2021-12-31-accounts

To know Jesus and to make Jesus known HOLY APOSTLES- CHELTENHAM Holy Apostles PCC Annual Report and End of Year Financial Statements Year ending 31 December 2021

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CONTENTS

	Page
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION	3
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT	3
STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES	4
AIMS & PURPOSES	5
PUBLIC BENEFIT	5
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE DURING 2020	6
SAFEGUARDING STATEMENT	7
CHURCH FABRIC REPORT	8
CHURCHWARDENS REPORT	9
WORSHIP	10
ANNUAL CHILDREN AND FAMILIES REPORT	12
ANNUAL YOUTH REPORT	14
HALL & COMMUNITY CAFE	15
MISSION SUPPORT	15
DEANERY SYNOD REPORT	16
FINANCIAL REVIEW 2021	18
REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT EXAMINER	19
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES	20
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2019	21
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS	22

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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) presents its annual report for the year ended 31 December 2021, together with the accounts for the year.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Holy Apostles is situated in Charlton Kings, Cheltenham. It is part of the Diocese of Gloucester, within the Church of England. Registered Charity number 1133865. Our correspondence address is: Church of the Holy Apostle, London Road, Charlton Kings, CHELTENHAM, Gloucestershire, GL52 6HW.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The structure, governance and management of Holy Apostles are determined by the rules of the Church of England, in particular the Church Representation Rules 2020. Governance is provided by the Vicar, Church Wardens, and Treasurer (the Leadership Team), along with the rest of the PCC. Day to day management is the responsibility of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), and the day to day operations are the responsibility of the SLT along with the paid Staff Team.

Membership of the PCC

Members of the PCC are elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in accordance with the Church Representation Rules 2020 or are ex-officio.

The membership of the PCC consists of the Incumbent, Churchwardens, and members elected by those members of the congregation who are on the electoral roll of the church.

The full PCC was scheduled to meet six times during the year and also held additional meetings. Due to the unprecedented events of the pandemic, the 2021 Annual Meeting agreed to permit any elected PCC members due to step down that year to extend their terms of office through to the 2022 APCM.

PCC members who have served from 9th May 2021 until the date this report was approved are:

Ex-officio	Revd Ashley Collishaw	Vicar
	Revd James White	Pioneer Minister
	Revd Rachel Beere	Curate (from June 2021)
	John Lawrence	Reader (until 1 August 2021)
	Jo Palmer	Churchwarden from 18 May 2020
	Neil Foulger	Churchwarden from 15 October 2020
Co-opted	Fiona Foulger	Treasurer
	Megan Day	PCC Secretary
Elected	Richard Simpson	Deanery Synod, 15 October 2020 - 23
	Simon Preston	Deanery Synod, 15 October 2020 - 23
	Steve Burdett	22 April 2018 – May 2022
	Megan Day	22 April 2018 – Sept 2021

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Carl Palmer 7 April 2019 – May 22 Cathy Schorah 7 April 2019 – May 22 Shelley Watts 7 April 2019 – May 22 Kath Warner 15 October 2020 - 23 Marianne Kelly 15 October 2020 - 23 Nicola Moore 15 October 2020 - 20 March 2021 Ben Collishaw (casual vacancy) 9 May 21 -23 Ruth Bull 9 May 2021 - 24

Staff Team

Day to day management of the church is delegated to the Leadership Team (Vicar, Curate, Treasurer, and wardens), and the day to day operations are the responsibility of the Leadership Team along with the Staff Team. During the year we appointed a new administrator, a verger, and two assistant vergers. We are currently in the process of appointing a Children, Family, and Youth Ministry Lead.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees (Members of the PCC) are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of Church Accounting Regulations 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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AIMS AND PURPOSES

The primary objective of the PCC is to promote the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the doctrine and practice of the Church of England. Under the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measures 1956, Holy Apostles PCC has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the church – pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has maintenance responsibilities for Holy Apostles Church building and associated property. There has been no change in the primary objective of the PCC during the year.

The parish of Holy Apostles has also adopted the following local purpose and vision statements:

Our Purpose: To know Jesus and to make Jesus known Our Vision: Our communities transformed by the love of Jesus

OBJECTIVES & ACTIVITIES

PUBLIC BENEFIT

Holy Apostles main purpose is ‘to know Jesus and make Jesus known’ and we do this in a number of ways

• Providing services of worship every Sunday which vary in style.

• Providing occasional offices (baptisms, marriages and funerals) as and when required.

• Holy Apostles also provides a number of additional groups and activities based on the needs of the different communities within our church and surrounding parish.

We seek to enable ordinary people to live out their faith within the different communities that they are a part of. We do this through

• Worship and prayer; learning about the Gospel; and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus

• Provision of pastoral care for people living in the parish.

• Missionary and outreach work.

To facilitate this work it is important that we maintain the fabric of the Church and the Church Hall, together with the Church grounds.

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ACHIEVEMENT & PERFORMANCE DURING 2021

PCC ANNUAL REPORT 2021

The year has been another year of change for the PCC with finding a new normal post Lockdowns and adapting to living with Covid 19. During this time we have been challenged to adapt to different needs. We welcomed 2 new members to the PCC in May. Over the year we had 7 PCC meetings and the PCC had a half-day looking at the vision and values and planning for the future.

1. 5 Values

Over the year the PCC spent time discussing and approving 5 values for the church which were then presented to the whole church in a preaching series in the Autumn. They were: - God Led, Spirit-Empowered, Open and Inclusive, Fully Engaged, and Always Growing.

2. COVID 19

Over the year the PCC oversaw the gradual reopening of the church for services with changing Covid restrictions. Services took place both in-person and online. At times they had to react quickly to the current situation and new government regulations. This has been a challenge balancing everyone's different wants and needs.

The PCC oversaw fully reopening the hall for hirers. Megan Day should be commended for her hard work in this area.

3. Finance report and Budget

Fiona reported back throughout the year on the financial aspect of church life. This included:

● The hall - Although we didn’t have income from the hall in the first half the year thanks to the work of Megan Day the bookings are almost now up to pre Covid levels.

• Annual Report & Accounts - Fiona reported to PCC on the Annual accounts.

• 2022 Budget - PCC approved a budget for 2022

● Giving - Fiona reported that planned giving is down due to some people having to reassess their situation during the pandemic, and some people moving on. Although several new people have joined.

● Heritage Grant- The PCC were awarded a Heritage Grant which paid for the stretch tent and to help reopen the hall.

4. Employment Review

The PCC undertook an employment review to look at the current posts we have and what we need. As part of this, the PCC agreed to employ vergers mostly for Sunday morning services. There was also a review of the employee handbook which is still ongoing.

