OpenCharities

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

← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of Ellesmere Port

2024-12-31-accounts

The Parochial Church Council of Ellesmere Port 2024 Annual Report

Ellesmere Port Parochial Church Council Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31[st] December 2024

Reference and Administrative Details of Ellesmere Port Parochial Church Council, its Members and Advisors

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a charity registered with the Charity Commission in November 2009, registration number 1132859. Prior to this date, the PCC was a charity excepted from registration, by statutory instrument 2007 No. 2655.

Principal Office:

Parish Office Whitby Road Ellesmere Port Cheshire CH65 6UW

Staff Team

Revd Rachel Newell (Rector) Appointed 28[th] May 2024 -Chair Revd Gill Foster (Associate Rector) Revd Ricky Montgomery (curate in training) Mrs Gemma Alexander-Bloomfield Community Development Worker Mrs Charmaine Maw Parish Administrator

Church wardens

Keith Nelson St Thomas & All Saints
Susan Mayers St Thomas & All Saints
Jan Tomlinson St Lawrence
Jane Chance St Lawrence
Deanery Synod Representatives **Term ** **of ** ofce
expires
Sue Johnson Licensed Pastoral Worker 2026
(Stepped down during 2024) 2026
Helen Burgess 2026
Gemma Alexander -Bloomfeld 2026
Karen Milne Parish Safeguarding Ofcer
Elected Members
Pam Maxwell 2025
Anne Williams 2025
Dayna Harrison St Lawrence 2026
Jean Welch St Lawrence 2026
David Blair 2026
Ruby Milne 2026
Amanda Price 2026

Win Moorcroft Geraldine Young (stepped down during 2024) Mike Burton

2027 2027 2027

The following were co-opted: Diana Burton Assistant treasurer Judith Derby Gift Aid Secretary Gaynor Lyth Treasurer Kath Lyth Licensed Pastoral Worker-RIP October 2024

Advisors and Agents

The PCC’s Bankers: Barclays Bank Leicester LE87 2BB Independent Examiner: Mr WJ Ford. A.C.M.A 7 Plymyard Close Bromborough Wirral

The PCC’s Investment Managers: CCLA Investment Management Ltd 80 Cheapside London EC2V 6DZ The PCC’s Insurers are: Ecclesiastical Beaufort House Brunswick Road Gloucester GL1 1JZ The PCC’s Treasurer is: Mrs Gaynor Lyth 27 Fern Road Whitby Ellesmere Port CH65 6PA Introduction

The Parish consists of two worship centres: St Thomas & All Saints Ellesmere Port and St Lawrence, Stoak. The mission statement of the Parish is ‘Christ in the centre of the Church; the Church at the centre of the Community’.

The staff team consisted of Revd Rachel Newell (Rector), who was appointed on the 28th May 2024 and Revd Gill Foster (Associate Rector), Revd Ricky Montgomery (Curate in training), a Community Development Worker and a Parish Administrator. The PCC has the responsibility for implementing the mission statement through the programmes of the parish. The parish has one retired Clergy member with PTO: Revd Gordon Welch who is based at St Lawrence. We are also blessed with one reader emeritus: Frank Mawdsley who serves mainly at St Lawrence Church. And One Reader: Mrs Linda Tudor, who was licensed on October 12[th] , 2024.

One of our Licensed pastoral workers passed away in October 2024 and our other pastoral worker surrendered her licence due to ill health. We had two Ordinands begin placement with us in September, and one person exploring ordained ministry. One congregation member also began training to become an Occasional Worship Leader.

Public Benefit

The Charity Commission requires that Charities explain how their work has a positive benefit on their beneficiaries. This report seeks to do this in its description of the parish’s activities in 2024. In summary, the parish provides for church members:

In addition, the parish provides for the wider community:

The Ellesmere Port Church of England College(voluntary-aided) is a member of the Frank Field Trust, together with Ellesmere Port Christ Church – Church of England primary School, provides opportunities for partnerships between the church and the schools.

