THE PARISH OF SOWERBY
St. Peter’s Sowerby and St. Mary’s Cottonstones
Charity Number 1132024
ANNUAL REPORT
of the
PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
Year ended 31[st] December 2020 Presented at the Annual General Meeting on 28[th] March, 2021
VICAR Rev. Jeanette Roberts
Vicar’s Report
Dear Friends,
The following words of scripture have always been important to me and never were they more needed and appropriate for the year we have just had (2020).
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; When you walk through fire you shall not be burned, And the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my sight, And honoured, and I love you.
(Isaiah 43:1b-4a)
I have felt that God has been powerfully with us, not only here in our locality but nationally and globally throughout the pandemic. As I sit and write this report, it is just a year ago that we were fearing the worst and the first ‘Lockdown’ was looming. Despite the words of Isaiah and the promises of God, 2020 saw lots of people become overwhelmed, lots of people burned emotionally and mentally and lots of people wondering as the psalmist put it ‘from where does my help come?’
From a way of life and a church point of view, this has been a year like no other. Someone said to me the other day, the words they have become so fed up of hearing are ‘unprecedented’, ‘pandemic’, ‘socially distant’ and ‘isolate’. These are the words that have defined 2020 as well as other works such as ‘kindness’, ‘compassion’, ‘in this together’.
It has been a year in which all public worship stopped and new ways of ‘being church’ had to be found. We learnt this year that ‘we are church’ and we are not defined by a building or a place. The world found itself (to use an ecclesiastical term) ‘in extremis’ which simply means ‘great difficulty’. Lots of people turned to on line services, live streaming and prayer who would have never normally accessed church.
For the churches of the Ryburn Benefice, we continued to worship apart but together through a ‘spiritual communion’ which we said in our homes at an appointed time. This year, as last year, we lost some pivotal people from our congregations, most notably Cynthia Taylor and Marjorie Tatham, who both died early in 2020.
All occasional offices ceased. These included baptisms and weddings. Funerals, unfortunately, increased but even these were very pared down and with minimal direct family. I have never cried as much with families as I have as they have had to stand outside the crematorium to say goodbye to a loved one because they were not allowed in the building. I have found this aspect of my ministry particularly hard both professionally and personally.
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Vicar’s Report (continued)
Pastoral care was done over the telephone or via video call with everyone from the churches taking the time to look out for one another. Meetings have been done via Zoom, Skype or Microsoft Teams….none of which I knew anything about before 2020!! We have all had to become a lot more ‘tech savvy’ in 2020.
All our outreach and community actions had to stop as did all the activities in the community centre. This meant lunch clubs, Community Café, The Hub, Messy Church, Lego club, Parent and Toddler groups could no longer meet. These things have been missed very much by the community at large who keep asking when they will begin again, which bodes well for the future.
All schools work had to stop, but collective worships, Easter and Christmas messages were filmed and emailed to schools to share via online learning etc. This has continued through the year.
As soon as we could return to church in the summer of 2020 we did, however, with lots of restrictions in place; no physical contact in the peace, no singing, taking communion in one kind, sanitizing, social distancing. Some people have found all these things very difficult so have stayed away from church.
Deanery Synod has not met, but Calder Valley Deanery has now been officially integrated in the ‘Halifax Deanery’ to form the ‘Halifax and Calder Valley Deanery’.
It has been the most difficult of years for us all and really, I do not think any of us have got through it unscathed. We are all changed because of it, one way or another and it has made us all take stock and re-evaluate our lives and what’s important.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued help and giving through 2020. With worship discontinued, giving across the entire Church of England slumped dramatically. Thank you to all of you who moved your giving to direct debit so that the churches could still have a steady monthly income. St. Luke’s did manage to pay their Parish Share again this year, whilst Sowerby Parish continue to struggle (as it has done for years).
November 2020 saw me having been here as vicar for eight years. I continue to love it and to love you all dearly. We still have much work to do and I believe this is where God wants me to be. I’d like to thank you all for continued support and also thanks to Julie and Dylan for their love and support too.
There will be much for us to do in 2021. Deciding what to hold on to and what to let go of. What to pick up again and nurture and what to consign to the past. There will need to be much work on reconnecting, collective grieving and listening to one another’s experiences of the pandemic. It is through these things that we will be able to move forward with renewed hope and optimism.
