2021-12-31-accounts

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ANNUAL REPORT 2021

ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

REGISTERED CHARITY 1133832

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

VICAR’S REVIEW OF 2021	3
CHURCHWARDENS’ REVIEW OF 2021	4
COMMUNICATIONS	5
OUTREACH	8
CHILDREN & FAMILIES & YOUTH	11
DISCIPLESHIP	13
SEND	15
CHOIR AND MUSIC	17
BELL RINGERS	18
SAFEGUARDING	19
CHURCH BUILDING	20
THE OLD SCHOOL ROOMS	21
DEANERY AND DIOCESE	22
TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2021	23
ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021	34
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2021	38
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT	51

Cover picture: ‘Walls of Jericho’ march around the church building during Sunday morning service 22nd August 2021

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

VICAR’S REVIEW OF 2021

I want to begin this review with a huge thanks to the whole Church community for the way they have worked together and made sacrifices to enable us, through all the challenges that the pandemic has brought, to sustain and rebuild the life of the church. Because of this, through all the ever-changing guidelines and direc^ves, we have been able, 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. This has required us all to make compromises, to be willing to experiment, to take risks and to be gracious and pa^ent with one another when things don’t work out or do not suit our convenience. That willingness, grace and pa^ence have been shown in abundance.

There was a ^me that many of us will remember, when across the whole na^on, we watched the same TV programmes at the same ^me on the same day and talked about them at school or work the next morning, in the full knowledge that more than likely everyone knew what we were talking about. In recent years, especially exacerbated by the ^me people have spent alone during lockdowns, that shared narra^ve of life has been par^cularised, fragmented and shaaered with each person accessing their own preferred live streams/podcasts, box sets, music streaming/ news channels. As we go forwards, we want to build a paaern of Church ac^vity that will, on the one hand, be accessible to as many people in the parish as possible and, on the other hand, enable all the current church family to par^cipate and flourish. This trend of par^cularisa^on and fragmenta^on affects the whole of our lives and makes planning a paaern of Church ac^vity that will suit everyone like the quest for the holy grail. Churches across the whole na^on are being forced to recognise that established paaerns

rarely suit the new situa^on we find ourselves in. We are seeking to discern the best way forward and are in the midst of a period of experimenta^on in which many new things are flourishing and older paaerns have been revitalised. Alongside this we have con^nued to seek to give people the opportunity to explore what God is calling them to, to develop gies and try out new ministries. All of this will be essen^al in equipping the church for whatever lies ahead.

We owe Mike Ferguson and Angela Neill, Margaret Rouse and Fred Sleath, who have been our Churchwardens through this year, a great debt of gra^tude. They have been a constant support and have offered wise advice as we have adapted to the changing regula^ons, and they have worked on risk assessments - and together with Ray Prince - ensured that we could meet in the building as much as possible in a safe and responsible way.

I would also like to thank David Wilson who has provided invaluable support and wise counsel and taken on significant extra work in serving this church throughout the pandemic.

Rob Gladstone Vicar

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

CHURCHWARDENS’ REVIEW OF 2021

2021 has seen some posi^ve changes aeer the disrup^ons of 2020. It has been good to be able to celebrate Communion again, although we are not using the chalice at present; and to be able to hold weddings and funerals in church again. Unlike last year, we were able to gather for Fes^vals, and the Memorial and Remembrance services were well aaended and much appreciated. There were two Carols by Candlelight services, ensuring that the number of aaendees remained within comfortable limits. The paaern of weekly services also helps to ensure against overcrowding with virtually equal aaendances at the 9.30 and 11am services. There has been a steady increase in numbers at both services, although there is some fluctua^on in response to outbreaks of COVID-19. It has been good to see the Growing Families and the monthly Shine services develop, and the team have also run events, such as the Light Party at the end of November, which are aarac^ng families from outside the church. There have been several bap^sms this year. Following consulta^on, the PCC agreed to con^nue the two morning services and also that there will be a 4pm service during the winter. This paaern will be reviewed in 2022. One service, usually the 9.30am, is live streamed each Sunday and this is very popular with members who cannot come to church.

As churchwardens, we have spent a good deal of ^me coming to terms with changing regula^ons as we aim to keep us all COVID-free. Fortunately, we have a large medieval building which allows us to give people more space and through which we can allow a through current of air. The clerestory windows are opened before services, all three main doors are opened and, where possible, lee slightly ajar. Ini^ally, we placed cards on the pews indica^ng where people should sit. We do not use these now, but request that everyone is aware of other people and leaves appropriate space. It is now mandatory for everyone to wear a face covering, unless medically unable to do so. At present, we

cannot serve coffee, although we did manage to do this for a few weeks during the Summer and Autumn. We have maintained a Track and Trace system from the first opening of the church. The app is available and a wriaen list which is retained for as long as necessary.

Mary Macrae has now re^red from ac^ng as verger for weddings and funerals and we would like to thank her for her faithful service over many years. Her steady, competent presence has helped and reassured many brides and she was a source of real comfort to mourners. We also wish to thank Derek Houghton who con^nues in that role and Richard Yates who has joined him; the assistant wardens Jean Johnson, Alison Parkinson, Ray Prince and Marion Whitby; Ken Arkley, who, although he has stepped down as assistant warden, s^ll helps us when we need him; Angela Neill who is our new assistant warden. We are also very grateful to Ray Prince who has taken on the responsibility for anything to do with the church building – from light bulbs to Quinquennial reports; to Marion Whitby who oversees the electoral roll and other documenta^on; to the choir who have kept going through all the changes; and to the many other people who contribute to the life and smooth running of the church and the services – welcoming, reading, leading prayers, arranging flowers, serving coffee, delivering Fellowship Post and other jobs too numerous to men^on here. You are all very much appreciated. Thank you.

As churchwardens we meet with Rob every month and aaend PCC and Business Commiaee mee^ngs. It has been encouraging to be able to meet face to face instead of on-screen. Hopefully, we shall be able to con^nue with this. We are grateful to God for all His blessings this year and, as we look forward to more changes and new challenges in 2022, we place our trust in Him that we shall be able to meet them.

Fred Sleath and Margaret Rouse

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

COMMUNICATIONS

Pre-recorded online events: Holy Week reflecFons, Easter Sunday service; live streamed services: Remembrance Sunday, Carols by Candlelight

During this last year we again used technology widely to communicate to the Church congrega^on and wider into our community with the gospel message, seeking to encourage and give hope during these COVID-19 ^mes.

Pre-recorded services

In 2021, we published 32 pre-recorded services and events (including Lent Talks, etc.) before switching to live streaming from the 23rd May when in-church services resumed. We are very grateful to Paul Parkinson for the many, many hours producing these services every week, not just in 2021 but also for the majority of 2020.

Live streaming

Thanks to our new sound and video facili^es we have aaempted to produce at least one Church service every week as a livestream which can also be watched later. Thanks to Sue Jackson for making sure the semngs are correct before each recording and ensuring that our hymns and songs which are s^ll under copyright are compliant with our CCLI copyright licenses and YouTube copyright policies.

YouTube

All our livestream services and Rob’s Morning Prayer are available on the Rothley Parish Church YouTube channel. The graph at the boaom of page 6 shows views for 2021 (equivalent to the one in the 2020 Annual Report). This shows that the total number of channel views in 2021 (13,024) was lower than for 2020 (15,907). The most popular services were ‘ Thy Kingdom Come - Ascension Day ’ (299), ‘ Hail Glorious King - Good Friday (281), Pentecost Sunday (243) and Easter Sunday (225). The prominent spike on the 13 July was for the Rothley School Leavers Assembly (445 views). The most popular devices for watching

were (in order) computer, mobile phone, tablet, TV and games console. Half of the viewers accessed the videos directly on the RPC YouTube channel, and the remainder via other websites/links (e.g. church website, Facebook, etc.). The total number of RPC YouTube channel views since incep^on is currently 27,903 (up from 15,600 a year ago).

Website

Our website www.rothleychurch.org.uk, has con^nued to get over 10 views a day with visitors locally, from across the country, as well as some from overseas. In total we had 3,963 visits, down from 4,932 last year. 15,283 pages were viewed, down from 27,105. The top five pages visited (2020 figures in brackets) are:

Home Page Webcasts	6,714 2,721	(11,202) (6,477)
Old School Rooms	793	(515)
Services	719	(857)
Who’s Who	531	(776)

There were only three pages that saw an increase in visitors from last year: The Old School Rooms has been shown above; Babies and Toddlers increased to 129 from 87 visits and Children and Families increased to 114 from 67 visits. 45% of visits to our website were from mobiles, 40% from a desktop and 14% from a tablet.

Facebook

The Rothley Parish Church Facebook group is used for sharing news, views and informa^on and has also provided a link most mornings to Rob’s Morning Prayer. We now have 155 followers, up from 56 in 2018. We have forwarded invita^ons to special services as an outreach to the wider community through the Facebook group SpoGed Rothley , our thanks to them for repos^ng out our message to over 9,700 followers each ^me.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

TwiIer

Our Twiaer account @rothleychurch is also used to promote services and special events, not just to our own congrega^on but wider into the

community. We have 201 followers, up from 197 in 2020.