The Clergy team have a strong relationship with Ellesmere Port College. A church member serves as Chair of Governors at Bishop Wilson & Christ Church Federation. There are also several church members serving as Foundation Governors on the federated board. We are also welcomed into many of the local primary schools in the parish, leading acts of worship/assemblies together with our assembly team, who take Bible stories into many local primary schools in the parish.

In these ways the Parish carries out the aims expressed in its Mission Statement.

Membership and Committees

Members of the PCC are either ex officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (ACPM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules 2022.

The PCC operates as the leadership of the parish, in conjunction with the Staff Team. There is a Finance Committee which oversees the Parish Budget, and which makes recommendations to the PCC concerning the giving strategy of the Parish.

In 2024, the PCC met on seven occasions, All PCC members completed the required Diocesan Safeguarding Training and were DBS cleared.

In between meetings, the Finance Team met to discuss finance and fabric matters, and to make recommendations to the full PCC. The Standing Committee, consisting of the Associate Rector, Wardens, PCC Secretary and Treasurer met once in 2024. Much of the day to day running of the Parish is devolved to the Staff Team.

The parish outgoings are made up of daily housekeeping and ministry costs together with the stipends of two full time ministers.

The PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults)

Review of the Year

Introduction

As a parish, our mission statement is “Christ at the centre of the church, the Church at the centre of the community”

As part of the process of appointing a new Rector, we reached out to the PCC and the wider church family to talk about our dreamed vision for the future:

We hope to develop and refine this in the coming year. Our prayer for growth, which is used in every service has helped us to keep this at the forefront of our mind. The staff team have certain roles and responsibilities in order for the above goals to be achieved.

St Thomas: Church Life and Activities

We began 2024 in interregnum as the Rector had retired in April 2023, after 21 years. We continued the process of appointing someone new, who would help lead the parish into a new season of mission and ministry. The process was surrounded by Prayer. In February, a new Rector was appointed, and she was licensed in May.

Our daily online morning prayer has continued into its fourth year and has continued to flourish. It has become a central part of the prayer life of the parish. This year, we have had new people join the rota of those who lead, as well as others joining to pray. In addition to this, a committed group also continued to meet online with a focus on healing, praying for the church family and beyond. A group also meet regularly to pray for the Clergy and the Beacon project. Our prayer chain has also been active during the year. Prayer ministry is offered during every 10. 45 communion service at St Thomas. All of the above have meant that prayer has been central in the life of the parish.

The two Sunday services continued to thrive with many visitors joining our café style service on the first Sunday of the month. We chose to host café church throughout August. This was an opportunity for those who have never led or offered a reflection to have a go and see what it feels like. Café church has proved to be a stepping stone for newcomers and enquirers some of which have come as a result of our community work. We have also welcomed several asylum seekers into our Sunday services providing them with Common Worship service books and Bible readings in their native language if requested.

Our curate Revd Ricky Montgomery, continued to settle into the parish as a curate in training. His ministry in a local care home is continuing to form a visiting team. He has also trailed faith in film nights where adults can get together and discuss a film and relate it to their faith and life. as a curate-in-training who has settled into the life of parish

Ignite which is our Sunday group for children continued with a small group of committed volunteers teaching our children week by week, with the privilege of planting seeds of faith into young and exploring minds, however this is an area for growth and consideration as we move forward.

The parochial church council continues to work in sub-groups to give focus in certain aspects of church life – finance, fabric, Eco Church and Community Outreach.

A new group was launched in September of 2024 for young people in year six upwards. This was down to a growing need to keep our older children engaged and provide something more tailored to them. It has begun to see growth and we have consistent attendance. We spent the first term building relationships and getting to know each other. This group is currently run by the two clergy members.