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Vicar’s Report (continued)
May God bless each and every one of you and be assured of my continued love and devotion.
Rev. Jeanette Roberts
Electoral Roll Officer’s Report
The number on the Electoral Roll at 31[st] December, 2020 was twenty five – a reduction of four on the number at 31[st] December, 2019.
Robert Jowett
Deanery Synod Report
As no meetings were held during 2020, there is nothing to report other than the Calder Valley Deanery has now been officially integrated into the ‘Halifax Deanery’ to form the ‘Halifax and Calder Valley Deanery’.
Rev. Jeanette Roberts
Safeguarding Officer’s Report
There have been no safeguarding concerns raised during 2020. This is in part due to the fact that we have been unable to meet in person as a church for much of the year.
As with everything else, Covid has had an effect on safeguarding practices over the last twelve months. Due to Covid restrictions, face to face safeguarding training by the Diocese was suspended in 2020 so I was unable to complete the training sessions I was booked to do. I have completed safeguarding updates in my professional role in the NHS (upto date for level 3 safeguarding requirements) and I anticipate being able to complete all safeguarding training required by the Diocese on line or face to face over the next twelve months.
After undertaking a trial period, Leeds Diocese has decided to invest in the use of safeguarding dashboards and we have a dashboard in place for Sowerby Parish. Church Wardens will be able to access the dashboard as well as the Archdeacon, Reverend Jeanette and PSO. This is some of what Carla Darbyshire, Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser, has written about the dashboards:
‘I would like to introduce you to a system called Safeguarding Dashoards. As you will see below, this is a tool designed specifically to assist Parish Safeguarding Officers with your safeguarding responsibilities.
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Safeguarding Officer’s Report (continued)
Safeguarding Dashboards is currently being used by over half the Dioceses in the Church of England. It started in Coventry and has spread by work of mouth to nearly every Diocese in the Midlands. More recently it has been adopted by Dioceses in the South and North of England, with Newcastle being the latest to sign up. Currently 1700 parishes are using Dashboards, eighteen Diocesan safeguarding teams with five more Dioceses currently trialling them.
The Diocese of Leeds has recently taken part in a trial for six weeks with ten churches throughout the Diocese and Bradford Cathedral. I am extremely grateful for the PSO’s/Incumbents/Archdeacons who have contributed to this feedback and for taking part in the trial. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with comments such as:-
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I have found it a really useful tool in helping me in my role as a PSO and I particularly like the fact that it generates an action plan to work from.
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It gives me confidence and reassurance in my role as Safeguarding Officer.
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I think it is a very useful tool and will certainly assist me as PSO and the Vicar and PCC to be satisfied that we are on track and keeping on top of our responsibilities.
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I think this will be a great help to parishes and PSO’s as they can see/check easily what is covered and what needs to be done. It will also be of help when people step down and new people step into the roles, as it will be very easy and clear for them to see what the current status is.
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I am really pleased with the Dashboard. It’s a great tool to make sure you have dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s which are so easily missed. I loved the structured approach and the ability to print off reports.
I am delighted to inform you that the Diocese of Leeds, due to the success of the trial run, are now investing with this safeguarding tool which we strongly believe will assist Parish Safeguarding Officers, Incumbents and PCC’s in all aspects of safeguarding responsibilities.
Safeguarding Dashboards has two main aims:
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To make life simpler for parish safeguarding officers.
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To help Diocesan safeguarding teams to work more effectively.
Safeguarding Dashboards is designed to make the work of a PSO easier, it allows others such as church wardens and incumbents to be added as an authorized user onto the system. There are clear benefits that should your PSO be absent for any reason or a new PSO is put in place, the Dashboard system makes the safeguarding role far easier to pick up. Safeguarding Dashboard appears to be a good value system which will be beneficial to safeguarding.’.
Julie Hawksworth
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St. Mary’s Churchwardens’ Report
The year 2020 was the first year where Sunday services were only scheduled for the first Sunday of each month. Due to the outbreak of Coronavirus and subsequent government policy, no services were held after the first Sunday in March until the 1[st] November. A service was also held at the beginning of December before another lockdown was introduced. Services were resumed on 7[th] March, 2021.
As we only held five Sunday services during the year, we are in breach of the conditions attached to the repair grants that we accepted. However, as we are operating under extreme circumstances, it is unlikely that there will be repercussions.
