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← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St. Mary's Wythall

2023-12-31-accounts

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ANNUAL REPORT 2023

PREPARED FOR THE ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING MAY 2024

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St Mary’s Wythall Annual Report 2023

Contents

Vicar’s Report ........................................................................................................................................... 3 2022 Highlights ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Church Wardens’ Report ......................................................................................................................... 4 PCC Report .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Treasurer’s Report ................................................................................................................................... 6 Buildings and Facilities ............................................................................................................................. 7 Worship .................................................................................................................................................... 7 Children, Family and Schools Work ......................................................................................................... 8 Sunday Night Youth ................................................................................................................................. 11 SCoFF ........................................................................................................................................................ 11 Safeguarding ............................................................................................................................................ 12 Prayer ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 Provision for People with Additional Needs ............................................................................................ 14 Small groups and Discipleship ................................................................................................................. 15 St. Mary’s Friendship Group (Elderly Care Group) ................................................................................. 15 Mission ..................................................................................................................................................... 16 Deanery Synod ......................................................................................................................................... 17 Charitable Objectives and Activities ....................................................................................................... 19 Charitable Information and Trustees ...................................................................................................... 20 Accounts................................................................................................................................................... 22

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Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. Jeremiah 17:7-8

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St Mary’s Wythall Annual Report 2023

Vicar’s Report 2024

Since meeting Jesus when I was a student at University, I have loved being part of a church. And I can’t express how much I love being part of St Mary’s and what a privilege it is to be called to lead this fellowship at this time.

As church we are the body of Christ, every member is important, we each have our part to play. We are the family of God called to care for and encourage one another. We are each followers, disciples, apprentices of Jesus and we spur one another on as we seek to follow Him and become more like Him. We are called individually and corporately to fulfil the Great Commission to make Jesus known and see people come to faith in Jesus, be baptised and grow in faith.

A few years ago at a conference on leadership I heard the analogy that leaders should spend time both on the dance floor and also on the balcony looking with delight on the dance floor and seeing all that is happening.

In the ordination service for priests it states:

‘….they are to proclaim the word of the Lord and to watch for the signs of God’s new creation. They are to be messengers, watchmen….’

Part of the privilege in leading the church is that I get an overview of all that God is doing. I don’t by any means see everything but I stand on the balcony, being a watch-person and I seek to watch for the signs of God’s new creation. So, in this vicar’s report I wanted to share some stories of what I am rejoicing in seeing God doing. Obviously, this is challenging as I have to maintain confidentiality and not disclose anything I haven’t the permission to share but here is a taster:

I wonder what accounts of ‘God at work’ you would add both from your own life and what you’ve heard others say.

We worship the living God and we are seeing Him at work in so many ways in our lives, our church and our communities.

One of the highlights for me in 2023 was our summer ‘One another’ sermon series. May we keep oneanothering one another and may the church of St Mary, Wythall be obedient to God and faithful to His word and may He make us a beacon of light and bringers of hope to the communities of Hollywood and Wythall.

Rev Amanda Featherstone

February 2024

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St Mary’s Wythall Annual Report 2023

2023 Highlights

Churchwardens’ Report

I have thoroughly enjoyed another year as Church Warden, with the support and wisdom of Pam and Paul as Deputy and Duty Wardens. I feel this year that I have learnt more about the Church of England, but even more about myself as God has graciously led me. It has been a delight to meet regularly with the Staff Team to share bible study and to pray for each other – another lovely bonus of serving as Church Warden.

I met with Area Dean Phelim O’Hare and was able to share with him some of the activities and outreach of our fab church and he was full of praise and encouragement. An annual visitation will be part of feedback to the Diocese, usually in the Spring. This is the time to present our Log, Terrier and Inventory. Paul and I will be working on this and you will be able to see them at the APCM in May.

It has been rewarding to update our Health and Safety Policies, particularly to run a Fire Drill to ensure that our procedure is fit for purpose. This worked really well and we even managed to coordinate singing an appropriate worship song on the day – “Set our hearts on fire” – thank you Ruth Gardner for noticing!

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St Mary’s Wythall Annual Report 2023

What a joy to see new people joining us, new initiatives started like Family@4pm and encouragements to join to ‘Dig Deeper’ on Sunday evenings

It is exciting to imagine what God will have prepared for us in 2024 as we celebrate 10 years of worshipping Him in our Church building

I pray that He will continue to do “far more than we could ever ask for or imagine, by His power that is working in us”

Ali Spencer (Church Warden) Pam Miller (Deputy Warden) Paul Featherstone (Duty Warden)

PCC Report

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is St Mary’s executive and decision-making committee. Members are elected on to the PCC at the Annual General Meeting and each serves for a period of 3 years. During 2023 the PCC has met on nine occasions and the key agenda items have included:

A proposal by the Diocese to create Oversight Areas comprising several parishes which will work together for mutual support. Arch Deacon Jenny Tomlinson attended our January 23 meeting. It was proposed and agreed by the PCC that we would join with St Philips Dorridge, St Thomas Hockley Heath, St Patricks Salter Street and St Mary Magdalene Tanworth In Arden. An Oversight Minister will be announced from one of the churches in due course

Family@4pm – a new initiative proposed by Manda to launch a family service at 4pm one Sunday a month. Families would be invited from the Coppice School and from networks in Little Lights, SCoFF and Summer ‘Fun in the Park’ activities

Celebration of 10 years in the Church Building 2024. We were encouraged to dream and share what the celebrations might include. It was agreed that a special weekend of June 21-23 would be an opportunity to gather together to worship and celebrate, and that a mission trip to Uganda to visit Caroline Bell would be planned for the Summer

Church finances: The PCC has received regular updates from the Treasurer regarding St Mary’s financial situation and was happy to approve the accounts prior to the APCM in May. The PCC also agreed the proposals submitted from the Mission Committee regarding the allocation of the church tithe.

Safeguarding: The PCC, in line with our Safeguarding Policy, receives a report from the Parish Safeguarding Coordinator, now Amanda Dauncey, at each PCC meeting. During the year the PCC has reviewed and agreed our St Mary’s Parish Safeguarding Policy and the St Mary’s Safeguarding Action Plan generated from the Diocesan Safeguarding Dashboard.

