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← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of Lechlade

2024-12-31-accounts

Registered Charity Number 1133947

St Lawrence Church Parochial Church Council Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the

Year ended 31 December 2024

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS
INFORMATION ............................................................................................................................... 1
STRATEGIC REPORT .................................................................................................................... 2
1. BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................... 2
2 PCC MEMBERSHIP .............................................................................................................. 2
3. COMMITTEES ............................................................................................................ 2
4 CHURCH ATTENDANCE ...................................................................................................... 2
5 VICAR’S REPORT ................................................................................................................. 3
6 CHURCHWARDENS’ REPORT ............................................................................................. 4
7 SAFEGUARDING REPORT .................................................................................................. 5
8 CIRENCESTER DEANERY SYNOD ...................................................................................... 6
9 CHURCH MISSION AND MINISTRY ..................................................................................... 8
9.1 PRAYER ..................................................................................................................... 8
9.1.1
PRAYER MINISTRY ....................................................................................... 8
9.2 BIBLE STUDY GROUPS ............................................................................................ 8
9.2.1
MEN’S BIBLE STUDY ................................................................................... 8
9.2.2
EVENING STUDY AND FELLOWSHIP GROUP ............................................ 8
9.2.3
THURSDAY EVENING HOUSE GROUP ....................................................... 9
9.2.4
WOMEN’S BIBLE FELLOWSHIP .................................................................. 9
9.2.5
LENT GROUPS .............................................................................................. 9
9.2.6
‘MEN ALOUD OUT’ ....................................................................................... 9
9.3 ST. LAWRENCE YOUTH AND CHILDREN’S MINISTRY ........................................... 9
9.3.1
REGULAR DISCIPLESHIP: ........................................................................... 9
9.3.2
COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND HOLIDAY CLUB ...................................... 10
9.3.3
LITTLE LIGHTS. PRAM SERVICE/ BABY AND TODDLER PLAY GROUP11
9.4 SOUTH COTSWOLD TEAM YOUTH MINISTRY ...................................................... 11
9.4.1
SCHOOL’S WORK ....................................................................................... 11
9.4.2
SUNDAY SERVICES ................................................................................... 11
9.4.3
OTHER YOUTH WORK ............................................................................... 12
9.5 ST. LAWRENCE SCHOOL ....................................................................................... 12
9.5.1
OPEN THE BOOK........................................................................................ 13
9.6 MOTHERS’ UNION ................................................................................................... 13
9.7 MUSIC ...................................................................................................................... 14
9.7.1
ST LAWRENCE CHURCH CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT ............................... 14
9.8 WORLD CHURCH COMMITTEE .............................................................................. 15
10 CHURCH SUPPORT TO MINISTRY .................................................................................... 16
10.1
PROJECT INSPIRE ..................................................................................... 16
10.1.1 FUNDING ..................................................................................................... 16

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Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

10.2
ECO CHURCH GROUP ............................................................................................ 16
10.3
CHURCHYARD MAINTENANCE ............................................................................. 17
11 FINANCIAL AND OTHER STATUTORY INFORMATION ................................................... 17
11.1
STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES ................................................. 17
11.2
RISK MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................... 18
11.3
RESERVES POLICY ................................................................................................ 18
11.4
VOLUNTARY HELP ................................................................................................. 18
11.5
TRANSACTIONS AND FINANCIAL POSITION ....................................................... 19
11.6 GOING CONCERN ASSESSMENT .......................................................................... 19
12 INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT TO THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF
LECHLADE.......................................................................................................................... 20
Statement of Financial Activities ...................................................................................... 21
Statement of Financial Activities ...................................................................................... 23
Balance sheet (Separate funds) ........................................................................................ 25
Notes to the Accounts ....................................................................................................... 27

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

INFORMATION

Parish Vicar Revd Dr Andrew Cinnamond Churchwardens Paul Cobb Susan Holmes Parochial Church Council Richard Akroyd Richard Bell Nigel Jones Denver Keegan PCC Secretary Vicky Jones PCC Treasurer Deanery Synod Representatives Samuel Ming Lynda Wright Bankers Barclays Bank Plc Lloyds Bank Plc Independent Examiner J M Russell Chartered Accountant Charity The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Lechlade, Charity number: 1133947 Address Church Cottage Market Place LECHLADE Gloucestershire GL7 3AB

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

STRATEGIC REPORT

1. BACKGROUND

St Lawrence Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of co-operating with the Parish Vicar, the Revd. Andrew Cinnamond, promoting in the parish, the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelical and social. It also has maintenance responsibilities for the church building, Church Cottage, and the investment property.