5. Worship Services

As a PCC we looked at and approved moving to 2 worship services on a Sunday morning. For this, the congregation was surveyed and most of the feedback was positive. Therefore the PCC approved 2 services at 9 am and 10.30 am. Both these services have developed over the year to have their own distinct style. The PCC also approved plans for a Wednesday Communion Service during the day to alternate with Kaleidoscope, the weekly friendship group.

6. Pastoral Review

The PCC started to look at a review of how we manage pastoral care in Holy Apostles. The extension is to look at what pastoral care should look like in a church of our size and how we can equip people, especially homegroup leaders. It also will look at identifying crisis points where more support is needed. This is an ongoing piece of work that continues into 2022.

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7. Discipleship and Growth

As part of the lead academy sessions which the staff team attended we looked at discipleship and growth. Ash presented this to the PCC and after there was a discussion on what discipleship could mean for our church. PCC agreed to explore a concept discipleship and growth for Holy Apostles.

8. OTHER

• Christmas plans 2021

• Summer Fun Event 2021 approved

• Approved a new Data Management Policy

• Approved a new Compliments and Complaints policy and procedure.

• Formation of a Tithe Giving Group

• Approved continuing discussions with Fresh Hope, concerning thew management of the church hall Cafe

• Approved Community Garden to be set up in Church Grounds

• Ongoing consideration of Strategic intentions for the church

Megan Day (PCC Secretary)

SAFEGUARDING STATEMENT

Safeguarding is part of our core faith and an integral feature of Christian life in our parish. It is much more than a set of guidance and procedures that we need to implement. Rather it is believing and recognising that as we are all precious and made in the image of God, that we are called to create a safer environment for all.

This requires us to pay due regard and attention to the children, young people, and vulnerable adults in our parish family. It is this cohort whose welfare is always paramount and takes precedence over all other considerations.

Holy Apostles has adopted the Church of England Promoting a Safer Church Safeguarding Policy as well as the Parish Safeguarding Handbook, which details procedures and practices in all aspects of safeguarding. This is reviewed and adopted by the PCC each year with a safeguarding action plan created to support delivery of the best practice in this area, including implementing changes and developments in safeguarding as they are issued by both the Diocese and the House of Bishops.

The past year was one in which we considered how key church activities were to be delivered as we emerged from the restrictions created by the pandemic to adapting and adjusting to living with Covid 19. Safeguarding was very much in the centre of that review, particularly as we restarted face to face groups for our children, young people and vulnerable adults in our parish.

Key activities included:

• Refresh of risk assessments prior to groups meeting in person;

• Review and stock take of volunteer role descriptions and safer recruitment practice;

• Confirmation of volunteers who re-engaged in supporting our church activities, ensuring in date DBS checks were in place. There currently are 59 volunteers who require a DBS as part of the work they do in our church;

• As per Diocesan guidance, we continue to offer an online option for key elements of the DBS pathway (such as ID evidence checks) making it both easier and quicker to complete the DBS process for volunteers;

• Focus on achieving the required levels of safeguarding training for key roles in the parish, ensuring we are compliant with the national Church of England requirements in this area. There is still much more we need to do, however progress has been made, with 26 staff and/or volunteers having undertaken some level of safeguarding training;

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• Keeping safeguarding as a focus on PCC agenda and integrated in everything we do. The Electronic Parish Safeguarding dashboard is now well embedded and the PCC receives a bimonthly written report and up to date action plan to monitor how we are doing against Safeguarding requirements and best practice;

• Regular touchpoints with Diocesan Safeguarding advisors to ensure we keep abreast of and are compliant with all national and local safeguarding requirements.

For 2022, the current areas and developments underway include

• Implementing the national change from the current 5 year DBS renewal cycle to 3 yearly checks. This will mean there is a need for 18 renewal checks to be brought forward and completed by the end of 2022;

• Recruit two additional DBS evidence checkers, to ensure we have sufficient capacity to support checks in a timely way;

• Work with the Children, Families and Youth worker (when appointed) as well as current leaders to ensure Safeguarding is at the core of what we do;

• Promote Safeguarding training, to ensure full compliance by all staff and volunteers. This continues to need to be a priority for our parish particularly as the national training requirements continue to be developed and modified. This year some volunteers will be required to undertake further safeguarding training from a basic level to a foundational level. There is also a requirement for PCC trustees to complete the Raising Awareness of Domestic abuse training module. For those who are involved in recruitment of paid staff and volunteers, safer recruitment and people management training is now required.

• Continue to promote a safeguarding culture at Holy Apostles. With that in mind I would encourage anyone wanting to increase their knowledge of safeguarding to visit the Church of England safeguarding training portal at https://safeguardingtraining.cofeportal.org

• The Basic awareness training is for everyone within Church communities who want to have a better understanding of safeguarding issues and our Christian response in this important area.

Lastly, as a reminder, the parish has a dedicated email address for safeguarding issues,

[e-mail]

This email box is monitored by Candace Plouffe, Parish Safeguarding Officer to ensure confidentiality of any queries or issues that arise.

Candace Plouffe

Parish Safeguarding Officer

CHURCH FABRIC REPORT

Once again this past year, both the church building and the hall were closed for large amounts of time because of the Covid pandemic. However, this has not stopped us doing a large number of things.

• The gutters have been inspected and cleared

• We lowered the fence by the car park to improve visibility for cars leaving the site, and to give a clearer view of the church building from the road.

• New push taps and automatic hot water taps have been added to the sinks in the church toilets, and the internal lighting has been given a little extra boost. We also renewed the outside lighting but it sadly didn’t survive the various school Christmas concerts and we are currently looking at installing more heavy duty light bollards. Much of this work was made possible by the Heritage Culture Recovery Grant Scheme, which also paid for our stretch tent that proved so popular last summer.

• Drains around the Hall were flushed

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• Work was done to prevent flash flooding behind the hall

• Once again the church heating system has needed attention with major parts being replaced. A complete overhaul of the system will be needed in the near future and will be a significant financial investment.

• Sadly, the flooring of the basement “youth room” was heavily affected by damp and has been out of use since the summer. We have now had a completely new floor installed with full damp-proofing to maintain its condition for years to come. There is still some work to do on the stairs before the room can be put back to use, and this will be done in the next few months.

• The hedges have been kept trimmed and many volunteers have put in their time to keep the grounds looking good including Sue Watson, Tim Watson, Candace Plouffe and Jo Young. Special thanks once again are due to Dean Palmer who has put in huge amounts of work mowing the grass.

• ● The trees have had their annual inspection

• A large team of volunteers did an amazing job of cleaning the church in advance of Christmas services.

• Ed Foulger and Steve Burdett have worked at various points in the year to keep the audiovisual system working. It is now nearly fourteen years old and is showing signs that it may soon need replacement or at least significant updating which would be a costly exercise.

Thank you to all those who have continued to care for the church in such practical ways.