Membership of PCC 2023 was:

Rev Amanda Featherstone - Vicar

Secretary: Alison Spencer – and Ros Harrison mid term

P Miller, J Clark, J Emery, A Spencer, L Rogers, R Watson, J Croxford, S Underwood, R Mc Mahon, P Branford, J Arkell, A Dauncey, R Parsons, E Bridgens, V Farmer, S Parker, P Carter

In attendance, non-voting - M Pagnam (Curate), G Daniel (Children, Families and Schools Worker)

Ali Spencer and Ros Harrison (PCC Secretary)

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Treasurer’s Report

This year, again, we thank God that, in the midst of a cost of living crisis, as a church we have managed to cover our costs, with a small surplus. Last year our surplus was exceptionally large, then this year we found that we needed to replace our PA system. God knows what we need before we ask Him and He had already provided for us.

My thanks to everyone who gives faithfully by standing order, through the envelope scheme or as cash on the plate. (A reminder to those who use the offering envelopes: these are dated so that you can see if you have missed a week and then bring that envelope (filled!) when you next come to church. Ideally, you should not have any envelopes left when you get your new set. If it is a problem finding change to put in every week, paying several weeks together is perfectly acceptable.) Costs of maintaining the ministry of the church tend to rise annually so it is good practice to review our giving each year, especially if we have had a salary or pension rise. If you pay income tax, and Gift Aid your giving, the Chancellor allows us to reclaim the tax paid - this year that amounted to over £34000, all at no extra cost to ourselves.

We contributed our share of the diocesan Common Fund, which pays the stipends and housing costs of our clergy and supports the costs of the diocesan officers. We give one tenth of the church income to a number of mission partners and Christian charities, details of which can be found in the Mission Committee report. We were grateful to receive a grant from the Parish Council to help with the costs of SCoFF.

I am indebted to Dave Walters who continues to provide advice and support in all things financial, and to Steve who helps me with computing problems. Dave is again preparing our Annual Financial Report which will show our financial activity in detail. The table below summarises in round numbers the main ways in which our money has been received and spent.

Pam Miller (Treasurer)

Income £
Giving 129400
Tax refund 34700
Div/interest 890
Rental income 15480
Fees (net) 1100
Expenditure £
Common Fund 74000
Clergy expenses 2500
Service costs 7000
Admin 6200
Salaries 40800
Charitable giving 18000
SCoFF (net) 2000
Houses - mortgage
- ins/repairs etc		 2500
Cleaning 1190
Outreach 1220
New PA Sysytem 50300

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Buildings and Facilities Report

Church maintenance has included kitchen dishwasher repair and a new PC for the Church office

Following the breakdown of the PA/AV system in 2023 it was necessary to garner quotes and agree to the purchase of a new system, which was fitted in October. We are in discussion with The Coppice School regarding a contribution from them to the cost.

Ali Spencer (Church Warden)

Worship

As I write this report this beautiful prayer has come to mind, one which we often say at the beginning of services

We have come together as the family of God in our Father's presence to offer him praise and thanksgiving, to hear and receive his holy word,

to bring before him the needs of the world, to ask his forgiveness of our sins,

and to seek his grace, that through his Son Jesus Christ

we may give ourselves to his service.

When I look at the worshipping life at St Mary’s I see:

We are God’s family – we are from different backgrounds and we span a range of ages and in God we are family together. I love the way St Mary’s cares for one another as members of a family should.

We acknowledge God’s presence – we know that Jesus is with us through the Holy Spirit and as we worship we seek to be attentive to the Spirit. It is wonderful at St Mary’s to have times of listening to God and sharing words, pictures and testimonies.

We are based on the Bible – we know that the Bible is God’s Word, it is living and active and has authority. This is so key. It enables us to know God better and to speak with grace and truth to one another and to the communities around us.

We worship – it is so good at St Mary’s to raise our praise and thanksgiving together in hymns and Psalms

and songs. We are led so ably by talented musicians who most importantly are themselves worshippers. May we each week be worshipping in Spirit and Truth.

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We pray – we are thankful that we have a God who hears us, our God who is

sovereign over all things, hears our cry for His broken world, for our nation and for the people we love. It is such a gift to be led in prayer and to pray together in our services.

We are forgiven people saved by grace – we know that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God but we also know that God so loved the world that He sent Jesus to die for us. It is so powerful to engage in our corporate act of confession together each Sunday, to have the truth of forgiveness proclaimed over us and to step afresh

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into the new life God gives us. It is also wonderful that we can gather around the Lord’s table together and share in Holy Communion together, something our Lord Jesus commanded us to do.

One wonderful thing I see at St Mary’s is that anytime we gather we are expectant of all that God will do among us. We certainly have seen Him do wonderful things over this past year. We are thankful for all the new people He has brought to St Mary’s and how He is growing each of us.

We can see from the outline above that there are many things happening at a spiritual level as we worship together. There are also many practical things happening too, so please hear a big thank you to each and every person who does a rota job or serves in any way – you are wonderful and we give thanks to God for you.

In 2023 there are some specific aspects of our worship together to give thanks for:

The launch of the monthly Family @ 4 service.

We have been praying for a long time for more families at St Mary’s and we are seeing God answer that prayer. We have contact with lots of families through Little Lights and SCoFF plus we meet in a Primary School. We therefore wanted a way to draw families into the worshipping life of the church. Realising that people might not be able to take the step directly into regular services and also acknowledging there may be many draws on families’ time in a morning. We launched this new service in October and are delighted by the contacts with different families that are being made.

Updating the PA system

We were pleased to be able to update the PA system in October this is still being finalised and we continue to get used to using it.

Joint services

We are so blessed to gather together as one congregation for our Easter celebration. We also had joint services during the weeks of the summer holidays and during Lent. Our sermon series of ‘one anothers’ and ‘Characters around the Cradle’ were amazing as was the sense of being St Mary’s together.

I wonder what you would say were your highlights of our worship together in 2023?

The final part of the prayer states

that through his Son Jesus Christ

we may give ourselves to his service.

May we leave church each Sunday different to how we arrived and may we be a beacon the light of Jesus and show God’s love both as the church of St Mary’s and as individuals.

I hope you’ll all join me in a resounding Amen!

Rev Manda Featherstone

Children, Family and Schools Work

What a great year 2023 has been!

I continue to take great joy in my role as Children, Families & Schools worker, in being a part of the leadership & life of St Mary’s. It is a privilege to work alongside our valuable team of volunteers who help lead & sustain the various ministries to children, families and in our link with the Coppice primary school.

There are lots of highlights to share, so please delve in and read what’s been going on!