2 PCC MEMBERSHIP

Members of the PCC who are also trustees of the charity for the purposes of the Charities Act 2011 are either ex-officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting, and in accordance with the Church Representation Rules are elected for a three-year period.

The following served as Members of the PCC during the year:

Parish Vicar Revd Dr Andrew Cinnamond Curate Revd Dr Gareth Griffith Churchwardens Paul Cobb Susan Holmes

Representatives of the Deanery Synod and therefore Ex-officio Members

Samuel Ming Lynda wright

Coopted Members Vicky Jones (PCC Secretary) David Williams (PCC Treasurer) Elected Members Richard Bell Richard Akroyd Paul Cobb Nigel Jones Denver Keegan

3. COMMITTEES

The Standing Committee is the only committee required by law. It has the power to transact the business of the PCC between its meetings. It comprises the Vicar, Church Wardens, Treasurer and Secretary.

4 CHURCH ATTENDANCE

There were 143 parishioners on the Church Electoral roll

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

The average Sunday attendance was 106 adults and 20 children. Services have also been streamed live throughout the year from the church, and this will continue; an average of 20 people have viewed the whole service.

During the year, the church held services for 7 baptisms, 2 weddings and 13 funerals, with 3 funerals just at the crematorium.

5 VICAR’S REPORT

As we look back on 2024, we give thanks to God for another year in the life of our church. There has been a place of Christian worship here for over 750 years, and as we gather in our church building each week, we are surrounded by reminders of those who have worshipped here before us. Each of those 750-plus years will have been marked by a mixture of major events and the everyday business of life and worship, and 2024 has been no different.

There have been the big, visible events, not least our very successful Holiday Bible Club in the summer, which this year took us on an ‘Undersea Adventure’, learning with Peter what it means to be a friend of Jesus, and our very popular Pumpkin Trail in October. We’ve celebrated the great festivals and fasts of the Christian year, with special services for Lent, Easter, Advent, and Christmas.

Through all this, we have been sustained by our regular rhythms of prayer and worship: monthly and weekly gathering for prayer, meeting together in home groups and prayer triplets, and worshipping together on Sundays and for our midweek Holy Communion. We are blessed with a range of styles of worship in our church, with our 8am Holy Communion and 5pm Evensong, both with the rich theology and stirring language of the Book of Common Prayer, through to more contemporary liturgy, often at our 10am service, or our all-age Together@Ten service.

I’m continually thankful to God that we are a large and diverse church, and that he continues to draw new people to join us. We aim to reflect this in our worship, so that each of us can find something that nourishes our Christian walk, along with things that stretch us out of our comfort zones and help us to be generous in learning to worship alongside those who are different from us. We are very grateful to Rachel Bath and the choir, and to all those who play and sing in our music group, for their leading of music as part of our worship.

Above all, we want to be a church where we are thankful for all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ; where we take seriously what he has said in his Word; and where we are seeking to live out our faith in service of others and in sharing the good news of Jesus with others. Once again, we have seen this in so many ways this year: our Little Lights toddler services; Stars, Planets, and the Grid groups for children and young people on Sundays; the Thirst youth group and Explorers afterschool club; fellowship, discussion, activism and evangelism through Men Aloud Out, Mothers’ Union, and our extremely popular Ladies’ Breakfasts. We also continue to steward our parochial charities, supporting education and those in our communities who need a bit of extra help. And this is without mentioning all the ways in which members of our congregations volunteer and contribute to the life of our local community, serving others as an expression of their Christian faith (or the generous donations for local foodbanks that are left in church).

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

These are all the ‘everyday’ signs of our discipleship and Christian life together. In turbulent times, when our world often seems full of conflict of many kinds, these everyday Christian activities and disciplines are the bedrock of our ongoing walk with Jesus Christ. But even as we recognise God’s goodness to us in all of these things, we don’t want to be complacent. We are always looking to see where God might be calling us next: where we may need to change so that we grow in faithfulness, or so that others can be welcomed into the life of our church family.

The most tangible sign of this is Project Inspire, which will preserve and transform our building, making it more welcoming, sustainable, and flexible for us and for all those who will come after us. A colossal amount of work has gone into Project Inspire this year, particularly from the project group who have given tirelessly of their time and expertise to plan, scrutinise, negotiate, draft, submit, redraft, resubmit, reredraft, re-resubmit, and manage the thousand and one things that have to be done on a project of this size and importance. We also owe a great deal to those who have worked hard on our fundraising, organising a whole series of events, including our spectacular auction of promises, that have raised a lot of money, and also drawn people together for good music, good fun, and good times. We are deeply grateful to God for all that everyone at St. Lawrence’s has given so sacrificially to Project Inspire, in time, in energy, in prayer, and in donations. We look forward with hope and faith to building work beginning in 2025.

