2020-12-31-accounts

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ANNUAL REPORT 2020

ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

REGISTERED CHARITY 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

VICAR’S REVIEW OF 2020	3
CHURCHWARDENS’ REVIEW OF 2020	4
COMMUNICATIONS	5
OUTREACH	9
CHILDREN & FAMILIES & YOUTH	11
DISCIPLESHIP	13
SEND	15
CHURCH BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS	17
CHOIR AND MUSIC	18
BELL RINGERS	19
SAFEGUARDING	20
THE OLD SCHOOL ROOMS (OSR)	21
DIOCESE AND DEANERY	22
TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2020	23
ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020	34
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2020	37
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT	48

© Copyright Rothley Parish Church 2021. All rights reserved.

Cover picture: Rothley Church YouTube Channel viewed on an Apple MacBook Pro

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

VICAR’S REVIEW OF 2020

2020 has been a tough and chastening year for our naVon and Church - and the shape of what is to come is not yet clear. Throughout all the ever-changing guidelines and direcVves in response to the pandemic, we have sought to do all we can under God, to give expression to what it means to be his church in this place - making disciples, growing in our discipleship and showing God’s love to the world.

For most of the year this has taken place not only without access to our building, but also unable to meet one another face to face. In many ways this has put us in touch with the experience of our brothers and sisters in naVons where Churches have no buildings and are not allowed to meet.

These circumstances have thrown up a whole new set of challenges for us all and the pages that follow detail in a hugely encouraging way how these have been met and the life of the church in Rothley has conVnued. In this I would especially like to thank Paul Parkinson and his team for seang up our Church YouTube Channel, guiding us through the process of recording material and then doing so much work behind the scenes to present weekly services for us all. Recording a shortened daily Morning Prayer online is something that has also been greatly valued by many people.

Yet alongside this, there have been gaps - we have been unable to welcome families to bapVsms; couples have had to rearrange their wedding plans a number of Vmes; funerals have been restricted to just immediate family; and I haven’t been able to spend Vme in school with the children and their families. Electronic media goes so far, but in the cuang edge of evangelism and pastoral care face to face engagement in building relaVonships is at the heart of our witness. I have missed this

personal connecVon with the wider

community greatly and speaking to a screen at Vmes has felt very disengaged from those with whom we are communicaVng - especially in the context of bereavement.

In due course, as the world slowly opens up, it is this focus on building relaVonships that will be key to the recovery of the life of the Church in the parish.

We owe Mike Ferguson and Angela Neill, who have been our Churchwardens through this Vme, a great debt of graVtude. When they took office, they sought assurance that they weren’t going to be landed overseeing the Parish through an interregnum - well, they got a pandemic instead! The grace and wisdom they have shown in responding to the uncertainVes, the changing regulaVons, the behind-the-scenes risk assessments has been extraordinary. Matched only by their paVent dedicaVon in making sure everything is in place for us to be able to open the building whenever it has been possible.

Who dares predict what 2021 will hold as life moves past the pandemic into a post-Brexit future? But what we can be confident of, is that where the gospel is confessed the Lord Jesus will build his church and the gates of hell will not overcome it.

Rob Gladstone Vicar

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

CHURCHWARDENS’ REVIEW OF 2020

As we all know 2020 was a most unusual year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Services in church were suspended when the first naVonal lockdown came in at the end of March. The church was iniVally reopened in July for a twohour private prayer session during the week and then a 9.30am ‘said’ service was introduced at the beginning of August. Throughout the pandemic we were very careful to follow government guidance, as set out by the Church of England through the House of Bishops, so we could play our part in helping to keep everyone safe. Appropriate risk assessments were carried out and procedures put in place so that we could safely re-introduce services in church, including weddings and funerals, when we were allowed. We are grateful to Rob for his strong leadership during this Vme and wish to thank everyone who has been involved with services in church and online. We also wish to thank everyone in the church family for your paVence and understanding.

Although the pandemic caused great disrupVon to our normal worship in the church building, we were able to make sure all the usual maintenance was done on schedule. Improvements were made to emergency lighVng in January with lighVng installed over the south and west doors and the vicar’s vestry exit. A fire alarm was also installed in the tower to protect bellringers.

In October the required Quinquennial InspecVon of the church building was carried out by an architect appointed by the PCC for the purpose, Simon Bird of Flying Bukress Architecture. He found a number of relaVvely small repairs were needed which will be done over the forthcoming months. However, we were pleased that no unexpected major works were idenVfied. Simon made the following comments in his report: “ The General condi2on

of the Church is excellent, this Church is well cared for and the approach of the Churchwardens and their documenta2on, repor2ng and addressing of issues from the previous Quinquennial Inspec2on is to be commended, there is nothing major to address in the current recommenda2ons and with the same level of diligence the Church will con2nue to remain in good order. There is a good rolling programme of maintenance and works to the Church as the thorough recording within the Church log book demonstrates, the approach to recording and documen2ng this informa2on by the Churchwarden team and members of the PCC is to be commended.” We would like to thank previous churchwardens, past and present PCC and everyone who has been involved in caring for our beauVful ancient church building. We are confident this will conVnue in the future.

As always, thank you to all those who have helped us in many and varied ways throughout the year, especially our excellent team of assistant wardens: Fred Sleath, Jean Johnson, Ruth Gilmore and Ken Arkley, along with Marion Whitby and Margaret Rouse who looked aoer the 9am service before COVID-19 disrupted our usual pakern of services. Clive Jackson became Health and Safety Officer in January and Wendy Ferguson and Kate Croden conVnue to oversee safeguarding as Vulnerable Adult and Child ProtecVon Co-ordinators.

We met with Rob regularly either in person or via Zoom to talk through implicaVons of changes to government guidance as the pandemic progressed and to plan accordingly. We value the support and encouragement these meeVngs give and thank Rob for this. We have very much missed meeVng with members of the church family in person, parVcularly aoer services in church and we look forward to beker Vmes in 2021.

Angela Neill and Mike Ferguson

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

COMMUNICATIONS

Online services: Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Remembrance Sunday and Carol Service

In normal Vmes, the communicaVons team’s efforts are focused on mainly using digital media (Rothley Church website, Rothley Church Facebook group and Twiker) to promote outreach and publicise church acVviVes. The advent of coronavirus and the subsequent COVID-19 restricVons and lockdowns have impacted in-church services, and meant that we needed to be able to rapidly support online services.

Sunday service, Carols by Candlelight, and other involving the virtual choir are much more complex and have taken days to produce. We are parVcularly grateful to Jenny Pilbeam for her creaVve and technical abiliVes on the virtual choir recordings and the naVvity. We are also very grateful to Sue Jackson for taking on ediVng the YouTube subVtles for each service, as well as producing loan DVDs of the services for people who do not have internet access.

There are several ways that online services can be held, this includes: live events using videoconferencing sooware such as Zoom and Microsoo Teams, but these take a significant amount of producVon effort and coordinaVon in order to work well; and also webcasts of prerecorded services on video-sharing plarorms such as YouTube.

Paul & Rob experimented using YouTube for livestreamed recordings of Rob’s talks and morning prayers, and for publishing pre-recorded online services; the laker using Apple iMovie to video edit mulVple individual video segments recorded by the service leader, preacher and organist on their phones, tablets or computers.

Produc9on of online services

The video ediVng for each Sunday service depends on the length of the service, but usually takes about 5-6 hours or more each week, plus a couple of hours for YouTube subVtles. We also need to invest Vme and effort for each service to ensure that our use of hymns and songs which are sVll under copyright is compliant with our CCLI copyright licenses and YouTube copyright policies.

Special services such as the Remembrance

Video recordings are of course, much more demanding than the audio podcasts of sermons which usually only take an hour or so to process each week. However, audio-only services during lockdown would not provide the same sense of parVcipaVon or level of engagement.

Rothley Church YouTube Channel

The online services are published on the Rothley Church YouTube Channel on Sunday mornings, and are accessible from the Webcasts page on the church website. A link to the service is also posted on the church Facebook group, enabling members to share feedback aoer the service.

The service recordings can be viewed on a smart phone, tablet, computer or smart TV. Each Sunday service tends to have around 120-200 views on the day, and given that mulVple individuals may be watching around a shared device or TV, we esVmate that the actual online Sunday audience is probably in the range of 300 to 400 people, or possibly higher.

The number of views for special services has been even higher, Good Friday (438), Easter Sunday (269), Remembrance Sunday (239), Christmas NaVvity Service (285), and Carols by Candlelight (425). Assuming that the number of

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

individuals watching these devices is 50% higher or double, this means that the audience for each of these services is well beyond the physical capacity of the church building, so we are reaching a wider community online, in Rothley and further afield.

The Rothley YouTube Channel has also enabled Rob to live stream Morning Prayers on weekdays, and an Occasional Talks series on the Book of Daniel. At Vme of wriVng (Jan 2021), we have published 49 online services, 10 talks, 151 Morning Prayers, and the Rothley Church YouTube channel has had over 15,600 views.

Rothley Parish Church YouTube Channel showing playlists for Sunday Services, Morning Prayer and other events

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Na>vity Service and Carol Service
Easter services Remembrance Sunday
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Rothley Parish Church YouTube Channel staGsGcs showing daily views throughout 2020
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Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Church website

number of visitors to the church website (4,932 - an increase of 27% compared to 2019), and the number of page views (27,105 - an increase of 87%). Many of these visitors were accessing the Webcasts page to view the online services, but we also had many visitors to Rob’s blog post about current measures under COVID-19 restricVons (which was regularly updated). We also had a 38% increase in visitors to the Sermons MP3 page even though we only posted new audio recordings of sermons up to March (before we switched to YouTube online services) - this suggests that visitors were listening again to some of the 100 sermon audio recordings from 2019-2020 which are available on the church website.