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St Mary’s Wythall Annual Report 2023

Glow Group – We started a discipleship group for children in school years 3-6 (Juniors, aged 7-11) after Easter and have been running it every Monday afternoon during term-time since. It is like a home-group for children – a place to learn about Jesus together and grow in relationship with Him. We have learnt lots and had great fun doing it, playing games, watching videos, reading and learning scripture, making crafts, doing drama, engaging in lively conversation and eating doughnuts & pizza (& some fruit!). We have had 8 different children attend, with 6 regulars coming along every week – 3 of whom are ‘un-churched’ yet would now profess a faith in Jesus! A special thanks goes to Liz Bridgens who helps me run & plan this group every week, she has a real heart for children knowing & understanding who Jesus is and the group would not be able to run without her!

School – What a privilege it is to work alongside The Coppice primary school in many different ways! Over the past year I have delivered lessons to all 18 classes in school, working with the Christianity themes that I have been given that range from ‘Could Jesus heal people?’ to ‘Is anything ever eternal?’. I have taken whole school (600+ pupils) assemblies and we have welcomed several year groups into the Church building for a visit and lesson – they really don’t have very far to come!

Relationships with staff have continued to develop as we look to serve the school in other ways too – from making the Church AV equipment available for assemblies & school fayres, to helping staff celebrate ‘Feel Good Fridays’ (half-termly, celebrating successes of the previous few weeks) by taking in cakes & chocolates.

Being a parent of children in The Coppice school has also given me opportunities to connect with and build relationships with other parents, which in turn gives me opportunity to personally invite people to church events & activities.

A team of volunteers from St Mary’s and myself also go into school every Tuesday lunchtime to support staff in running ‘Board Games Club’, the aim of which is to engage with children who sometimes struggle to engage socially with others.

Sundays – I oversee a great team who lead and run our Sunday morning children’s groups: Seeds (ages 4- 7) and Shoots (ages 7-12). We want the children who attend the groups to know the love of God and the truths of Jesus and His sacrifice for us. During 2023 we used several different series of teaching which were developed with the children’s faith development & understanding of the Bible in mind. We looked at the Armour of God (Ephesians 6) Parables of Jesus & Experiencing God in the Psalms alongside other themes too.

During the first half of the year, we ran All-together services on the 4th Sunday of each month, where there were no children’s groups and the whole congregation worshipped & learnt together. In October we started ‘Family@4pm’ services instead of these monthly all-together services, aiming to attract families with primary-aged children to come and worship and discover Jesus together at 4 pm on a Sunday afternoon each month. Please see the separate ‘Family@4’ report for more information! We will still lead and run all-together services on Sunday mornings for special events and invite services e.g. Mothering Sunday, Easter & Harvest, where all ages come together to worship God & learn more of Him together as family.

Little Lights - Little Lights is St Mary’s toddler group - a ‘stay & play’ group for parents or carers with babies, toddlers & children who don’t yet go to school. It runs between 10am & 11.30am every Friday morning during term-time in the big (school) hall at Church.

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St Mary’s Wythall Annual Report 2023

Over the past year we have seen a strong number of people attending, with an average of about 25 children coming along weekly (with their parents/carers!) - with a good number of regular attendees coming most weeks, which has given us opportunities to build relationships with the parents & carers, presenting us with opportunities to share the good news of Jesus & also invite to other events (such as Family@4 & invite services/outreach events).

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This could not be done without the fabulous team of Church volunteers at Little Lights who help both practically in running the session and in being there to listen, chat & build relationships with the adults who attend with little ones.

Little Lights is a great evangelistic opportunity, alongside being a great resource to parents with little ones in the community. Each week we ensure that we have a Bible Story alongside some great, ‘toddler praise’ songs where many of the children get up and have a dance with some actions and have fun praising and thanking Jesus. This is a great opportunity for seeds of the gospel to be sown into young hearts and minds & also to challenge the parents & carers too!

SCoFF - SCoFF continues to be an amazing community outreach that gives us fantastic opportunities to share the love and gospel of Jesus and to build relationships with families in our community. I feel privileged to help lead SCoFF and work with a fantastic team of volunteers from Church, who so generously give up their time & talent to serve others. Please see the separate report for further details about SCoFF!

Church Invites & Outreach Events – We want children & their families to discover and know Jesus for themselves. We have had many great opportunities in 2023 to connect with people on a personal level, and then invite them to church services, events & activities where we have further chances to present the gospel and give people the opportunity to explore who God is for themselves:

An interactive Easter trail around Wythall Park on Easter Saturday, handing out Easter story & activity books & chocolate eggs.

Pentecost service & fun day (with BBQ, inflatables & our very own Bake-off competition!);

Fun in the Park – Every Wednesday during the summer holidays a team went down to the park to offer craft activities, play games and read Bible stories. We made some great contacts with families that have given us opportunities to connect again & invite to other events & activities that we offer here at Church.

Advent & Christmas gave us opportunities to invite folks into Church, with the Christingle service & Nativity service particularly geared towards families, alongside lots else that happened during that period! All of these different events, services and activities saw families who attend SCoFF, Little Lights and school in attendance alongside links with other people that we have made during the year.

Looking ahead to 2024 – I hope & pray that 2024 will, once again, be fruitful in ministry to children, their families & the school. My prayer is that more people that we have built connections with over the past year will continue to explore what faith means for them & in turn will respond to the gospel, turning to Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. As part of the community of believers here at St Mary’s, they would then be able to grow in faith & tell others of the life-changing love of God!

I hope that practically, we can replicate many of the outreach events & services that have happened throughout 2023 and also look to doing new, exciting things as the Lord leads us.

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If any of what I have mentioned excites you and you want to know how you might be able to help, then please do talk to me! Of course, there is always room for more prayer, so please do join me in praying! Yet there is always room for more fabulous, dedicated volunteers to help both practically and to connect with people, sharing the gospel & good news of Jesus in lots of different ways!

May God Bless you both today and throughout 2024. Gary Daniel.

Sunday Night Youth

Throughout 2023, we offered our house (247 Alcester Road) as a venue for young people (secondary school age) to come and learn more about Christianity and the bible on Sunday evenings. In July, the 3 young people that were regularly attending decided to move on, and in September we started with 3 new young people from St Mary’s Church. This reduced to 2 regular young people towards the end of the year.

We meet to play games, eat and drink great food and drink, and, using Youth For Christ resources, we look at what it means for a young person to be a Christian today. We also meet for the occasional social – the most notable one being a ‘Barbie Film and Pizza Night’ which was held in the Peter Thompson Room in October, with 9 young people attending.

In addition to this we also ran special ‘Mum and Daughter’ evenings: a jewellery making evening in March, a Body Shop/Pamper evening in July, and a Christmas decoration making evening in November. At each of these the young people and their mums/carers joined in with the activity and were part of a brief biblical thought/devotion.

I am so grateful for the team who give themselves faithfully to serving our young people.