So as we celebrate and give thanks for all that God has given us, and brought us through, in 2024, let’s also look ahead with confidence in him for the year to come. As the writer to the Hebrews reminds us, ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’ May we cling to him and delight in him always.

Rev. Gareth Griffith, Curate.

6 CHURCHWARDENS’ REPORT

We have so many reasons to be thankful in this parish as so many people this year continued to contribute to various ways to the mission of the church. Mission activities continue to bear fruit – the variety of services, the Holiday Bible Club, the Pumpkin trail and Good Friday activity plus house groups and prayer meetings bring in such a diverse slice of the community (both local and from further afield) to hear the good news.

Supporting mission, there are the tasks that are seen and those that are largely unseen, undertaken either at quiet times or away from the church. It reminds us, therefore, how the contribution of volunteers is critical and how we need to refresh the teams with new volunteers from time to time. This is apparent as we look at the running of the church post-reordering where there will be continuity in many tasks but real need to modernise our management of the premises so that it is well presented and well maintained in fulfilment of the Project Inspire goal of ‘Creating welcoming spaces’.

Mention of Project Inspire reminds us of the burden being borne by the project team. The hoops that must be jumped through and the overly complex demands by all

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

sorts of external bodies show what a turgid process reordering has become; it is absurd that, after a decade, the committed team is still having to use all sorts of skills and experience to overcome impediments whether in design, planning, approval or funding. The latter, though, has shown the generosity that is out there both by parishioners or trusts as the project strives to absorb challenges such as inflation and draconian changes to VAT recovery. Our fundraising team has worked wonders – concerts and an auction of promises to mention a sample. We are on the brink of something very special happening so do continue to pray for the successful delivery of Project Inspire in 2025/26.

Despite the positive aspects, rather like HM The Queen’s observation in 1992, it has been an annus horribilis for the Church Wardens. Being without a Treasurer has placed an immense burden on us. Happily, the PCC now has a Treasurer and the handover is underway. This change will also enable us to further strengthen financial stewardship so that we might be on a better footing post-reordering. Having said that, a detailed examination of our expenditure for 2024 showed how little room there is for manoeuvre with large chunks of income swallowed by the Parish Share, licences, energy and other layers of cost that are unavoidable. The PCC is also going to have to revisit income, whether new streams or more efficient ways of giving.

We would also report, as required, that in January the terrier was updated and various documents taken to Gloucestershire Archives for safe storage. All necessary statistics were provided during the year to the Diocese and accounts were lodged with the Charity Commission.

Looking ahead to 2025, we will see a significant development when services are held away from the church for a period. We have teams working hard on moving out – and then back into the church – but the period away will need careful management yet will provide an opportunity to worship in different ways in different places.

Paul Cobb and Susan Holmes

ChurchWardens

7 SAFEGUARDING REPORT

The role of the Safeguarding Officer is to be the named person to whom church members report any disclosures relating to children or vulnerable adults. Any disclosures made will be dealt with and referred on where required. There were no disclosures in 2024.

Monitoring of our Safeguarding arrangements is on the PCC agenda every month to ensure that as a church family we continue to review, understand and endorse its importance.

Why is Safeguarding so important? Proverbs 31:8 calls us to 'speak out on behalf of the voiceless, and for the rights of all who are vulnerable '. As a church we want to ensure that children and vulnerable adults in our church family are protected, and we recognise our duty to love and care for the vulnerable and marginalised and to protect all from abuse.

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

At St Lawrence we want to ensure we have clear procedures in place and a culture where ensuring children and vulnerable adults are safe is a key priority and taken seriously. We want to ensure we are a church where people can speak out about any concerns they have and any concerns are dealt with in a professional manner, with no covering up or matters being brushed under the carpet. All volunteers working with the youth and children, together with several other volunteers, have a DBS check which is renewed every three years. Safeguarding training is also a requirement for many volunteering roles, not just for those working with children. The courses are easily accessed online, and some can also be attended in person if preferred. The St Lawrence Safeguarding Policy is reviewed annually by the PCC, and can found on the website or the church porch notice board.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Raising concerns or seeking advice is rarely a bad idea. You may wonder ‘what if I’m wrong’ – but also ask yourself ‘what if I’m right’. We can’t assume that someone else has seen what we may have seen or will pass on concerns. You can contact the Safeguarding Officer via email on safeguarding@stlawrencelechlade.org.uk or speak to me (I’m usually at the 10am Sunday service at St Lawrence) or to the Vicar or a Churchwarden.

Lesley Uzzell (Safeguarding Officer)

8 CIRENCESTER DEANERY SYNOD

Our Deanery Synod met three times in 2024.