Stephen Thomason

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

----- Start of picture text -----
Rothley School Leavers’ Service
Easter services
Remembrance Sunday
Christmas
Rothley Parish Church YouTube Channel staFsFcs showing daily views throughout 2021
----- End of picture text -----

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Low-tech communicaLons

Communica^on in church life is important - how else will people hear the Good News if we don’t tell them where it’s being broadcast? We try to embrace as many people as possible in our communica^ons - those inside and outside of our immediate church community, the wider village and those affected by things that happen here in Rothley, such as family and friends who might venture here for events and occasions.

The Fellowship Post con^nues to keep the church membership in touch with each other and what goes on here week by week, which we know many people appreciate. I am s^ll grateful to the four people who deliver paper copies to about 25 of our church members who don’t have easy access to computers and mostly knock on their doors to have a quick chat with them too, as well as Fred Sleath who oeen delivers the bundles to the deliverers. We con^nue to include the order of service for the livestream each week, to help people who need/prefer to stay at home. However, we are aware that a small number of people don’t have access to view the livestreams, but have DVD players, so DVDs can also now be made available to those who ask.

When it has been COVID-safe to do so throughout the last year, we have tried to adver^se specific events through paper posters on local no^ceboards and lampposts, electronic fliers via the school email network where relevant, emails to our own contacts such as bap^sm candidates’ families etc, and hand-delivered paper invita^ons too. We have also used our own church website, Facebook page and Twiaer, as well as local social media accounts such as SpoGed Rothley .

We now have an audio-visual system installed in church, which means that many of the words used in a service can now appear on the screens via PowerPoint slides. However, we do appreciate that some people are not able to comfortably look at the screens, so there are always a small number of service orders printed and available in church. To compile our service sheets and PowerPoints, for a number of years we have used a database called HymnQuest, which gives us access to the words of over 28,000 hymns! However, we are looking into subscribing instead to a database which will enable us to put our PowerPoint slides together in a more coordinated way for both hymns and liturgy, and with a beaer end result. We will be looking carefully at various op^ons available and hope to draw on the previous experience of some of our church members to make the right choice.

We are aware that there are faults within the delivery of our communica^ons, but we always try to do our best and make improvements where possible. I am always pleased to receive thanks for keeping in touch, par^cularly via the Fellowship Post, but equally I would welcome sugges^ons for tweaks and changes to the content.

We are now trying to gather together a group to be involved with Church communica^ons, both internal and external, high tech and low tech, so we would be grateful for any interest from anyone in any of these areas - you don’t have to be highly technical to be involved in it. Please contact me if you have any ^me or ideas to offer to such a group.

Liz Sleath

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

OUTREACH

LiPle Fishes poster; children’s event in church; pancake day on Zoom; Summer Sunday service craSs; Children’s Carol Service outside church

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. As house building has con^nued on new estates, most recently on Oaktree Way, we par^cularly want to reach those who have recently moved into the parish. We recognise that our ministry through the school con^nues to be cri^cal to building rela^onships with the many young families that have moved onto these estates.

There are two key aspects to this. The first is in suppor^ng the school in its aaempts to develop its premises such that every child in the parish can be offered a place in the school. The second is in having appropriate Founda^on Governors to support the school in maintaining and developing a clear Chris^an ethos.

With both of these in place we can be confident that the children and their families will hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. As with the previous year, the ongoing lockdowns and restric^ons rela^ng to COVID-19 have at ^mes limited our ability to meet people. We have taken every opportunity as restric^ons have been lieed to meet people face to face in the school and community and this has been supplemented by an online presence and social media - both of which are very crowded places and challenging to establish trac^on.

LiIle Fishes

For many years Margaret Offley and helpers ran the church-based toddler group in The Old School Rooms on Thursday aeernoons, but she decided for personal reasons not to return to that once lockdown restric^ons were lieed. So a group of mums of toddlers and younger school children were encouraged to get together and take on the running of the group, bringing their own style to it. The best ^me for most of the helpers (who are all busy working mums) was found to be Monday morning, so Liale Fishes Parent & Baby/Toddler Group was launched.

Mothers’ Union wanted to get involved and provide tea and toast for busy school mums, so they do this from 8.45am whilst the rest of the group is semng up for the session. Linda Poole kindly runs a rota of volunteers who help in the kitchen, whilst others meet and greet and host the play area in the main room. Later, everyone gathers together to hear a Bible story or a story from a Chris^an book and sing nursery rhymes/ songs, followed by drinks and biscuits. The main group contact is now Susie Clark. Aeer a few weeks of trial and error the group asked for other church members to help set the toys and equipment out on a Sunday evening and are very grateful for this help. Please do come and visit the group one Monday morning from 9am, where you’ll find a warm welcome, noise, mess, tea and toast!

In the coming year we want to focus on once again establishing evangelism at the heart of our Church life, beginning with the PCC considering how they can most effec^vely lead the church in this.

RCMG (Rothley Church Men’s Group)

2021 was the 25[th] Anniversary of the RCMG (Rothley Church Men’s Group) and we had hoped to have some celebra^ons to mark the achievement; however, the con^nuing pandemic

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

prevented our usual programme of ac^vi^es taking place. Established as a means to bring the “blokes” together in our Church, there cannot be many Church Men’s groups that have survived this long. Ini^ally called MBA because at the ^me there was a popular TV programme called Men Behaving Badly , we decided that our group should stand for Men Behaving Acceptably .

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 last year we have con^nued to support each other wherever prac^cal and possible considering the pandemic restric^ons, however have chosen not to have any arranged events.

We were intending to start organising events again in 2022, poten^ally aeer Easter, however with the surge in the latest Coronavirus variant this may prove to be difficult. So, what will 2022 bring for the men’s group? Only the Lord knows.

Care home links

It has been sad that during this “COVID” year we have been seriously curtailed in our visits and ministry at Cedar House. We were invited to host the BBC Radio Leicester “Sing Christmas” and so encourage the residents and staff to sing the carols and listen to the Bible readings which came to us from Leicester Cathedral. Each resident received a personally signed gree^ng card from our team on behalf of Rothley Parish Church both at Easter and Christmas. We are hopeful of monthly visits on the first Monday during 2022 and our regular team, Pam Harvey, Val Wadge, Margaret Houghton, Jean Johnson, David and Linda Hodgson, remain prayerful and keen.

As with many other ac^vi^es during the con^nuing restric^ons around the COVID pandemic, it has not been possible for us to meet together at Babington Court. The communal lounge has not been available for our use. Our small group has been depleted by some residents moving to Cedar House or other care homes. So,

at present, a short service such as we had, followed by a valuable ^me together over refreshments is no longer viable. However, we have endeavoured to keep in touch by sending cards and a liale gie at Christmas to those who have moved and to members of our faithful support team. Alan and Viv visited one resident at Babington, with her permission. Margaret Offley is also in touch there, s^ll. Our hope is that, when the warmer weather arrives, we may be able to invite a group to meet together over tea and cakes in a local venue and talk through op^ons for the future.

There are no plans to return to Mountview following the pandemic.

Bereavement Support

We were delighted to be able to hold our annual memorial service, CelebraKon of Lives , in November. This was an opportunity to remember those who had died during the last two years, since we were last able to hold a memorial service, and to offer support to the bereaved. Many had been allowed only small-scale funerals because of COVID-19 restric^ons. The service was well-aaended and appreciated. The reading of the names of those who had died during the pandemic was helpful and powerful for their families and friends.

Wednesday Club

For six months, the amalgama^on of Wednesday Club with Wednesday Lunches has been opera^ng in the form of a twice-monthly lunch in the Old School Rooms. From the level of chaaer and the obvious delight of companionship taking place, the arrangement seems to be popular. We have welcomed new visitors who have become regulars, joined in carol singing at the Christmas lunch and celebrated our first 100[th] birthday.

All this would not have been possible without the wonderful co-opera^on of Sandra ShawPearce and her helpers in providing varied menus at a reasonable cost and with a lot of hard work and we do thank them. At the same ^me, it is appropriate to thank all those who have given ^me, energy and prayer to the running of Wednesday Club in the past. Many have given

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

advice and help in organising each of the aeernoons, finding speakers – many of whom gave their services free, making cakes, giving lies to and from members’ homes and assis^ng in ou^ngs. The support of the Church and its members has ensured a friendly and thoughyul welcome throughout the many years since its incep^on as Friday Club in the mid-1990s

Wednesday Lunches

Wednesday Lunches recommenced on September 8th aeer an 18-month COVIDimposed lockdown. The regular members of Lunches and of the Wednesday Club had been invited and 22 of us sat down to share a humble salad meal. As an^cipated, the opportunity to eat in company was much appreciated! We have doubled our output and lunches now operate on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, with take-up remaining constantly higher than before, always greater than 20 and culmina^ng in 35 of us sharing a fes^ve Christmas dinner on December 15th, when David Hodgson kindly came along to play the piano for us to sing a few carols.

Meals follow the same paaern of salad with jacket potatoes from April to October and a hot meal from October to March. Most dietary needs can be met - we already feed two vegetarians, one diabe^c, one gluten-free and one low-fat eater among our regular clients. We are excited to be celebra^ng the 100[th] birthday (a first for us) of one of our longest serving customers, Margaret Foister, at our next mee^ng on 26[th] January 2022, and there will be a Queen's Jubilee party on June 8[th] 2022.