Of course we would love to grow in number but more important is that we grow disciples who are ready to live in obedience to Christ. We would greatly value your prayers for the leaders: Marcus and Nic Pagnam, Claire Daniel, and Robert and Jan Watson.

Marcus Pagnam

SCoFF

We have had a 2nd wonderful year of SCoFF (St Mary’s Church Offers Food and Fun.)

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Working in partnership with the Coppice School and Woodrush School we have welcomed, on average, 50 guests to SCoFF for 26 SCoFF afternoons, held on Wednesdays. Each time we have provided a safe space for families to gather and engage with crafts that are inspired by a biblical theme, play games, watch a video and then hear a short interactive talk expanding on the biblical theme, followed by sharing a hot meal together.

We are grateful to the Coppice School for communicating the SCoFF dates to parents and for the use of the hall, for Woodrush School for the team of young volunteers that bring so much energy and commitment to serving, and of course to our own team of approx. 22 people who so faithfully set up, cook food, befriend guests, run crafts and games, serve refreshments before serving hot food, and then clear up afterwards (which is no small task!)

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We were delighted to see some SCoFF families attend other St Mary’s events, in particular the Pentecost fun day, the Christingle and Nativity services, the Family @ 4 service, plus other invite opportunities. It is proving to be a wonderful way for the parish church to build relationships with the local community.

Marcus Pagnam

Safeguarding Report

Jenny Clark who was our previous Safeguarding Coordinator retired at the end of October 2023, when I took over as our Parish Safeguarding Coordinator. Jenny was very hard-working & diligent and it’s been hard stepping into her footsteps, although she had all the paperwork very well-organised. I’ve done lots of Safeguarding training which I found very interesting and which remind-

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ed me of the importance of training for everyone involved in all our church activities, whether as Leaders, Volunteers or Helpers.

On 21st October 2023 Jenny organised our in-house Safeguarding Training Session at St Mary’s which was well attended by 28 Volunteers & others. This was an excellent morning and ten Volunteers remained to watch a video of the Safeguarding Basic Awareness training. The Safeguarding team was able to update the attendees with the salient aspects of St Mary’s Parish Safeguarding Policy and Procedures and to answer questions.

I’m very pleased to report that all our Volunteers have completed or updated their Basic Awareness Safeguarding training, which can easily be done online. Many of our Volunteers & all PCC members have also done the excellent ‘Foundations of Safeguarding’ training & ‘Awareness of Domestic Abuse’ training, which is really interesting & relevant to our Church life and family life. I heartily recommend all this training & Nicola is happy to help anyone who is unable to do this at home.

Our Parish Safeguarding Policy is updated & reviewed by the PCC annually in March. The Parish Safeguarding Coordinator gives a monthly safeguarding report to the PCC. I am also happy to report that the PCC has complied with its duty to have due regard to the Church of England House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults (as required by Section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016)

The church now has a portfolio of activities which includes:

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*Friendship Club and Elderly Care: for our senior members & friends *

For each of the above activities, which include children, young people or vulnerable adults, the church has a safeguarding responsibility to ensure that a risk assessment is done and reviewed annually. Each activity has a team of volunteers with a nominated team leader. The Safeguarding team is required to ensure that each volunteer has been safely recruited (with 2 references & a current DBS if necessary) and has received the required training appropriate for their role. Guidelines are clearly laid down by the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team and on-going adherence is monitored on the Church of England Safeguarding Dashboard. Each of our volunteers when commencing their involvement with an activity is provided with a role description and a pack of essential / helpful information specific to their role.

The Friendship Club is an exception to this rule, as per current guidelines

I would like to thank Nicola (who is our Safeguarding Verifier) for all her hard work in updating the Safeguarding Dashboard & Hub & ensuring that all Volunteers have been safely recruited. It is important that Activity leaders should regularly inform Nicola about any new Volunteers or Helpers.

Your current St Mary’s Safeguarding Team is as follows:

Rev Amanda Featherstone (Incumbent)

Dr Amanda Dauncey (Parish Safeguarding Coordinator)

Mrs Nicola Clarkson (Parish Safeguarding Verifier)

Mr Gary Daniel (Safeguarding Advocate for Children and Young People)

Mrs Linda Yates (Safeguarding Advocate for Vulnerable Adults) Prayer

Prayer

It is a pleasure to be asked to write this report for another year.

I note that last year’s report ended with the sentence, ‘Over all St Mary’s is a prayerful church’. That remains solidly true and it gives us a deep sense of thanksgiving to God that many people who visit our church recognise and comment on that, and also on the presence of God during our worship and prayer times.

We have a number of gifted people who lead our Intercessions during both services in a way which reflects the heart of the church as a whole and also their own unique gifting.

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Community Prayer

During last year there has also been a sense of prayer spreading outside among our community. Under Rev Manda’s guidance some members of the church went out to meet people on our streets and in a communal hub; to introduce ourselves as members of St Mary’s and to ask people if they would like us to pray for them. Some agreed and received prayer there and then; others wrote their requests down and we gathered them to a group inside the church who prayed through them. The response was overwhelmingly positive from shoppers, walkers, shop owners and from all ages. Our intention is to repeat that as the weather improves.

Our two regular Prayer Groups continue – the one which I attend gathers up to 8 people in a member’s home in an evening, together we look at a Bible text, spend time thanking God for all of his many blessings, and then lift up to him both all aspects of our church’s ministry and our personal issues. We close with the Lord’s Prayer, the Grace or other blessing. We often feel, especially in the winter that it is an effort to come out, but

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always go home refreshed and blessed, and thanking God for his presence among us.

The second Prayer Group is held in Church in a morning and welcomes both Staff members and congregation.

The Prayer Chain which has continued for many years is as active and lively as ever.

New members are encouraged to join and currently there are 35 members of church who commit to pray initially for 48 hours for any issue as we are asked. Prayer requests are encouraged from all church members, their friends and their loved ones. If required, the request may be anonymous, and the pray-ers operate under guidance. Quite often responses are shared if the person wishes, and always there is grateful thanks to God that during difficult times the person being prayed for senses the prayers of their church family upholding them.

The Prayer Ministry Team

There are ten people who make themselves available to offer prayer in church.

The lack of space and privacy remains an issue but we are encouraged to see that spontaneous prayer commonly happens among our congregation at the end of services.

Jude Emery

Super Saturday - Provision for People with Additional

Needs

Super Saturday is something that was started after prompts from God specifically for families with children or adults with additional needs in our area.

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It has now been running for a full two years.