Suyi Osawe continues to volunteer by hoovering the Church building. Thank you so much Suyi!

Neil Foulger & Jo Palmer (Wardens)

CHURCHWARDENS REPORT

Once again we have had an unusual year as a church - our Sunday worship ranging from purely online all the way through to in-person services with no formal restrictions.

During this time - as always - volunteers have generously given their time and gifts in service of our church family. Serving has required huge flexibility as the importance of community has remained vital whilst life has not yet returned to ‘normal’. On this note, a huge thanks to all the teams who have been operating during this year including the small group leaders, pastoral care team, men’s and women’s ministry teams, children’s and youth teams and Sunday morning service teams. Thank you for your faithfulness and love.

It has been another year of change for our staffing. In the summer we said goodbye to our Youth Worker and Facilities Manager Jon Bull, and at the end of the year our Children and Families Worker Beanie Farrimond. We cannot express enough our gratitude for all they have contributed to the life of HA over many years. Ed Foulger and Fliss Dye have been brilliant as our Verger and Assistant Verger (supported when needed by Ben Collishaw) working hard to ensure Sunday mornings run smoothly. We have also had cause to celebrate the arrival of our curate Rachel Beere who has already made a significant impact. It is a joy and a gift to have Rachel as part of the team.

A special mention should be made to Megan Day. Working as HA’s Church Administrator she also volunteers in many teams. She is a marvellous blessing. Equally, Fiona Foulger (our incredible Treasurer and member of the Leadership Team) continues to dedicate her time, wisdom and love in buckets.

God bless. Neil Foulger & Jo Palmer (Wardens)

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WORSHIP

There are currently 177 members (160 members 2020) on the church Electoral Roll. For much of the early part of 2021 we found ourselves in lockdown again with worship limited to online services. Following Easter we tentatively began regular Sunday mornings and by the summer we made the long-anticipated decision to move to two-morning services. In some ways, this seemed counter-intuitive as numbers attending were much lower than pre-pandemic, but it has proved to be a good decision. The two services continue to grow and have allowed social distancing to be possible for those who are more vulnerable. The services have also enabled us to hear some new voices teaching and preaching. Huge thanks must be given to Tim Watson for his impressive work in establishing the 9 am service, and a huge thank you to Dom and his team who are now covering two-morning services rather than one.

One of the highlights of the summer was the move to hold all-age services outside, when the weather allowed, which initially was a Covid necessity, but became a preference. We will revisit these outdoor services in 2022.

Toward the end of the year, we added an evening service at 7 pm, for a creative, reflective time of worship. It is early days for these services but they are starting to find their feet, along with a real sense of God’s presence. During the week we have continued, where possible, to broadcast live Coffee Morning Prayer on Facebook, and we are currently working on how best to live stream our Sunday morning services on YouTube. Prayer has been something of a focus this past year, starting with the prayer course in the lead up to Easter, and in addition, Rachel has led zoom prayers on Tuesday mornings.

Ashley

Music

It’s been a strange year but with a surprising number of positive things to report, looking back. It has been great to welcome back to the dais more of our family of musicians as restrictions have allowed, and working with the team has created some memorably lovely musical and worshipful moments.

We have restarted regular band practices on alternate Tuesday evenings which has given us a chance to refamiliarise ourselves with the pleasure of playing together. We have added a few new songs to our repertoire as well as revisiting and revitalising some more familiar gems.

The new 9 am service has developed and grown and a number of our musicians have contributed to its distinct musical identity, for which I am very grateful.

Our music equipment has served us well, with the Nord keyboard donated during the pandemic proving a versatile base for our band. The organ continues to delight on a weekly basis with the array of sounds it can produce and its ability to lead strong congregational hymn-singing.

Huge thanks are due to the wonderful team of committed and talented musicians who turn out each week, sometimes before 9 am, to enhance our worship. We are always very keen to welcome new members to our friendly and capable team – to find out more, do come and have a chat after any Sunday service or email [e-mail].

Dominic Hamilton

Small Groups

It is always difficult in a church of our size to find ways of connecting, and it’s virtually impossible to know everybody. Because of this we encourage every Holy Apostles member to be part of a small group. We believe that in a healthy church most of the pastoral care is done through the mutual support of natural

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friendships, and it is the duty of all Christians to care for each other. Because of this our small groups are the primary point of connection and pastoral care within the wider congregation.

The past year has continued to look quite different for small groups at Holy Apostles. Ongoing times of lockdown, restrictions, and people’s natural caution have led to a mix of approaches from groups. Some have met physically, some have continued for much of the time on zoom, but towards the end of the year normality was returning for most.

Our small groups are led by a team of wonderful volunteers who host and facilitate gatherings. They range from the studious to the social, with a large dollop of prayer, and above all huge amounts of mutual support and love. We are incredibly grateful to the group leaders for making all of this possible and for continuing to care for their group members during such hard times.

In the coming year we will need to form new small groups to cope with a growing congregation and will also be developing training for leaders to enable this.

Ashley & Rachel

Alpha

The Alpha course began on 18th January until 15th March. We had to start this online initially due to covid considerations. We ended up having four weeks online and four weeks in person with food, film and discussion groups. Nineteen people signed up for Alpha. We had three discussion

groups, one for those who were spiritually seeking and asking questions and two for those who had faith but wanted to explore further and go deeper. Of the nineteen sign-ups, three dropped out, which is quite normal for an Alpha Course. We used the Alpha Film Series for the talks, which is high quality and accessible to all, and the guests appreciated it. The Alpha Team was made up of 12 generous members of Holy Apostles. We had a fantastic catering team, and the group leaders and worship leaders were excellent. The Alpha Away Day took place at Harnhill on Saturday 5th March. The location and facilities were excellent, and I recommend using them again.

We are currently offering a post- Alpha group for those who would like to continue meeting without a meal until 12th April.

Our next Alpha Course begins on Wednesday 5th October 2022.

Rachel

Summer Fun Event

Last Summer we hosted a very successful Summer Fun Event. This event drew lots of people from the local community and was an opportunity for us to build awareness of all that we offer.

We hosted around 450 people, with a free hog-roast, coffee, craft activities, bouncy castle, and lots of fun for all the family. A huge thank you to Jem Maynard Watts for entertaining everyone. As part of the event we were able to run a simple survey to help assess the future development of our hall and cafe.

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Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is a twice-monthly social gathering in the church hall for parishioners and the wider community. It is led by Vic Thomas and Gill Ford, with a supporting team of helpers (Chris Coxhead, Sarah Johnson, Sarah Naylor, Sue Watson and Andrea Thomas). The meetings are informal, with an entertainment session followed by tea and cake. Due to the pandemic, the first meeting of 2021 was in July – a ‘Strawberries and Cream’ afternoon tea on the church lawn.