Wednesday Lunches holds out the hand of friendship to anyone who is fed up of ea^ng in isola^on, or is bored with the view of their own kitchen walls. It's no demonstra^on of cordon bleu cookery skills, but it does offer a warm and friendly atmosphere and there's always a welcoming smile on hand. The only requirement is to pre-book your meal by Monday lunch^me with Sandra so she can shop and cook adequately.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

CHILDREN & FAMILIES & YOUTH

Shine: puppets & script for Harvest Shine, pumpkins for light party; Sunday School: Easter garden, NaFvity play; Breakthrough pizza party

The Growing Families con^nues as a WhatsApp group, keeping parents of primary-school-aged children in touch with each other and with what is happening at church week by week and gathering for occasional events and an ad hoc housegroup. A number of GF parents are now also involved in leading Sunday services and many now aaend the more informal 11am services and Shine.

In May 2021, it was planned that Pentecost Sunday would be the day when Rothley Church ‘opened up again’. Having been lobbied by parents who wanted families to get back to church asap, having not met in church since March 2020, we thought this would be a good day for a family service at 4pm, which we hoped would be outside, with a theme of celebra^ng all things light and bright, which we decided to call ‘ ’ Shine .

Sadly, it rained and we held it inside, but we enjoyed a very happy atmosphere of “organised chaos”. We then decided that this would happen monthly under the banner of Shine and it would oeen be outside to make it a less challenging venue for those new to the church.

We were then challenged to make it different from regular services, so each ^me we try to do that - some^mes it is formaaed like a service with surprise elements, like Harvest with a puppet sketch and a cone of chips each at the end and some^mes it’s completely not like a service - such as our Light Party Sparkle & Shine with ac^vi^es all over the church including a disco, hot dogs and cakes! We also had a tug-ofwar, planted our painted footprints on a sheet as we prayed, and held an event where we made Chris^ngles together and sang carols in

December (inside!) and then outside again for a family Carol Service on Christmas Eve. Shine is held at 4 pm on the first Sunday each month.

The group of parents from the Growing Families Group who started Shine were then asked to plan and lead the informal Summer Services for families, including the talks. This led to them leading the first part of the 11am services with Sunday School, and the all-age services which started in September. However, it has now been decided that the laity should regularly lead all the way through the informal services on the days there is Sunday School, and occasionally for the other all-age family services too.

Since September, Sunday School has been mee^ng face-to-face again in the Old School Rooms, but only twice a month. Liz Sleath, Jo Beals and Margaret Offley are now the leaders, with occasional help from parents. All the older group (Explorers) moved up to The Grid, together with their leaders, so now the oldest children in Sunday School are 9 years old. With new children joining, we s^ll have about 24 on our register but weekly aaendance varies drama^cally.

The Grid is now run by Mark Baird, Simon Beals & Rashaen Cummings, usually based at the Spencer family’s home next door to church. They have 10 to 12 members on their register and enjoy Bible study and games together on a Sunday morning, twice a month. We try to follow the same topics in both groups, s^ll using the Go Teach books. Grid and Sunday School worked together to produce the Na^vity produc^on in church just before Christmas.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Breakthrough con^nues as the group for 16- to 18-year-olds. This was run during the last year mainly on Sunday evenings by Fred Sleath and Ros Taylor, ini^ally via Zoom and then face-toface in each other’s homes, with occasional meet-ups for pizza in the village or at the Old School Rooms! They have 4 members who regularly meet.

We have con^nued to seek to support the Chris^an ethos of Rothley Primary School in

whatever ways we can. Rob Gladstone and David Wilson con^nued to produce on-line assemblies, some of which were used with individual classes. Since September they were able to take some assemblies face-to-face in school and church, usually with one year group at a ^me, and these were live-streamed round to the other classes when possible.

Liz Sleath

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

DISCIPLESHIP

Discipleship leaflet; Housegroup meeFng on Zoom; Men’s Breakfast; Prayer Circle pew card; Cake Ministry

Discipleship is about growing in faith as followers of Jesus. Paul’s vision of discipleship in Ephesians 4:7-16 con^nues to be our church vision for discipleship, with a focus on growing in depth of discipleship through our services, small groups and personal prayer, Bible study and reading of Chris^an literature. Whilst in 2021 the nature of these discipleship ac^vi^es was impacted by the pandemic, the report below emphasises the ways in which, as a church, we have con^nued to grow and support each other as disciples of Jesus Christ. The discipleship working group of the PCC con^nues to work on strategic leadership in this area.

Housegroups: Despite the inevitable upheaval caused by COVID-19, housegroups remain central to the spiritual health and growth of our church; indeed, one new group was formed during the year, for which we thank God - this makes ten groups in all. The group leaders have used different ways to keep the groups together, to care for each other and to learn together. Whilst there have been bumps in the road which meant that some groups stopped mee^ng for a ^me, the use of Zoom and regular circulated notes from leaders provided momentum even at the most tes^ng ^mes during the pandemic. Most groups meet fortnightly, on various days of the week, some in the evening and some during the day, for Bible study, discussion and prayer. The pastoral caring dimension of group life has been par^cularly valued during the pandemic.

Men’s breakfast: The men’s breakfast housegroup meets monthly for fellowship and Bible study, this year studying the book of Gala^ans and how it can be applied to our daily

lives. This is par^cularly important for this group who seek to learn more about how to be Chris^ans in the workplace. During 2021 aaendance increased to between 6 and 12, with the group providing much needed mutual and emo^onal support as the group’s members have struggled to balance the unpredictable demands of work with family responsibili^es.

In August a walk over the Charnwood Hills concluded with drinks and conversa^on at the Curzon Arms. This is always a popular event, aarac^ng a number of guests. In Gala^ans, Paul reminds us that we do not need the many external trappings that so easily distract us from a life in Christ. A modern-day equivalent might be social media. The group had a great day out in November at the Midlands Men’s Conven^on where one of the valuable sessions looked at the impact of social media on our Chris^an lives. The group are planning an informal Sunday service on the theme of Digital Discipleship.

Bible reading notes: We ac^vely encourage Bible study through our many church groups, but we also strongly encourage personal Bible study. For those who wish to have daily Bible reading notes in a printed format, we con^nue to facilitate the procurement and distribu^on of many different books, whilst also encouraging the use of online daily Bible reading media, including the Daily Bible Reading link on the Rothley Church website. In this past year we have had three individuals move from a printed format of daily Bible reading to an online format. 32 individuals use the printed format, using six different books.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Prayer & Praise: During the first part of the year, a bi-weekly ‘Prayer & Praise’ Guide was issued to all church members, to aid a ‘corporate’ ^me of prayer on Tuesdays. Prayer mee^ngs restarted in the Old School Rooms in August. The prayer topics have been varied, but always seeking to maintain a prayercovering over our church's life and growth, its leaders, and its various events, as well as for our village and na^on. The ‘Praise-^mes’ allow us to thank and praise God at a personal level and it is encouraging to pray with folk who share a desire to see God at work in our church family and community.

Mothers’ Union: 2021 was the 100th anniversary of the death of Mary Sumner, the Mothers' Union founder, and the 145th anniversary of the Mothers’ Union. Unfortunately, it was not a year where these anniversaries could be celebrated as would have been the case pre-pandemic. Carolyn, the branch leader, con^nued to send a monthly mee^ng leaer, with prayers and no^ces whilst the group has not met in person. Awareness of modern-day slavery con^nued to be an item of discussion within the Mothers’ Union and members con^nued to pray and keep contact with members overseas. Fundraising ac^vi^es were unfortunately scaled down, although the achievement by Margaret Rouse and Lin Luce on their sponsored walk of 26 miles around the village over a number of weeks raised over £1000. The Away From It All holiday for 13 families went ahead this year aeer not being able to take place in 2020.

The Prayer Circle comprises 11 people who provide immediate, fast prayer support for anyone in ^mes of par^cular stress or specific need. Trevor West, Jean Arkley and Valerie Joyce are the contacts who send requests round the circle. The other members are anonymous. All requests are treated with absolute confiden^ality. This year 54 requests were received. Whilst normally the group pray for one week, there have been a number of situa^ons which have been ongoing for weeks, and occasionally months. This ministry has been valued, with many commen^ng they have felt upheld in ^mes of distress.

Pastoral Care: The church seeks to follow Christ’s example in caring for those in need in our church and in our community. The aim has been to find ways to support those in hospital, sick, bereaved, isolated or feeling lonely. This year, owing to the pandemic, pastoral care has again been challenging, but there has been a real willingness from people in the fellowship to be involved, whether formally as a designated pastoral visitor or informally.

The role of Pastoral Coordinator has enabled people in the fellowship to ask for help for themselves or for others and has enabled ongoing liaison with the Ministry Team. Whilst visits have been limited, contact has been maintained by frequent phone calls, texts, emails and cards. As many of the elderly do not have access to modern technology, the distribu^on of the printed ‘Fellowship Post’ has con^nued to prove a vital link with the church. These were distributed by volunteers who took the opportunity to check on the well-being of the recipients. Provision of meals and the ‘cake ministry’ have con^nued to demonstrate the church’s love and care for those going through difficult ^mes and maybe on their own. Transport by volunteers has enabled visits to hospital, doctors’ appointments and vaccina^ons. Also, volunteers helped with shopping, pos^ng leaers and the collec^on of prescrip^ons.