Social Media

The church Twiker account @rothleychurch is used as a communicaVon tool with the wider community, and had 197 followers during the year. The Rothley Church Facebook group is used for sharing news, views and informaVon about the church and its acVviVes, and on Sunday mornings, is used for sharing hyperlinks to the online services on YouTube. The Facebook group became more widely used in 2020, with membership increasing from 72 to 144. We are also grateful to the Spoked Rothley Facebook group who promote our online services each week to its 7,000+ followers.

Life aIer lockdown

It is not clear how long the current COVID-19 restricVons will conVnue, or when we will return to more normal pakerns of services. However, when this happens, if we are to conVnue to provide online services for the benefit of those shielding and the wider online community, we will need other people with creaVve and/or technical skills to share the workload of producing the online services, as the current arrangements are not sustainable for the longer term.

Paul Parkinson, David Salt & Stephen Thomason

Fellowship Post

When we were originally unable to meet in church, the challenge was to provide a means of communicaVon for all in the church family to keep in touch with each other, support each other and worship together and so in my mind the Fellowship Post was born and hopefully we’re sVll geang the balance right.

We established from the recently-updated Contact List those with email addresses – and some who have email addresses even though they aren’t published in the Contact List! This leo a balance of about 25 people who needed to receive their communicaVons as a printed paper.

main distributors for the printed copies by geographical area – Scok Cramp, Di Milner and the Cooper family. Two more outlying addresses have theirs delivered weekly by Richard and Angela Neill on their extensive walks. All the distributors have been doing this since March and I am very grateful to them all, but all are sVll very happy to do it. Furthermore, the people who receive them look forward to their visits each week – most knock and make sure they are ok, having a socially-distanced chat with them and helping them in other ways if required.

Rob and the team decided to record and upload services online, which can be accessed via the church website or directly via YouTube. I have discovered that even some of the 25 who need printed copies can actually access the services via computers or laptops etc. occasionally, so there are very few who rely completely on the printed word. However, for these people we provide a complete service outline and summary of the sermon each week so they can follow it on their own and read or sing the hymns, say the prayers etc, and I know some like to do this again and again during the week.

Originally Jean Arkley and I collated a list of those who offered to help in pracVcal ways, and we put a few in touch with those who requested help, but there weren’t as many requests as we had anVcipated. Transport requests are dealt with by Fred Sleath. Jean also sorted through the Contact List and allocated key individuals to

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

keep in regular contact with groups on the list. Through the Fellowship Post and online services, we also regularly encourage people to contact others by phone, text, email or the church Facebook page.

I am grateful to those who send in arVcles to go in the Fellowship Post to make it newsy and interesVng as well as informaVve – more always appreciated. I am also grateful to Rob for his regular front-page leker to us, usually very

encouraging, which has received very high praise from a number of quarters!

I would also like to thank David Palmer for the fortnightly Corporate Prayer Guides, which he is sVll producing 10 months on, with music added by David Hodgson. Again, this is mainly sent out via email on the relevant day, with paper copies accompanying the Fellowship Post on the Friday before.

Liz Sleath

Rothley Parish Church website Webcasts page containing online services and other webcasts

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

OUTREACH

Easter cards; Easter gardens; Men’s Group logo; Christmas cards; Village Christmas window compeGGon winner

Evangelism

A key priority for our Church is to bring the good news of God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ to every home in the parish. We parVcularly want to reach those who have recently moved into the new estates around the School, around Bier Way and at Primrose Hill off West Cross Lane. We recognise that our ministry through the school is criVcal to building relaVonships with the many young families that have moved onto these estates. The past year has been very challenging in that the restricVons due to COVID-19 have severely limited our ability to meet people, both on the estates and through school. We have therefore relied heavily on an online presence and social media - both of which are very crowded places and challenging to establish tracVon. We have been helped by the school who have used our online assemblies in such a way that they will be viewed in the family home, rather than just in the classroom. However, we have no means of knowing as yet whether this will translate into lives commiked to following Jesus Christ. While we have been able to show the community love and care, enabling people to hear the gospel in terms they can understand and respond to remains a very challenging aspect of our mission.

RCMG (Rothley Church Men’s Group)

The Rothley Church Men’s Group was established in 1996 as a means to bring the “blokes” together in our Church because at that Vme there was plenty going on for the ladies

but not a lot for the men. Aoer an iniVal informal evening playing Olympic Sports (Pub Olympics – please use your imaginaVon) we agreed to give it a go! So, the MBA name first. We got clever, some may not agree, and at the Vme there was a popular TV programme called Men Behaving Badly , so we decided that our MBA group should stand for Men Behaving Acceptably. Some thought we were mad because starVng MBA had nothing to do with the onset of Mad Cow Disease in 1996. As such the men’s group (MBA and now RCMG) was born to offer the opportunity to all men to meet in fellowship: sharing and learning from life’s experiences and seeking to further develop their understanding of the gospel and its relevance in today’s world.

In the 24 years (yes, next year is the “big” 25 years celebraVon?) since the group was established, 2020 has been the most challenging year when we found we are not in control. Who is? Answer later – keep reading…... I hope you will recall that Dmitry Lutsenko who was in the 3[rd] / 4[th] year of his curacy at St John’s Hinckley, spent Vme in Rothley and inspired us to join with the Men’s Group from St John’s Hinckley for an evening of skikles in January. We had a great evening and were looking forward to moving forward for the Lord’s mutual benefit. What that meant, we didn’t know but………faith…

In March our guest speaker was to be our David Hodgson who intended to dwell on how God had touched his and his wife Linda’s lives and

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

how he had challenged them and was looking to encourage audience parVcipaVon in our evening together. Whilst it promised to be a fascinaVng and enlightening evening, we had to postpone the evening due to the pandemic. Don’t worry, when our Lord has sorted out this pandemic, David will get an opportunity to speak to us all and share with us how the Lord has been in his life.

So what will 2021 bring for the men’s group? Only the Lord knows. But it will be great!

Care home links

Links with Cedar House (especially through Pam Harvey, and now through church members as residents) and Babington Court (especially through the Costertons) have conVnued in an adapted form over the last few months. A group sang carols outside Cedar House and those we have contact with at Babington, through the service that was held monthly unVl last March, have been kept in contact with and received lekers and gios at Christmas. It has proven to be more difficult to maintain links with Mountview.

Bereavement Support

A quesVon related to the pandemic is ‘How do I grieve?’ - whether it’s the distress at being absent at a loved one’s death, not being able to say goodbye, or the restricVons affecVng the conduct of the funeral. That key Rite of Passage brings family, friends and community together, with memories, thanksgiving and sadness. In a ChrisVan seang the hope, assurance and comfort of the Lord and the commikal of a loved one to him brings a sense of peace, and no restricVon will stop that. Post funeral the social interacVon, memories, hugs, tears, laughter and reassurance are important, and the need for social interacVon and contact is ongoing. That’s what has contributed for many to the difficulty in grieving. Ongoing support from Bereavement Support is complimented by the wonderful care from within the fellowship which has blessed so many.

The inevitable cancellaVon of the Annual Memorial Service in October was replaced by a Bereavement Drop-in at church. In groups no larger than six, people came to sit quietly, to pray, light a candle and know Christ’s peace. It was much appreciated, and the sense of space, sVllness and peace in church was tangible, an opportunity to remember, give thanks, pray, light a candle and to know Christ’s peace. One family said ‘ It did help. We would have loved it to be a service, but in the circumstances it was done well and safely and was very much appreciated. We were so pleased the church made the 2me to organise it.’ We look forward in hope and prayer that this year’s Memorial Service will be able to take place.

Wednesday Club

Wednesday Club – a group for the reVred twice a month in the Old School Rooms - was not able to meet beyond March 2020 because of COVID-19 restricVons. The leaders have kept in contact with members by telephone and sent them Christmas cards. They hope to be able to meet again as soon as such meeVngs are allowed to be held.

Wednesday Lunches

Wednesday Lunches - a two-course lunch served in the Old School Rooms on the second Wednesday of each month – was not able to conVnue beyond March 2020 because of COVID-19 restricVons. Sandra Shaw-Pearce sent Christmas cards to all the regular akendees and has also contacted some of them by telephone. As soon as the Old School Rooms is able to open for such events, Sandra will restart the lunches and extend a warm welcome to anyone who wishes to join in, parVcularly those who might be fed up of their own company and eaVng alone.

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

CHILDREN & FAMILIES & YOUTH

Scenes from the Sunday School NaGvity; lighGng the Advent candles; ChrisGngle step-by-step tutorial

In February 2020 we thought the challenge was going to be geang approx. 30 children to wash their hands on entering, and again on leaving, the Old School Rooms for Sunday School without taking up the whole Vme available - it looked like being our key acVvity each Sunday morning! However, the new challenge was, and conVnues to be, how to keep in touch with our Sunday School and Grid children, their parents, and the parents of even younger children and, more importantly, how to keep them in touch with Jesus.

The Growing Families Group conVnues as a WhatsApp group, keeping parents of primary school-aged children in touch. We have been able to encourage and help each other in pracVcal and spiritual makers, and encourage prayer for those in need, parVcularly those working as key workers during this last year. We held a series of Saturday evening quizzes online, which helped us keep in touch and have fun together. Through this chat a housegroup began in early autumn, run by Laura and Dan Spencer, first on a walking basis, and now hopefully being conVnued online, open to anyone and each one looks at a one-off topic, to allow for sporadic akendance! Finally, aoer discussion, we held an outdoor Christmas service on 19[th] December in the churchyard, with strict social distancing and limited akendance. 12 families enjoyed this event and were glad to be together apart!

to all our Sunday School children, based on the lessons we would have been following face-toface. We also distributed Table Talk books to each family, encouraging them to share a short relevant gospel talk over a meal. Some of the children designed or coloured Easter and Christmas cards for the older members of our church family and local care home residents.