Since starting in December 2021, we have learnt that there are very few such activities available, especially at the weekend and particularly that provide not only for the person with needs but also for the carers and/ or their wider family.

We have found that indeed whole families do come along and that carers and other family members meeting together has been one of the most appreciated aspects of Super Saturday. One parent commented on Super Saturdays ‘There’s no other place like this’.

Eventually we hope to be able to involve some of our members in helping to run events, like serving in the cafe etc.

These events are completely free and somewhere that we can bless these special people abundantly with God’s love, something we all feel very strongly about.

Each session we provide a combination of crafts, games, a sensory space, singing, food, time to learn something of God’s love and a warm friendly, accepting atmosphere for those with needs and their carers and families.

The team that run Super Saturday are fantastic, all with a real heart for those with additional needs and their carers. We have such fun and are truly blessed every single Saturday spent with these amazing people.

This year Super Saturday will be running three times, following a different theme each session:

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If you feel this is something God would want you to be involved in or if you know anyone you might like to invite along, please speak to Rev Manda or me, Claire Emery.

Claire Emery

Small Groups / Homegroups

If you have chance to watch the introduction video on our website you’ll hear me say that the overall aims of St Mary’s are to

Love God and to Love others.

Loving God includes getting to know him better and following Jesus as His disciples. Being a disciple isn’t just about what we believe but how we live our lives, aiming and praying to become and to act more like Jesus.

Loving God (including worshipping) and growing as disciples is a lot of what we are doing when we gather together on a Sunday. Another key place for this is in our small groups / homegroups.

At the end of 2023 we had 8 small groups meeting regularly some in the daytime and some in the evening. This means that about 60 adults from the church are part of a small group.

The number of people in small groups has remained fairly consistent over the past few years. It has though been good to see people who have recently joined the church get involved in a small group fairly quickly. This is a great because small groups are not only a place for discipleship but they also provide fellowship and friendship, as well as being places to gain information about the life of the church.

In the autumn small groups were invited to take part in the ‘SHAPE course’ which explored the gifts and skills that God has given us and looks at how we use them in His service and to His glory.

In January 2023 we ran Alpha. It was a great group with really lively discussions. After Alpha this group studied Mark’s Gospel together, being joined by other members. The combined group has gone on to form a small group / homegroup.

It has also been a joy to see members of the Alpha group become regular worshippers at St Mary’s.

I am grateful to all the small group leaders for all the preparation you do. I thank all those who host small groups, your hospitality and generosity is much appreciated. I also thank everyone who is part of a group for all you contribute and share.

If you’re not yet part of a small group, and would like to be, please have a chat with me sometime so we can seek to identify the best group for you.

Rev Manda Featherstone

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St Mary’s Wythall Annual Report 2023

St. Mary’s Friendship Group (formerly Elderly Care Group)

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Our main event of the year was a cream tea in August. The scones were donated by Becketts and the wonderful selection of cakes were baked by our church members. We were fortunate to have two musical sessions, one from the Olton Amazing Pluckers and the other Wythall Community Choir.

Our other events were both films, ‘Mrs Harris goes to Paris’ in April and ‘Ladies in Lavender’ in October. The venue for the October film had to move from church to Dennis Potter Court as the church floor was being sealed. Dennis Potter provided us with a delicious lunch. If anyone has ideas for activities please speak to one of the team. We hope that these events allow people to look forward to going out near to home, make friendships and hear about the services and support that are open to them at St Mary’s

We have continued to provide services at Dennis Potter Court over 2023, starting with Easter where we offer communion, Harvest Festival, Remembrance Day, and Christmas. These are attended by a small but loyal group of people from the Court and their friends.

Our programme for 2024 is now available in church - please look for the flyer.

Chris Turner

Hillside

Hillside continue to welcome us into their Residential Home to deliver a simple worship service once a month, and this continues to be a blessing, both for the residents and staff, and for the team who deliver the services.

As a reminder, the unit supports adults with a range of needs, and the residents have always enthusiastically joined in the services. The support staff also join in, with up to 20 people involved.

We have made some good connections with the residents and staff.

John, one of the residents, continues to attend our church services every week, and I would encourage you to engage with him and help him to feel at home in our wonderful church.

We are told by the staff that the residents look forward to the services and are heard singing worship songs for days after the services!

Many thanks to Rev Manda, Amanda Dauncey, Deborah Brockbank and Rob Watson for continuing to make the services a success every month, and Lynda Yates has recently joined the team.

If you feel that you were able to offer assistance in supporting the services occasionally you would be most welcome – please let us know!

Dave D’Arcy

Mission Committee Report

The role of the Mission Committee is to spearhead the church’s response to Jesus’ command to ‘go into all the world to preach the gospel’. We do this by keeping the church informed about the work of our mission partners, by bringing new causes to the attention of the church, and ensuring that mission matters are included in the weekly intercessions on a regular basis. Each month a prayer section on the news sheet gives information about one of our partners so that we can all be involved in their work.

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St Mary’s Wythall Annual Report 2023

We also recommend to the PCC how the tithe of the church’s income should be distributed, and the following gifts were agreed in 2023:

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We were also able to send £1119 to charities supporting survivors of the earthquake in Syria and Turkey, ensuring that our money was used in both countries. Donations at our Christmas services raised £142, which we sent to charities working in Israel and Gaza - again, making sure that victims of the war on both ‘sides’ were supported. A total of £314 was sent to The Children’s Society from boxes held by members of the congregation and the collection at the Christingle service.

Our Kira Farm student, Martin, corresponded regularly by email with Pam, and was full of enthusiasm for all that he was learning. Like all our other students, he gained a much more positive outlook on life and left with new skills to help lift his family out of poverty in the future. The party travelling to Uganda in summer 2024 to stay with our mission partner, Caroline, also hope to visit Kira Farm and meet this year’s student.

If you would like to know anything more about topics mentioned above, please speak to any of the committee - Pam, Jenny and Rob.