Many people in the church and in the community have found that prayer by members of the church fellowship has supported and comforted them. In the wider community, the Soar Valley Community Food Project has been ac^vely supported by the church. This project has seen a substan^al increase in client numbers this year. Church members volunteer at the Food Bank and the fellowship has given generous dona^ons of food and money. At Christmas, toys were given by the congrega^on for the Rotary Club’s ‘ Toys on the Table ’ appeal.

Alison Godfrey

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

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 Chris^ans 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 na^ons.

local chari^es (Y Advice Centre and Triangle, Leicester and The Carpenter’s Arms, Loughborough) which provide help and support to the homeless in Leicestershire and also drug addic^on services.

We aim to support a variety of organisa^ons, some are local, others in the wider world. It is important for us as a church not only to be concerned about our own spiritual life and witness, but to be outward looking in our prayers and our giving.

DISCRETIONARY GIVING

15% of our ^the is reserved for discre^onary giving. This year we supported:

Mothers’ Union Overseas Development Fund
Mercy Air

REGULAR GIVING

During the past year we have supported the following organisa^ons through our ^the, which is 10% of our church’s dona^ons income:

Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS) which supports churches in the UK and Ireland, providing resources for leaders, children and young people’s work, runs Chris^an holiday camps and is the patron of Rothley Church;
Crosslinks, specifically suppor^ng Jirka and Keira Kralovi who work with students in the Czech Republic, and also Brada and Yatza Radanovic in Serbia;
Tearfund, which works with local churches and organisa^ons in more than 50 countries to tackle the complex challenges of poverty;
Dioceses of Mount Kilimanjaro and Kiteto , Tanzania which have been linked with Leicester Diocese since 1982;
The Oakes Holiday Centre
Soar Valley Community Food Project
CPAS School Ventures.

We also collect for Chris^an Aid annually. There have been emergency appeals on behalf of Tearfund for crisis situa^ons; there are regular dona^ons of food to the food bank and clothes to Triangle; and there is a Fair Trade stall at the back of church.

We have kept our church family up to date by means of regular informa^on and updates on the organisa^ons listed above in the weekly Fellowship Post. There are weekly prayer pointers, and also links to prayer leaers. We also feature informa^on and prayer requests for fair trade, asylum seekers and the persecuted church around the world.

Usually, we have speakers from organisa^ons we support in church services several ^mes a year, but this has not been possible in 2021. However, videos have been shown from

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Mercy Air, Chris^an Aid, Crosslinks, Tanzania, Triangle and our local food bank.

In addi^on, the sermon series Caring for God’s CreaKon coincided with the COP26 conference in November and brought to our aaen^on issues affec^ng, not only ourselves, but more especially those in developing countries which are a par^cular concern of Tearfund and other organisa^ons we support.

The ‘ Send ’ group meets regularly throughout the year to consider the current needs of the socie^es, how best to raise awareness of the organisa^ons we support, to keep us updated and to encourage prayer. We have greatly benefiaed from the un^ring and enthusias^c work of Ros Taylor who was chair of our mee^ngs and represented Tearfund with great commitment.

Margaret Leverment

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

CHOIR AND MUSIC

Audio Visual equipment and video screen; choir in Easter Sunday online service; centenary of the church organ

This year, 2021, we marked the centenary of the installa^on of our fine church organ with a concert held on Saturday 9[th] October. The instrument was originally installed in 1921 as a las^ng memorial to the men of Rothley who fought and died in the 1914-1918 Great War. This concert was a real highlight and enabled us to rededicate the organ to the service of God for many years to come.

The organ has provided the musical ‘backbone’ to the majority of services since 1921 and this year, despite lockdowns, it has con^nued to play its part. Sadly, when we were not able to meet in numbers due to UK Government restric^ons, we did manage to aaain a degree of con^nuity through the combina^on of audio-visual and internet technologies. I know that, whilst most of us were not able to be physically seated in church, this technology did provide us with a real sense of being there and being together. It brought Rothley Church into people’s own homes and, I’m sure, removed the sense of isola^on being separated from the church building and, more importantly, the church family.

choir, as well as contribute to the more ‘experimental’ services that we have been trialling.

We are blessed to have many singers and instrumentalists who have added their talents and contribu^ons to the new services such as ‘Shine’ and the informal morning services. I thank everyone who has helped in whatever way with the music in 2021 and must place on record my sincere thanks to David Hodgson for not only suppor^ng me in playing for occasional services, but for the hours spent wri^ng and providing numerous musical arrangements for the hymns and songs sung across all of our services, especially the new and experimental ones. It would be remiss of me not to men^on his last verse key changes which have been a revela^on!

We cannot foretell what 2022 will have in store, but my sincere hope is that through the struggles and adversity that most of us have felt during the past two years, we can con^nue, through our devo^on, to bring more people to faith in Jesus Christ our Lord, through Scripture, prayer and across our different styles of worship.

It felt so good to get back to a sense of normality when we were able to re-open the church building and gradually build from the weekly recordings, to a small choir lead at the front (with no congrega^onal singing), to a full choir and resump^on of singing for all.

For so many of us, this year has been a very tough one. We have had to deal with all sorts of changes to our lives that we genuinely never thought possible. I am so grateful that I con^nue to have a strong desire to lead the tradi^onal part of our church music with the organ and

Simon Murphy

Handbells

Rothley Handbell Ringers have not yet started to meet again.

Ruth Gilmore

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

BELL RINGERS

At the outset of 2021, like the remainder of the Church family, the Tower Bell Ringers were subject to the COVID-19 restric^ons. This stopped all the bells being rung together un^l 24[th] June 2021. During that period, however, a small group of ringers gathered on one occasion, within the ‘lockdown’ constraints, on 17[th] April 2021 to toll the tenor bell for a period prior to the funeral service in Windsor of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. This was in response to a request to all towers.

The extended ^me during which the bells were not able to be rung meant that it was necessary for Taylor’s Bell Foundry to undertake a safety inspec^on prior to full ringing restar^ng. Taylor’s have also subsequently undertaken a periodic service visit.

Since recommencing there have been two further short pauses in ringing – one caused by a very old wooden rope guide (on the 4[th] ) breaking and needing to be replaced and the other caused by concern about a possible piece of masonry dislodging from the tower.

On 5[th] July the Parochial Church Council agreed and adopted an updated Cons^tu^on for the Bell Ringers. This included provisions to ensure that the Church’s Safeguarding Policies for both Vulnerable Adults and Children and Young People are fully integrated into the Belfry ac^vi^es. This was subsequently formally adopted by the Bell Ringers at their Annual General Mee^ng on 1[st] September 2021. The following Tower Officers were also appointed:

Tower Captain: Charles Poole Secretary: Steve Mitchell Treasurer: Graham Hall

Principal Trainer / Instructor: Harry Longman Safeguarding Officer, Vulnerable Adults, Children & Young Persons: Lisa Cook Steeple Keeper: Charles Poole

delighted to welcome two people new to both the village and to ringing and both of whom are progressing very well. Young people learning ringing skills are also essen^al for the long-term future and we have been fortunate to have a number of such ringers. However, school and university studies deplete the team in term ^me and emphasise the need for further new ringers (or returners) – of all ages. To this end, an open aeernoon event is planned for the spring, when the purely curious or keen to learn of any age between 9 and 90 can visit the belfry, see the bells and also have a supervised first pull on the ropes. It will also give an opportunity to climb the highest spiral stone staircase in the village – 34 steps to the ringing chamber with further steps up to the bells - and inspect the mechanism of the turret clock whose hands are on the outside of the tower. But if reading this sparks your interest, please do not wait!! Speak to any of the ringers and come and have a look, no commitment, but beware – you may well get hooked!!

All ringers are learners throughout their career as there is never an end to new skills and methods (many of which have most unusual names!). With our current band, we ring ‘rounds’ [1.2.3.4.5.6] and ‘call changes’ – varying the order of bells periodically. (As a team we are par^al to ‘Rounds/ Queens’ [1.3.5.2.4.6] call changes which give a lovely lilt to the ringing.) We frequently also ring ‘Plain Hunt’ on four or five bells. On a good day we also ring a touch of ‘Bob Doubles’ (on five with the tenor covering as the last bell) and an occasional ‘ Reverse Canterbury Doubles ’.

Finally, two further thanks: firstly Steve Mitchell, oeen accompanied by Graham Hall, who wind the church clock by hand each week and also Ian Sanders who, although not a ringer, kindly scales the heights to the roof of the church tower to raise the Union flag or flag of St George as required.

Charles Poole

As oeen happens, membership of the Bell Ringing team has fluctuated over the year. We have been

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

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

Safeguarding within Rothley Parish Church is the responsibility of all. It is overseen by the two appointed Safeguarding Coordinators, Kate Croden ( Children and Young People ) and Wendy Ferguson ( Vulnerable Adults ). Lisa Cook con^nues as Administrator for DBS applica^ons, ensuring they are completed and up to date.

and all those leading or involved in face-toface work with groups (children, young people, and adult groups) should complete safeguarding training.

The Safeguarding Coordinators’ priority plan for 2021 was signed off by the PCC. The key ac^ons are:

Our parish safeguarding policies for child protec^on and vulnerable adults were reviewed and updated in November, in line with the model diocesan policies and GDPR guidance. These are available on the no^ceboards and on the Rothley Parish Church website.