Realising that things weren’t going to change quickly, halfway through the summer term Rashaen Cummings and Simon Beals set up weekly Sunday morning Zoom meeVngs at 9.30am for the Explorers group (9-11 years) which are sVll conVnuing. We delivered acVvity packs (including sweets!) to all the children towards the end of the summer term and started to Zoom with the two younger groups too, but on a more occasional basis. Some of the younger children are shy and don’t sekle so well in a Zoom meeVng, so we decided in the autumn term to alternate Zoom meeVngs on Sunday aoernoons for the Scramblers (3-5) and Climbers (5-8) groups together, with a recorded story for them to download on their own during the intervening weekends.

We delivered a Real Advent Calendar to all Sunday School children and also donated some to the foodbank for families. We also facilitated an online NaVvity producVon including a recording of Away in a Manger, which was also used in the ChrisVngle video.

Sunday School ways. From Easter onwards, Jo Beals and I sent out weekly wriken lessons and acVviVes

All groups, including The Grid (11-14 years), are following the same topics using Go Teach books for their age groups. Grid have been

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

meeVng with Mark Baird weekly on Zoom, now on Friday evenings. Susan Pinkus, or one of the parents, also akend the Zoom meeVngs. Mark has also encouraged the group with games, quizzes, gios of advent candles and calendars and relevant daily readings. They have five or six regular members.

Breakthrough conVnues currently as the group for 15 to 17-year-olds. This was run first by Fred Sleath with Steve Thomason and, since the summer holidays when Steve reVred as Youth Co-ordinator, by Fred and Ros Taylor, by Zoom on a weekly basis, now on Sunday evenings. They have four members who regularly meet.

The Catalyst group for older youth disbanded in the summer, aoer many of the group members went to university. Steve and Lindsay Thomason are now starVng a housegroup for those of university age sVll in and around Rothley and they also keep in touch with those away at university.

We have conVnued to seek to support the ChrisVan ethos of Rothley Primary School in whatever ways we can. Rob and David Wilson have produced online assemblies; some have been used with individual classes and some have been sent home for the children to view with their families. Sadly, the CPAS Schools Venture was cancelled and we have not been able to meet with the school in church. We sent all the school children a ChrisVngle candle and invitaVon to join in and watch our video on Christmas Eve.

We are looking forward to starVng the Parent, Carer & Toddler Group again as soon as the law and the vaccinaVon programme allows it.

Liz Sleath

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

DISCIPLESHIP

Housegroup meeGng on Zoom; Men’s Breakfast; Cake Ministry; Hand-decorated Christmas baubles

Discipleship is about growing in faith as followers of Jesus, becoming more like him. Paul’s vision of discipleship in Ephesians 4 vv 7-16 conVnues to be the vision for discipleship at Rothley Parish Church, with a focus on growing in depth of discipleship through our services, small groups and personal prayer and Bible study. Whilst the nature of these discipleship acVviVes changed with the COVID-19 pandemic, the report below emphasises the ways in which as a church we have conVnued to grow and support each other as disciples of Jesus Christ. The discipleship working group of the PCC conVnues to work on strategic leadership in this area.

Housegroups: The focus of the groups is on studying the Bible and praying together, alongside caring for each other and for our wider communiVes and, while COVID-19 necessitated considerable flexibility given our inability to meet in person for most of the year, this did not see a shutdown of acVviVes - far from it. Some groups held regular Zoom meeVngs, others used alternaVve means of electronic communicaVons, while a number produced excellent fortnightly electronic/hard copy bulleVns. Together, these enabled meaningful contact between group members to conVnue. Whilst a challenging year, the creaVvity of housegroup leaders and members meant that 2020 was certainly not characterised by groups simply treading water. We thank God for all we learned in our ‘new look’ groups and for the caring and sharing that took place within them during the year.

Men’s breakfast: The Men’s Breakfast housegroup meet on the first Saturday of each month for fellowship and Bible study, with

topics selected based on the group’s needs, our mission to become closer disciples of Jesus and to learn how we might introduce Jesus to others. This year the group studied the books of Haggai and 1 Timothy, learning about the author, the context in which it was wriken, the key characters and how we can apply what we learn to our daily lives. The laker is parVcularly important for our group who seek to learn more about how to be ChrisVans in the workplace in an ever-increasing secular world. The group normally meets in a home for a hearty breakfast followed by Bible study, but in 2020 we resorted largely to online Zoom meeVngs and socially-distanced walks. This worked well and sVll featured full English breakfasts for some! Numbers varied between four and eight and the group provided muchneeded mutual and emoVonal support both through the Bible study itself and through general conversaVon. This support was parVcularly welcomed this year as the group’s members struggled to balance the unpredictable demands of work with family responsibiliVes. In previous years, the group organised ‘Big Breakfasts’ open to all men in the church and our local community. Due to COVID-19 restricVons this was not possible this year.

Bible reading notes: Whilst at Rothley church we acVvely encourage Bible study through groups, we also strongly encourage personal Bible study as part of our quiet Vme with God. For those who wish to have daily Bible reading notes in a printed format, we conVnue to arrange the procurement and distribuVon of many different Bible reading books, whilst also encouraging the use of online daily Bible reading media, including Verse of the Day

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

(biblegateway.com) and The Word Live Daily Passage (Scripture Union), both of which can be found on the Rothley Church website. This year we have had three individuals move from a printed format of daily Bible reading to an online provider; 37 individuals use nine different Vtles of Bible reading books.

Prayer & Praise: MeeVng fortnightly in church on Tuesday evenings unVl March, this gathering allows parVcipaVon in informal praise and prayer for the life of our church, village and naVon in a style that is free and spontaneous. Whilst some joining the group are not used to this style, they nevertheless enjoy being in the group because they appreciate the freedom, fellowship, and maturity that emanates from this style of praying together. Whilst the group were not able to meet for most of the year, the bi-weekly Corporate Prayer Guide distributed to all church members sought to afford a measure of Praise & Prayer for everyone.

Mothers’ Union: During the pandemic, Carolyn Hindocha, the branch leader, sent a leker to members on the first Tuesday of each month, the usual meeVng day. This leker generally started with prayer and then any informaVon relevant to members, ending with the Mothers' Union Prayer. Members also kept in touch by email, post or hand delivery and many telephoned each other. Whilst fundraising efforts were badly hit in 2020, our members raised a wonderful £4,500 through making face masks, sales of jam, mincemeat and plants and other ideas. In addiVon, Christmas cards, diaries and calendars were sold for Mothers’ Union.

The Prayer Circle consists of 11 members who provide confidenVal and immediate prayer support for anyone, both regular church members and visitors, in Vmes of parVcular need or anxiety. Valerie Joyce, Jean Arkley and Trevor West are the contact people to whom the requests are made and then passed round the circle whose other members remain anonymous. 72 requests were received and many expressions of how supported and valued people felt through this ministry.

those in need, physically, emoVonally and spiritually.

In 2020, owing to the restricVons of the COVID-19 pandemic, pastoral care was challenging and at Vmes frustraVng. The aim was to find ways to support those in need - those in hospital, sick, bereaved, isolated or feeling lonely due to the restricVons. Whilst visits were curtailed or constrained by the regulaVons, contact was maintained by frequent phone calls, texts, video calls, emails and cards. As many of the elderly do not have access to modern technology and cannot access online services, the distribuVon of the printed Fellowship Post proved a vital link with the church. These were distributed by volunteers who took the opportunity to check on the wellbeing of the recipients and to chat to them. Provision of meals and the ‘cake ministry’ conVnued to demonstrate the church’s love and care for the housebound and lonely. Throughout the year a transport coordinator organised lios by volunteers to enable visits to hospital and doctors’ appointments, and flu vaccinaVons. Throughout the year there was no shortage of volunteers and during lockdown they helped with shopping, posVng lekers and the collecVon of prescripVons. Many people in the church and in the community found prayer support sustained them.

At Christmas hand-decorated baubles were delivered by volunteers to 60 people living on their own and Christmas cake was taken to 150 households.

In the wider community, the Soar Valley Community Food Project conVnued to be acVvely supported by the church. This project saw a four-fold increase in client numbers in the second half of the year. Church members volunteered at the Foodbank and the fellowship gave generous donaVons of food and money to support the project. At Christmas, toys were provided for families akending the Food Project and for the Rotary Club’s Toys on the Table appeal.

Pastoral Care: As ChrisVans, the church seeks to follow the example of Jesus Christ in caring for

Alison Godfrey

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

SEND

Paul & Cathy Middleton of Mercy Air; Tim Jackson from the Soar Valley Food Project; Bridget Patel from Triangle; Brada Radanovic from Crosslinks

Our aim is to send out and support ChrisVans here and in the wider world, so that others may hear and know God’s love in Jesus, so we seek to be a church with God’s heart for the naVons.

Each year Rothley Parish Church gives away 10% of its donated income to support ChrisVan work at home and overseas. The Send group (comprising Kathryn Garnek, Rob Gladstone, Margaret Leverment, Ros Taylor, David and Sue Wilson) meets regularly throughout the year to consider how best to use the Vthe monies to support the Lord’s work overseas and in the UK. This year, we have conVnued our meeVngs on Zoom.

We prayerfully consider the distribuVon of these monies and, by various means, we keep the church informed on the work of the various organisaVons. In normal Vmes we rely on displays on the coffee area noVceboard as well as prayers on the weekly noVce sheet, the bi-annual Send Update and email links to online updates and prayer lekers. Since March 2020 we have been unable to use physical displays in church and have not produced the Send Update, but we have conVnued to keep our church family up to date by means of regular arVcles and prayer pointers in the Fellowship Post. We have also included prayer lekers from our missionary links, and those who use social media will have seen updates from Mercy Air on Facebook.

Financial Giving and Fundraising

Full details of the payments made from the Church Vthe can be found on page 41.

We also supported the Soar Valley Community Food Project through food collecVons, harvest gios and donaVons, and the PCC agreed an addiVonal donaVon this year to support the overheads of the BapVst Church premises, which hosts the Project.