This successful event was followed by three Wednesday afternoon meetings (on the first and third Wednesdays of September and October), followed by a break due to increasing risks associated with Covid. On December 15, however, we were able to re-start and host a turkey Christmas dinner with chestnut stuffing, wine and crackers.

Each meeting is different in content (hence the name!), and so far, we have had sessions as widely varied as ‘Desert Island Discs’ (with Ashley as guest), a ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire?’ quiz, a film of ‘English Musical Traditions’, an ‘Afternoon of Song’ (with guest Howard Naylor), and a Power-point presentation with photos from Vic and Andrea’s many visits to Brazil. More recently, Tim Watson delighted us with his interesting and often humorous experiences during his fifty years in the Anglican ministry.

Although Kaleidoscope is mostly secular in content, it has long been hoped to complement Kaleidoscope with a short Communion Service on alternate weeks. Since March, these services are now being held in church on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.

Although we do not have a subscription fee, attendees are encouraged to bring items for Cheltenham Food Bank, or to donate to ’Anna Chaplaincy’ (a charity which supports elderly people).

Vic Thomas

ANNUAL CHILDREN AND FAMILIES’ REPORT

In 2021 after 10 years Beanie Farrimond stepped down as our children and family worker. Over that time, she grew an amazing team of volunteers and helped many families and children grow their faith. We wish her and her family the very best and thank her for her service to Holy Apostles Church.

Sunflowers - We restarted Sunflowers after lockdown lifted in the Spring term. Several of our families returned and we were able to welcome new families. We changed to having one session from 2 sessions due to Covid restrictions and being unable to clean toys between groups. In December we made the difficult decision to temporarily close due to a lack of

volunteers. Over the years Sunflowers was hugely important to many families and we would like to thank Carmel, Miriam and Beanie for their hard work and commitment over the years. We hope to restart this in some form once we have appointed a Children, Families and Youth Ministry Lead.

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Sunday Mornings - We have currently had to reduce the number of children's groups to 2. We now have a combined Creche and Mini Club which is from birth to preschool and have combined Sunday Club infants and juniors into one group. This has meant several challenges, especially balancing the different needs of the different age groups. We continue to review this and we would like to restart Mini club and Infants and Juniors when volunteers allow.

We would like to thank our volunteers who enable these groups to take place

Creche and Mini Club: Anna Sharpe, Anna Misslebrooke, Sharlene Davidson-Lamb, Charlotte Cumming-Bruce, Alison Ellis, Ali Howes, Rachel McCauley and Chloe Scargill.

Sunday Club: Oriel Wilson, Yasmin Alfarez, Megan Day, Tara Morris, William Cumming-Bruce, Emma Bennet and Candace Plouffe

Experience Easter Outdoors - Beanie did a wonderful job putting together the Experience Easter resources and gathering a team of volunteers to record videos to enable Experience Easter Outside to happen outside in the grounds of the church using QR codes.

Open the Book - The Open the Book team continued online at the beginning of the year with the team recording the introduction and conclusion. Holy Apostles School have done an amazing job with recording the main stories. We then returned to school in September briefly when regulations lifted. However, we then had to return online in October. We would like to thank the team: Roger Cummings, Megan Day, Ben and Raffaela Goodman, Martin Southgate, Richard Simpson and Caroline Martin. Also all the Children and Staff of Holy Apostles School who made it possible for this to happen.

Light Party - It was wonderful to host a Light Party this year, which followed a Messy Church format, and then ended on a high with Sparklers and Hot Dogs.

Links with Holy Apostles School - We have maintained good links with Holy Apostles School and it was wonderful to welcome them back for their Harvest Festival in October for the first time since before lockdown. Ash continues to go in regularly for collective worship and Rachel attended the Carol service and led the prayers.

Messy Church:

Messy Church runs on the second Sunday of each month at 4 pm. We have fun for all ages as we unpack a theme through crafts and activities run by an amazing team of volunteers. After Covid restrictions started to lift Messy Church resumed. Messy Church is now following a more service-based model where everyone sits together. Initially, this was due to Covid requirements of social distancing. We have continued with this model as this means that families get a special time to worship together and means we can operate with a smaller team. However, once we appoint a new Children, Family, and Youth Ministry Lead this may change.

We look forward to welcoming a new Children, Families and Youth Ministry Lead.

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ANNUAL YOUTH REPORT

FROG

FROG (Full Reliant On God) group is for young people in school years 6, 7 and 8 who come into church. At the moment we are including those in year 5 so as to more evenly divide the age groups with Sunday Club having one group for reception to year 4. We meet on Sunday mornings during the 10.30 service except for 3rd Sundays in the month which is the All Age Service, averaging 8 young people each Sunday.

It would be good to be able to restart the Saturday evening meetings for fun and fellowship but we do not have enough volunteers to run these evenings. We do however have a wonderful team of volunteers who take the Sunday morning sessions, namely Stephen Appleton, Margaret Clifford, Alex Collishaw, Chris Coxhead, Sasha Kelly and Nikki Seville. Backed up by Vic Thomas with prayer and Ed Foulger who was helping on a regular basis but now helps for occasional extra events such as outings.

In December we did manage to get our ice skating trip and do the first part of making the Christingles however Covid prevented the group completing the Christingles. This did not matter as it became a DIY kit for children to make their own Christingles at the service. FROG group have also made the posies for Mothering Sunday and will run a stall at the fundraiser for Ukraine.

We continue to sponsor Paul in Uganda through Compassion and have sent Christmas and birthday messages and made friendship bracelets in the colour of the Ugandan flag which Paul could share with his friends.

God has blessed us with a wonderful group of young people and I pray that we can continue to rebuild following the disruption of Covid.

Margaret Clifford

HAY

Holy Apostles Youth (HAY) aims to provide for our young people aged 13-18. This is an important and challenging period of growing up, and we want to be a church that shows Jesus’ love to this group through the joys and pressures that this stage of life brings. It is a cliché, but our youth are the church’s future. As with so many aspects of church life it has been an odd year for HAY. We ran virtual sessions throughout the year’s various lockdowns, running quizzes and also studying the Beatitudes through Mark Scandrette’s ‘Ninefold Path’ We also ran a number of ad hoc, in-person social events when circumstances permitted. Since September we have returned to weekly, in-person Sunday evening meetings, gathering for an hour in the church hall for socialising, snacks and a light-touch study of biblical themes.

Throughout the year, it has been a challenge to attract and retain consistent attendance. We think there are a range of factors in play here - including Zoom fatigue, and establishing a stable schedule that works for the majority of our young people. We are making further changes this term: shifting to longer HAY sessions on Saturday evening, including pizza, which we hope will encourage attendance!

We also want to pay tribute to Jon Bull, who moved on from his role as Youth Minister in 2021, after years of faithful service to Holy Apostles. He touched the lives of many of our young people, showing them Jesus’ love through his ministry and the great relationships he formed. We look forward to a new Children, Youth and Family Ministry Lead being recruited to lead our efforts this year.