Training and safer recruitment remains a priority. Safeguarding training has been reorganised and has predominantly moved online. All safeguarding-related courses can be found on the Diocese of Leicester website Safeguarding Training and Events page, with informa^on about church roles and requirements for training. All PCC members,

Ensure our new ways of worship (live streaming and online worship) are compliant with our safeguarding policies.
Con^nue to adhere to safer recruitment guidance and GDPR procedures.
Maintain a parish database for those working within the relevant groups, ensuring DBS and training is up to date.
Maintain our parish dashboard.

We are commiaed to ensuring we are a welcoming church, offering a safe environment and protec^ng all those who worship and share with us. The Safeguarding Coordinators and DBS administrator are available to answer queries or respond to concerns.

Kate Croden and Wendy Ferguson

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

CHURCH BUILDING

During the year regular maintenance of the church building was carried out as usual. Unfortunately, the gas pipe from the boiler house into the church had to be replaced due to corrosion. As the churchyard is “closed”, Charnwood Borough Council is required to keep the churchyard in good order. In 2021 they carried out work to the north boundary stone wall, checked all the headstones, making four of them safe and carried out work to four of the big lime trees. The PCC authorised our church

architect to apply to Charnwood for planning permission to remove the old boiler house. This work should be carried out in 2022. Most of the recommenda^ons from the 2020 Quinquennial Inspec^on Report should also be completed next year. At the same ^me the two boaom sec^ons of the church tower will be checked for any signs of loose poin^ng between the stones. If required, the poin^ng will be redone.

Ray Prince

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

THE OLD SCHOOL ROOMS

The year started with strict government regula^ons meaning that we should not be taking any bookings, but this gave the opportunity for more renova^on work to be completed without any disrup^on to hall users.

First was the “pillar” by the passageway entrance door, where a crack had emerged. During the repair work, it was thought that this piece of brickwork had “never been ^ed to the rest of the building”.

The internal pain^ng of the hall and office were completed, and eventually, aeer hold ups with wet weather, the external pain^ng was completed, but the toilet area s^ll needed some re-plastering work. Eventually, seven plasterers later and delays through lack of materials, it was completed in November and painted in early December. Meanwhile new flooring (carpet ^les and an area of durable floor) was laid in the hall and office, and a more hard-wearing “door mat” type carpet in part of the passageway. New chairs completed the project.

Bookings did not begin un^l July, but since then the hall has been very well used. Several of our own housegroups have used it as a temporary alterna^ve to mee^ng in homes during the pandemic, as it was felt to be a safer environment where members could have extra space. There have been many enquiries and bookings – mostly by local families for family celebra^ons, but others from local organisa^ons as well as corporate businesses for one-off mee^ngs. A regular weekly pilates class and a choir workshop meet currently, and the Brownies con^nue to meet during term ^me, but other regular bookings have been declined due to our own groups using the hall on alternate weeks or once a month.

Leaders of church groups are reminded that they are responsible for booking the OSR if they require its use and special hiring rates are available for church members. Availability can be viewed on the church website under the menu Contact, Old School Rooms , and bookings can be made by contac^ng Linda Poole via email at linda.poole25@gmail.com.

Linda Poole

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

DEANERY AND DIOCESE

Discussions about new paaerns of ministry, under the ^tle Shaped by God Together , dominated the work of both Goscote Deanery Synod and Leicester Diocesan Synod in 2021. In October 2021, Diocesan Synod voted in favour of establishing 20 to 25 “Minster CommuniKes” right across the Diocese. Essen^ally, this means a designated group of parishes, fresh expressions of church, and schools being brought together collec^vely for mission, resourced through the leadership of a diverse ministry team comprising clergy, licensed lay ministers and headteachers. The aim, following a small number of pilots in 2022, is to roll out the programme across the diocese by 2026. Rothley will ul^mately become part of one such Minster Community, but we have no informa^on, as yet, beyond that expecta^on.

The new paaern has obvious implica^ons for Rothley, which currently is a one-church parish in its own right, with its own PCC and Vicar largely determining the direc^on of travel. There will be far more sharing with neighbouring parishes, fresh expressions and schools and there are likely to be exci^ng opportuni^es as well as challenges in such an organisa^onal paaern. In the October 2021 Diocesan Synod debate Bishop Martyn promised that the legal rights of parishes remain “absolutely central” and that any changes “will be done by agreement together”. The pilots which are scheduled for 2022 will provide some valuable insights into how these Minster Communi^es are to be created and what role individual parishes and local schools will play in shaping the end product.

The unsustainable financial deficits of the Diocese in recent years have been a significant - but not the only - driver behind the changes, which will see around 20 less full-^me s^pendiary ministers opera^ng across the diocese by 2026. Both Diocesan Synod and Goscote Deanery Synod have spent considerable ^me discussing possible ways forward in the light of the various challenges thrown up by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is quite possible that deanery synods as we currently know them will disappear once the Shaped by God Together strategy is fully implemented, but in the mean^me our Vicar, Rob Gladstone, remains Area Dean of Goscote and the Deanery Synod (which includes four elected representa^ves from Rothley) plays an important role in sharing informa^on and ideas and providing mutual support where appropriate.

There is, therefore, a significant organisa^onal change agenda for all levels of Diocesan life and, while I don't want to underplay the significance of these changes, at the end of the day our faith is not in a par^cular organisa^onal paaern or management

structure, but in Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and for ever, and, while there are likely to be challenges associated with the new paaern, there will undoubtedly be exci^ng missional opportuni^es as we work more closely with neighbouring parishes to spread the good news of Jesus Christ further afield.

David Wilson

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2021

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 promo^ng in the parish of Rothley the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelis^c, social and ecumenical.

Rothley Parish Church:

offers Chris^an worship in the Anglican tradi^on
maintains a village-wide pastoral care role
supports the work of the village school through its governors and direct involvement
maintains teaching and social ac^vi^es for all age groups
co-operates and works with other Chris^an denomina^ons in the village for the benefit of the whole community

Rothley PCC is the guardian and maintainer of St Mary & St John Parish Church, a Grade II* listed building, ac^vely promo^ng 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

2021 has, again, been a year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The year began with the church, again, closed for Sunday services, a situa^on that con^nued un^l 23[rd] May as we responded to the local situa^on in Leicester and Leicestershire. However, our well-established online services and our communica^ons and pastoral care systems ensured that Rothley Parish Church maintained its ministry in the parish throughout 2021.

Aeer our return to the church building on 23[rd] May, we began to live stream one service each Sunday so those who did not aaend in person could s^ll access a Sunday service. This has con^nued for the rest of the year, along with online Morning Prayer four days a week. Similarly, our weekly communica^ons and service sheet, sent or delivered to every church member, and our offers of help with shopping, prescrip^ons or lies to medical appointments have all con^nued. This excellent team effort by a large number of people has ensured we have maintained contact with church members throughout the year and the support has been very much appreciated. We have been delighted to welcome church members back to the building in good numbers and look forward to the ^me when the prevailing situa^on will be such that everyone will feel able to return.

Since 23[rd] May we have experimented with different ^mes and styles of church services in order to respond to the needs of our members and the wider parish.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Online assemblies were provided for the village school during the first two school terms un^l in person assemblies could be conducted from September. The Growing Families WhatsApp group has been a helpful forum for local families and they have taken every opportunity to organise lively, safe outdoor events during the year.

Many of our Sunday School, youth and adult groups in the church were able to maintain contact and ac^vi^es online or by email during the first half of the year. From September, all groups were very happy to be able, at last, to meet again in person, including some that had not met since March 2020. Some of our groups have also taken the opportunity to make changes to their ac^vi^es or ^mes of mee^ng to beaer serve their members.

Our partnership with the Bap^st Church in the Soar Valley Community Food Project has been increasingly important over the last year as demand for its support con^nues to grow, not only in Rothley, but throughout the Soar Valley area. Church members generously gave food, funds and volunteer ^me to this ministry throughout the year.

One highlight of the year was a concert in October to celebrate the centenary of the church organ, which was built in 1921 as a memorial to those from the village who died in the Great War, 1914 to 1918. This was a moving event for all who aaended, including families of some of the fallen.

The requirements of Health and Safety legisla^on 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 effec^vely been overridden since March 2020 by the detailed COVID-19 regula^ons 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. During 2021 the final stages of a major refurbishment of the Old School Rooms were completed, involving internal and external pain^ng, new carpet and new chairs. A laptop and computer soeware were purchased to enable live streaming of church services when the building reopened in May and two further screens in the chancel area of the church were added to the audio-visual system. All these major purchases were made from the legacy lee by late church member Pat Foulds.

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

An indica^on of the scale and importance of the contribu^on made by volunteers to the work of Rothley Parish Church is evident in the narra^ve reports of church ac^vi^es which form the first part of this Annual Report. Their con^nued commitment during another difficult year beset by restric^ons has been excep^onal, as has that of our employees.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The con^nued financial commitment of our congrega^on, as well as healthy accumulated reserves, have seen us end 2021 with a surplus, despite the fact that the church was not open for Sunday services for almost five months. An increase in income during the last months of the year saw it end 2% above budget for the year, while expenditure was 4% under budget.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Rothley Parish Church’s principal source of funding for its general expenditure is the regular dona^ons of its congrega^on, together with the related recovery of tax through Gie Aid and the addi^onal relief available on cash dona^ons through the Gie Aid Small Dona^ons Scheme (GASDS).