Normally we collect clothing for the Triangle homeless project, based at Holy Trinity Church, Leicester, but these collecVons were suspended due to the pandemic.

In May we publicised ChrisVan Aid Week but individuals gave online, so we cannot report on total donaVons.

Our fair trade stall (situated at the back of church by the choir vestry) is regularly supplied with fairly-traded groceries and gios but was not operaVonal aoer March. However, Sue Wilson did sell charity Christmas cards and greeVngs cards from home at the end of the year.

In November a small number of church members took part in Tearfund’s Big Quiz Night. This was an online event and raised £645 for the charity, both on the night and with subsequent donaVons.

In a challenging year for everyone, we have been parVcularly grateful that, through its

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

generosity, the church family in Rothley has enabled us to conVnue with our gios to all these organisaVons.

Speakers

In January we welcomed Heather Dipple from Tearfund to our 10.30am service. Heather is a reVred psychiatrist and has a parVcular interest in the charity’s support for mental health projects in the developing world. Aoer a slot for the children and a brief interview during the service, Heather gave a wellreceived presentaVon aoer the service.

In November, Bridget Patel from Triangle appeared in our online service to tell us how the charity has conVnued to reach out to the homeless and vulnerable in Leicester throughout the pandemic. She expressed her thanks for the pracVcal and prayer support that we have given the charity.

During our online services we also showed videos from Brada Radanovic (Crosslinks) and Mercy Air.

Ros Taylor

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

CHURCH BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS

Concept Design by Pendery Architecture and Heritage Ltd

The upgrade to the audio-visual system in church has progressed well in 2020 despite disrupVon caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Six LED screens were installed in September, with all associated wiring and control equipment, to give significant improvement to the audio-visual system. Fixings and wiring for two more screens in the chancel have also been installed should it be decided they are needed in the future. A camera, posiVoned above the sound desk, can show the service leader, preacher or reader at the lectern. Visual aids can now be seen in all parts of the church with clear projecVon of hymn or song words and liturgy during services. Dimmer switches were added to the main church lights to reduce glare at the same Vme.

There were a few teething problems iniVally, which is to be expected, but these were ironed out with technical support from Novum Audio Visual Ltd who did the installaVon. It has been used to show words of hymns and prayers at the 9:30am services with potenVal for much more as we gain experience, including the possibility of live-streaming services to the Internet if this is what the PCC decides.

We would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone, especially the sound operators, for their paVence and perseverance as we all get to grips with the new system.

The completed Concept Design for the improvements to the layout of the church building was accepted by the PCC in November 2019. This plan includes improved access to

that the internal and external ramps can be removed and to install an internal glass door. The coffee area servery is planned to be refurbished and improved through installing a sink, hot and cold running water and associated drainage. Plans to reconfigure the choir vestry to provide two toilets, including one with disabled access, a choir robing room which can also be used by the crèche and a first-floor meeVng room above were also approved by the PCC. It is hoped that the old, disused boiler house can be demolished at the same Vme as, or before, the ground works for the project are done.

The plans were sent to the Diocesan Advisory Commikee for advice and comment just before the first lockdown started in March. PosiVve feedback was subsequently received, with encouragement to the PCC to develop these plans further. However, the PCC believes that before we can move on to developing the detailed design there needs to be a meaningful consultaVon with the congregaVon to canvas opinion about the project. At the Vme of wriVng, we have not been able to do this as we cannot yet all meet together in person in the church building due to COVID-19 restricVons. The project is therefore on hold unVl the pandemic has ended but we are hopeful that progress will be made when we can meet someVme in 2021.

Angela Neill and Mike Ferguson

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

CHOIR AND MUSIC

Virtual choir anthem; Simon Murphy playing the piano for an online service; Remembrance Sunday hymn; Carols by Candlelight online service

Whilst wriVng the Music Report for 2019, none of us could have foreseen what was to come in 2020. Perhaps the term ‘2020 Vision’ had more to it than we could ever possibly have thought!

The key for 2020 was to ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic did not stop us fully in our tracks. Yes, the physical church services all but stopped, resumed albeit to a lesser degree, then stopped again. However, throughout, the church has managed to establish a sense of conVnuity through the valuable incorporaVon of online services, accessible to those people fortunate enough to be able to access the Rothley Church YouTube channel via laptops, smart TVs, mobile phones, tablets and even gaming consoles.

From a musical perspecVve, we have kept the services fairly tradiVonal with a staple diet of the well-established and, ooen, favourite hymns, as well as some contemporary worship songs. Sadly, it has not been possible to incorporate the choir within every service due to the limitaVons of not being together physically, the technical consideraVons and ediVng Vme constraints.

The use of the organ and piano has provided the musical backbone to these services, with the words overlaid on the screen to aid the viewers in either singing along at home, or by contemplaVng the words as the music plays.

throughout the bulk of 2020 but, with a bit of ingenuity, sharing files, ediVng and technical skills, a very high-quality producVon ensued week aoer week to ensure that we sVll felt together as one body in Christ. The ability to comment, communicate and telephone aoer services (and at other Vmes) has been so important too.

For our tradiVonal Christmas Carol Service, a wonderful producVon was created using a mix of a previous year’s service coupled with addiVons generated using the Zoom applicaVon facilitated by the choir members at their respecVve homes recording a few carols. All carols were then merged into a seamless producVon. It felt Christmassy!

It is at Vmes like this that we appreciate, more than ever, what we have in ‘normal Vmes’ and that, so ooen, we just take for granted as rouVne. I sincerely hope that, as we move into 2021, beker Vmes lie ahead and we reach the point when we can all safely reunite within our church building and beyond. If we find ourselves sVll having to run these online services, I would like to think that we could introduce some new songs and have occasions where a solo singer, or duet, could lead with other instruments involved. Let’s wait and see.

Simon Murphy

Handbells

Rothley Handbell Ringers have not been able to meet since March 2020 as the group includes some members who are clinically vulnerable. However, they look forward to ringing again as soon as they are able.

Ruth Gilmore

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

BELL RINGERS

Chairman/Instructor: Richard Thornton Secretary: Steve Mitchell Treasurer: Graham Hall

Whilst we are unable to ring for the foreseeable future, I am confident we will have a small group of Ringers on the other side of the pandemic. However, we are short on numbers so if anyone would like to start a new hobby, we would love to see them when the Vme allows. In the meanVme, my son and I conVnue to keep the church clock chiming.

Graham Hall

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

SAFEGUARDING

“God’s call is to speak out on behalf of the voiceless, and for the rights of all who are vulnerable.” Proverbs 31:8

‘The care and protecVon of children, young people and vulnerable adults involved in Church acVviVes is the responsibility of the whole Church. Everyone who parVcipates in the life of the Church has a role to play in promoVng a Safer Church for all,’ (part of the Safeguarding Policy statement of the Church of England).

Safeguarding at Rothley Parish Church is overseen by the two appointed Safeguarding Coordinators, Kate Croden (Children and Young People, and Independent Person) and Wendy Ferguson (Vulnerable Adults). Lisa Cook conVnues to support the Coordinators in her administraVve role, for which we are very grateful, ensuring DBS applicaVons are completed and up-to-date. These require renewal every 5 years.

church once these become available again. The coordinators are available to give advice on the most appropriate training for individuals.

Wendy akended the annual Diocesan Safeguarding Conference in October 2019 which focused on aspects of Modern Slavery. She has also circulated the Social Media policy to leaders of groups meeVng online.

The Safeguarding Coordinators’ priority plan for 2021 is:

To conVnue to adhere to safer recruitment guidance and, in line with GDPR procedures, create and maintain a register for those working within relevant groups, to ensure DBS and training informaVon is up-to-date.

Our parish safeguarding policies for children, young people and vulnerable adults were reviewed and updated, in line with the model Diocesan policies and GDPR guidance, in November 2019. They will be reviewed in November 2021. A copy of each policy is available on the noVceboard at the back of church and on the Old School Rooms noVceboard. Safeguarding is a standard agenda item reported at PCC meeVngs by Wendy Ferguson.

Safer recruitment and training remain prioriVes. It is recommended that all PCC members, and all those leading or involved with groups (children, young people and adult groups) should akend training sessions or complete online training. Level C0 and C1 training can be accessed and completed online and a number of leaders have completed these modules. Due to the impact of COVID-19, safeguarding training courses are now taking place either online using the Diocesan Safeguarding Training Portal, or by Zoom for virtual training, for the foreseeable future. InstrucVons to access Safeguarding Basic Awareness (C0) and FoundaVon training (C1) can be found on the Diocesan website. A list of courses will be placed on the noVceboard in

To ensure Risk Assessments are completed for both regular on-site acVviVes and for trips, visits and off-site acVviVes, and that a copy of these is kept in the Church office.
To maintain an up-to-date computerised ‘Dashboard’ record for monitoring safeguarding within our Church which can be accessed directly by the Diocese.

We are commiked to ensuring we are a welcoming church, offering a safe environment and protecVng all those who worship and share with us. With many thanks to everyone for all they do to help us towards achieving this.

Kate Croden and Wendy Ferguson

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

THE OLD SCHOOL ROOMS (OSR)

Old School Rooms exterior; Men’s Breakfast; OSR faciliGes; children’s groups

At the beginning of 2020 it looked as though this was going to be a “mega year” for bookings - and then Lockdown came and, following the guidelines from the government and Church of England, we closed for business. Not all bad, as this allowed various planned maintenance jobs to conVnue, once the contractors were allowed to work. This included damp proofing and re-plastering of the passageway wall, another external perimeter wall was re-pointed and external windows and doors were repaired.

A neighbour reported that the external storage block had received “wind damage” to the roof. On closer inspecVon, it was decided that this had occurred someVme previously, but not been noVced - an unexpected repair job that had to be completed.