Pam Miller

Kings Norton, Moseley & Shirley Deanery Synod

The Deanery Synod of Kings Norton, Moseley and Shirley has met on three occasions during 2023 and the main agenda items included the following:

11 February 2023

Emma Sargeant, the Diocesan Growing Younger advisor spoke about FLEX which is new modular learning

tool, designed to make training and learning in small groups more accessible for individuals and teams of

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St Mary’s Wythall Annual Report 2023

people. There are currently 30 modules available to choose from and you can do as many or as few as you like. Modules include reflections on children’s and young people’s work, bereavement, growing your own faith and engaging with other faiths, to name but a few. Participants can either follow a pick and mix format to suit themselves or follow a Commissioned Pathway for Childrens Work leading to being commissioned as a childrens or youth worker within a parish in cooperation with the ministry team in a parish. Emma also introduced Tom Spicer the Childrens and Families Missioner for KNMS based at Hawkesley School. Further details of FLEX from Emma Sargeant email emmas@cofebirmingham.com

7 June 2023

Fred Rattley—Director of Community Regeneration and Chief Executive of Thrive Together Birmingham

Fred introduced the work of Thrive and challenged people to think about what they could do in their own communities. Ten years ago an independent charity was set up with the Bishops permission called Thrive Together Birmingham. It is linked to the Community Regeneration work done in the diocese but stands slightly apart, in order to qualify for additional funding from the City Council as an independent charity. Broad aims are to end poverty, to help and support local communities, and to assist people in their aims to achieve social justice. In particular he spoke about the Places of Welcome initiative which started here in Birmingham and is now happening in over 600 places throughout the UK. Also the Birmingham Warm Welcome initiative which focusses on connecting people to each other, services, wellbeing activities, and warmth. There are now 220 such spaces in and around Birmingham and Solihull.

19 October 2023

This meeting was the first of the new Triennium

Elections of Clergy and Laity to Standing Committee for the next 3 year period were made.

Phelim introduced a report written in October 2022 reflecting upon Mission and Ministry Post Covid. (Church attendance in October 2022: Post Covid-19 Trends, Patterns and possibilities by Dr Bev Botting, Dr Ken Eames, the Ven Bob Jackson Oxford.anglican.org/insights)

Statistics were given regarding church attendance in October 2022 as compared to October 2019. There had been a significant drop. The report attempts to analyse this and other data and draw some conclusions. The meeting broke into discussion groups to talk about this and then were invited to report back to the meeting. A discussion followed.

St Mary’s Deanery Synod representatives up to June 2023 were:

Jenny Clark, Pam Carter, Lynda Rogers and Clergy

Pam Carter and Jenny Clark stood down in June and Richard Parsons was elected as a new rep

Current representatives in 2023-24 are therefore Lynda Rogers, Richard Parsons and clergy

Lynda Rogers

Electoral Roll

In 2023 the Electoral Roll was 133. This year there are been 4 additions and 9 deletions, making the total 128 in 2024.

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St Mary’s Wythall Annual Report 2023

Charitable Objectives and Activities

Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document:

Promoting in the Ecclesiastical Parish the whole mission of the church.

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects:

1. Regular Public Worship open to all

Details of our worship services have been given in this report. We also upload an audio of the sermon from the Sunday service each week to our website and also send this out to people who have requested it and are unable to attend church on a Sunday.

2. Teaching of Christianity

This is done through sermons at our services and sometimes through small groups and occasional courses on mid-week evenings. Children and Young people are taught about Christianity through our young people’s groups.

3. Taking of Religious Assemblies in Schools

During 2023 we continued termly assemblies for the Coppice Primary School

4. The provision of a youth group with a Christian Ethos

We have continued to hold a youth group on Sunday evenings.

Activities 1-4 above are public benefits relating to the advancement of religion

5. Pastoral work including visiting the sick and the bereaved

Clergy and Licensed Readers take funerals and are in contact with the bereaved. Contact with those who are housebound was made by phone calls and visits and also written letters/cards.

6. Promoting the whole mission of the church through the provision of activities for senior citizens, parents and toddlers, children and those with additional needs.

More information about these activities is given on pages 8-16 of this report.

Items 5 and 6 help ‘the relief of those in need by reason of youth, age or ill health or other disadvantage’

7. Supporting other charities in the UK and overseas

In 2023 we supported the organisations listed on page 17.

We have considered the guidance given by the Charity Commission about public benefit of our charity’s activities.

Charitable information and Trustees

Full Charity name: The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Mary’s Wythall

Other names the charity is known by: St Mary’s Wythall PCC

Registered charity number: 1132792

Charity's principal address: St Mary’s Church, Shawhurst Lane, Hollywood, Birmingham B47 5JN

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St Mary’s Wythall Annual Report 2023

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity:

Trustee name Ofce (if any) Dates acted if not for
whole year		 Name of person (or body) enttled to ap-
point trustee (if any)
REV AMANDA
FEATHERSTONE		 Vicar N/A
ALISON SPENCER Church Warden
PCC Secretary		 Those on the Electoral Roll of St. Mary’s
Wythall
JENNIFER CLARK as above
JUDITH EMERY Reader as above
LYNDA ROGERS Deanery Synod Rep as above
ELIZABETH BRIDGENS Untl 14th May 2023 as above
VALERIE FARMER Untl 14th May 2023 as above
PAM CARTER Deanery Synod Rep Untl 14th May 2023 as above
SONYANETTE PARKER Untl 14th May 2023 as above
ROBERT WATSON as above
STEPHEN UNDERWOOD Untl Dec 2023 as above
RACHEL MCMAHON as above
JULIE CROXFORD as above
JULIE ARKELL From 14th May 2023 as above
AMANDA DAUNCEY From 14th May 2023 as above
PATRICA BRANFORD From 14th May 2023
Untl Dec 2023		 as above
RICHARD PARSONS Deanery Synod Rep From 14th May 2023 as above
PAMELA MILLER Treasurer From 14th Mat 2023 Co-opted by PCC
ROS HARRISON PCC Secretary From Sept 2023 Co-opted by PCC

Structure, governance and management

Type of governing document - EXCEPTED

How the charity is constituted - The PCC is a body corporate

Trustee selection methods - Trustees are PCC members – these are the current Vicar, Curate, the Readers, and other members elected by those on the Electoral Roll of St. Mary’s Wythall at the Annual Meeting. Additional members may also be co-opted to join the PCC.

Financial review

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves - We have a designated reserves fund. Some is invested with the CBF Church of England Funds and most is now represented by the 50 year lease on our new building and our Youth, Children and Families Worker’s and Curate’s houses. At 31/12/23 the total of the reserves fund was £ 803,476

Details of any funds materially in deficit - None

Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report on 21st March 2023

Alison Spencer, Church Warden

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St Mary’s Wythall Annual Report 2023

Accounts

Wythall Parochial Church Council

Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Statement of Accounting Policies

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2011 together with applicable accounting standards and the Charities FRSSE SORP.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention except for the valuation of certain investment assets, which are shown at market value.

Funds

The general funds represent the funds of the PCC that are not subject to any restrictions regarding their use and are available for the application of the general purposes of the PCC. Funds designated for a particular purpose by the PCC are also unrestricted. Restricted funds are only available for use for the purpose for which the funds have been raised. During 2015, the PCC decided that the Building Fund be renamed the Reserve fund and balances therein are available as reserves. The remaining balance on the Restoration fund was also transferred into the Reserve fund. The Restoration fund is restricted and the balances therein are reported within these financial statements.