The clergy team hosted the annual Remembrance Service in the Civic Square where a large congregation joined together made up of church members but largely the local community, members of the armed forces, uniformed organisations and schools in giving thanks and remembering those who died serving their country. Our Community Development Worker was also asked to lay a wreath representing our Community Outreach Group.

We joined with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ from churches in Ellesmere Port and brought some joy to the shoppers in the local shopping centre singing our Easter Praises and then again bringing Christmas cheer with our carol singing.

The relationship with our Scouting groups has continued to develop. Our curate now serves as their Chaplain, and they were invited to the Harvest service where we had over 120 adults and children present. The scouts also hosted a very successful summer fair in the grounds of the church where everyone was welcome to join in with the games and tuck into the delights from the barbecue.

The PALS group continued to grow from strength to strength, meeting in the church hall on the fourth Friday of the month to enjoy a home cooked meal together, whilst enjoying fun and fellowship. PALS has been a lynchpin in bringing the congregations from St Thomas and St Lawrence together for support and friendship. This group also welcomes many lonely and isolated folk in from the community.

Our knitters were kept very busy this year, knitting both Our Easter Chicks and then Christmas Angels which were spread around the community sharing God’s love and hopefully bringing a smile to brighten people’s day.

The news of the parish continued to be shared via a monthly newsletter emailed out to the church family with hard copies available for those without access to the internet. This was in keeping with our efforts to be more Eco conscious and saving paper.

Cell groups continued to meet again in person in homes. This is an area of church life that is so valued by its members and is an area of ministry and support to be developed.

We hosted several fundraising events in 2024 to aid the ever-increasing costs of running a parish. These also proved as excellent social events where congregation members were able to easily invite people and attracted members of the local community. Highlights were ‘the singing vicar’ which included a cream tea and our famous Christmas fair.

Our work with local schools continued and was strengthened even more 2024. Seven local primary schools were invited to join us for our Experience Easter Week to come and hear more about what the story of Easter means for them. This initiative was a great success and enjoyed by pupils and teachers alike. We have also been more involved with The Ellesmere Port Church of England College hosting their year 7 welcome service, offering a reflection for Remembrance Day and leading and speaking at their Christmas Service, which has resulted in us being invited to speak to various classes during the year. We are also working in partnership with the school in running our Food initiative group. Each time the school send a group of year 12/13. They are a testament to the school and a lovely way of serving the community together.

It has been a pleasure to welcome into church, class visits looking at baptism, special places, buildings and music amongst other topics. It has also been a great privilege to be invited into schools to talk about subjects such as weddings. We also supported our local COFE school with their Values day where the children focused on the term value for an entire day. The clergy and our community worker gave a distinctly Christian approach which was a real privilege. We have also hosted Messy Church sessions each half term at Christ Church which has had the added bonus of family members and friends joining us and hearing more about Jesus! As well as leading collective Worship, the clergy lead a half termly communion service in the school where church members, and parents are also invited. This ministry is complimented by our assembly team who take bible stories into many of our local primary schools. We also welcomed schools into church for their Christmas and Easter Services which was a great blessing at the end of the year for all involved.

The number of weddings remained low, we conducted several Baptisms but had a very busy year with funeral ministry. We continue to offer support to our bereaved families writing to them not long after their bereavement and inviting them to our Tea at Two, afternoon tea and to a Blue Christmas service which was particularly appropriate for those who were spending their first Christmas without their loved one. Each bereaved family also received a ‘goody bag’ at Christmas just to remind them we were still thinking of them. We hosted our marriage preparation day,

which was a thoroughly enjoyable day as we learned more about Christian marriage together and the logistics of the wedding service – hoping to allay any nerves on the big day.

We had a varied and full Christmas programme reaching out to the community, serving the community and ministering to those in our church family. We supported ‘give a gift to a stranger’ with our local hostel for young homeless adults. Churches together along with local schools supported the Christmas Shoebox appeal sending gifts overseas to children who would otherwise be without on Christmas Day. We hosted our Christmas fair which is always very well supported by the community, and it was so good to welcome old and new faces into the building to enjoy fun and fellowship whilst raising much needed funds for church. As well as our many Christmas services, which always connect with those that don’t usually attend church.