During the summer a crack was noVced in the external wall by the door which was inspected by the architect when he came to the church for its Quinquennial InspecVon. We are currently waiVng for quotes for this work before the external re-decoraVon. Indoors the lighVng in the main hall has been replaced with LED dimmable fiangs, as have the kitchen and outside lights. The passageway and kitchen have been re-painted but, while geang quotes, loose plaster near the toilets was found and needs to be replaced before the internal decoraVng can be completed.

soon declined when Vghter restricVons returned.

The internal work has not proceeded as quickly as I had hoped but, with paVence, I am sure that we will have a much-improved hall, both for church events and for hiring out by the end of 2021 at the latest.

the only purpose for the hall during 2020 has been for the toilets to be available when church services were able to be held - a most necessary asset!

Special hiring rates will sVll be available for church members - availability can be viewed from the Church website under the menu Contact -> Old School Rooms, or by contacVng Liz in the church office. Leaders of church groups are reminded that they are responsible for booking the OSR if they intend to use it.

Linda Poole

In September, it looked more hopeful as enquiries for bookings started again, but this

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

DIOCESE AND DEANERY

Diocese

All three meeVngs of Leicester Diocesan Synod in 2020 were conducted via Zoom. During the year the agendas were dominated by discussion of the emerging Shaped by God Together process but Synod also discussed, amongst other things, clergy wellbeing, a revised scheme for Quinquennial InspecVons of church buildings, as well as there being a preliminary discussion of Living in Love and Faith , something to which future synods in 2021 and beyond will return.

A substanVal item of business during the year was the diocesan budget for 2021. Synod ulVmately approved a deficit budget of some £500k, something that was necessary to allow Vme for strategic decisions to be made for 2022 and beyond through the Shaped by God Together process. An interim deficit budget was possible thanks largely to the investments held by the diocese.

In the November Synod Bishop Martyn drew on Psalm 122 to reflect on the mixture of weariness and anVcipaVon experienced by pilgrims as they approached the gates of Jerusalem. He believed this was an appropriate image because of the need to pray that we might be the people that God is calling us to be. He repeatedly emphasised the centrality of prayer as the diocese embarks on deciding, and then implemenVng, an appropriate way ahead via the Shaped by God Together process.

Deanery

Goscote Deanery is one of the smallest deaneries in the diocese. Rob Gladstone remains Area Dean, and Rothley Church has four elected Lay representaVves on the Synod: Wendy Ferguson, Linda Poole, Ray Prince and David Wilson, the first three of whom were elected to Goscote Deanery Synod for the first Vme at our Church APCM. Alison Godfrey, Margaret Offley, and David Salt decided not to stand for elecVon again - many thanks to them all for their important contribuVons over the years.

One of the most important aspects of Deanery Synod is the way it serves as a vehicle for the sharing of ideas between benefices and this was a major part of the November Synod, which focused on the above in the context of COVID-19. Each benefice was asked to feed back how it had coped during the pandemic under three headings: one thing that had gone well; one thing that had proved difficult; one hope for the future. There was much to learn from each other; hopes and fears were expressed very openly.

When the Shaped by God Together proposals come to Deanery Synod in 2021 there will inevitably be some wide-ranging discussions about future pakerns of ministry locally. As at Diocesan Synod, prayer will be vitally important as possibiliVes for Goscote Deanery are carefully considered.

David Wilson

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2020

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

The purpose of Rothley Parochial Church Council (PCC), as set out in the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 as amended, is to co-operate with the incumbent, Rev Canon Rob Gladstone, in promoVng in the parish of Rothley the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelisVc, social and ecumenical.

Rothley Parish Church:

maintains a village-wide pastoral care role
supports the work of the village school through its governors and direct involvement
maintains teaching and social acVviVes for all age groups
whole community

Rothley PCC is the guardian and maintainer of St Mary & St John Parish Church, a Grade II* listed building, acVvely promoVng to the general public its significance and history through open events.

In planning and undertaking its work, Rothley PCC has taken account of the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

ACHIEVEMENTS

In a year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Rothley Parish Church has adapted and maintained its ministry in the parish throughout 2020.

As a result of government safety measures, the church building was closed for worship from 22 March unVl 2 August, and again for four Sundays during the month of November. The usual three Sunday services were immediately switched to one online Sunday service broadcast through YouTube from 22 March. Using our exisVng email network, weekly noVces and a full order of service for the online service, including hymn words and sermon, were sent out each week. Printed copies of this document were hand-delivered to the small number of church members with no internet access. In addiVon, on weekdays Rob recorded and uploaded morning prayers and occasional Bible talks to YouTube. The church reopened, for private prayer only, once a week from 2 July, and from 2 August one said Sunday service was held in the church each week. COVID-19 restricVons meant a maximum of 70 people could akend the service in church, so online services also conVnued. The provision of online worship was greatly appreciated by church members and analyVcs show that it was also accessed further afield than the parish.

Church members said the online services helped them to feel connected to the church fellowship. A friendly offer of help to anyone in any kind of need was always included on the weekly news sheet. The volunteers who delivered the paper copies fulfilled a useful contact role as they made their weekly deliveries. Other pastoral contact ooen had to be by telephone, rather than face-to-

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

face. We kept in contact with local care homes and sheltered housing and were able to send Christmas gios. The curtailment of funerals and weddings severely limited pastoral care around those important events.

Online assemblies have been provided. The Growing Families group maintained its contacts with parents through WhatsApp and held online quizzes and an outdoor Christmas event.

In addiVon to the online provision for services and Bible teaching, many of the Sunday School, youth and adult groups in the church were able to keep up their acVviVes and contacts online or by email. Although a poor subsVtute for face-to-face contact, this was sVll valuable.

Our partnership with the BapVst Church in the Soar Valley Community Food Project saw the village foodbank support several other neighbouring villages as well as our own. Church members gave generously of their Vme and finance to support this ministry throughout the year and the PCC gave addiVonal financial support towards the overheads involved in this use of the BapVst Church building during 2020.

PCC and other commikee meeVngs were conducted over Zoom. We were able to hold our Annual Parochial Church MeeVng in the church building in October, dispensaVon having been granted by the Diocese of Leicester for these to be delayed during 2020.

The requirements of Health and Safety legislaVon are embedded in the Church’s procedures and budget for both the church building and the Old School Rooms. Health and Safety is a standing item on PCC agendas. However, these have effecVvely been overridden since March 2020 by the detailed COVID-19 regulaVons on the use of church buildings.

The ten-year Management and Maintenance Plan for the church and Old School Rooms is updated annually. Each year we apply to the government’s Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme in order to recoup all allowable VAT costs on repairs to the church building. New emergency lighVng and a fire detecVon system were installed in the church building in January 2020. Faculty permission was obtained for improvements to our audio-visual provision in the church, including the installaVon of eight LED screens and a video camera, as well as the addiVon of dimmer switches on the main lights. This work was undertaken in September 2020. The Quinquennial InspecVon of the church building was carried out in October, with only a number of relaVvely small repairs highlighted for akenVon during the next five years.

Safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults is given appropriate priority and is a standing item on PCC agendas.

An indicaVon of the scale and importance of the contribuVon made by volunteers to the work of Rothley Parish Church is evident in the narraVve reports of church acVviVes which form the first part of this Annual Report. Their commitment during this unexpectedly difficult year has been excepVonal, as has that of our employees.

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

FINANCIAL REVIEW

us end 2020 with a surplus. Income was only 2% under budget for the year, while expenditure was 5% down.

Rothley Parish Church’s principal source of funding for its general expenditure is the regular donaVons of its congregaVon, together with the related recovery of tax through Gio Aid and the addiVonal relief available on cash donaVons through the Gio Aid Small DonaVons Scheme (GASDS).

(£96,430 in 2020), which supports ministry across the Diocese as well as providing funds to pay for clergy housing, sVpends and pensions. The Parish ContribuVon is considered to be a gio offered by the parish and the amount must be decided by the PCC annually.

£46,968 of the large legacy received in 2019 has been allocated to projects in the church and Old School Rooms during 2020; £208,969 remains to be allocated. COVID-19 has slowed down the progress on other projects. Our policy is to use legacies for specific projects, rather than to cover general expenditure. In accordance with correct procedure, the balance of the legacy is held in the General Fund unVl such Vme as the PCC designates its use.

Having six people working together as a treasury team also provides the capacity to monitor budgets and contracts, and control expenditure, as well as providing good internal controls in our financial procedures. An Internal Auditor was appointed in 2020 and a review of our internal financial controls was completed. A Treasurer’s Manual was produced and this will be reviewed annually.

We conVnue to base the remuneraVon of our regular part-Vme employees on the Living Wage FoundaVon’s Voluntary Real Living Wage, which is considerably higher than the government’s NaVonal Living Wage and is independently calculated each year to ensure it keeps pace with any increase in the cost of living. By accessing the government’s furlough, and flexible furlough, schemes, we retained our two part-Vme cleaners on full pay throughout the year. Our Church Administrator conVnued to work her full hours throughout 2020.