The Deanery Synod Standing Committee met 7 times.

In March Deanery Synod at RAU focussed on stewardship and the way Parish Share is collected.

Discussion was led by Lisa-Jayne Lewis (Diocesan Giving and Stewardship Advisor) who is a fundraising professional. Her advice is available to all Parishes (lewis@glosdioc.org.uk)

Rev. James Caldwell Chaplain to Gloucesters announced his transfer to Germany in the summer.

Rev Poppy Hughes Tetbury is to move to London Diocese.

Rev Kim Brown moved to Worcester Diocese.

In June Deanery Synod at Harnhill Centre for Christian Healing focussed on Ministry. Discussion was led by Rev Kate Stacey and Rev Andrew Cinnamond. Together they informed Synod of the training available to Lay as well as ordained members of our churches. Because of the uniqueness of each Deanery in our Diocese, training is organised on a Deanery level. In our Deanery there is training for Lay Ministry leaders and in April 2025 a course for Funeral and Bereavement Ministry will begin at The Monastery, Cirencester (Old House of Fraser.)

Our new EcoChurch representative, Rosemary Bailey, gave a short report on her new role and plans.

Diocesan Synod elections returned the following:

Clergy: Graham Morris, Caroline Symcox, Jackie Colburn, Tim Hastie-Smith, Luke Falvey, and John Birchall.

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Laity: Rosemary Bailey, Karen Czapiewski, George Collins, Rachel Jago and Peter Moore.

On 1 August Bishop Rachel visited our deanery. She joined a group of 20 DS members for lunch at RAU before a tour of our deanery including a vineyard and a farm for milking.

In November Deanery Synod at The Monastery, Cirencester focussed on Mission .

Rev Adrian Beere gave a short presentation about The Monastery which runs as a medieval monastery but is secular. Workers are paid a living wage and receive training. He encouraged the community to get involved. Members then had a guided tour.

There was a message to members from Bishops Rachel and Robert about the Makin review and resignation of Archbishop Justin Welby. I n the light of this Lay Chair George Collins urged Parishes to take Safeguarding seriously and use the online training available at https://safeguardingtraining.cofeportal.org

George then gave a presentation on the vacancies in our deanery.

Our Deanery is large with 45 Parishes and 60 churches 10 full time Clergy + 0.9 House for Duty.

Of the seven Benefices 5 will be vacant by 2025 but advertisements are receiving a very small number of qualified applicants. Multi Parish Benefices are unattractive to potential incumbents. The support of retired clergy is vital but occludes the underlying problem of recruitment.

Claire Pearson , Secretary

c.d.pearson@icloud.com

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

9 CHURCH MISSION AND MINISTRY

9.1 PRAYER

Prayer is the fuel by which the Church Mission and ministry is achieved . There are prayer meetings weekly on a Wednesday Morning at 9am in the Church Cottage. Monthly meetings in the Vicarage usually the first Monday of every month. We have a number of Prayer Triplets in our Church family, if you are interested please contact Denver Keegan or the Parish Office

9.1.1 PRAYER MINISTRY

A team of trained people offer prayer ministry after most 10am Sunday services; prayer is offered for concerns that people share and this is in complete confidence.

Every team member has been checked via the DBS and completed the basic safeguarding training course.

Each Sunday we meet with the clergy and worship leaders before the service to pray for them as they lead and for all those who are attending, particularly for people carrying heavy burdens that they may be ministered to in their need.

9.2 BIBLE STUDY GROUPS

9.2.1 MEN’S BIBLE STUDY

The men’s bible study group met fortnightly throughout the year, welcoming some new members facilitated by our move to Wednesday evenings. Last year we studied Ester and a series looking at each of Jesus’s disciples. We are currently part way through a study on three of the Old Testament prophets, having already found much more than Sunday school stories in the book of Jonah we are part way through Joel with Amos to come after Easter.

As well as the bible study we have encouraged and prayed for each other through what has been a challenging year for several of us and we also managed to meet up for the odd curry!

9.2.2 EVENING STUDY AND FELLOWSHIP GROUP

Chancel Way house group

Having completed The Romans Course series produced by The Bible Society early in the year, we decided to follow another of their courses, The Bible Series. In seven sessions we covered key themes in the bible from Genesis to Revelation, the intention being to provide people with a better understanding of the bible as a whole and how the different parts relate to each other.

After Easter we plan to offer two or three study series over the year, working around the lent Groups and summer holidays.

We generally meet twice a month at the host's house on a Wednesday or Thursday evening. We start with refreshments, giving us a chance to talk and catch up with each other before the main session at 8pm. The study tends to last about an hour, but some discussions can extend this by a few minutes after which we close with a short time of prayer. There is no pressure to pray, or even talk, but we encourage everyone to share their views so that we can learn from each other as we seek to gain a better understanding of the bible and our faith.