We have so much to be thankful for with regards to the many blessings we take for granted each day, particularly giving thanks that we have managed to just keep our heads above water with regards to church finances which is something we do not take for granted.

All of the above would not be possible without the energy and commitment of many from the church family doing as Jesus did in caring, loving and serving others, using their gifts, skills and talents and perhaps more importantly giving their time. Time is precious and so we must use our time wisely and do what He commanded us to do and that is to make disciples and it is our hope that all that is done in His name will one day come to bear fruit, fruit that will last. We are blessed that we are growing disciples who have a passion to share the Gospel message in so many creative and thoughtful ways. We are encouraged to see others joining the church community who are learning more about the God who loves them.

Saint Lawrence, Stoak: church life & activities

Our witness to the love of Christ continued and developed as we entered 2024 with several people taking on new roles in the life of St Lawrence and with visiting preachers immersing themselves in the life of our church as we began the year still in vacancy. We are very blessed to have the continued ministry of Revd Gordon Welch and our reader emeritus Frank Mawdsley, who provide regular ministry alongside the wider ministry team and clergy. Thanks to Frank anyone who attends St Lawrence is guaranteed a great welcome and a wonderful smile as he stands outside the church to greet people, whatever the weather.

Sadly, the steady numbers attending worship has declined due to the ill health of some of the congregation and also the sad loss of some very faithful members of the congregation. This though has highlighted the wonderful pastoral care the congregation have one to the other. They have illustrated in so many ways what it means to be the Body of Christ, being there for each other in good times and in those challenging times.

We are blessed with a small number of children who attend our Sunday services, and it is wonderful to see them reading lessons and helping with the collection. Our ABC service specifically designed for Children and families, has continued to flourish and to see new faces. Some of these families want to have their children baptised,

and it provides a great opportunity to teach all ages about faith and to enjoy some excellent food provided by our wonderful volunteers. Our ABC children did a wonderful job of leading our Nativity, it was a great highlight in our church year.

We have also encouraged the congregations to get involved with the outreach initiatives of the parish and so many gifted knitters joined in with the Easter chick and angel projects and felt a real sense of doing their bit in sharing the Good News of Jesus. Our local pub was recently re opened with new management. We have built a good relationship and hosted the first ‘Curry and Carols’ event. It was supported by members of both churches who found it an easy event to invite friends and family too. It attracted some from the local community as well as surprised customers who had gone along for a quiet pint or meal. It was well received, and we are looking forward to seeing how our relationship develops.

A great encouragement has been welcoming several St Lawrence folk to the parish's PALS lunch and Tea at Two. This has helped in bringing the two ends of the parish together and really strengthened the notion of the Body of Christ in the parish.

Work has continued to try and bring the churchyard back into order and to comply with Chester Diocesan Churchyard Rules 2007. This continues to be done sensitively and empathetically, but not without difficulty. We began the process of getting permission to erect a notice board which will enable us to clearly explain the expectations when one chooses to have a loved one buried in the church yard. We continue to be thankful for the many volunteers who work together to help keep the churchyard looking neat, tidy and a peaceful place to be. We are continually grateful to the pay it forward project, which, despite a short break in 2024, has mowed the grass, which is such a huge blessing.

In November, Jonathon Starkey, our organist and a very talented musician, hosted a fundraising event. it was a wonderful night with great refreshments, the opportunity to listen to some beautiful music, talk to each other and raise some much-needed funds for the parish. We had some extremely generous donations for which we are very thankful.

An ancient building brings with it many challenges of maintenance but with two very enthusiastic wardens, they have overseen much-needed work with the help of others from the church family. Our quinquennial has highlighted some significant work that needs to be done, and we have begun the process of talking with the diocese about the way forward.