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

FUND OVERVIEW

Rothley Parish Church held a balance of £339,327 at 31 December 2020, made up as follows:

	Fund Overview	31/12/2020 £	31/12/2019 £
	Unrestricted Funds General Fund 280,590 325,740 (Unrestricted) Designated Funds Church Building Improvements Fund 5,144 4,996 Church Maintenance Fund 10,724 16,290 Heritage Events Fund (formerly Quarter Days Heritage Events Fund) 1,087 1,081 Old School Rooms Maintenance Fund 9,784 1,325 Organ & Music Fund 14,583 14,081 Wednesday Club 138 55 Total Unrestricted Funds 322,050 363,568

	Restricted Funds Children & Families Restricted Fund 9,488 8,431 Church Building Improvements Restricted Fund 2,178 2,166 Goscote Deanery Fund 922 927 Youth Fund 4,689 4,959 Total Restricted Funds 17,277 16,483

	Total funds 339,327 380,051

The PCC would like to acknowledge, with graVtude:

an anonymous donaVon towards the refurbishment of the Old School Rooms

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

GENERAL FUND

	General Fund	2020 £	2019 £
Income: DonaVons 111,625 115,699 Tax recovery 25,384 27,010 Legacies 191 255,745 Grants 1,726 951 Trading & fees 1,254 6,191 Old School Rooms 2,597 5,649 Investments & Feed-in Tarif 7,039 6,423 Total Income 149,816 417,668

Expenditure Fundraising costs - 78 Tithe & other awards 14,451 14,321 Parish ContribuVon 96,430 91,620 Staf salaries/payments 13,643 15,061 Clergy & staf expenses 1,718 2,601 Mission & evangelism 557 1,277 Church costs 13,941 14,594 Church uVliVes 1,324 1,584 Old School Rooms 5,142 6,412 Governance 480 420 Total expenditure 147,686 147,968

Surplus/defcit of income 2,130 269,700 Net transfers to/from other funds (47,280) (16,190) Balance brought forward at 1 January 325,741 72,231 Balance at 31 December 280,591 325,741

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

GENERAL FUND INCOME

----- Start of picture text -----
300,000
225,000
150,000
75,000
0
DonaVons Tax Recovery Legacies Grants Trading & Fees OSR Invest. & FIT
2019 2020
Income (£)
----- End of picture text -----

During 2020, £46,968 from the legacy from Pat Foulds was allocated for refurbishment of the Old School Rooms and the installaVon of audio-visual equipment, and dimmers on the main lights, in the church, leaving a balance of £208,969 to be allocated to church projects, in line with our Legacy Policy. Overall, General Fund income for 2020 was 2% below budget and expenditure was 5% below, resulVng in a surplus of £2,130 at the end of the year.

GENERAL FUND BUDGET FOR 2021

The PCC has set a worst-case scenario budget, with income similar to 2020, but with expenditure just slightly below the figure originally budgeted for 2020.

Church members’ donaVons have remained strong in 2020, for which we are extremely grateful. Our 2021 esVmate is for a very slight increase.
No budget has been included for trading and fees. Almost all weddings booked for 2020 have been rescheduled for 2021. However, unVl the severe restricVon on the number of guests is relaxed, further cancellaVons are likely. No esVmate has been made for potenVal funeral fees; only a small number of funerals took place in the church in 2020 as these also were subject to restricVons on akendees.

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Old School Rooms income was down nearly 50% against budget in 2020 so a very cauVous budget has been set for 2021.
Income on savings will reduce as the PCC gradually allocates the legacy, but this is proceeding more slowly than expected because of COVID-19 restricVons; Feed-in Tariff receipts were above budget in 2020, so the 2021 budget has been slightly increased.
general donaVons, Gio Aid tax recovered and addiVonal relief from the Gio Aid Small DonaVons Scheme.
The Diocese of Leicester asked parishes to try to maintain the same pledge for 2021 as they made in 2020 and we have made that a priority.
A 1.5% increase has been esVmated for most expenditure items outside of the PCC’s control.
A surplus at the end of 2020 negates the need for a conVngency allowance in the budget for 2021.

	General Fund Budget for 2021	£
	Income DonaVons 112,064 Tax recovery 25,480 Trading & fees - Old School Rooms 2,500 Investments & Feed-in Tarif 6,580 Total Income 146,624







	Expenditure Tithe & other awards 13,754 Parish contribuVon 96,430 Staf salaries / payments 15,630 Clergy & staf expenses 2,200 Mission & evangelism 1,451 Church costs 15,239 Church uVliVes 2,050 Old School Rooms 7,366 Governance 488 Total Expenditure 154,608











	Budgeted surplus / (defcit) (7,984)

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

RESERVES POLICY

The PCC’s Reserves Policy (reviewed in March each year) requires the holding of unrestricted reserves equal to three months’ general running costs and an addiVonal three months’ salary costs. Any surplus reserves are to be commiked to planned expenditure in line with long-term strategy. In 2021 the amount required in the General Fund is £51,217, which includes £7,984 to cover the budgeted year end deficit. At 31 December 2020 the PCC held £71,622 in the unrestricted General Fund (discounVng the legacy) and a further £41,460 in designated funds, whose designaVon could be changed by the PCC if it became necessary, and therefore our General Fund reserves are in line with our policy.

INVESTMENTS

The PCC has opted for a no-risk strategy. The Church holds a 60-day noVce account and four 12month fixed rate saver accounts, one maturing each quarter, with Shawbrook Bank, which runs the accounts on behalf of CAF Bank. The PCC restricts its investment with Shawbrook Bank to £85,000 in order to be covered by the Financial Services CompensaVon Scheme. Our remaining reserve funds are held in the Central Board of Finance Church of England Deposit Fund, which is not covered by the Financial Services CompensaVon Scheme, but has a good credit raVng.

FUTURE PLANS

Plans to improve the church building were halted in March 2020, waiVng for the Vme when a consultaVon on the plans drawn up by our architect can be held with the congregaVon. This is the necessary next step before formal approval can be sought.

Improvements to the audio-visual system in the church have been made in 2020, but the full benefit of these may not be seen unVl the building returns to full use. This work has been funded from the legacy we received in 2019. Refurbishment of the Old School Rooms has also started, funded from the legacy. Some progress has been made in 2020, as and when contractors have been available to work.

Church services have conVnued in the church when possible, as well as online. The laker have reached beyond our usual congregaVon. Many of our group acVviVes have conVnued using various media. Although these have been successful, the PCC looks forward to the Vme when the congregaVon will be able to meet together face-to-face once again.

areas:

operaVonal
regulatory
governance

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

by named individuals or sub-commikees who report as necessary to the PCC. Many addiVonal Health and Safety requirements have been necessary during 2020.

Through Diocesan resources the PCC is updated on regulatory and governance requirements, which are then assessed and acVoned accordingly. The PCC has been able to meet on Zoom for most of 2020.

the church fabric and organ, while also invesVng in the future life of the Church in order to address our prioriVes. The Quinquennial InspecVon of the church building idenVfied a number of small repairs. However, the generous legacy received in 2019 and healthy accumulated reserves conVnue to be a very useful resource.

Day-to-day risks and uncertainVes are managed through the Finance Commikee who handle the Church’s finances, regularly reporVng to the PCC and providing advice as appropriate.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Rothley PCC is governed by two pieces of Church of England legislaVon, called Measures:

Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 as amended
Church RepresentaVon Rules (contained in Schedule 3 to the Synodical Government Measure 1969 as amended)

The PCC is a corporate body with charitable status. It comprises both those elected by members of the Church Electoral Roll and others who sit on the PCC by virtue of a parVcular office they hold within the Church. The PCC meets six Vmes a year.

The PCC includes a mixture of sub-commikees and working groups of the PCC, both of which also draw in other members of the congregaVon, covering different aspects of the Church’s work. At least one member of the PCC usually sits on each sub-commikee and reports to the PCC. The subcommikees are:

Business (which sets the agenda for PCC meeVngs)
Finance
OperaVons

The working groups are:

Discipleship
Send
CommunicaVons
Church Building Improvements

Each year, soon aoer new members are elected to the PCC at the Annual Parochial Church MeeVng, an inducVon evening is held to help new trustees understand their role. All PCC members

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

are expected to akend. Useful wriken resources are given to trustees as background support to their role.

The PCC is responsible for making decisions on all makers of general concern and importance to the parish, including deciding how funds are spent.

ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Name of charity: The Parochial Church Council of the EcclesiasVcal Parish of St Mary & St John, Rothley

Registered working name: Rothley Parish Church Charity number: 1133832 Address: 3 School Street Rothley Leicester LE7 7RA Trustees: Rob Gladstone Vicar (Chair) [ex-officio] Mike Ferguson Churchwarden [ex-officio] Angela Neill Churchwarden [ex-officio] Wendy Ferguson Also Deanery Synod representaVve Linda Poole Also Deanery Synod representaVve Ray Prince Also Deanery Synod representaVve David Wilson Also Deanery Synod representaVve Liz Barker (from 15/10/20) Alison Godfrey Clive Jackson Wendy Lewis (from 15/10/20) Alison Parkinson (from 15/10/20) Susan Pinkus Jennifer Pilbeam (co-opted) Jonathan Pilbeam Ros Taylor Susan Wilson

The following served as trustees during part of 2020 only: Serena Cook (to 15/10/20) Margaret Offley (to 15/10/20) David Salt (to 15/10/20)

Bankers:

NatWest 1 Granby Street Leicester LE1 6EJ

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

CAF Bank Ltd 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ

Independent Examiner:

Scok Bradford BSc ACA Newby Castleman, Chartered Accountants 6 Forest Road Loughborough LE11 3NP The Trustees’ Annual Report was approved by Rothley Parochial Church Council on 8th March 2021.