During the year we also had one wedding and one funeral with a burial.
The congregation has also dwindled during the year and it remains to be seen whether or not numbers will return to the very low numbers we had before the crisis.
In terms of the building, it has been hardly used during the year. The office space was completed in February, but remains empty. The Social Centre has been closed in line with government instructions for most of the year.
In December, the Quinquennial inspection was completed and we are now awaiting the report. We are not expecting it to contain anything we are not already aware of. The architect was surprised, however, by the level of water ingress entering the foyer from the tower and is giving this due consideration.
Jim Skelsey and Miriam Asquith
St. Peter’s Churchwardens’ Report
What a year this has been!! It started off quite normally with church services on Sunday, Messy Church once a month and the Community Payback team tending to the churchyard. Then in March it all changed. Suddenly new words or meanings of existing words were added into our everyday vocabulary. Lockdown; COVID safe environment; furlough; bubble; key worker; PPE; self isolation; social distancing are examples and there are many more. The major impact on our church was the closure from late March to July during the first lockdown. As soon as it was possible, we resumed church services. During the lockdown, the Community Payback team could not operate as normal and this was soon very noticeable with the state of the churchyard. However, as soon as it was possible for the team to return, they set to work and the churchyard was returned to its pre-lockdown state. Thanks to the Community Payback team and to Joe for the assistance they have given to the church. All seemed to go well until November when it was decided there needed to be a second national lockdown. Again the church was closed for public worship but opened again in December. Provision was made in the latter part of the first lockdown and during the second lockdown for private prayer to take place in church.
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St. Peter’s Churchwardens’ Report (continued)
The AGM, which is normally held in April, was cancelled and it eventually took place on 13[th] December, 2020 where the churchwardens for the year were elected. Helen Gleave volunteered to be a churchwarden and Janet Jowett volunteered to be an assistant churchwarden. Both are welcomed.
Two stalwarts of our worshipping community died this year, Marjorie Tatham and Cynthia Taylor. Marjorie died just before the lockdown started and we were fortunate enough to be able to hold the service in church with no restrictions. Cynthia died shortly after and it was during the first lockdown when, unfortunately, funeral services could not take place in church. A service was held in the churchyard for Cynthia.
In February, 2020 Rev. Ian Sparks took up an additional post at Greetland which necessitated him having to resign from his post as Assistant Priest in the Ryburn Benefice. We thank Rev. Ian for all his work and wish him well in his new post.
A number of fund raising events had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 lockdown and restrictions but we were able to open for our annual Heritage Open Days and welcomed visitors to our church. The numbers of visitors was not great but were comparable to previous years. It does give our visitors a chance to see such a great church.
The bell chamber in the tower continues to be invaded by birds. This is despite the many attempts of the telecommunications company to restrict access into the bell chamber to prevent the birds from nesting.
Thanks must go to Rev. Jeanette for her support to all or us and the work that she puts into the Benefice. Our thanks also to Rev. Ian and Rev. Lesley for all they do in the Benefice.
Helen Gleave & Ken Cuttle, Church Wardens Janet Jowett, Assistant Church Warden.
Children and Young People’s Report
Over 2020, all our work with children and young people in our local area has been severely affected by the global Covid pandemic. Our face to face meetings, in both church and community centre, have been suspended for most of the last twelve months now, and we haven’t been able to hold Messy Church or have Community Café at all since February, 2020.
We have been able to keep in touch, and maintain some level of contact, with many of our families who attend Messy Church and/or services at St. Peters, by use of text and social media. However, families have expressed that they and their children are looking forward to being able to come back to Messy Church as soon as it is safe for us to meet in person.
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Children and Young People’s Report (continued)
With our local schools closing to the majority of pupils in March 2020, and having strict Covid safety measures in place since beginning to reopen, our schools outreach and contact has also been affected. Pupils from our parish schools have been unable to access our church buildings as they would normally do at various times, for both school worship services and to support education topics, and they have been unable to be involved in church services face to face, such as at Christmas and Easter. Reverend Jeanette has carried on working in schools in person as much as she has been able to and has been active in recording messages and videos for the schools to use when Covid has prevented direct attendance.