We continue to look to the future with the growth of our ABC service and seeking God’s will as we witness to his love in the village of Stoak and beyond.

Revd Rachel Newell

Outreach and Community

The Community Outreach Group now has its vision statement and logo, and this has been vital in moving our work forwards and being visible throughout the community. We are now a real ‘brand’ wherever we work, and our aims are clearly visible. The community are aware of who we are, and understand where we are from and what we are about.

Our work with schools supporting families with our food hamper project continues to flourish, however perhaps a little too well? We have huge concerns over the growing numbers of families seeking this support, and we aim to meet with both the schools and our MP to discuss this further. Our community partners supporting us with donations, van hire and support on packing days are such a blessing towards this initiative.

Furthermore. our family fun day project also thrives. We offered a range of activity days with meals during every school holiday, and this allows a growing fellowship between families within the community. During the year fantastic feedback has been received from families and funders, and some of our families are now attending church services too. A further way of reaching into the community has been our Cinema nights with families enjoying a film whilst tucking into hotdogs and pizza, and yet again, numbers here have also grown. There is certainly a trend of growth……

Toms Tots, our toddler group has a wonderful group of volunteers who have taken on additional roles throughout the year, whether that be leading worship, organising crafts, or preparing snacks, the team ensure this fellowship is well organised week in, week out. Again, some of our tots families have ventured towards our other church services too, and we are seeing that growth in spiritual commitment towards our parish.

Tea at Two is bursting at the seams! Open to anyone who would like company, a good cup of tea and some unbelievably delicious cake courtesy of the fantastic bakers we are so blessed to have within our parish, this has attracted fresh faces to attend from the community along with the many regulars attending from both churches. We have added additional tables to fit everyone in. Do we see our trend in growth again….

We trialled a new initiative during the summer of 2024 called ‘COG on the Move’. A group of faithful volunteers and a gazebo went out and about to Wolverham playing fields once a month to take our work quite literally out to the community. We spent a couple of hours on a Friday evening, with craft and sports equipment, quite simply being with our community, letting them know who we are, what we are about. The dates were always the Friday before a Café Church service, so we handed out invitations to people for this. The sessions were always well received by those who attended, however our position in Wolverham was perhaps not the best choice, as it was not as well populated as we had expected. This is something to review before we decide whether or not to try again this year – perhaps we go ‘on the move’ elsewhere?

The above work has been funded by a number of grants and donations, to which we are truly thankful.

The Beacon Project – the re-ordering of St Thomas Church is moving at good pace, and given the growth of all of our community work, we can see why this is very much needed. There had been much work already undertaken with the architects, and planning permission paperwork has now been submitted to the local authority, as has the faculty paperwork to the DAC. There have been some questions returned from both of these, which have been answered, and we now await the outcomes. With a third of the funding already in place, we are in a positive position to start moving forwards to look for the next amounts of funding, however this will be

supported by having permissions granted, as many funding applications ask for this evidence.

So much to be thankful for, so much excitement and strength with our community outreach, so a huge thank you to all the faithful volunteers who are involved in all of these initiatives, as it is all the COG’s turning that enable this work to grow and flourish, and to build the kingdom.

Gemma Alexander-Bloomfield Community Development Worker

Finances

Finance Report – Year End 31 December 2024

Firstly, I would like to thank those who have donated to our churches and helped fund raise during 2024, without this financing we could not continue to do God’s work.

Brief Overview

The accounts show total income from all sources as £203,559.45 this incorporates all fund-raising & our Community Outreach Group [COG]. Our total income is down £3,809.55 on 2023. During 2024 we allocated interest of £8,916 to the General fund and £6,160 to the Beacon Project. However, moving forward the interest will be split in accordance with relevant fund balance and therefore in 2025 will mainly go to the Beacon Project.

Our total expenditure again including COG was £239,215.37 this is an increase of £30,606 on 2023 and gives us a deficit of £35,655.92 for the year.