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

9.2.3 THURSDAY EVENING HOUSE GROUP

We have had rather a quiet year with the House group, due to a few unforeseen circumstances! After running a Lent course (mixed group), we gathered together again and have been studying the letter to the Romans. The Bible Society has put together a wonderful series of videos presented by Andrew Ollerton, based in and around the city of Rome itself. The course has been excellent - stimulating, fresh and a great boost to our faith. We heartily recommend it for other groups."

9.2.4 WOMEN’S BIBLE FELLOWSHIP

We continued to meet weekly for fellowship, Bible study and prayer, to help us grow in our faith. Our Bible studies have included what the Bible teaches about fellowship in our life as disciples of Jesus, and the Gospel of Luke. All ladies are welcome to join us on a Monday afternoon.

9.2.5 LENT GROUPS

Seven Lent groups were run in the lead up to Easter, culminating in a combined meeting/service in Lechlade Baptist Church during Holy Week. The groups met on different days of the week, during the evening and day time, and mainly involved people from St Lawrence and the Lechlade Baptist Church.

The study series, called 'Whole Life Worship', looked at how worship affects our lives in many ways, from giving us a different insight on life, transforming our ordinary everyday actions, inspiring our everyday speech, and encouraging us in so many ways. As the hymn puts it "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all" (Isaac Watts).

As in previous years, these Lent groups provided us all with an opportunity to discuss our faith and learn from each other in supportive small groups.

9.2.6 ‘MEN ALOUD OUT’

The Men Aloud Out group has continued to meet at the Trout most months with a varied programme of invited speakers, social meetings, or discussion on a topical matter of concern led by one of our members. Average attendance about 10 people, with more for when we had an invited speaker. David Bainbridge, who has been organising this group for the past few years, handed over responsibility for the group in December 2024, with various people agreeing to take over so that the group can continue.

9.3 ST. LAWRENCE YOUTH AND CHILDREN’S MINISTRY Ministry Amongst Children and Young People

9.3.1 REGULAR DISCIPLESHIP:

We continue to offer children’s groups catering for youngsters from 2[1] /2 to 16 on Sunday mornings with regularly about 15 children and young people split between 3 groups:

Sparks (ages 2[1] /2 -5), Flares (6-11 primary school), The Grid (11-16 secondary school)

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

This year we have continued to use the 'Energize' material from Urban Saints and Sparks and Flares have focussed on Jesus, with series on ‘Jesus’ Miracles’, ‘Jesus’ Parables’ and the ‘Life of Jesus’, as well as seasonal celebrations.

We are grateful for the many years of support that David Corris and Sylvia Dennish have given between them now they have retired from the children’s work and grateful to Jackie Day and Emma Budd who are now helping with Flares and Sparks respectively and Rosie Emmerson who has stepped up from helping to lead Flares in Kate’s absence.

We accessed some training for the leaders and helpers during the year - ‘Early Steps’ – training for early years leaders and helpers and ‘Parenting in Faith’ – support for parents/carers of teenagers. All those who are in contact with the youngsters are DBS checked and undergo safeguarding training.

9.3.2 COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND HOLIDAY CLUB

'Explorers' afterschool club at St Lawrence School continues to see about 30 children every week. Pupils from years 1 upwards meet weekly for Bible stories, songs, crafts and activities, building upon the excellent work done through 'Open the Book' and school worship. We are thankful for adults from the Church family who support both ‘Explorers’ and the ‘Open the Book’ initiatives.

During the year we have hosted several special occasions starting with a very successful Easter Trail on Good Friday (2024) and there was a positive family atmosphere in a packed Church building with lots of young families learning about the events of Holy Week and Easter in an interactive way, followed by an Easter Egg Hunt in the churchyard on Easter Sunday.

We had a lovely Summer Family Picnic for the children’s groups’ families at the Harris’ home and Filkins play area which was good opportunity for children and parents to mix.

Eighty children attended the ‘Under-Sea Adventure’ Holiday Bible Club in August with over 30 members of the congregation working tirelessly to share their faith with the youngsters through the ‘life of Peter’ as well as ensuring that they had a fun (and safe) time, ably supported by several teenage young leaders.

We held another community Pumpkin Trail, 'Light on a Dark Night', on 31[st] October, with large numbers of families visiting the Church for hot chocolate, popcorn, paper pumpkin making and Christian gift bags. Our annual, well-supported Christingle Service and workshop again marked the beginning of Advent and the community’s preparations for Christmas, which climaxed with the Crib Service on Christmas Eve when there was standing room only in Church to see the children retell the Nativity Story.