The most significant regular expenditure is the Parish Contribu^on to the Diocese of Leicester (£96,430 in 2021), which supports ministry across the Diocese as well as providing funds to pay for clergy housing, s^pends and pensions. The Parish Contribu^on is considered to be a gie offered by the parish and the amount must be decided by the PCC annually.

A further £10,736 of the large legacy received in 2019 was been allocated to projects in the church and Old School Rooms during 2021; £198,233 remains to be allocated. COVID-19 has slowed down the progress on other projects, which may need to be reassessed to ensure they are s^ll appropriate. 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 un^l such ^me as the PCC designates its use.

Having six people working together as a treasury team provides the capacity to monitor budgets and contracts, and control expenditure, as well as providing good internal controls in our financial procedures.

We con^nue to base the remunera^on of our regular part-^me employees on the Living Wage Founda^on’s Voluntary Real Living Wage, which is considerably higher than the government’s Na^onal Living Wage and is independently calculated each year to ensure it keeps pace with any increase in the cost of living.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

FUND OVERVIEW

Rothley Parish Church held a balance of £319,136 at 31 December 2021, made up as follows:

	Fund Overview	31/12/2021 £	31/12/2020 £
	Unrestricted Funds General Fund 271,705 280,590 (Unrestricted) Designated Funds Church Building Improvements Fund 5,161 5,144 Church Maintenance Fund 7,843 10,724 Heritage Events Fund 878 1,087 Old School Rooms Maintenance Fund 68 9,784 Organ & Music Fund 14,948 14,583 Wednesday Club 138 138 Total Unrestricted Funds 300,741 322,050

	Restricted Funds Children & Families Restricted Fund 10,661 9,488 Church Building Improvements Restricted Fund 2,185 2,178 Goscote Deanery Fund 925 922 Youth Fund 4,624 4,689 Total Restricted Funds 18,395 17,277

	Total funds 319,136 339,327

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

GENERAL FUND

	General Fund	2021 £	2020 £
Income: Dona^ons 113,594 111,625 Tax recovery 25,398 25,384 Legacies - 191 Grants 293 1,726 Trading & fees 2,926 1,254 Old School Rooms 1,869 2,597 Investments & Feed-in Tarif 5,701 7,039 Total Income 149,781 149,816

Expenditure Tithe & other awards 13,899 14,451 Parish Contribu^on 96,430 96,430 Staf salaries/payments 14,018 13,643 Clergy & staf expenses 908 1,718 Mission & evangelism 103 557 Church costs 14,847 13,941 Church u^li^es 1,511 1,324 Old School Rooms 5,743 5,142 Governance 480 480 Total expenditure 147,939 147,686

Surplus/defcit of income 1,842 2,130 Net transfers to/from other funds (10,727) (47,280) Balance brought forward at 1 January 280,590 325,741 Balance at 31 December 271,705 280,591

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

GENERAL FUND INCOME

----- Start of picture text -----
120,000
90,000
60,000
30,000
0
Dona^ons Tax Recovery Legacies Grants Trading & Fees OSR Invest. & FIT
2020 2021
Income (£)
----- End of picture text -----

During 2021, a further £10,736 from the legacy from Pat Foulds was allocated for further items of audio-visual equipment and comple^on of the refurbishment of the Old School Rooms, leaving a balance of £198,233 to be allocated to church projects, in line with our Legacy Policy. Overall, General Fund income for 2021 was 2% above budget and expenditure was 4% below, resul^ng in a surplus of £1,842 at the end of the year.

GENERAL FUND BUDGET FOR 2022

The PCC has set a worst-case scenario budget, with income slightly below the 2021 budget and £4,578 below the actual 2021 result, and with expenditure similar to the 2021 budget and £6,673 higher than 2021’s actual spend. Na^onally, infla^on is rising so a more difficult year is an^cipated in 2022. A beaer-than-expected result for income could be offset by rising costs.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

	General Fund Budget for 2022	£
	Income Dona^ons 111,504 Tax recovery 25,966 Trading & fees 448 Old School Rooms 1,500 Investments & Feed-in Tarif 5,786 Total Income 145,204







	Expenditure Tithe & other awards 13,747 Parish contribu^on 96,430 Staf salaries / payments 15,124 Clergy & staf expenses 1,745 Mission & evangelism 1,450 Church costs 16,443 Church u^li^es 2,350 Old School Rooms 6,819 Governance 505










	Total Expenditure 154,613

	Budgeted surplus / (defcit) (9,409)

Church members’ dona^ons were 1% over budget by the end of 2021 and we are very grateful for their commitment. However, for most of the year dona^ons income ran under budget, so the 2022 es^mate is cau^ous.
A modest budget has been included for trading and fees as we have few weddings booked for 2022. Weddings and funerals have been subject to severe restric^ons during most of the pandemic.
Old School Rooms income was hit by the early lockdown in 2021 so a very cau^ous budget has been set for 2022.
Tithe gies for mission depend on income received as they are fixed at 10% of the income from general dona^ons, Gie Aid tax recovered and addi^onal relief from the Gie Aid Small Dona^ons Scheme.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

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 addi^onal three months’ salary costs. Any surplus reserves are to be commiaed to planned expenditure in line with long-term strategy. In 2022 the amount required in the General Fund is £52,793, which includes £9,409 to cover the budgeted year end deficit. At 31 December 2021 the PCC held £73,472 in the unrestricted General Fund (discoun^ng the legacy) and a further £29,036 in designated funds, whose designa^on 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 no^ce 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 Compensa^on 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 Compensa^on Scheme, but has a good credit ra^ng.

FUTURE PLANS

The COVID-19 pandemic has con^nued to halt, slow or change different aspects of our ac^vity during 2021. However, our church leaders and congrega^on have proved themselves to be adaptable and resilient throughout.

Plans to improve the church building were halted in March 2020, wai^ng for the ^me when a consulta^on on the plans drawn up by our architect can be held with the congrega^on. This is the necessary next step before formal approval can be sought. Aeer such a long delay, we will need to reassess our plans to ensure they are s^ll appropriate.

The principal risks and uncertain^es facing the Church, as iden^fied by the PCC, are split into four areas:

opera^onal
regulatory
governance
financial

Opera^onal risks of Health and Safety, employment and Safeguarding are iden^fied and managed by named individuals or sub-commiaees who report as necessary to the PCC. Many addi^onal Health and Safety requirements have been necessary during the pandemic.

Through Diocesan resources the PCC is updated on regulatory and governance requirements, which are then assessed and ac^oned accordingly.

The PCC recognises that the main financial risks and uncertain^es arise from the need to maintain the church fabric and organ, while also inves^ng in the future life of the Church in order to address

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

our priori^es. However, the generous legacy received in 2019 and healthy accumulated reserves con^nue to be a very useful resource.

Day-to-day risks and uncertain^es are managed through the Finance Commiaee who handle the Church’s finances, regularly repor^ng to the PCC and providing advice as appropriate.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Rothley PCC is governed by two pieces of Church of England legisla^on, called Measures:

Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 as amended
Church Representa^on 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 par^cular office they hold within the Church. The PCC meets six ^mes a year.

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

Business (which sets the agenda for PCC mee^ngs)
Finance
Opera^ons

The working groups are:

Discipleship
Send
Communica^ons
Church Building Improvements

Each year, soon aeer new members are elected to the PCC at the Annual Parochial Church Mee^ng, an induc^on evening is held to help new trustees understand their role. All PCC members are expected to aaend. Useful wriaen resources are given to trustees as background support to their role.

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

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Name of charity:

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesias^cal 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] Margaret Rouse (from 30/5/21) Churchwarden [ex-officio] Fred Sleath (from 30/5/21) Churchwarden [ex-officio] Wendy Ferguson Also Deanery Synod representa^ve Linda Poole Also Deanery Synod representa^ve Ray Prince Also Deanery Synod representa^ve David Wilson Also Deanery Synod representa^ve Liz Barker Chris Garnea (from 18/4/21) Alison Godfrey David Hodgson (from 18/4/21) Margaret Leverment (from 18/4/21) Wendy Lewis Alison Parkinson Susan Pinkus Jennifer Pilbeam (co-opted) Jonathan Pilbeam Susan Wilson

The following served as trustees during part of 2021 only: Mike Ferguson (to 18/4/21) Clive Jackson (to 18/4/21) Angela Neill (to 18/4/21) Ros Taylor (to 18/4/21)

Bankers: NatWest 1 Granby Street Leicester LE1 6EJ

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

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Independent Examiner: Scoa 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 7th March 2022. Signed on its behalf:

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

	Balance Sheet at 31 December 2021	31/12/2021 £	31/12/2020 £
Current assets: Debtors (Note 10) 2,513 2,342 Cash at bank and in hand 328,504 351,847 Total 331,017 354,189

LiabiliLes: Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (Note 11) 11,881 14,862 Net assets: 319,136 339,327

Located: Unrestricted Funds General Fund 271,705 280,590 (Unrestricted) Designated Funds Church Building Improvements Fund 5,161 5,144 Church Maintenance Fund 7,843 10,724 Heritage Events Fund (formerly Quarter Days Heritage Events) 878 1,087 Old School Rooms Maintenance Fund 68 9,784 Organ & Music Fund 14,948 14,583 Wednesday Club 138 138 Total Unrestricted Funds 300,741 322,050