Anna Swan, Ash Collishaw, Simon Preston & Sue Nelson

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HALL & COMMUNITY CAFE

For much of the year the hall and café had to be closed. Throughout the summer this was mitigated by the use of a stretch tent canopy in the grounds of the church along with the purchase of four picnic tables. On Tuesdays in particular we offered coffee, tea and cake for free to enable church members and others to gather at a time when meeting together indoors was difficult.

Towards the end of the summer we began a conversation with the Fresh Hope charity, who set up the school house cafe at St Paul’s, to consider whether there was a possibility of developing a partnership around our community cafe. These discussions are ongoing.

Ash

MISSION SUPPORT

Holy Apostles is committed to a Biblical model of giving 10% (known as a tithe) of its regular donated income away. During 2021 we made some changes to the way we distribute this “mission support”. Giving is part of the normal life of the whole church and as such we wanted to find a way of deciding how the church gives its money away that engages the full membership as far as possible. Up until 2021 our mission giving was basically in the form of support for a small number of main charities. If our income increased our giving to them increased, if our income went down so did the money we gave them, but each year we pretty much supported just those same charities. We decided to continue to have a group of main charities that we would give to but would set a limit on what each would get in order to release a “pot” that could be given flexibly in one-off donations during the year to other charities we had connection to.

The PCC authorised a “Mission Sub-group” which consisted of two elected PCC members, (this coming year it will expand to also include two established church members selected by the PCC reps). This group then encouraged all church members who wanted to submit suggestions for possible charities to receive one-off gifts. The Mission Support Sub-Group operates within the following guidelines:

• At the start of each year the treasurer sets a total budget for the group to distribute in that year.

• The group doesn’t make any on-going commitments, only one-off gifts

• Each year the PCC reviews all ongoing gifts to approve continuation and/or increase/decrease, taking into account any recommendation from the sub-group

• The group can make one-off gifts of up to £500.

• We aim to strike a balance between international and local initiatives.

• No single organisation can receive more than 15% of the total annual giving budget and at least 33% of the annual giving should remain uncommitted at the start of each year and available to be distributed to recipients who do not receive ongoing gifts from HA.

• Holy Apostles’ good name should not be brought into question by association with any of the recipients.

Over the course of the year, since the last APCM, Holy Apostles church has been able to make gifts to a number of charities and recipients on behalf of the church family from our “tithe” giving.

Cheltenham Youth for Christ, Barnabas Fund, and Bishop Mathayo received larger amounts.

We were also able to give to Care for the Family, Tear Fund, Mercy Ships, Sue Ryder, Nelson Trust, Esperanza Foster Home (via South American Mission Society), and the Cornerstone Centre.

Marianne Kelly and Cathy Schorah

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The Diocese of Lake Rukwa , Tanzania, led by Bishop Mathayo, is twice the size of Wales. We have supported the Mothers Union with knitting machines and provided finance to purchase brick making equipment and training which has supported the building of the new Cathedral. Sadly the country is being ravaged by Covid 19 and death in the parish is an almost daily occurrence. Medical resources are scarce. Please pray for them.

Youth for Christ Youth for Christ is about seeing young people’s lives changed by Jesus. Working with young people across the county in schools, community groups and churches through the provision of clubs, mentoring, leadership training, church support and evangelism training. www.yfc.co.uk

Barnabas Fund is an organisation which enables Christians in rich countries like ours to financially and prayerfully support our brothers and sisters undergoing often unbelievable hardships (including martyrdom) in other areas of the world. Of particular note, this past year has seen an escalation of extreme violence in Northern Nigeria and neighbouring countries; a war involving Christian Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh; and continued attacks on Burmese Christian ethnic groups by the Myanmar military. All this, and Covid is affecting Christians everywhere.

Cornerstone Whaddon - https://www.cornerstonecentre.org.uk/

Care for the Family - https://www.careforthefamily.org.uk/

Tearfund - https://www.tearfund.org/

Mercy Ships - https://www.mercyships.org.uk/

Sue Ryder - https://www.sueryder.org/

Nelson Trust - https://nelsontrust.com/

Esperanza Foster Home (via South American Mission Society) - Please talk to Penny and Murray Metcalfe to find out more about this project.

DEANERY SYNOD REPORT

Deanery planning

Deanery planning is happening across all nine Gloucester Diocesan Deaneries and the aim is to discern how we can work together more effectively to reduce our reliance on stipendiary ministers and have a greater laity involvement. Ecumenically, we are currently only impacting 5% of the population of Cheltenham, the challenge is how we reach out to the other 95% so they too can hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. Revd Gary Grady, Area Dean for Cheltenham, has sent questionnaires to every parish in the area to discover future priorities and areas for cooperation. Every parish responded and the findings are as follows:

• The age profile across the area is predominantly 60+;

• most parishes have difficulty in finding volunteers for PCCs and other posts;

• Cheltenham is changing with a significant number of new houses and the cyber park resulting in more people;

• we are not using resources efficiently or for outreach;

• we are usually working well together;

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• we are all called to follow the gospel, to use our resources effectively and to make Jesus Christ the centre of our lives;

• the fishing stories from the gospels show Jesus trusting himself to Peter and Peter trusting himself to Jesus, by casting the nets from the other side of the boat, Jesus’ instruction is to try something new;

• we must consider the diversity of Cheltenham, our ecumenical partners and the existence of poverty;

• what is God saying to us?;

• we must challenge our finances and our dependence on Clergy

• Cheltenham Area Dean, Gary Grady, has issued a clarion call to his area: ‘I believe that we are at a crossroads. We have opportunities to reshape, to consider what shape we need for the coming generations. The start is not about money but about where we are now and our relationships.’

Environmental Officers

Parishes are encouraged to appoint an Environmental Officer. The environment is perhaps THE challenge of our time. How we respond and act as a Deanery is really important. There are eco awards to apply for, frameworks which will help rethink how we do things, and there is a lot of information online. Ken Syme will take on the role of Environmental Officer for the Deanery and will be thinking about how he can support the churches in the area.

Living in Love and Faith: a workshop series for parishes in the Church of England

‘Living in Love and Faith’ is a basket of resources developed and produced by the Church of England, intended for use amongst church parishes. It is concerned with Christian teaching about identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage and its content draws on the Bible and theology, but also more widely from sociology, biology, science and history. The materials bring a completely fresh perspective to a difficult and controversial area. It seeks to consult the whole church and it invites the whole church to feedback its convictions and perspectives to the House of Bishops and the General Synod. For the Church of England, this is a radical way of seeking to listen to, and then to be influenced by, the membership of the church throughout the country. The project consists of a series of five workshops, supported by a book, podcasts, videos, booklets, and a large library of other resources. Parishes are invited to get involved and to run the workshop series within their respective churches.