Julie Hawksworth
St. Mary’s Social Centre Report
In February, the office was finally completed and new fire doors were fitted to the entrance to the downstairs room. The office has since been painted and a new radiator fitted. Sadly, the office remains empty due to social distancing rules. Our tenant has, however, been paying most of the rent due which has enabled us to maintain the building, pay utility bills and keep the grass mowed. We have also paid back most of the loan that we took out to fund the lease agreement.
There has been virtually no social activity in the Centre during the year and none planned until restrictions are lifted.
It is looking unlikely that Rainbows will continue to meet.
Financially, the Centre has increased its bank balance by £597 during the year to £3757. During the year, £1,500 was repaid to St. Peter’s in respect of a loan. Although the building has been empty, a low level of heating has been maintained and the graveyard grass has been regularly mowed. We are also planning to replace the fan coil heating units on the ground floor as two of the three units have expired.
We will also need to review our arrangements with Chubb on the grounds of cost.
Jim Skelsey
St. Peter’s Community Centre Report
What a year 2020 proved to be. It started well enough with all the Centre Users returning and we welcomed a new group – Boxercise. Then the pandemic arrived and everything was turned on its head.
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St. Peter’s Community Centre Report (continued)
March 2020 saw the first lockdown due to Covid 19 and we had to close. After this ended, we thought we would be able to re-open and the Committee met in July to discuss what we needed to do in order to comply with Covid 19 regulations. Additional rules were drawn up, a risk assessment made and other measures were considered. Hand sanitizer, disinfectant sprays and wipes were purchased with a view to re-opening at the beginning of September.
However, a second lockdown was ordered by the Government, so the Centre had to remain closed for the rest of the year.
Throughout it all the nursery was able to remain open, catering especially for the children of key workers and vunerable children. Our thanks must go to Andrew and his team for their work especially keeping an eye on the Centre for us.
Despite everything, the Centre managed to have a surplus at 31[st] December, 2020 of £2131 although this was well down on the previous year.
We look forward to being able to re-open the Centre sometime in 2021 and for it to once again become an asset for the community.
Hazel V. Parkin .
PARISH of SOWERBY St.Peter’s SOWERBY and St.Mary’s COTTONSTONES
Charity Number: 1132024
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS of the PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
Year ended 31[st] December 2020
VICAR Rev. Jeanette Roberts
BANKERS
The Yorkshire Bank Waterhouse Street, HALIFAX
Lloyds Bank, Commercial Street, HALIFAX
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER
Kenneth F. Forsyth., 17, Love Lane, HALIFAX HX1 2BQ
Page 1
STATEMENT of FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES for the year ended 31st DECEMBER 2020
| INCOMING RESOURCES | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | **Unrestricted ** | Designated | Restricted | 2020 | ||
| total | Funds | Funds | Funds | total | NOTES | |
| Income from Donors | ||||||
| £10,141 | Planned Giving, (Envelopes & Bank) | £8,902 | £8,902 | 1 | ||
| £ 1,967 | Loose collections | £711 | £711 | |||
| £ 2,831 | General Donations & Special Efforts | £454 | £454 | 2 | ||
| £ 92 | Donations & Fundraising (St.Peter's Fabric) | £32 | £32 | 4a | ||
| £ 205 | Donations & Fundraising (St.Peter's Bells Fund) | £0 | £0 | |||
| £ - | Donations & Fundraising (St.Mary's Fabric) | £169 | £169 | |||
| £ 533 | Donations (Charities & World Wide Church) | £455 | £455 | 3 | ||
| £ 768 | Donations (St.Peter's Organ Fund) | £320 | £320 | 4 | ||