We are so thankful for the way the Church family has enabled and supported these regular and outreach efforts. We are always on the lookout for more adult support, so do speak to the vicar if you would like to get involved.

Please pray for God to move in our community as we seek to faithfully share the Gospel with children and families in our midst.

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Kate Cinnamond & Tessa Cobb

9.3.3 LITTLE LIGHTS. PRAM SERVICE/ BABY AND TODDLER PLAY GROUP

We run Little Lights which is a pram service and play- group as part of our objective of encouraging parents to bring their children up in faith. We meet once or twice a month and usually have 7-12 families present.

Kathy Newton

9.4 SOUTH COTSWOLD TEAM YOUTH MINISTRY

9.4.1 SCHOOL’S WORK

Within the school year I am able to visit all 9 primary schools in the SCT with the majority of smaller schools establishing a regular pattern of collective worship visits every term and weekly club or regular class assemblies at the larger schools. I delivered 5 weekly lunchtime clubs in 4 different schools last year with a special focus on y6s.

At St Lawrence Primary School the lunchtime club is very well supported in both engagement and number (an average of 14 last year and 17 this year and full class numbers when it rains!). The y6 commitment was intensified during the summer term as the school emphasis shifted towards transition amongst y6 pupils. I was able distribute over 150 copies of the excellent SU publication, It’s Your Move, to help pupils consider the big step to secondary school during the summer term and it has been a great privilege to see many of the same pupils at Farmors school and help to give them a measure of continuity. In addition, we were able to offer a water-sport activity day where y6 pupils from different schools mixed and regular attendees of school/evening youth clubs joined together.

The lunchtime clubs at Farmors have been well attended (an average of over 20 at Cookie Jar and about 16 at Big Fish last year and around 18 this year) and has provided a safe haven to come and make friends as well as a first point of entry for those interested in our out-of-school activities. Indeed several now attend Thirst regularly and a number from Big Fish have attended an activity day, social event or residential.

With a great deal of local support I was again able to provide a dozen Christmas food hampers and gifts to needy families (Farmors school-identified). Support in providing the ‘personal touch’ came via the Fairford Air Base, a Farmors School tutor group, a parent previously supported plus a Lions Club donation. Hopefully, this took a little pressure off those with financial hardships and allowed ‘the church’ to be seen as a positive, visible presence in a very practical and relevant way.

9.4.2 SUNDAY SERVICES

I endeavour to regularly visit churches from across the team, supporting clergy and updating congregations on our youth work through sharing encouragements, prayer needs and vision for the future. In addition, I take the opportunity to preach, lead prayers and chat to interested parties wherever possible. Once a month, I’m also committed to co-lead the Grid group in Lechlade where the youth of our team gather for bible study and discussion.

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

9.4.3 OTHER YOUTH WORK

Two faith-based discussion groups have operated concurrently on a Tuesday evening. The older group (Quench) has journeyed with the leaders for a number of years as we’ve sought to spiritually equip them for life beyond.

We had a final residential at Macaroni Woods last March where we reminisced, challenged them over the legacy they leave and celebrated many previous trips together. Our younger group, Thirst (school years 6 to 9) enjoyed a return residential to MW in April 2024 and has now divided into two to reflect the widening age range represented, The Lechlade Holiday Club was again an excellent launchpad for weekly links with a new generation of youth about to enter secondary school, and these connections have been invaluable in drawing in around half a dozen new faces (to Thirst) again this school year.

Elsewhere our youth & children’s club in Kempsford has continued to flourish. Our split into 2 groups (currently 18 in the younger and over 20 in the older group) works well. I co-lead both groups and we are looking forward to the coming lighter nights when we can be outdoors more frequently!

With still no announcement of a new director at SU Romania, our plans remain in limbo though some of our youth plan to help with various Christian camps this summer as Young Leaders.

While the search continues for more volunteers to support our work, I would like to close with a huge thank you to those volunteers who do give their time so sacrificially to stand alongside me in body and prayer to support and nurture these young lives in so many contexts. Together we lift them to the Lord who we trust will continue the good and lasting work in their hearts and minds.

Future Dates:

Chris Saunders

9.5 ST. LAWRENCE SCHOOL

Our shared vision is to be a joyful and loving school community; rooted in clear Christian values, where every child participates, celebrates achievement and cares for the people and world around them.

Back in October St Lawrence Primary received its church school inspection via the SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodists Schools) process. We received excellent feedback and our partnership with St Lawrence Church was highlighted as a particular strength.

'Collective worship is cherished by pupils and adults. An exceptionally strong partnership with the local church enriches the school’s worship life.'