Signed on its behalf:

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

	Balance Sheet at 31 December 2020	31/12/2020 £	31/12/2019 £
Current assets: Debtors (Note 10) 2,342 3,068 Cash at bank and in hand 351,847 389,828 Total 354,189 392,896

Liabili9es: Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (Note 11) 14,862 12,845 Net assets: 339,327 380,051

Located: Unrestricted Funds General Fund 280,590 325,740 (Unrestricted) Designated Funds Church Building Improvements Fund 5,144 4,996 Church Maintenance Fund 10,724 16,290 Heritage Events Fund (formerly Quarter Days Heritage Events) 1,087 1,081 Old School Rooms Maintenance Fund 9,784 1,325 Organ & Music Fund 14,583 14,081 Wednesday Club 138 55 Total Unrestricted Funds 322,050 363,568

Restricted Funds Children & Families Restricted Fund 9,488 8,431 Church Building Improvements Fund 2,178 2,166 Goscote Deanery Fund 922 927 Youth Fund 4,689 4,959 Total Restricted Funds 17,277 16,483

Total Funds 339,327 380,051

The accounts were approved by Rothley Parochial Church Council on 8th March 2021. Signed on its behalf:

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Statement of Financial Ac9vi9es 1 January to 31 December 2020	Unrestricted Funds General Fund £	Unrestricted Designated Funds £	Restricted Funds £	Totals 2020 £	Totals 2019 £
Income: DonaVons 111,625 - 1,440 113,065 120,359 Tax recovery 25,384 - 360 25,744 27,675 Legacies 191 - - 191 255,745 Grants 1,726 1,350 - 3,076 3,799 Fundraising events - 350 - 350 400 Trading & fees 1,254 82 - 1,336 9,634 Old School Rooms 2,597 - - 2,597 5,649 Investments & Feed-in Tarif 7,039 266 96 7,401 6,692 Total Income 149,816 2,048 1,896 153,760 429,953

Expenditure Fundraising costs - - - 0 78 Tithe & other awards 14,451 - - 14,451 14,321 Parish ContribuVon 96,430 - - 96,430 91,620 Staf salaries/payments 13,643 - - 13,643 16,027 Clergy & staf expenses 1,718 - - 1,718 2,601 Mission & evangelism 557 (110) 1,102 1,549 12,073 Church costs 13,941 33,961 - 47,902 20,620 Church uVliVes 1,324 - - 1,324 1,584 Old School Rooms 5,142 11,845 - 16,987 8,945 Governance 480 - - 480 420 Total expenditure 147,686 45,696 1,102 194,484 168,289 Surplus/defcit of income 2,130 (43,648) 794 (40,724) 261,664 Transfers between funds (details below) (47,280) 47,280 - - - Balance brought forward at 1 January 325,740 37,829 16,482 380,051 118,388 Balance at 31 December 280,590 41,461 17,276 339,327 380,052

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Transfer between funds 1 January to 31 December 2020	Unrestricted Funds	Unrestricted Designated Funds	Unrestricted Designated Funds	Unrestricted Designated Funds	Unrestricted Designated Funds
	General Fund £	Church Building Improvements £	Church Maintenance £	OSR Maintenance £
Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) to OSR Maintenance Fund as per PCC resoluVon 9/3/20 Transfer from General Fund (DonaVon) OSR Maintenance Fund per PCC resoluVon 13/7/20 Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) to CBI Designated Fund per PCC resoluVon 27/1/20 Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) to CBI Designated & Church Maintenance Funds per PCC resoluVon 27/1/20 Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) to CBI Designated Fund per PCC resoluVon 27/1/20 Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) to CBI Designated Fund per PCC resoluVon 27/1/20 TOTAL	(20,000) 20,000 (313) 313 (18,396) 18,396 (7,203) 2,538 4,665 (767) 767 (602) 602
	(47,281) 22,303 4,665 20,313
Loca9on of funds	£				£
NatWest Stewardship Account CAF Bank General Account & cash OSR bank CBF Deposit Fund CAF 60 Day NoVce Savings Account CAF 12 Month Fixed Rate Saver Account CAF 12 Month Fixed Rate Saver A/c 2 CAF 12 Month Fixed Rate Saver A/c 3 CAF 12 Month Fixed Rate Saver A/c 4 Net creditors	3,411 Debtors: 2,342 24,928 Creditors: 14,862 180 238,195 10,311 18,677 18,800 18,799 18,545 (12,520)
Total	339,326

*For details of Debtors and Creditors see pages 38, 42 and 43.

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2020

1. Accoun9ng Policies

BASIS OF PREPARATION

the Church AccounVng RegulaVons 2006 and in accordance with ChariVes SORP (FRS 102). Rothley Parish Church is a public benefit enVty, as defined by FRS 102. The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainVes about the charity’s ability to conVnue as an ongoing concern.

FUND ACCOUNTING

Rothley Parish Church holds both unrestricted and restricted income funds:

The General Fund is unrestricted and may be used for any of the Church’s charitable aims.

Some unrestricted funds have been designated by the Trustees for certain purposes :

Church Building Improvements Fund : for costs incurred in exploring the possibility of improving the inside of the church building
Church Maintenance Fund : for non-rouVne maintenance of the church building and contents
Heritage Events Fund (formerly Quarter Days Heritage Events Fund) : to fulfil our 10-year commitment to the Heritage Lokery Fund to promote the heritage of the church building
Old School Rooms Maintenance Fund : for non-rouVne maintenance of the Old School Rooms and its contents
Organ & Music Fund: part allocaVon of PCC fees from each wedding designated for use by the Organist and Music Leader, parVcularly to maintain the organ
Wednesday Club : donaVons from Club meeVngs to be used by the Wednesday Club

unrestricted because the Trustees are able to change their designa9on if thought necessary .

Some funds are restricted because their use is limited by the inten9ons of the donors:

Children & Families Restricted Fund: children and families in the parish
Church Building Improvements Fund project
Goscote Deanery Fund : funds under the control of Goscote Deanery Synod and required to be held under the care of the Area Dean’s Church
Youth Fund : donaVons and grant income for ministry among youth in the parish

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

INCOME

Income from church collecVons, donaVons and legacies is recognised when received.
Tax recoverable on Gio Aid is recognised when the relevant income is received.
AddiVonal relief under the Gio Aid Small DonaVons Scheme (GASDS) is recognised when the relevant income is received.
Income from grants is generally recognised when received.
Bank interest is recognised when received.
recognised during the period in which it is due.

VOLUNTEERS

Rothley Parish Church acknowledges the vital role of its many unpaid general volunteers in carrying out its charitable acVviVes. Members of the congregaVon assist in ministry, administraVon and pracVcal tasks.

EXPENDITURE

The Parish ContribuVon to the Diocese of Leicester is accounted for as a cost.
Tithe donaVons for mission, calculated at one-tenth of the Church’s income from donaVons, Gio Aid tax recovered and GASDS relief, are accounted for when they become due.

FIXED ASSETS

Rothley Parish Church has complete maintenance responsibility for its church building and church hall, as well as lesser responsibility for its churchyard and vicarage. However, consecrated land and buildings, and benefice property are excluded from the accounts by SecVon 10(2) (a) and (c) of the ChariVes Act 2011 and the costs of their maintenance or improvement are shown as expenditure in the accounts.

DEBTORS

The debtors shown on the Statement of Financial AcVviVes for 2020 comprised:

Gio Aid tax recoverable and GASDS receipts due on donaVons received in December 2020

CREDITORS

The creditors shown on the Statement of Financial AcVviVes for 2020 comprised payments relaVng to 2020 but invoiced or paid shortly aoer the end of the year, as well as the balance of our Vthe gios for mission, the exact amount of which cannot be finalised unVl all donaVons, tax recoverable through Gio Aid and relief obtained through GASDS, are established.

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

2. Analysis of Income

	Income	General Fund £	Designated Funds £	Restricted Funds £	Total 2020 £	Total 2019 £
	DonaVons 111,625 - 1,440 113,065 120,359 Tax recovery 25,384 - 360 25,744 27,675 Legacies 191 - - 191 255,745 Grants 1,726 1,350 - 3,076 3,799 Fundraising events - 350 - 350 400 PCC & acVvity fees 956 - - 956 7,962 Heritage events - - - 0 16 Trading: hospitality, copying, booklets 298 82 - 380 1,656 Old School Rooms rentals 2,597 - - 2,597 5,649 Interest 1,715 266 96 2,077 1,479 Rental of church feld 1,380 - - 1,380 1,380 Feed-in Tarif 3,944 - - 3,944 3,834 Other income - - - - -
	Total 149,816 2,048 1,896 153,760 429,954

----- Start of picture text -----
1% or less
3%
17%
75%
----- End of picture text -----

DonaVons Tax recovery Feed-in Tariff Old School Rooms Grants Interest Rental of church field PCC acVviVes and fees Trading Legacies

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

3. Analysis of Expenditure

	Expenditure	General Fund £	Designated Funds £	Restricted Funds £	Total 2020 £	Total 2019 £
	Fundraising costs - - - - 78 Tithe & other awards 14,451 - - 14,451 14,321 Parish ContribuVon 96,430 - - 96,430 91,620 Staf salaries/payments 13,643 - - 13,643 16,027 Clergy & staf expenses 1,718 - - 1,718 2,601 Mission & evangelism 557 (110) 1,102 1,549 12,073 Church costs 13,941 33,961 - 47,902 20,620 Church uVliVes 1,324 - - 1,324 1,584 Old School Rooms 5,142 11,845 - 16,987 8,945 Governance 480 - - 480 420
	Total 147,686 45,696 1,102 194,484 168,289

----- Start of picture text -----
1%
3%
9%
9%
10% 65%
----- End of picture text -----

Parish ContribuVon Tithe & other awards Church costs Staff salaries/payments Old School Rooms Clergy & staff expenses Church uVliVes Mission & Evangelism Governance

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

4. Tithe giIs for mission 2020

	Tithe giIs for mission	£
	Church Pastoral Aid Society (mission in UK & Ireland) 3,425 Crosslinks (internaVonal mission) 3,151 Tearfund (internaVonal relief & development) 2,329 Link Dioceses of Mount Kilimanjaro & Kiteto, Tanzania 1,370 Y Advice & Support Centre, Leicester (homeless support) 457 The Carpenter’s Arms, Loughborough (drug & alcohol rehabilitaVon) 457 Triangle (ChrisVan outreach to homeless people in Leicester) 457 Mercy Air (aviaVon for humanitarian aid & mission) 505 Mothers’ Union Overseas Development Fund (in provinces & dioceses of the Anglican Communion) 450 Soar Valley Community Food Project, Rothley 400 The Oakes Holiday Centre, Shefeld (ChrisVan holidays for children & teenagers) 400 Church Pastoral Aid Society School Ventures (ChrisVan holidays for children) 300
	Total 13,701

----- Start of picture text -----
2% or less
3%
3%
4%
25%
3%
3%
3%
10%
23%
17%
----- End of picture text -----

CPAS Crosslinks Tearfund Link Dioceses Y Advice & Support Centre The Carpenter's Arms Triangle Mercy Air Mothers’ Union Overseas Development Fund Soar Valley Community Food Project The Oakes Holiday Centre CPAS School Ventures

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

One trustee received remuneraVon during 2020 from employment by Rothley Parish Church as follows:

Ray Prince, Sound Operator fees for one memorial service and one wedding: £60

6. Trustees’ expenses

No expenses have been incurred by trustees during 2020 in respect of their role as trustees.