| £ 543 | Donations (St.Peter's Sound System) | £0 | £0 | |||
| £ 3,931 | Tax refund - all funds | £2,500 | £328 | £2,828 | ||
| £ 407 | Income from Worship related activities | £116 | £116 | 5 | ||
| £ - | Legacies (1, St.Peter’s) | £1,000 | £1,000 | 9 | ||
| Income from Charitable & Ancillary Trading | ||||||
| £ 7,100 | Tower & Land Rental (St.Peter's) | £7,100 | £7,100 | |||
| £ 6,925 | House Rent & Water | £6,395 | £6,395 | |||
| £22,665 | St.Peter's Centre Receipts | £16,735 | £16,735 | |||
| £ 4,034 | St.Mary' Centre Receipts | £4,480 | £4,480 | |||
| Miscellaneous Income | ||||||
| £ 2,171 | PCC Fees | £273 | £273 | |||
| £ 760 | Organ & Verger Fee's etc. (Weddings & Funerals) | £60 | £60 | |||
| £ 428 | Graveyard Fees & donations | £1,147 | £1,147 | 6 | ||
| £ 1,048 | Diocesan Fees | £0 | £0 | |||
| £ 30 | Receipts for Ministry Expenses | £7 | £7 | |||
| £ 222 | Receipts for Office/Admin | £38 | £38 | |||
| £ - | Misc. Receipts | £619 | £84 | £703 | 10 | |
| Investment Income | ||||||
| £ 216 | Bank interest | £2 | £30 | £77 | £109 | |
| Total Incoming Resources | £27,118 | £21,245 | £3,672 | £52,035 | ||
| OUTGOING RESOURCES | ||||||
| 2019 | Unrestricted | Designated | Restricted | 2020 | ||
| total | Funds | Funds | Funds | total | NOTES | |
| £ 533 | Charities & World Wide Church (per contra) | £455 | £455 | 3 | ||
| £11,000 | Parish Share (formerly Common Fund) | £7,500 | £7,500 | |||
| £15,415 | Church building running costs & insurance (PCC) | £12,724 | £12,724 | |||
| £ 1,789 | Church building maintenance | £454 | £454 | 7 | ||
| £ 2,235 | Costs of Worship & related activities | £903 | £903 | |||
| £ 1,213 | Ministry (clergy) expenses (gross) | £877 | £877 | |||
| £ 217 | Graveyard Maintenance & Repairs | £0 | £0 | 6 | ||
| £ 609 | Office & Administration expenses | £378 | £378 | |||
| £ 960 | Organists Salaries | £960 | £960 | 10 | ||
| £ 557 | Costs of Fundraising | £127 | £127 | 8 | ||
| £ 4,694 | Costs of Governance | £0 | ||||
| Costs of Ancillary Trading | ||||||
| £15,212 | St.Peter's Centre running costs | £14,604 | £14,604 | |||
| £ 2,178 | St.Mary's Centre running costs | £2,432 | £2,432 | |||
| £ 3,526 | House Mortgage Repayments & misc costs. | £3,624 | £3,624 | |||
| Misc. Expenditure | ||||||
| £ 1,048 | Fees to Diocese, etc. (per contra) | £0 | ||||
| £ 760 | Organ & Verger Fees (per contra) | £60 | £60 | |||
| Non-recurring major expenditure | ||||||
| £ 2,090 | St.Mary’s Restoration & Quinquennial | £0 | ||||
| £ 840 | St.Peter’s Restoration & Quinquennial | £0 | ||||
| £ 4,460 | St.Peter’s Organ Repairs | £0 | ||||
| £ 543 | St.Peter’s Sound System Repairs | £0 | ||||
| Total Outgoing Resources | £27,546 | £17,036 | £515 | £45,097 | ||
| Net Incoming- Outgoing Resources | -£428 | £4,209 | £3,157 | £6,938 | ||
| Transfers between funds | ||||||
| £ 420 | House Water from Gen.Fund to St.Peter's Centre | -£420 | £420 | |||
| -£ 335 | Energy balance from St.Mary's Centre to Gen.Fund | £169 | -£169 | |||
| £ 200 | St.Mary's Centre from Graveyard Fund | £200 | -£200 | |||
| £ 500 | St.Mary’s lease costs, -part loan repayment | -£1,500 | £1,500 | |||
| £ 5 | St.Peter’s Centre re; use of Church | |||||
| Fund balances brought forward at 1-1-2020 | £2,812 | £20,948 | £17,641 | £41,402 | ||
| Fund balances carried forward at 31-12-2020 | £2,133 | £24,108 | £22,098 | £48,339 |
Page 2