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

We feel immensely privileged to be supported by such a strong church community whether that be via Foundation Governors, The Explorers Club, Open The Book Team or our group of community volunteer readers who support many children throughout each week.

The report also noted that: 'The vision to be joyful and loving, enables leaders to create a caring community built on overwhelming love and respect. Relationships across the school are exceptionally strong. Pupils are polite, behave well, and support each other lovingly. Recent work to review the behaviour policy ensures they have a range of strategies to help them disagree peacefully and resolve disputes if needed.'

All in school continue to work extremely hard, often with reduced financial resources, for the good of our children. We are proud of the range of activities we provide and the broad balance within both curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for all.

Mr Gordon Soutar

Headteacher

9.5.1 OPEN THE BOOK

Over the past year we have been able to go into St Lawrence School on a regular basis to lead Open the Book acts of worship. Each time we work with about 10 children from Key Stage 2; we read the Bible Story to them and choose who will act each part. Then we dress them up and rehearse before the rest of the school join us. An adult reads the introduction and the children act the story which the adults narrate. This is then followed by a summary of the meaning of the story, a prayer and then a song. Over the past year we have been very encouraged by the members of staff who sit in and then talk to the children more about the story.

We choose a song for the children to sing and Sandra Gibbons usually introduces it and plays her guitar. At the end of the summer term we said goodbye to Mike Baker who had been a member of the team for many years. We were pleased to welcome John Challinor to join us

9.6 MOTHERS’ UNION

Our Mothers’ Union branch continues to run with a hard- working committee. Sadly, Mary Cotton who was a newer member and was on the committee, recently passed away as did Joy Evans who had been a loyal member for many years. We now have 50 paid up members as Revd. Andrew Cinnamond enrolled three new members and welcomed one from Lancashire. We have members who live locally, in Fairford and in Faringdon.

We fundraise for family projects run by MU in the UK and around the world. We try to support our Clergy and the Churches we belong to. We look out locally for those in need and help when we can. We support the Family Haven in Gloucester, The Gloucester Royal Hospital and The GWH in Swindon with various knitting projects or collection of items families are grateful for. In 2024 we helped fund a family holiday.

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

All our meetings begin with prayer and speakers are usually Christians or people who work with or support families. We encourage members in their faith and support members through difficult times. Some members cannot get to meetings but receive my newsletter each month, a magazine for Gloucester Diocese and one for Mary Sumner House in London.

The Duchess of Edinburgh is now our Royal Patron and we look forward to meeting her as MU members.

9.7 MUSIC

We are thankful for singers and instrumentalists in the informal music group, who faithfully serve our church family through the year by supporting the musical worship in our informal services 3 times per month, as well as taking part in events engaging with our wider community, such as leading community carol singing during 'Lighting Up Lechlade', and taking part in the town carol service in the Memorial Hall.

9.7.1 ST LAWRENCE CHURCH CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT

This has been a busy and extremely enjoyable year for the choir, led by Head Chorister Sophie, her Deputy Lily, and Librarian Hannah. We currently have twentytwo regular singers (14 sopranos, 3 altos, 4 tenors and 3 basses). This includes our newest Probationer, Jamie (6), who has been attending chorister training and practices in preparation for joining the choir. This Christmas we enjoyed welcoming back five former Head Choristers, increasing our numbers to twenty-six during this busy season. It is such a pleasure to sing with them again and hear their news. They are a fine example to our younger choristers too. In June we admitted Alistair and Jonathan to the choir as full choristers in a special service where they received their surplices. They both show great musical potential. We are also extremely grateful to our two organists: Geoff and Miranda, and sincerely thank them for their support and dedication to the music at St Lawrence Church.

Our repertoire continues to expand with performances of ‘Save us, O Lord, waking’ by Bairstow (copies of which past Head Choristers Annabelle and Tia presented to the Choir as a generous leaving gift) and the beautiful anthem 'Beati quorum via' by Stanford. Easter Sunday evening marked the return by popular request of the ‘Easter story in Music and Readings’, which will now become an annual event. At the Ecumenical Service of Remembrance Terja performed the Last Post and Reveille on his trumpet brilliantly. The Choir performed a new arrangement of the carol 'O come, O come Emmanuel' at our candlelit Advent Carol service, which included a cello solo played by Rachel C. We enjoyed learning new music by modern composers for the popular Nine Lessons and Carols service: Golden Sleep by Henderson and Christmas Blessing by Stopford, and our young soloists did us proud too throughout the Christmas season, performing their individual personal bests for these important services.