7. Related party transac9ons

The only related party transacVons during 2020 are those listed under note 5.

8. Independent examina9on fees

The fee payable to the Independent Examiner for his work on these accounts is £480. This amount has been accrued as a creditor.

9. Employees

Part-Vme Administrator
Part-Vme Church Cleaner
3 casual employees as vergers and sound operators for funerals and weddings

No employees received payments of over £60,000.

10. Debtors

	Debtors	31/12/2020 £	31/12/2019 £
	Accrued Income - 267 Gio Aid & GASDS 2,056 2,577 Feed-in Tarif 286 225


	Total 2,342 3,069

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

11. Creditors

Amounts falling due within one year:

	Creditors	31/12/2020 £	31/12/2019 £
	Balance of Vthe 9,201 9,671 Accruals 2,180 1,530 PAYE Creditor 139 173 Agency collecVons 3,342 1,471



	Total 14,862 12,845

12. Old School Rooms

	Old School Rooms	2020 £	2019 £
	Rental income 2,597 5,649

	Expenditure: UVliVes 976 1,147 Cleaning 2,678 2,592 Maintenance 1,369 4,997 Consumables & other costs 118 209




	Total 5,141 8,945

	Opera9ng surplus / (defcit) (2,544) (3,296)

In addiVon to the rouVne maintenance costs of £1,369, a further £75, from accumulated reserves, was spent on shelving and storage boxes and £11,845 from the legacy was spent on the following refurbishment work:

Damp treatment in hallway
Repair of one wall in the yard
Repair and restoraVon of windows and doors
Upgrading of lighVng in hall, kitchen and outside
PainVng of kitchen and passageway

Rental income was reduced by half in 2020 as COVID-19 restricVons prevented use of the hall for most of the year, both by church groups and outside hirers.

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

13. Old School Rooms Maintenance Fund

	Old School Rooms Maintenance Fund	2020 £	2019 £
Income: Bank Interest 78 14 Total income: 78 14

Expenditure: Non-rouVne repairs 11,770 2,422 Staf salaries & payments 75 111 Ofce computer upgrade 87 - Total expenditure 11,932 2,533

Surplus/(Defcit) (11,854) (2,519) Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) 20,000 Transfer from General Fund (DonaVon) 313 Balance brought forward at 1 January 1,326 3,845 Balance at 31 December 9,785 1,326

At its meeVng on 9[th] March 2020, the PCC agreed to allocate £20,000 from the legacy to the Old School Rooms Maintenance Fund to undertake a refurbishment of the hall and yard. Good progress has been made during 2020 (see Note 12).

14. Church Building Improvements Fund

	Church Building Improvements Fund	2020 £	2019 £
Income: £ Bank interest 38 52 Total income: 38 52

Expenditure: Research visit - 95 Audio-visual equipment 21,504 1,220 Architect’s fees 690 4,300 Total expenditure 22,194 5,615

Surplus/(Defcit) (22,156) (5,563) Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) 22,303 - Balance brought forward at 1 January 4,995 10,558 Balance at 31 December 5,142 4,995

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

£22,303 was transferred from the legacy balance held in the General Fund to cover the cost of the audio-visual system.

15. Church Maintenance Fund

	Church Maintenance Fund	2020 £	2019 £
Income: £ Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme 1,038 363 Bank interest 60 37 Total income: 1,098 400

Expenditure: Non-rouVne repairs 11,328 3,917 Total expenditure 11,328 3,917

Surplus/(Defcit) (10,230) (3,517) Transfer from General Fund (accumulated surplus) - 16,190 Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) 4,665 - Balance brought forward at 1 January 16,289 3,616 Balance at 31 December 10,724 16,289

£4,665 was transferred from the legacy balance held in the General Fund to cover the cost of the installaVon of dimmers on the main lights in the church building.

16.Organ & Music Fund

	Organ & Music Fund	2020 £	2019 £
Income: DonaVons to replace loan to Handbell Ringers - 1,000 Tax recovery on donaVons - 250 Grants 312 2,070 Fundraising events by Handbell Ringers 350 400 PCC wedding fees - 2,064 Bank interest 82 71 Total income: 744 5,855

Expenditure: Church costs 243 1,994 Total expenditure 243 1,994

Surplus/(Defcit) 501 3,861 Balance brought forward at 1 January 14,080 10,219 Balance at 31 December 14,581 14,080

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

2018 to enable them to purchase a set of two octave chromaVc handbells. The handbells are the property of Rothley Parish Church.

17. Children & Families Restricted Fund

	Children & Families Restricted Fund	2020 £	2019 £
Income: DonaVons 1,440 1,560 Gio Aid tax recovered 360 390 Grants - 415 AcVvity fees - 870 Bank interest 51 46 Total income: 1,851 3,281

Expenditure: Children & Families Worker salary & payments - (34) Mission & evangelism 794 3,365 Total expenditure 794 3,331

Surplus / (defcit) 1,057 (50) Balance brought forward at 1 January 8,430 8,480 Balance at 31 December 9,487 8,430

in the parish, as well as grants towards this work. A Children & Families Worker was employed from 1 October 2016 to 9 July 2018, including a period of Maternity Leave from 1 October 2017 to 31 March 2018. Following the departure of the Worker in 2018, the PCC decided to encourage volunteers to conVnue the work among children and families, using the remaining funds. This has been extremely successful and the fund now supports all our Sunday School, School and young families work in the parish. Some Church members have conVnued to support the fund financially, hence its buoyant posiVon.

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

18. Legacy received from the late Pat Foulds

	Legacy received from the late Pat Foulds	£
Received: Main payment received 18/6/19 255,745 Final payment received 13/7/20 191 Total received: 255,936

Allocated: OSR refurbishment (2020) 20,000 Audi-visual improvements (2020) 22,303 Dimmer switches on church lighVng (2020) 4,665 Total expenditure 46,968

Balance remaining to be allocated at 31/12/20 208,968

19. Addi9onal small Fund held by the Diocese of Leicester

Chancel Repair Fund

The value of the Fund at 31 December 2020 was £261. This Fund cannot be closed.

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

to The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesias>cal Parish of St Mary & St John, Rothley

I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020 that are set out on pages 34 to 47.

RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES AND EXAMINER

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparaVon of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under secVon 144(2) of the ChariVes Act 2011 (“the ChariVes Act”) and that an independent examinaVon is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

examine the accounts under secVon 145 of the ChariVes Act;
follow the procedures laid down in the general DirecVons given by the Charity Commission under secVon 145(5)(b) of the ChariVes Act; and
state whether parVcular makers have come to my akenVon.

BASIS OF INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT

My examinaVon was carried out in accordance with the general DirecVons given by the Charity Commission. An examinaVon includes a review of the accounVng records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideraVon of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanaVons from you as trustees concerning any such makers. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those makers set out in the statement below.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT

In connecVon with my examinaVon, no maker has come to my akenVon:

which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements:
to keep accounVng records in accordance with secVon 130 of the ChariVes Act; and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounVng records and comply with the accounVng requirements of the ChariVes Act

have not been met; or

to which, in my opinion, akenVon should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Scok Bradford BSc ACA

Newby Castleman, Chartered Accountants 6 Forest Road Loughborough LE11 3NP

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2020

49 www.rothleychurch.org.uk | 0116 230 2626 | welcome@rothleychurch.org.uk

ANNUAL REPORT 2020

CONTENTS

VICAR’S REVIEW OF 2020

personal connecVon with the wider

CHURCHWARDENS’ REVIEW OF 2020

COMMUNICATIONS

Produc9on of online services

Rothley Church YouTube Channel

Church website

Social Media

Life aIer lockdown

Fellowship Post

OUTREACH

Evangelism

RCMG (Rothley Church Men’s Group)

Care home links

Bereavement Support

Wednesday Club

Wednesday Lunches

CHILDREN & FAMILIES & YOUTH

DISCIPLESHIP

SEND

Financial Giving and Fundraising

Speakers

CHURCH BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS

CHOIR AND MUSIC

Handbells

Ruth Gilmore

BELL RINGERS

Graham Hall

SAFEGUARDING

THE OLD SCHOOL ROOMS (OSR)

DIOCESE AND DEANERY

Diocese

Deanery

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2020

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

ACHIEVEMENTS

FINANCIAL REVIEW

FUND OVERVIEW

GENERAL FUND

GENERAL FUND INCOME

GENERAL FUND BUDGET FOR 2021

RESERVES POLICY

INVESTMENTS

FUTURE PLANS

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Bankers:

Independent Examiner:

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2020

1. Accoun9ng Policies

BASIS OF PREPARATION

FUND ACCOUNTING

INCOME

VOLUNTEERS

EXPENDITURE

FIXED ASSETS

DEBTORS

CREDITORS

2. Analysis of Income

3. Analysis of Expenditure

4. Tithe giIs for mission 2020

6. Trustees’ expenses

7. Related party transac9ons

8. Independent examina9on fees

9. Employees

10. Debtors

11. Creditors

12. Old School Rooms

13. Old School Rooms Maintenance Fund

14. Church Building Improvements Fund

15. Church Maintenance Fund

16.Organ & Music Fund

17. Children & Families Restricted Fund

18. Legacy received from the late Pat Foulds

19. Addi9onal small Fund held by the Diocese of Leicester

Chancel Repair Fund