| Statement of Assets and Liabilities- Total 2018 Fixed Assets Freehold Building: £110,000 St.Peter's Centre & School-house Total fixed assets Current Assets £ 320 Misc. Stock Value £ 6,677 Misc. Fixtures, Fittings & Equipment Balances on Deposit a/c's £ 556 CBF Deposits (3D) £ 7,016 St.Peter's Centre Deposit (4D) £ 3,062 Graveyards (5D) £ 11,997 St.Peter's Fabric (8D, gen) £ 1,234 St.Peter's Fabric (8D, Bells) £ 538 St.Mary's Fabric (10D) £ 810 St.Peters Organ Fund (12D) Balances on current accounts; £ 1,454 General Fund (Yorkshire Bank) £ 803 General Fund (Lloyds Bank) £ 10,724 St.Peters Community Centre £ 3,158 St.Mary's Church Social Centre £ 50 Cash in hand (All funds) £ 4,830 Sundry Debtors (All Funds) Total current Assets Liabilities Amounts falling due within one year St.Peters School House; £ 3,360 Mortgage (1 year) £ 1,500 Sundry Creditors (All funds) Total current Liabilities Net current Assets/Liabilities Total assets less current liabilities Amounts falling due after one year £ 7,176 S.House Mortgage (residue) Net Assets/Liabilities The Church Funds £22,461Restricted Funds £131,439Designated Funds £368Unrestricted Funds £154,268 TOTAL CHURCH FUNDS NOMINAL LIABILITY -£121,861 Shortfall on Common Fund (Diocese) |
Statement of Assets and Liabilities- | as at 31st December 2020 Unrestricted Designated Restricted Total Funds Funds Funds 2019 Notes £110,000.00 £110,000.00 11 £110,000.00 £110,000.00 £288 £288 12 £625 £2,071 £2,250 £4,946 13 £558 £7,046 £4,022 £4,022 £14,717 £14,717 £1,240 £1,240 £710 £710 £1,326 £1,326 £1,366 £1,366 15 £210 £84 £294 15 £13,275 £13,275 £3,738 £3,738 £50 £50 14 £836 £368 £1,204 £3,595 £26,547 £24,636 £54,778 £3,300 £3,300 16 £508 £508 £3,808 £0 £0 £3,808 -£213 £26,547 £24,636 £50,970 -£213 £136,547 £24,636 £160,970 £4,043 16 -£213 £132,504 £24,636 £160,970 £24,636 £24,636 £132,504 £132,504 -£213 -£213 -£213 £132,504 £24,636 £156,927 -£144,021 17 |
|---|---|---|
Page 3
SOWERBY PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL Notes to the Financial Statements, year ended 31[st] December 2020
- Not all of this amount is available for Gift Aid tax claim as not all envelopes are gift aided.
2. “Special Efforts”
| Item | INCOME |
|---|---|
| Heritage Weekend | £ 94* |
| Card sales | £ 65 |
| “Guess the weight” (St.Mary’s) | £ 20 |
*Guide book sales also made £32 to the Fabric Fund
3. “Charities & World Wide Church”
Made up of; Childrens Society
£ 455 Per Contra
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Restricted Donations.
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4a. Guide book sales made £32 to the Fabric Fund. This amount is restricted because the guide books were originally purchased from the Fabric Fund.
5. “ Worship Related Activities Account”
| ITEM | INCOME | EXPEND |
|---|---|---|
| Worship Activities | £ 12 | £ 269 |
| Coffee Stall | £ 31 | £ 0 |
| Flowers | £ 0 | £ 15 |
| Altar Requisites | £ 36 | £ 261 |
| Music etc | £ 0 | £ 107 |
| Children & young people | £ 38 | £ 205 |
| Benefice Magazine | £ 0 | £ 46 |
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Graveyards made a surplus for the year of £947. The only outgoing was the annual transfer of £200 towards St.Mary’s grass-cutting.
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St.Peter’s £250 St.Mary’s £204
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Giving Envelopes.
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1 legacy received for St.Peter’s (Doreen Sparrow. R.I.P.) £1,000
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Due to Covid, the organist was “furloughed” for 7 months. £560 was therefore repaid to the general fund, making the nett cost of Organists salary £400. Other misc. income included £55 for use of St.Peter’s Church for various meetings, and £84 (restricted) held on behalf of “Sowerby Christmas Lights”.
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St.Peter’s Centre, including the School House, was purchased from the Diocesan Board of Education in 2003 for a privately agreed price of £80,000. The current price is based on the Land Registry house price inflation calculator, although the mixed designation of the building makes the current valuation somewhat theoretical. A separate valuation for insurance purposes obtained during 2013 put the reinstatement cost at £985,000
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72 Guide books @ £4 each.
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St.Peter’s PC & Sound System (Refurb’d 2019), plus Centre Chairs & A/V equipment.