Restricted Funds Children & Families Restricted Fund 10,661 9,488 Church Building Improvements Fund 2,185 2,178 Goscote Deanery Fund 925 922 Youth Fund 4,624 4,689 Total Restricted Funds 18,395 17,277

Total Funds 319,136 339,327

The accounts were approved by Rothley Parochial Church Council on 7th March 2022. Signed on its behalf:

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Statement of Financial AcLviLes 1 January to 31 December 2021	Unrestricted Funds General Fund £	Unrestricted Designated Funds £	Restricted Funds £	Totals 2021 £	Totals 2020 £
Income: Dona^ons 113,594 - 1,320 114,914 113,065 Tax recovery 25,398 - 330 25,728 25,744 Legacies - - - - 191 Grants 293 37 - 330 3,076 Fundraising events - - - - 350 Trading & fees 2,926 688 180 3,794 1,336 Old School Rooms 1,869 - - 1,869 2,597 Investments & Feed-in Tarif 5,701 132 57 5,890 7,401 Total Income 149,781 857 1,887 152,525 153,760

Expenditure Tithe & other awards 13,899 - - 13,899 14,451 Parish Contribu^on 96,430 - - 96,430 96,430 Staf salaries/payments 14,018 - - 14,018 13,643 Clergy & staf expenses 908 119 - 1,027 1,718 Mission & evangelism 103 213 759 1,075 1,549 Church costs 14,847 7,541 - 22,388 47,902 Church u^li^es 1,511 - - 1,511 1,324 Old School Rooms 5,743 16,144 - 21,887 16,987 Governance 480 - - 480 480 Total expenditure 147,939 24,017 759 172,715 194,484 Surplus/defcit of income 1,842 (23,160) 1,128 (20,190) (40,724) Transfers between funds (details below) (10,727) 10,736 (9) - - Balance brought forward at 1 January 280,590 41,460 17,276 339,326 380,051 Balance at 31 December 271,705 29,036 18,395 319,136 339,327

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Transfer between funds 1 January to 31 December 2021	Unrestricted Funds	Unrestricted Designated Funds	Unrestricted Designated Funds	Unrestricted Designated Funds	Restricted Funds
	General Fund £	Church Building Improvements £	Church Maintenance £	OSR Maintenance £	Children & Families £
Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) to CBI Designated Fund as per PCC resolu^on 25/1/21 Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) to OSR Maintenance Fund per PCC resolu^on 10/5/21 Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) to CBI Designated Fund per PCC resolu^on 10/5/21 Transfer from Church Maintenance Fund to OSR Maintenance Fund for chairs Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) to CBI Designated Fund per PCC resolu^on 27/1/20 Transfer from Children & Families Restricted Fund to General Fund (glue s^cks) Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) to OSR Maintenance Fund for refurbishment as agreed by Business Commiaee 12/1/22 Transfer to correct pos^ng error 31/12/21 TOTAL	(1,001) 1,001 (6,000) 6,000 (1,740) 1,740
	(180) 180
	(1,778) 1,778 5 (5) (216) 216 4 (4)
	(10,726) 4,519 (180) 6,396 (9)

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

LocaLon of funds	£		£
NatWest Stewardship Account CAF Bank General Account & cash OSR bank CBF Deposit Fund CAF 60 Day No^ce 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	8,875 Debtors: 2,513 29,242 Creditors: 11,881 - 204,314 10,404 18,930 19,063 18,884 18,793 (9,368)
Total	319,137

*For details of Debtors and Creditors see pages 43 and 44.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2021

1. AccounLng Policies

BASIS OF PREPARATION

The accrual accoun^ng method has been used and the financial statements have been prepared under the Church Accoun^ng Regula^ons 2006 and in accordance with Chari^es SORP (FRS 102). Rothley Parish Church is a public benefit en^ty, as defined by FRS 102. The trustees consider that there are no material uncertain^es about the charity’s ability to con^nue 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-rou^ne maintenance of the church building and contents
Heritage Events Fund : to fulfil our 10-year commitment to the Heritage Loaery Fund to promote the heritage of the church building
Old School Rooms Maintenance Fund : for non-rou^ne maintenance of the Old School Rooms and its contents
Organ & Music Fund: part alloca^on of PCC fees from each wedding designated for use by the Organist and Music Leader, par^cularly to maintain the organ
Wednesday Club : dona^ons from Club mee^ngs to be used by the Wednesday Club

These funds are classified as unrestricted because the Trustees are able to change their designaLon if thought necessary .

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

Children & Families Restricted Fund: dona^ons and grant income specifically for ministry among children and families in the parish
Church Building Improvements Fund : for specific dona^ons for the Church Building Improvements 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 : dona^ons and grant income for ministry among youth in the parish

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

INCOME

Income from church collec^ons, dona^ons and legacies is recognised when received into our bank account.
Tax recoverable on Gie Aid is recognised when the relevant income is received into our bank account.
Addi^onal relief under the Gie Aid Small Dona^ons Scheme (GASDS) is recognised when the relevant income is received into our bank account.
Income from grants is generally recognised when received.
Bank interest is recognised when received.
Income from rental of the church field is recognised when the rental is due.
Income earned from the solar panels on the church roof through the Feed-in Tariff programme is 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 ac^vi^es. Members of the congrega^on assist in ministry, administra^on and prac^cal tasks.

EXPENDITURE

The Parish Contribu^on to the Diocese of Leicester is accounted for as a cost.
Tithe dona^ons for mission, calculated at one-tenth of the Church’s income from dona^ons, Gie 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 Sec^on 10(2) (a) and (c) of the Chari^es Act 2011 and the costs of their maintenance or improvement are shown as expenditure in the accounts.
All other fixtures, fimngs and equipment are wriaen off as expenditure at the ^me of purchase.

DEBTORS

The debtors shown on the Statement of Financial Ac^vi^es for 2021 comprised:

Gie Aid tax recoverable and GASDS receipts due on dona^ons received in December 2021
Late payments for hire of the Old School Rooms
Coffee money from 2021

CREDITORS

The creditors shown on the Statement of Financial Ac^vi^es for 2021 comprised payments rela^ng to 2021 but invoiced or paid shortly aeer the end of the year, as well as the balance of our ^the gies for mission, the exact amount of which cannot be finalised un^l all dona^ons, tax recoverable through Gie Aid and relief obtained through GASDS, are established.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

2. Analysis of Income

	Income	General Fund £	Designated Funds £	Restricted Funds £	Total 2021 £	Total 2020 £
	Dona^ons 113,594 - 1,320 114,914 113,065 Tax recovery 25,398 - 330 25,728 25,744 Legacies - - - - 191 Grants 293 37 - 330 3,076 Fundraising events - - - - 350 PCC & ac^vity fees 2,657 688 180 3,525 956 Trading: hospitality, copying, use of equipment/space 269 - - 269 380 Old School Rooms rentals 1,869 - - 1,869 2,597 Interest 871 132 57 1,060 1,479 Rental of church feld 1,380 - - 1,380 1,380 Feed-in Tarif 3,449 - - 3,449 3,834
	Total 149,780 857 1,887 152,524 153,052

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2% or less
17%
76%
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Dona^ons Tax recovery Feed-in-Tariff PCC & ac^vity fees Old School Rooms rentals Rental of church field Interest Grants Trading

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

3. Analysis of Expenditure

	Expenditure	General Fund £	Designated Funds £	Restricted Funds £	Total 2021 £	Total 2020 £
	Tithe & other awards 13,899 - - 13,899 14,451 Parish Contribu^on 96,430 - - 96,430 96,430 Staf salaries/payments 14,018 - - 14,018 13,643 Clergy & staf expenses 908 119 - 1,027 1,718 Mission & evangelism 103 213 759 1,075 1,549 Church costs 14,847 7,541 - 22,388 47,902 Church u^li^es 1,511 - - 1,511 1,324 Old School Rooms 5,743 16,144 - 21,887 16,987 Governance 480 - - 480 480
	1% 4% 9% 10% 9% 65% Parish Contribu^on Tithe & other awards Church costs Staf salaries/payments Old School Rooms Church u^li^es Clergy & Staf expenses Governance Mission & Evangelism Total 147,939 24,017 759 172,715 194,484

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

4. Tithe giis for mission 2021

	Tithe giis for mission	£
	Church Pastoral Aid Society (mission in UK & Ireland) 3,475 Crosslinks (interna^onal mission) 3,197 Tearfund (interna^onal relief & development) 2,363 Link Dioceses of Mount Kilimanjaro & Kiteto, Tanzania 1,390 Mercy Air (avia^on for humanitarian aid & mission) 535 Y Advice & Support Centre, Leicester (homeless support) 463 The Carpenter’s Arms, Loughborough (drug & alcohol rehabilita^on) 463 Triangle (Chris^an outreach to homeless people in Leicester) 463 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 (Chris^an holidays for children & teenagers) 400 Church Pastoral Aid Society School Ventures (Chris^an holidays for children) 300
	Total 13,899

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

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

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

5. Trustees’ remuneraLon & benefits

Three trustees received remunera^on during 2021 from employment by Rothley Parish Church as follows:

David Hodgson, Organist fees for three funerals: £300
Ray Prince, Sound Operator fees for six funerals and two weddings: £240
Fried Sleath, Sound Operator fees for one funeral and one wedding: £60

6. Trustees’ expenses

No expenses have been incurred by trustees during 2021 in respect of their role as trustees.