Simon Preston and Richard Simpson, Deanery Synod Representatives for Holy Apostles

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FINANCIAL REVIEW 2021

Receipts

Unrestricted income from Donations and Grants (Note 2.1) totalled £153,672 in 2021, ( £172,645 in 2020) of which £146,397 was from Unrestricted Planned Giving, including Gift Aid. (£153,524 in 2020) . Ad hoc, general donations of £4,731 were received, compared to £17,241 in 2020, both including applicable Gift Aid. We did have £13,500 of very generous donations specifically towards replacing the boiler, preferably with an eco solution. (Table 8) A huge thank you to all our financial givers. You are so appreciated, and so vital for the ministry of Holy Apostles.

In addition, £30,870 was received as a one-off, non recurring grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to aid Cultural recovery after Covid. Some of this may be returnable, currently we are awaiting confirmation of our eligibility to keep the full amount. (Note 2.2)

Our income from Charitable Activities (Note 2.2) included £12,526 of grants from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, (£23,841 in 2020) and £23,664 income from the cafe, Hall and Church hire. Out of the income from Church and Hall hire, £13,077 was designated by the PCC to pay for the urgent basement repairs in the Hall. (In 2020, combined income from Church and Hall hire and the cafe was £16,998)

In summary, (Note 2) our total unrestricted receipts for 2021 were £177,312, with a further £13,077 designated income. (£214K. In 2020 )

Expenditure

£186,021 was spent from Unrestricted funds to provide the Christian ministry of Holy Apostles Church. This includes full staff costs which were in fact greatly reduced by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, shown as Income from Charitable Activities (see above, and Note 2.2). At the end of 2021, General Reserves stood at £22,754 , with Designated reserves at £8,753 and with Restricted Reserves standing at £ 47,169.

Reserves policy

It has always been PCC policy to try to maintain a balance on free reserves (net current assets) which equates to at least three months unrestricted payments. It is traditionally held to smooth out fluctuations in the cash flow, to meet emergencies and to ensure we can meet our obligations to our paid employees. We have been through unprecedented times, and due to some very generous people and the assistance of the HLF, Covid support grant, Gift aid reclaim and Employers NI reduction, I am pleased to report that we have not required any loans and have managed to stay in a stable financial position. I am however greatly troubled by the fall in Planned Giving, which is in normal times the mainstay of our funding.

Fiona Foulger (Honorary Treasurer)

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF HOLY APOSTLES CHURCH, CHELTENHAM YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2021 which are set out on pages 20-30.

RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES AND EXAMINER

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider than an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

• examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act,

• to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and

• to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

BASIS OF INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. 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 matters set out in the next statement.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S STATEMENT

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

• (1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:

• to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and

• to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act

have not been met; or

• (2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Sheila Parry FCCA

Sheila Parry FCCA SPX Oxford Ltd Peace House Oxford OX1 1LD

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (SOFA)

	**Unrestricted **	Designated	Restricted	Total	Prior year
£
	funds	funds	funds	funds	total funds
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies	153,672	0	46,596	200,267	183,787
Income from charitable activities	23,603	13,077	0	36,680	41,250
Other trading activities	0	0	0	0	0
Investments	17	0	0	17	99
Other income	0	0	0	0	0
Total income	177,293	13,077	**46,596 **	236,965	225,135
Expenditure on:
Raising funds	800	0	0	800	0
Expenditure on charitable activities	185,221	4,324	23,033	212,578	209,252
Other expenditure	0	0	0	0	0
Total expenditure	186,021	4,324	**23,033 **	213,378	209,252
Net income / (expenditure) resources
before transfer	-8,728	8,753	23,562	23,587	15,883
Transfers:
Gross transfers between funds - in	250	0	0	250	0
Gross transfers between funds - out	0	0	-250	-250	0
Net movement in funds	-8,478	8,753	23,312	23,587	15,883
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward	31,232	0	23,857	55,089	39,205
Total funds carried forward	22,754	8,753	47,169	78,676	55,089

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Explanation of Funds

Unrestricted Funds: these are Donations (planned or ad-hoc) which have been given to Holy Apostles to be used at the discretion of the trustees to further any of the charity’s purposes. Designated funds are put aside by the PCC for a specific purpose. In 2021, it became clear that the Hall would need significant remedial work on the basement, and the PCC decided to use funds from hiring out the hall to ensure we had enough money to meet this essential expenditure.

Restricted Funds: these are Donations (planned or ad-hoc) given to be used for a specific purpose. Funds currently are Hall Survey Grant, Hall life Tithe, Kaleidoscope, (including Long Table), Youth Ministry and Men’s/Women’s ministry. In 2020, Family Space was added.

Transfers: The only transfer of funds in 2021 was for the balance of the Family Space 2020 Christmas donations.

BALANCE SHEET

Current assets		2021	2020-
	Bank current account	30,978	23,956
	Bank deposit account	43,384	24,773
	Bank current account - cafe	0	5,711
	Debtors	7,697	7,015
	Total Current assets	82,059	61,455
Liabilities
	Agency collections	238	0
	Creditors	3,145	6,366
	Total Liabilities	3,383	6,366
	Net Asset surplus (deficit)	78,676	55,089
	Represented by Funds
	General (Unrestricted)	22,754	31,232
	Designated	8,753	0
	Restricted	47,169	23,857
	Total	78,676	55,089

Seen by the PCC on 26 April 2022 and signed on its behalf by Revd Ashley Collishaw: 26 April 2022

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Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparation of financial statements

The basis of preparation of these accounts is in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015), and in accordance with SORP. They have been prepared in accordance with applicable charity law in the jurisdiction of registration. The primary objective of the charity is to promote the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the doctrine and practice of the Church of England. The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s). Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Grants have been added as Income to comply with FRS 102.

It is considered that there are no material uncertainties which might cast significant doubt on our ability to continue as a going concern.

The Church is a registered charity in England and Wales. The Trustees are the members of the PCC named on pages 1 and 2.

Fund Accounting

PCC funds are required to be analysed under specific headings, as follows:

General funds represent the ‘free’ funds of the PCC that are not subject to any restriction regarding their use and are available for application for the general purposes of the PCC.

Designated funds are earmarked by the PCC for particular purposes but are nevertheless still unrestricted as the PCC can re-designate the funds if it wishes.

Restricted funds are funds collected or donated for a particular purpose and cannot be used by the PCC for any other purpose except by agreement with the donor.

The funds of the PCC have been appropriately analysed and the statement of financial activities has been prepared in accordance with this analysis.

Income

All income is included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Income received by way of grants, donations and gifts and is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable. Grants, where entitlement is not conditional on the delivery of a specific performance by the charity, are recognised when the charity becomes unconditionally entitled to the grant.