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Community Cafe cash float.
Page 4
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The PCC currently uses 2 current accounts as of the start of 2006. The Lloyds account is the old St.Peters Church account.
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These figures assume the same rate of repayment as at present and are an estimate.
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This represents the amount underpaid to the Diocese since 2009. This year the assessment was £29,660 of which we were able to pay £7,500
General Notes .
G1. St.Mary’s Centre Costs
A percentage of Gas, Water and Electricity costs for St.Mary’s are paid by the St.Mary’s Church Social Centre. In addition the centre pays all the cleaning costs. These are all regarded as “trading” costs.
During the year, the Parish pays the electricity and water bills, and the Centre pays the gas bills. At the year end there is then an adjustment payment, this year from the centre to the parish, to arrive at the correct ratio for all three utilities. This ratio has now reverted to 75% centre, 25% parish, as the new tenancy came into force during 2019 (during which year the ratio was 50/50 as agreed by the PCC.).
G2. Policy on “reserves.”
Reserve accounts now exist in all categories of funds. Account 3D is the deposit account for the general fund, (ie “free reserves”). It currently stands at a figure which gives some leeway to deal with cash flow requirements but no more than that. (Currently £556.)
“Designated Funds” are those which have been earmarked for a specific purpose by a vote of the PCC at some time in the past, but could be “undesignated” in the future by a similar vote. Legally they are regarded as “unrestricted”, ie they could be spent for any purpose legitimately allowed for by a PCC.
Restricted accounts contain money which has been given or provided for the specific purposes concerned, and cannot legally be spent on anything else. In order to build up sufficient funds for major projects such as building restoration it may have to stay in the accounts for some time until it can be combined with other funds (eg external grants) in order to fulfil its original purpose. Interest and tax recovered on restricted funds is always retained in the restricted account.
RJB
ST PETER'S COMMUNITY CENTRE
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Accounts as at 31.12.20
| 2019 RECEIPTS £13,722 Hire Charges – Day Nursery £6,820 Hire Charges - General £297 Uniform Groups £368 Lunch Club £1,421 £30 £7 Misc Income PAYMENTS £60 Booking refunds £2,795 Repairs £8,548 Heat, Light, Water £1,905 Kitchen & Cleaning Expenses £1,508 Insurances £396 Broadband Community Spirits Surplus as at 31 December 2020 £4,963 Opening Balance £7,453 Surplus for year £420 House Water from Gen. Fund -£5 -£2,107 Fees re; New Lease (Costs of Governance) £4,963 Closing Balance Community Cafe Community Spirits (Fundraising) Use of Hall from Gen.Fund |
Notes £13,474 £2,202 £146 £69 £844 £0 £0 £16,735 £0 £2,359 £7,745 £1,822 £1,531 £396 £750 £14,604 £2,131 £10,724 £2,131 £420 £13,275 |
Centre Development Fund (Designated) | Notes £7,016 £30 £0 £7,046 £13,275 £7,046 £50 -£244 £20,127 £572 £422 £0 -£750 £244 £750 -£550 3 £200 £244 £444 |
|---|---|---|---|
Start Balance (a/c 4D) Interest for year To operating a/c TOTAL (in a/c 4D) Centre Operating Funds (Designated) Add Development Fund (4D) Less Community Spirit Fund Year end true picture (Designated) “Community Spirit” Fund (Designated) Closing Balance (Lloyds) Add Cafe cash float |
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Less paid to CS group Paid to CS Group from Centre Less invoiced expenditure Residue Total funds available Start Balance (in Lloyds a/c) Income from Cafe Add fundraising event(s) TOTAL (in Lloyds Bank) Add Lloyds Bank |
Notes;
| 2019 £1,947 £776 £17 £6 £15 £1,133 50.00 |
ST PETER'S COMMUNITY CAFE Accounts to 31.12.20 RECEIPTS Takings PAYMENTS Cost of Food Presents Christmas Decorations Sundry Expenses Surplus as at 31 December 2020 Start Balance (Cash float) Add surplus Cash Float residue Distribution Community Spirits 50% Paid to St.Peter’s Centre a/c St.Peter’s Centre 50% |
£1,243 2 £1,243 £394 2 £0 £0 £5 £399 £844 £50 £844 £894 £844 £50 £422 1 £422 1 £844 |
|---|---|---|
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From 1[st] Aug 2019 profit from Cafe is divided equally between the Centre and the “Community Spirit” fund.