A large part of the increase in spending has been on professional fees for the Beacon Project and staff wages both of which are coming from the designated Re-Ordering fund.

If we take out COG and Beacon Project income and expenses our total income (including interest) was £172,245.05 and our expenditure £179,333.08 giving a deficit of £7,008.03.

We had available £5,091 in the donation fund which we were able to use towards the purchase of equipment and maintenance of our buildings which is why this fund now stands at zero.

Mission

During 2024 via fundraising and donations we were able to give:

Mission
uring 2024 via fundraising and donations		 we were able to give:
Foodbank £155.50
The Children' Society £270.55
Forum housing £374.50
Total £800.55
Food Initiative Group £22,351.00
Total £23,151.55

Ten percent of our total income would be £20,359.

There were also things like the Christmas Shoe Boxes, Easter Chicks and Christmas Angels which did not have a monetary cost to our finances, but were still gifts to our community and part of our mission. Not to mention the donation of people’s time in raising the funds and hosting the various events.

The PCC are concerned that we have not been giving 10% of our income away but when you are running at a deficit and trying to balance the books it is extremely difficult to do this. The clergy have asked that we look to give a minimum of 3% in 2025 and then increase on an annual basis until we are back at 10%.

How our individual funds stand at 31 December:

General Fund £13,976.59

The balance is significantly higher than the £1,822 held at year end December 2023 but this is because £10,000 had to be taken from our reserves in March in order to be able to pay for the building insurance costs.

The General Fund handles our regular giving and operating costs. Income from all sources to this fund amounted to £171,950 .

Planned giving, weekly collections, donations and gift Aid from church members amounted to £101,025 and represented 59% of our income. This was an increase of £3,441 compared to 2023.

In addition, we have rental income from Childsplay Nursery, St Thomas Car Park and St Thomas Room and Hall Hire. This totalled £35,451 which is an increase of £3,434

Our income from weddings and funerals was £20,200 which is a 49% increase on the 2023 figure which had in turn been significantly down on 2022.

Expenditure in total was £169,464 an increase of £3,467.

The main expenditure is the Parish Share to the Diocese was £107,634 an increase of £5,126. Other significant costs to this fund were the salary for our part-time administrator and the assigned fees to the diocese.

Our utility bills were £12,886.75 which was slightly lower than 2023 largely due to the oil delivery for St Lawrence not filling the tank.

The building insurance was £6,575 which was a reduction of £422 for all the buildings. Trying to raise additional revenue and cut costs remains a priority and the PCC now aim to have a minimum of 4 major fund-raising events each year.

Donation Fund - £0 (Designated)

This fund is designated for church use but cannot be used towards general running costs for the church and stood at £5,091 in December 2023.

The PCC received no donations to this fund during 2023.

The money was used for the Repair of the sound system at St Thomas and also towards the cost of a new boiler.

St Thomas - Reordering Fund - £229,567 (Designated)

Otherwise known as the Beacon Project, this fund stood at £259,432 in December 2023. The fall in value is largely due to payment of professional fees to enable us to apply for planning consent, plus the payment of Community Workers salary & pension.

Total investment income, fund-raising & donations during the year were £7,448. Expenditure amounted to £37,313.24 hence the overall drop of £29,865

St Lawrence Fund - £295 (Restricted)

This is a restricted fund used to hold grants, donations and fund raising for specific projects at St Lawrence Church. We received additional donations during the year of £295 which was specifically for the notice board.

The sound system was paid for at the beginning of 2024 at a cost of £4,563.60 and there was also some maintenance work at £215 in April.

A donation of £853 was also received to pay for the oil at st Lawrence but as this goes from the General fund, that donation was not allocated to the St Lawrence fund. The person who made the donation for the oil, was made aware of the mix up with the delivery and was happy for us to retain the money for oil in 2025 or the St Lawrence boiler servicing which ever came first.