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Expenditure

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure represents amounts invoiced, including value added tax which cannot be recovered.

Fixed Assets

Consecrated land and buildings and moveable church furnishings

Consecrated property, including Holy Apostles Church hall, is excluded from the accounts by S10(2) (a & c) of the Charities Act 2011. No value is attributed to moveable church furnishings held by the Churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal since the PCC considers this to be inalienable property. All expenditure incurred during the year on buildings and moveable church furnishings, whether for maintenance or improvement, is written off as expenditure in the SOFA and separately disclosed.

Other fixtures, fittings and office furniture

Routine replacements and renewals to the projection, computer and sound equipment systems are written off as expenditure in the SOFA. Other equipment purchases of under £1,000 are also written off as expenditure in the SOFA.

Current Assets

Amounts owing to the PCC at the year-end in respect of tax reclaims and other income are shown as debts less any provision for amounts which may prove to be un-collectable.

Pensions Policy

The Church staging date, from which the PCC had to provide pensions for eligible staff was 1 January 2017. Eligible staff were joined into the Church of England Church Workers pension scheme, and pension contributions for them are included in the Staff costs.

Tax Status

As a charity, the PCC is exempt from paying income and corporation tax but does have to pay value added tax. VAT is reclaimable on eligible church maintenance work from the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme. This is shown in Non-recurring one-off grants , in the Unrestricted section.

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2 - 4 ANALYSIS OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

Note 2.1: Planned Giving, Donations, Grants and Legacies

	**Unrestricted **	**Designated **	Restricted	2021	2020
Planned giving	121,016	0	300	121,316	127,162
Gift Aid on planned giving	25,381	0	75	25,456	26,738
Loose plate collections	1,344	0	0	1,344	1,322
Donations	4,731	0	14,810	19,540	17,516
Non-recurring one-off grants	1,220	0	30,870	32,090	10,557
Men’s and Women’s Ministry	0	0	521	521	492
Other funds generated	0	0	0	0	0
Total 2021	153,692	0	46,576	200,267	-
Total 2020	172,645	0	11,142	-	183,787

Note 2.2: Income from Charitable activities

	**Unrestricted **	Designated	Restricted	2021	2020
Covid Job Retention Scheme	12,526	0	0	12,526	23,841
Fees, weddings and funerals	491	0	0	491	412
Church Hall Café	71	0	0	71	2,390
Church Hall lettings	6,158	11,932	0	18,089	12,625
Church bookings	4,358	1,145	0	5,503	1983
Total 2021	23,603	13,077	0	36,680	-
Total 2020	41,250	0	0	-	41,250

Note 2.3 Interest

£	Unrestricted	**Designated **	Restricted	2021	2020
Bank Interest	17	0	0	17	99

Note 2: Total Income (Note 2.1+2.2+2.3)

£	Unrestricted	**Designated **	Restricted	2021	2020
	177,312	13,077	46,576	236,965	225,135

Note 3: Raising funds

£		**Unrestricted **	Designated	Restricted	2021	2020
Fees	paid to fund raisers	800	0	0	800	0
Total	2021	800	0	0	800	0

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Note 4: Expenditure on charitable activities

ACTIVITIES DIRECTLY RELATING TO THE WORK THE CHURCH

£	**Unrestricted **	**Designated **	Restricted	2021	2020	Note
Parish Share	84,407	0	0	84,407	84,407
Ministry Expenses	2,788	0	0	2,788	2,017
Light, Heat and Water	4,382	0	1,400	5,782	6,568
Insurance	3,067	0	1,014	4,081	4,033
Repairs & maintenance, cleaning + churchyard	10,289	0	3,198	13,487	7,356	5
Upkeep of services	4,659	0	0	4,659	3,971
Men’s and Women’s Ministry	0	0	223	223	445
Music Expenses	2,775	0	1,622	4,397	8,098	5
Audio Visual	697	0	1,967	2,664	895
Books and study notes	229	0	0	229	124
Sunday Club / crèche	277	0	0	277	563
Youth Groups	431	0	0	431	602
Parish training and mission	1,342	0	708	2,050	250
Outreach events / courses /Long table (restr'd)	606	0	1,921	2,527	500
CHURCH MANAGEMENT
Staff salaries	37,593	0	4,845	42,438	56,202	5
Church office – administration	2,949	0	0	2,949	2,116
Sundry expenses	0	0	0	0	0
Governance costs examination/audit fee	540	0	0	540	480
GRANTS
Charities and Missions	15,431	0	1,340	16,771	15,630	6
OTHER PAYMENTS
Hall running costs	9,646	4,324	2,600	16,570	13,411	5
Hall Café Running Costs	3,113	0	2,195	5,308	1,584
TOTAL exc fundraising	185,221	4,324	23,033	212,578	209,252	4
EXPENDITURE TOTAL	186,021	4,324	**23,033 **	213,378	209,252	3+4
2020 Comparison	207,925	1,327	0	209,252
SURPLUS FOR THE PERIOD (DEFICIT)	(8,708)	8,753	23,543	23,587	15,883

Heritage Lottery Fund (Note 2.1) in Non-recurring grants

We were fortunate to receive a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, to help with re-opening after Covid, and to potentially top up our reserves, if allowable. Most of the Restricted expenditure listed is from the

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HLF - we have spent nearly £20,000 of the money given with a further c£11,000 sitting in a Restricted fund until it is clear whether we need to return the remaining money or not.

5. ANALYSIS OF STAFF COSTS

Holy Apostles is not responsible for paying clergy stipends, although we contribute to their pay through Parish Share contributions. None of the employees of Holy Apostles earned £60,000 or more during the periods ended 31 December 2021 or 31 December 2020.

All employees are involved in the provision of the objectives of Holy Apostles PCC. Within the Accounts, the cost of the Church cleaning is shown in Maintenance , while the Hall cleaning costs are in Hall running costs , and the cost of our Musical Director is charged to Music Expenses , all within Note 4. Their salary and any Employer’s NI costs are included in the following breakdown. As a “small business” we have benefitted from the Government’s Employment allowance of £5,000 per annum, hence taking us out of NI contributions entirely in 2021.

£	2021	2020
Salaries	45,018	59,006
Employer's NI costs	0	789
Employer's Pension Costs	3,014	4,789
Total Employment	48,032	66,604
HLF contribution	7,025	0
Net total employment costs	40,900	66,604

• We have also benefited greatly from the Government’s COVID support for businesses, and have been able to furlough and partially furlough to suit our needs throughout the pandemic. Our salaries and wages bill is substantially lower as a result. However, for accounting purposes, the total wages bill given here is shown without the impact of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which is shown as Income under Charitable Activities. (Note 2.2) We topped up all furloughed employees’ salaries to 100%. We have also had some staff turnover, which has lessened our Salaries bill for 2021, and for most of the year the Hall has been cleaned by contractors.