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Cafe closed after 16/3/20 due to Covid-19 restrictions
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Lawnmower, Strimmers(2) + Sundries
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ST MARY'S CHURCH SOCIAL CENTRE
Accounts as at 31-12-20
| 2019 RECEIPTS £752 Hire Charges £3,200 Rental Income £20 Donations £62 Misc Income PAYMENTS £1,263 Gas bills £0 Cleaning & Materials £915 Repairs & Maintenance Surplus as at 31 December 2020 £1,267 Opening Balance £1,856 Surplus (deficit) for year -£335 Energy balance to General Fund £200 Grass cutting from Graveyard Fund -£500 Loan repayment to St.Peter’s Fabric £3,158 Closing Balance |
2020 £280 £4,200 £0 £0 £4,480 £889 £8 £1,535 £2,432 |
|---|---|
| £2,048 | |
| £3,158 £2,048 -£169 £200 -£1,500 £3,738 |
| 2019 £888 £509 £2 £5 £4 £368 |
St.PETER's LUNCH CLUB Accounts as at 31-12-20 RECEIPTS 2020 Subscriptions £148 PAYMENTS Cost of Food £78 Serviettes £0 Cards & Presents £1 Sundry Expenses £0 £79 Surplus to St.Peter's Centre £69 NB. Lunch Club closed after 5-3-20 due to Covid-19 |
St.PETER's LUNCH CLUB Accounts as at 31-12-20 RECEIPTS 2020 Subscriptions £148 PAYMENTS Cost of Food £78 Serviettes £0 Cards & Presents £1 Sundry Expenses £0 £79 Surplus to St.Peter's Centre £69 NB. Lunch Club closed after 5-3-20 due to Covid-19 |
|---|---|---|
| £69 |
SOWERBY PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
Finance Report for year ending 31-12-2020
The year has been very different from that which might be regarded as “normal”, due to the unprecedented effect of the Covid-19 crisis. Church services were severely curtailed, and other activities such as Lunch Club and the Community Cafe ceased entirely after March 2020, and had not resumed by the year end. Under the circumstances the finances ended up in a better state than might have been expected. General giving suffered a 20% reduction, but this would have been much worse had not the regular bank givers kept up their contributions, and several envelope givers transferred to the bank. In addition I have to mention the first service in Church after the first lock-down when an enormous pile of envelopes yielded over £500 at one service. Oh that it were always thus!!! The tax reclaim was at a more normal level, as the previous year had been boosted by a large tax efficient donation right at the end of 2018.
Fund raising during the year was almost non-existent, for obvious reasons. The largest single loss was the cancellation of the “Scorcher” event, which has regularly yielded over £1k in past years. Income from fees was also at a fraction of the usual level, with the exception of graveyard fees which showed a large increase. There were no weddings at all during the year, but quite a number of burials and ashes burials.
Most outgoings were also down on previous years. We paid £7,500 in parish share (c25% of the assessment). Had Covid not happened we might reasonably have expected to have improved on this figure.
St.Peter’s Community Centre showed a reduction in income of some 26%, however outgoings were also down, so the Centre still managed to increase it’s year end balance by some £2.5k. At St.Mary’s, activity was slightly up on last year, as 2020 was the first full year of the “Total Brickworks” tenancy which has stabilised the Centre’s position for the immediate future.
The graveyard fund increased by almost £1k during the year, due to quite a number of fee attracting events being offset only by the annual contribution towards St.Mary’s grass cutting. St.Peter’s graveyard routine maintenance was done by a combination of the Community Payback Scheme and the “Community Spirits” group based at St.Peter’s Centre and funded by 50% of the profits from the Community Cafe. This means that the restricted Graveyard Fund remains available for larger jobs requiring professional work, such as wall repairs or tree surgery.
Most other reserve funds also showed modest increases. St.Peter’s Fabric Fund is now back to its “normal” level following the loan to St.Mary’s Centre towards the fees for setting up the Total Brickworks lease.
All in all then a much “quieter” year than normal, with a final outcome which was fortunately much better than might have been the case. I predict that 2021 will also be somewhat subdued, although if we reach some sort of normality by the summer things will hopefully be better than this year.
Richard Barnes, Parish Treasurer. 4/3/21