- Food Initiative Group £15,436 (Restricted)

The Community Outreach Group raise money for FIG from various sources on a restricted basis in order to provide food hampers and fun activity days during school holidays to support vulnerable families in our community.

A total of £23,865 was raised during 2024 and £22,569 was spent. Thus, giving a balance as of 31 December £15,436.

- Building Fund £20,501 [Designated)

There has been no movement on this fund. The building Fund was expected to be needed in the coming years to resurface St Thomas car park as there is noticeable pitting. However, it is currently anticipated that the car park will be resurfaced as part of the Beacon Project. Thus, leaving us with a healthy balance for our church buildings which is likely to be required towards work highlighted in the quinquennial report.

- Reserve Contingency Fund £17,002 (Designated)

This has reduced by £10,000 as money needed to be transferred to the General Fund in March to cover the insurance costs.

CCLA Endowment Account - £22,329

This fund had an investment value of £21,249 as of 31 December 2023.

We had good investment returns during the year and the value has risen to £22,329.

This Endowment is available to the PCC for our own charitable purposes, and we will be looking to transfer the money to bolster our contingency fund at a future date.

If the Reserve and Endowment Fund were added together it would give us total contingency funds of £39,331. Our contingency fund should be a minimum of £40,500 based on average 3 months expenditure for 2024. Although we are below this, we do also have our building fund that could be used in an emergency.

AGENCY FUNDS - £10,351.06

As of 31 December, we held:

General Agency Account - £437.76

Of this money £230.21 was being held for the payments made on the Barclay card for Gifts for a Stranger and the balance of £207.55 was raised at the Christingle Service and was sent to the Children’s Society in early January.

PALS - £197.37

Following the Christmas raffle and lunch Pals had a balance of £197.37 Contact Centre Fund - £9,715.93

Contact Centre money is nothing to do with our charity and its income and expenditure only distorted our figures. Thus, this money is ringfenced as an Agency Fund on behalf of Contact Centre. The balance as of 31 December 2023 was £10,625.66, they received grants of £2,500 during 2024 and expenditure totalled £3,409.73.

Looking ahead to 2025

The Treasury Team and PCC are looking at a variety of ways we can increase our funding and decrease expenses, but with rising inflation and heating costs the latter will be extremely difficult to achieve. We are a charity, and like all other charities we only survive with donations. The turmoil people face on a daily basis highlights the importance of all our ministries, and these can only continue with regular unrestricted donations . So, please do keep giving, consider increasing your donations and were possible gift aid. Plus, if you have not already done so, leave the church a legacy in your Will so God’s work can continue when your regular donations stop.

Finally, as treasurer I would like to thank the people who assist in performing the finance functions of the church. These include but are not limited to, the assistant Treasurer (Mrs Diana Burton without whom I could not manage, the other banking team volunteers (Mrs Sylvia Bestwick and Mrs Jan Tomlinson), and our Gift Aid Officer (Mrs Judith Derby).

Gaynor Lyth Ellesmere Port Parish Treasurer

Ellosmero Port pcc Sotd Separate Designated For the period from 01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 9J14M7 5531 lo.￿￿2 25919.9) I7￿r 117 29217 65.n $163.42 27OS)J) I￿.13 124351 IA445) 107AY44 1(QXS.40 41ts.41 fj7791 1.764fJ1 1I67 107AYJ4 24 I7.&￿21 27ffi7 73 6ffi7 3J7 6ffi7 313ts7 223511YI le9￿)51 4U0421 27J47.&5 219215JT 219mlJ4 IJ495WI P.1W I35￿91) 10fO) ¢J31W 110I¥nC*)) 10111 .410h) 110J31A)) (JI41QWI I&YJ5 6ri.141.13 117• •17.749A8 I3376￿ 8It185SO 1S931A7 7(11,11SJI

Notes

Liabilities / Creditors is the money held in Agency Funds.