7. Related party transacLons

The only related party transac^ons during 2021 are those listed under note 5.

8. Independent examinaLon 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

Rothley Parish Church employed the following staff during 2021:

Part-^me Administrator
Part-^me Premises Officer for the Old School Rooms
Part-^me Church Cleaner
4 casual employees as organist, verger and sound operators for funerals and weddings

No employees received payments of over £60,000.

10. Debtors

	Debtors	31/12/2021 £	31/12/2020 £
	Accrued Income 372 - Gie Aid & GASDS 2,141 2,056 Feed-in Tarif - 286


	Total 2,513 2,342

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

11. Creditors

Amounts falling due within one year:

	Creditors	31/12/2021 £	31/12/2020 £
	Balance of ^the 9,399 9,201 Accruals 1,582 2,180 PAYE Creditor 171 139 Agency collec^ons 729 3,342



	Total 11,881 14,862

12. Old School Rooms

	Old School Rooms	2021 £	2020 £
	Rental income 1,869 2,597

	Expenditure: U^li^es 924 976 Cleaning 2,964 2,678 Maintenance 1,791 1,369 Consumables & other costs 65 118




	Total 5,744 5,141

	OperaLng surplus / (defcit) (3,875) (2,544)

In addi^on to the rou^ne maintenance costs of £1,791, a further £1,205 from accumulated reserves, was spent on removing redundant emergency ligh^ng and repairing a brick pier at the doorway; £14,939, from the legacy and a dona^on, was spent on the following refurbishment work:

Internal and external pain^ng
New carpet
New chairs
No^ce boards, clocks, radiator covers
Washing and relaying pa^o

Rental income was, again, affected by COVID-19 restric^ons during the first half of the year, so we were able to take advantage of this to complete the refurbishment during the summer months. From September, use of the hall by church groups and outside hirers restarted.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

13. Old School Rooms Maintenance Fund

	Old School Rooms Maintenance Fund	2021 £	2020 £
Income: Bank Interest 31 78 Total income: 31 78

Expenditure: Non-rou^ne repairs 1,205 11,770 Refurbishment 14,939 - Equipment - 75 Ofce computer upgrade - 87 Total expenditure 16,144 11,932

Surplus/(Defcit) (16,113) (11,854) Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) 6,216 20,000 Transfer from General Fund (Old chairs for use in church) 180 313 Balance brought forward at 1 January 9,785 1,326 Balance at 31 December 68 9,785

At its mee^ng on 10[th] May 2021, the PCC agreed to allocate a further £6,000 from the legacy to the Old School Rooms Maintenance Fund to complete the refurbishment of the hall and yard (see Note 12). 36 chairs were moved to the church building for use when needed and a nominal amount of £5 per chair was transferred from the General Fund. The Business Commiaee of the PCC agreed on 12[th] January 2022, but to be effec^ve on 31[st] December 2021, to allocate an addi^onal £216 from the legacy to cover a small overspend on the original round-figure es^mate for the refurbishment. The project has ensured the hall remains in a good state of presenta^on and repair.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

14. Church Building Improvements Fund

	Church Building Improvements Fund	2021 £	2020 £
Income: £ Bank interest 16 38 Total income: 16 38

Expenditure: Audio-visual equipment 4,520 21,504 Architect’s fees - 690 Total expenditure 4,520 22,194

Surplus/(Defcit) (4,504) (22,156) Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) 4,520 22,303 Balance brought forward at 1 January 5,142 4,995 Balance at 31 December 5,158 5,142

Further purchases, totalling £4,520, were made from the legacy to cover addi^onal items required for the audio-visual system:

Laptop and basic soeware
Soeware for live streaming services
Two screens for the chancel
A stool for the vision operator

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

15. Church Maintenance Fund

	Church Maintenance Fund	2021 £	2020 £
Income: £ Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme - 1,038 Bank interest 34 60 Total income: 34 1,098

Expenditure: Non-rou^ne repairs 2,734 11,328 Total expenditure 2,734 11,328

Surplus/(Defcit) (2,700) (10,230) Transfer to OSR Maintenance Fund (Old chairs for use in church) (180) - Transfer from General Fund (Legacy) - 4,665 Balance brought forward at 1 January 10,724 16,289 Balance at 31 December 7,844 10,724

£2,734 was spent on small tables for the church and the replacement of a corroded gas pipe running from the meter through the wall to the supply inside the building. £180 was transferred to the OSR Maintenance Fund as a token payment for 36 chairs to be used in the church when needed.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

16. Heritage Events Fund

	Heritage Events Fund	2021 £	2020 £
Income: £ Bank interest 3 6 Total income: 3 6

Expenditure: Organ Centenary Concert 213 - Total expenditure 213 -

Surplus/(Defcit) (210) 6 Balance brought forward at 1 January 1,087 1,081 Balance at 31 December 877 1,087

A concert was held in church to mark the centenary of the church organ, built in 1921 as a memorial to those from the village who died in the Great War, 1914 to 1918.

17.Organ & Music Fund

	Organ & Music Fund	2021 £	2020 £
Income: Grants 37 312 Fundraising events by Handbell Ringers - 350 PCC wedding fees 688 - Bank interest 47 82 Total income: 772 744

Expenditure: Church costs 287 243 Equipment 119 - Total expenditure 406 243

Surplus/(Defcit) 366 501 Balance brought forward at 1 January 14,581 14,080 Balance at 31 December 14,947 14,581

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

18. Children & Families Restricted Fund

	Children & Families Restricted Fund	2021 £	2020 £
Income: Dona^ons 1,320 1,440 Gie Aid tax recovered 330 360 Ac^vity fees 180 - Bank interest 32 51 Total income: 1,862 1,851

Expenditure: Mission & evangelism 679 794 Total expenditure 679 794

Surplus / (defcit) 1,183 1,057 Transfers to General Fund (glue s^cks & pos^ng error) (9) Balance brought forward at 1 January 9,487 8,430 Balance at 31 December 10,661 9,487

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

19. 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 ligh^ng (2020) 4,665 Audio visual improvements (2021) 4,520 OSR refurbishment (2021) 6,216 Total expenditure 57,704

Balance remaining to be allocated at 31/12/21 198,232

During 2021 we have used a further £10,736 to complete the audio-visual improvements and the Old School Rooms refurbishment. A large building project in the church has been delayed by the COVID-19 restric^ons, but it is hoped that this can be progressed during 2022.

20. AddiLonal small Fund held by the Diocese of Leicester

Chancel Repair Fund

The value of the Fund at 31 December 2021 was £263 (£261 at 31 December 2020). This Fund cannot be closed.

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

to The Parochial Church Council of the EcclesiasEcal Parish of St Mary & St John, Rothley

I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2021 that are set out on pages 34 to 50.

RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES AND EXAMINER

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the prepara^on of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under sec^on 144(2) of the Chari^es Act 2011 (“the Chari^es Act”) and that an independent examina^on is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

examine the accounts under sec^on 145 of the Chari^es Act;
follow the procedures laid down in the general Direc^ons given by the Charity Commission under sec^on 145(5)(b) of the Chari^es Act; and
state whether par^cular maaers have come to my aaen^on.

BASIS OF INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT

My examina^on was carried out in accordance with the general Direc^ons given by the Charity Commission. An examina^on includes a review of the accoun^ng records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes considera^on of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explana^ons from you as trustees concerning any such maaers. 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 maaers set out in the statement below.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT

In connec^on with my examina^on, no maaer has come to my aaen^on:

which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements:
to keep accoun^ng records in accordance with sec^on 130 of the Chari^es Act; and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accoun^ng records and comply with the accoun^ng requirements of the Chari^es Act

have not been met; or

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

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22nd March 2022
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Scoa Bradford BSc ACA

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

Rothley Parish Church, Registered Charity 1133832

Annual Report & Accounts 2021

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

ANNUAL REPORT 2021

CONTENTS

VICAR’S REVIEW OF 2021

CHURCHWARDENS’ REVIEW OF 2021

COMMUNICATIONS

Pre-recorded services

Live streaming

YouTube

Website

Facebook

TwiIer

Low-tech communicaLons

OUTREACH

Evangelism

LiIle Fishes

RCMG (Rothley Church Men’s Group)

Care home links

Bereavement Support

Wednesday Club

Wednesday Lunches

CHILDREN & FAMILIES & YOUTH

Liz Sleath

DISCIPLESHIP

SEND

DISCRETIONARY GIVING

REGULAR GIVING

CHOIR AND MUSIC

Simon Murphy

Handbells

BELL RINGERS

SAFEGUARDING

CHURCH BUILDING

Ray Prince

THE OLD SCHOOL ROOMS

DEANERY AND DIOCESE

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2021

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

ACHIEVEMENTS

FINANCIAL REVIEW

FUND OVERVIEW

GENERAL FUND

GENERAL FUND INCOME

GENERAL FUND BUDGET FOR 2022

RESERVES POLICY

INVESTMENTS

FUTURE PLANS

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2021

1. AccounLng 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 2021

5. Trustees’ remuneraLon & benefits

6. Trustees’ expenses

7. Related party transacLons

8. Independent examinaLon 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. Heritage Events Fund

17.Organ & Music Fund

18. Children & Families Restricted Fund

19. Legacy received from the late Pat Foulds

20. AddiLonal small Fund held by the Diocese of Leicester

Chancel Repair Fund