PENSION FUND - Church Workers Pension Fund (CWPF)

Holy Apostles participates in the Pension Builder Scheme section of CWPF for lay staff. CWPF is administered by the Church of England Pensions Board, which holds the CWPF assets separately from those of the Employer and other participating employers.

CWPF has two sections:

1. the Defined Benefits Scheme

2. the Pension Builder Scheme, which has two subsections;

3. a. a deferred annuity section known as Pension Builder Classic, and,

4. b. a cash balance section known as Pension Builder 2014.

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Pension Builder Scheme

Both sections of the Pension Builder Scheme are classed as defined benefit schemes.

Pension Builder Classic provides a pension, accumulated from contributions paid and converted into a deferred annuity during employment based on terms set and reviewed by the Church of England Pensions Board from time to time. Discretionary increases may also be added, depending on investment returns and other factors.

Pension Builder 2014 is a cash balance scheme that provides a lump sum which members use to provide benefits at retirement. Pension contributions are recorded in an account for each member. Discretionary bonuses may be added before retirement, depending on investment returns and other factors. The account, plus any bonuses declared is payable, unreduced, from age 65.

There is no sub-division of assets between employers in each section of the Pension Builder Scheme.

The scheme is considered to be a multi-employer scheme as described in Section 28 of FRS 102. This is because it is not possible to attribute the Pension Builder Scheme’s assets and liabilities to specific employers and means that contributions are accounted for as if the Scheme were a defined contribution scheme. The pensions costs charged to the SoFA in the year are the contributions payable (2021: £3127, 2020 : £4,789 ).

A valuation of the Pension Builder Scheme is carried out once every three years. The most recent valuation was carried out as at 31 December 2019. The next valuation is due as at 31 December 2022.

For the Pension Builder Classic section, the valuation revealed a deficit of £4.8m on the ongoing assumptions used. At the most recent annual review, the Board chose to grant a discretionary bonus of 3% following improvements in the funding position over 2021. There is no requirement for deficit payments at the current time.

For the Pension Builder 2014 section, the valuation revealed a surplus of £5.5m on the ongoing assumptions used. There is no requirement for deficit payments at the current time.

The legal structure of the scheme is such that if another employer fails, Holy Apostles could become responsible for paying a share of the failed employer’s pension liabilities.

REMUNERATION

The PCC delegates the oversight of remuneration of its staff to its Employment Action Team. The team meet annually to decide on salary increases, taking cost of living and affordability into account. There was no increase made to staff salaries in 2021, but we did ensure furloughed staff had their wages topped up to 100%.

Volunteers - Holy Apostles would not function without its invaluable team of volunteers. These cover all aspects of church life from children and youth work, to general pastoral care, technology support, music, finance and administrative maintenance.

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6. CHARITABLE GIVING

It is PCC policy to tithe budgeted (10 %), unrestricted planned giving to our mission partners. The FROG group support a Compassion child through donations, and this expenditure is included here. (Seen in the Accounts under the heading Relief and Development)

Total by PCC to charity (£)	2021 source	2021	2020
Bishop Mathayo, Lake Rukwa	Mission tithe	3,740	3,000
Cheltenham Youth for Christ	Mission tithe	3,500	3,000
Barnabas Fund	Mission tithe	3,000	3,000
Bishop Mathayo, Lake Rukwa	Ad hoc restricted donations	1,310	0
Mercy Ships	Mission tithe	1,250	0
Tearfund Afghanistan	Mission tithe	500	0
Cornerstone	Mission tithe	500	0
Care for the Family	Mission tithe	500	0
The Rock	Mission tithe	500	0
Sue Ryder	Mission tithe	500	0
American Mission Society	Mission tithe	500	0
The Nelson Trust	Mission tithe	500	0
Compassion (FROG)	Relief and Dev’t (R&D)	361	350
FX payment for Bishop Mathayo	Mission tithe	40	0
Anna Chaplaincy	Kaleidoscope (R&D)	40	0
International Justice Mission	Men's group (R&D)	30	0
Garry Ion - CMS		0	3,000
Hatherley Aid to Serbia		0	1,500
Family Space		0	1,780

Total Giving to Mission and Relief and
Development	16,771	15,630

7. TRUSTEE REMUNERATION, KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL & RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

No member of the board of trustees received any remuneration from the PCC during the year. Revd Collishaw is Chair of the Trustees and is paid by the Gloucester Diocesan Board of Finance. No trustee was paid any expenses for carrying out duties associated with being a trustee. No trustee or other person

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related to the charity had any personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into by the charity during the year.

Donations to the Church from members of the PCC and related parties totalled £33,100 in 2021 (£36,534 in 2020) excluding applicable Gift Aid returned. In addition to their financial generosity, the PCC are to be thanked for their loyalty and dedication to the ministry of Holy Apostles.

8. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BY FUNDS

Class and nominal code	General Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Total	Last year
					-
Current Assets	26,099	8,753	47,207	82,059	61,455
Current Liabilities	3,345	-	38	3,383	6,366
Net total assets	22,754	8,753	47,169	78,676	55,089
	Fund balances	Incoming	Outgoing		Fund balances
Fund				Transfers
	brought forward	Resources	Resources		Carried forward
Boiler Replacement	0	13,500	0	0	13,500
Spring Harvest Bursary	1,250	0	0	0	1,250
Family Space	250	0	0	-250	0
Hall Reordering	32	0	32	0	0
Hall Life Tithe	6,577	0	0	0	6,577
HLF Grant	0	30,870	19,518	0	11,352
Bishop Mathayo	0	1,310	1,310	0	0
Mens' Ministry	1,014	192	87	0	1,120
Repairs And Maintenance	9,313	0	0	0	9,313
Womens' Ministry	344	349	166	0	527
Youth Minister	375	375	0	0	750
Total Restricted Funds	23,855	46,596	23,034	(250)	47,168
Designated Fund (Basement)	0	13,077	4,324	0	8,753
General Fund	31,232	177,293	186,021	250	22,754
Totals	55,089	236,965	213,378	0	78,676

30

This shows the breakdown of funds at Year End. For example, the Closing balances show how much is left in each fund, eg. £1,120 as yet unspent in the Mens’ Ministry fund, £2,779 from the Lottery Grant for the Hall Survey. In 2019 we gained agreement from the Lottery Fund that the unspent donation from the Hall Survey could be used to fund Community Events where we could ask participants their views on the hall and what they would like to see happening. Our first event was the Summer Fun Day in June 2021, which was a great success in Community building, and we will repeat this year. The Hall Life tithe is the remaining third of the tithe we are donating from the sale of the land, which helped to fund the Church Hall renovation. The Hall Basement Repair fund, which was designated by the PCC from General funds is now largely spent, following the successful remedial works carried out at the start of 2022.