Incoming resources

Voluntary income and capital sources

Collections are recognised when received by or on behalf of the PCC. Planned giving receivable under Gift Aid is also recognised only when received. Income tax recoverable on Gift Aid donations is recognised when the income is recognised.

Grants and legacies to the PCC are accounted for as soon as the PCC is notified of its legal entitlement, the amount is quantifiable and the ultimate receipt by the PCC is reasonably certain.

Income from investments

Dividends are accounted for when due and payable. Interest entitlements are accounted for when they accrue.

Gains and losses on investments

Unrealised gains or losses are accounted for on revaluation of investments at 31 December.

Resources used

Actvites directly relatng to the work of the church

The diocesan parish share (“quota” or “common fund”) is accounted for when paid. Any Common Fund unpaid at 31 December is provided in these accounts as a constructive (though not legal) liability and is shown as a creditor in the balance sheet.

Fixed assets

Property

Freehold land is not depreciated. Freehold property is depreciated over an estimated useful life of 50 years. The church building is depreciated over 50 years to nil residual value.

Other fixtures, fittings and office equipment

Equipment used by the church for services and office equipment is capitalised and depreciated to its residual value (usually nil) over its estimated useful life from the date of commissioning. Estimated useful lives range from 3 years (for computers and software), 8 years for furniture and 9 years for the sound / vision equipment in the Church.

Investments

Investments are valued at market value at 31 December.

Current assets / liabilites

Current assets, including estimated income tax recoverable, are shown as debtors less provision for amounts that may prove uncollectible.

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St Mary’s Wythall Accounts 2023

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers and recorded at transaction price.

Short-term deposits include cash held on deposit with the CBF Church of England Funds.

Mortgage debt

Mortgage debt is initially recorded at proceeds less transaction costs. Interest is charged based on contractual interest arrangements. At the period end, the mortgage is shown at its settlement value.

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The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Mary’s Wythall, also known as St Mary’s Wythall PCC, is a registered charity number: 1132792

Contact

Address: St Mary’s Church, Shawhurst Lane, Hollywood, Birmingham B47 5JN

We are situated to the rear of the Coppice School site.

Vicar: Rev Amanda Featherstone 0121 413 3287 revamanda@wythallchurch.net

Curate: Marcus Pagnam 01564 201441 marcus@wythallchurch.net

Warden: Alison Spencer 07772 568898 ali@wythallchurch.net

Church Office: churchoffice@wythallchurch.net 01564 823248

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Services

All are welcome at our regular Sunday services, which are:

9am Communion Service

10.30am Informal Service with children’s groups

Once a month we have our Family@4pm service—see website for dates.

St. Mary’s online

Web

www.wythallchurch.net

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facebook.com/StMarysWythall

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@stmaryswythall

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@stmaryschurchwythall

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Our YouTube channel is called St Mary’s Wythall

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Copies of this report printed at St Mary’s are on recycled paper. This report is also available electronically from the church office.

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Wythall Parochial Church Council

Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Net incoming / (outgoing) resources - general fund

Net incoming / (outgoing) resources - general fund
2023 2022
£ £
Income given under gift aid 115,263 129,308
Income tax recovered / recoverable (Note 2) 30,587 34,460
Non-gift aid giving 9,686 8,774
Collections 5,207 3,711
Donations 1,352 1,731
Deposit interest 1,199 241
Income from investments 1,403 967
Fees to PCC and Diocese 2,923 4,227
Children's society 337 239
Sundry Income (Note 4) 15,422 9,616
Total incoming resources 183,378 193,275
Maintenance of the ministry (clergy expenses) 2,488 1,502
Upkeep of services (hall rental, church repairs) 6,231 4,635
Sunday school and youth 1,103 323
Administration expenses (church ofce) 6,186 3,775
Common Fund to Diocese 74,058 55,000
Diocese share of wedding & funeral fees 2,521 3,321
Missionary and charitable (Note 5) 18,280 21,996
Children's society 315 239
Salaries of church staf (administrator, children, families & schools worker) 40,793 24,135
Depreciation (Note 6) 1,738 718
Growth 1,505 742
Sundry expenses (Note 4) 18,691 10,178
Total outgoing resources 173,908 126,562
Net incoming / (outgoing) resources before transfers 9,470 66,713
Transfers between funds - -
Net incoming / (outgoing) resources (Note 3) 9,470 66,713
(Losses) / Gains on investments 2,823 (3,876)
Net movement in funds 12,293 62,837

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Wythall Parochial Church Council

Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Balance sheet at 31 December 2023

Balance sheet at 31 December 2023
Note
2023 2022
£ £
Fixed assets
Tangible fxed assets (including 5, The Willows and 247 Alcester Road) 6 826,102 811,568
Investments 7 129,638 117,710
Current assets
Debtors - principally amounts due from Inland Revenue 2 31,660 34,719
CBF deposits 43,497 42,147
Cash at bank and in hand 31,873 53,262
107,030 130,128
Current liabilities
Liabilities: Amounts falling due within one year 8 (3,090) (3,116)
Net current assets 103,940 127,012
Net assets 1,059,680 1,056,290
Funds
General 251,204 238,901
Designated 803,476 812,380
Restricted (For young people in Wythall & Hollywood) 9 5,000 5,000
Total 1,059,680 1,056,290
Analysis of assets and liabilities by fund at 31 December 2023
Designated
General Reserve Restricted Total
£ £ £ £
Represented by:
Fixed assets 61,862 764,239 - 826,102
Debtors 30,298 1,362 - 31,660
Liabilities due within 1 year (3,090) - - (3,090)
Bank account 102,337 (75,464) 5,000 31,873
CBF Deposits 27,222 16,275 - 43,497
CBF Investment Fund 32,574 46,427 - 79,001
CBF Fixed Interest - 50,637 - 50,637
251,203 803,476 5,000 1,059,680

The total market of value of all bank balances, deposits and investments at 31 December 2023 was £205,008 (2022 £210,699).

