ¢01 vabjakn fft2tthi. The currentSUr¢O¥9hj8 £3.3 rnkn12023 £3.3 rthil. W• have¢lx)5M revalue prokEriy 85 akrd urthr SORP 102 81bl Investynonts CCLA Inv&strr6rtkccKmt Thg Church knv8strnents We h8k141 CCLA Chur¢h of Ervjknd Inv8sbnent Ful. No purchases or sabs hav6 takgn the thjrty tr yew. y thkJ¥Kls arequthalt•ty ran¥ested i) the 9. DEBTORS 2023 Debtors 10. LIABILlEs 2023 Oulgtsnthno d¢natK)ns Outstanding cr&llors Retentlw arvj Prov1)nS 14.7591 115,8841 15.7391 112.8271 26.596 47,238
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Iconiinuadl forihè end¢d 31st D8eèrnber2024 11. ¢ontlng•ncy Sl Mary's Pchrd operates ofb)e church txrt urntrlhB ¢jr¢S Ch¥ty Nwts. The PCC ofst Mary's apwi)ts si¥ rnerntws to Ike PrescharA each year. The examn8d accounts ofthg Presch1 are atta¢W lott Clxrch Rwtandknuhts. paoe5 20 & 21. kYe8enied to the AF£M. and fibd wth thè Chaiitrs Cemmtssth 8rxl DeSe. Thè PCC ConsOrS that the Pre5chcd ¢tyit1 as a gJrvJ Cn. The PCC cons that the cortsc4bJakn ofts acwjnts Tr#h th8thx¢h&cts nota&J clarty to ¢weral fancl Frt)SrfK Ifthe Pre ctswj Ih8 assots r4Jk1 resrAy6bay FCC. 12. FUNDS Certdn fuTrJ8 have trken d68iJ)8tEd for. fv Chx¢h FurKI. the Pfal Repaw Fund the FUr0 Gewalbjrts F¥(w. Th8 funds are rnakntsiied tr) covw crtsts &55wwled wrfh the Qunquannl in5pK ofthe Church and Church H8L The Fuluro G8nerthn5 pro FuThfj i8 maiFts1 to mt Costs a5sociybJ vrith Ihe wssbl8 r8d6v8bp¥r ofthe ChJrch F¥)•5. 13.lal SUMMARYOF FUNDS IKIVEMENTS H81 Rtpatr Fund FuThYs FGPFw*J Rw FWKI Banc9 at 18tJatwy 2024 Inc( Expendrfure Invesbfènt gars Tr&nsfer beb¥een fuThYs èaanc•al 31st D&Émbw 2Wd4 179.677 1rJ.131 2.555 137.4541 1.(Y47 82,991 444359 233,069 1235.1921 3,995 192.647 1197.7371 739 46.028 216.182 95,329 450.232 l&lbl SUMMARYOF ASSEfs BY FUND Chw¢h R8Fqr Fwd trldl Repir Fd FGPF Tow FtKed Assets CurrantA%sels Cur¥8rt LBbll 72233 21.033 47 5.028 9).301 9.8T4 82.819 184.(M2 313.428 119.275 216,182 95,329 232