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Wythall Parochial Church Council

Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Analysis of funds movements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Analysis of funds movements for the year ended 31 December 2023
2023 2022
£ £
General Fund
Brought forward 238,910 176,073
Net incoming / (Outgoing) resources 9,470 66,713
(Losses) / gains on investments 2,824 (3,876)
Carried forward 251,204 238,910
Reserve Fund (previously Building Fund)
Brought forward 812,380 844,282
Dividends/Interest 3,040 2,735
Income from hiring accommodation 16,655 12,924
Income from church facilities hiring 1,151 1,151
Other income 0 0
Mortgage Interest 0 (368)
Other expenses 0 0
Repairs / maintenance (2,467) (5,044)
Depreciation (34,064) (30,753)
Net (outgoing)/incoming resources before transfers (15,685) (19,355)
Transfers from restoration fund / general fund 0 0
Net (outgoing)/incoming resources (15,685) (19,355)
(Losses) / Gains on investments 6,781 (12,547)
Carried forward 803,476 812,380
Restricted fund
Brought forward 5,000 5,000
Donation 0 0
Net incoming / outgoing resources 0 0
Carried forward 5,000 5,000
TOTAL
Brought forward - 1 January 1,056,290 1,025,355
Carried forward - 31 December 1,059,680 1,056,290

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Wythall Parochial Church Council

Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Notes to the accounts

  1. The accounting policies adopted in these accounts are shown in the statement of Accounting Policies.

  2. Income tax of £29,945 is yet to be recovered on income received under gift aid (2022 £33,568) and is included within debtors.

  3. The general fund surplus for 2023 is £12,293. In 2022, the general fund surplus was £62,837. The reserve fund balance includes £1,008 which is held in the restoration fund.

  4. Sundry Income and Expenses may be analysed as follows:

2023 2023 2022 2022
Income Expenses Income Expenses
£ £ £ £
Kitchen sundries - - 18 -
Spring Harvest 4,958 5,249 710 410
Outreach 170 1,250 - 851
Socials 761 1,033 265 162
Scof 1,985 2,565 2,264 1,897
Course books / visiting speakers 38 77 107 146
Repairs - 1,310 233 729
Other - - - -
Sundry 923 284 39 88
Super Saturday - 569 520 686
Discretionary income / expense 600 - 450 904
Uganda trip including BDBF funding 2,400 2,400 - -
Advent - - 1,372 -
Elderly - 73 5 324
Gifts - 238 320 380
Kitchen - 776 - 945
Recycling / Easy fundraising / Amazon 76 - 103 -
Unclaimed cheques released - - 1,457 -
Cleaning - 1,269 - 1,296
Specifc charity collections 1,976 - 1,015 -
Little Lights 1,534 1,595 740 1,360
15,422 18,691 9,616 10,178
5. The PCC has a target to give 10% of income to charity.
6. Fixed assets for use by the PCC New building Church 5, The Willows Curate's Total
equipment House
£ £ £ £ £
Cost brought forward at 1/1/2023 482,631 35,429 253,765 292,351 1,064,175
Additions - 50,336 - - 50,336
Cost carried forward at 31/12/2023 482,631 85,764 253,765 292,351 1,114,511
Depreciation brought forward at 1/1/2023 165,045 22,163 42,650 22,750 252,607
Charge for the year 28,362 1,738 2,702 3,000 35,802
Depreciation carried forward at 31/12/2023 193,406 23,901 45,353 25,750 288,409
Net book value at 31/12/2023 289,225 61,862 208,413 266,601 826,102
Net book value at 31/12/2022 317,586 13,265 211,115 269,601 811,568

The new building has been accounted for within the building fund with the exception of the stained glass window, which cost £15,000 where funds were raised from the congregation within the general fund. The Curate's House is within the Reserve Fund

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Wythall Parochial Church Council

Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Notes to the accounts

Movements during the year 2023 2022
£ £
Net book value brought forward - 1 January 117,710 131,602
Additions 2,323 2,531
Disposals - -
Net (loss) / gain on revaluation 9,605 (16,423)
Net book value carried forward at 31 December 129,638 117,710

Holdings at 31/12/2023 included £50,637 (market value) in the Church of England fixed interest fund and £79,001 (market value) in the Church of England Investment fund.

  1. Liabilities due within one year comprise:
2022 2021
£ £
Trade creditors 3,089 3,116
Deferred income - -
Total 3,089 3,116
  1. Restricted Funds

During 2021, the church received a £5,000 donation arising from the proceeds of the sale of Cornerstone Quest in Wales. The donor requested that the funds are used for the benefit of the young people of Wythall and Hollywood. At the year end, none of the donation had been spent on qualifying expenditure.

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Wythall Parochial Church Council

Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Statement of Financial Activities

2023 2022
General **Reserve ** Restricted Total Total
Fund Fund Fund
Income given under gift aid 115,263 - - 115,263 129,308
Income tax recovered (Note 2) 30,587 - - 30,587 34,460
Non-gift aid giving 9,686 - - 9,686 8,774
Collections 5,207 - - 5,207 3,711
Donations 1,351 - - 1,351 1,731
Interest 1,199 3,040 - 4,238 2,975
Income from investments 1,403 - - 1,403 967
PCC Property - 1,151 - 1,151 1,151
Rental income on PCC property - 16,655 - 16,655 12,924
Fees to PCC and Diocese 2,923 - - 2,923 4,227
Children's society 337 - - 337 239
Sundry Income (Note 4) 15,422 - - 15,422 9,616
Total incoming resources 183,378 20,846 0 204,223 210,085
Maintenance of the ministry (clergy expenses) 2,488 - - 2,488 1,502
Upkeep of services (hall rental) 6,231 - - 6,231 4,635
PCC property - 2,466 - 2,466 5,044
Sunday school and youth 1,103 - - 1,103 323
General Parish expenses (church ofce and repairs) 6,186 - - 6,186 3,775
Common Fund to Diocese 74,058 - - 74,058 55,000
Diocese share of wedding and funeral fees 2,521 - - 2,521 3,321
Missionary and charitable (Note 5) 18,280 - - 18,280 21,996
Children's society 315 - - 315 239
Salaries of church staf (administrator, children, families & schools worker) 40,793 - - 40,793 24,135
Depreciation (Note 6) 1,738 34,064 - 35,802 31,470
Growth 1,505 - - 1,505 742
Mortgage interest - 0 - 0 368
Sundry expenses (Note 4) 18,691 - - 18,691 10,178
Total resources expended 173,908 36,530 - 210,438 162,727
Net incoming / (outgoing) resources before transfers 9,470 (15,685) 0 (6,215) 47,358
Transfers between funds - - - - -
Net incoming resources 9,470 (15,685) 0 (6,215) 47,358
(Losses) / gains on investments (Note 7) 2,824 6,781 - 9,605 (16,423)
Fund brought forward 238,910 812,380 5,000 1,056,290 1,025,355
Fund carried forward 251,204 803,476 5,000 1,059,680 1,056,290

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