In April, two of our youngest choristers, Lavinia (7) and Kaitlyn (8), represented the choir at RSCM Young Voices Festival in York. The theme of the festival was ‘God’s Green Planet’. Some of the pieces they already knew through singing them at St Lawrence, including ‘Look at the World’ by John Rutter and ‘O for the Wings of a Dove’ by Mendelssohn. Their favourite piece was ‘Badgers and Hedgehogs’ by

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Andrew Carter. They were the youngest of over 60 singers and enjoyed singing in the Festival Service at the end of the day accompanied by piano, organ and drums.

St Lawrence Church Choir was also proud to be represented by three of its choristers at the RSCM Residential course at Kingswood School, Bath in August. It was the first time that Sophie (17) and Hannah (12) had attended the course, and they were generously supported by funding from the Helen Arnold Memorial Fund and a grant from the Education Charity for which we are extremely grateful.

Following successful application, Tia returned for her second year as a member of staff having first enjoyed the course herself as a Scholar in 2022. As House Captain, she helped care for the 30 girls in her house both pastorally and musically. Hannah enjoyed participating in the variety of workshops and two of her favourite pieces were ‘Christ has no body now but yours’ by David Ogden and ‘Missa Brevis in F’ by Mozart. Sophie particularly enjoyed singing services in the magnificent acoustic of Bath Abbey and experiencing the wide range of music on the course. Her favourite piece was ‘Ubi Caritas’ by Ola Gjeilo. I am delighted that they had such a fantastic week, culminating in singing services in Bath Abbey, and came away with glowing reports from their course tutors having improved their sightreading skills and confidence throughout the week.

Rachel Bath

Choir Director

9.8 WORLD CHURCH COMMITTEE

World Church Links - We continue to support, pray for and learn from Christians around the world. In December 2024 we allocated a total of £9,500 from the PCC to our World Church Links. One special event during the year was the visit in May of Gabriel and Rebeca Parra and their two children from Valparaiso in Chile.

Our links are:

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

10 CHURCH SUPPORT TO MINISTRY

10.1 PROJECT INSPIRE

In September 2024, a faculty was granted by the Diocese Chancellor for the proposed reordering work. This follows a visit to St Lawrence church by the Chancellor in December 2023. We were waiting for much of the year for this approval. There were no significand changes from our original proposals and reflects the extent of the detailed work carried out by the project team.

This has enabled us to commence detailed design (design stage 4) by our architect Chedburn Codd, electrical and mechanical consultant EEP and structural engineer Michael Hammond. Design work continues into 2025.

Our archaeologist excavated two trial holes below the aisle floor to a depth of 1 metre. This showed various historic soil strata going back to the Saxons. The excavations confirmed the suitability of the ground conditions for the gallery foundations.

We submitted an application for funding to the Church of England Net Zero Demonstration Project. We were successful which means we shall be an exemplar for other churches.

10.1.1 FUNDING

During the year we applied for a number of grants and received £48,500 from The Benefact Trust and £3000 in smaller grants. Personal pledges from the 2023 appeal started to be paid in September amounting to £49,000 by the year end. A programme of events raised a further £19,000. We received pledges (to be paid when the project construction begins) from The Beatrice Laing Trust (£25,000) The Joseph Rank Trust (£35,000), and Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust (£10,000) and in November we were offered a grant of £220,000 by The Heritage Lottery Fund. The expected cost of the project will be over a £1M.

With the Cottage ready to go on the market early in the new year, this left us very close to being able to fund the budgeted cost of the project – with one major caveat: the uncertainty as to whether the Government will extend the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme after March 2025. We have budgeted to receive £180,000 from this scheme, which refunds the VAT on construction work on Listed Buildings.

10.2 ECO CHURCH GROUP

Eco Church is A Rocha UK’s award scheme for churches in England and Wales who want to demonstrate that the gospel is good news for God’s earth. It is designed to equip each church to express care for God’s world in our worship and teaching; in how we look after our buildings and land; in how we engage with our local community and in global campaigns, and in the personal lifestyles of our congregation.

We got our Silver Award in May 2022, requiring 50% score in all the categories on the questionnaire. We have now set our sights on achieving the gold award requiring a 75% score. We are hoping that the completion of the Inspire Project will help us reach gold standard.

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

10.3 CHURCHYARD MAINTENANCE

Our hardworking churchyard maintenance team had another challenging year as the wet and warm summer months caused the grass to grow unceasingly. However, the team managed to keep on top of this task and the presentation of the churchyard again attracted a few complimentary comments. Our thanks go to the team for their contributions.

The result of labours was evident this spring when the snowdrops were prolific. A working party was organised to split some clumps of snowdrops and spread them to new areas. In addition, we have been fortunate to have received an offer from a parishioner to help with extra maintenance work in the ashes area beyond the grassed parts where the mower cannot easily access; this does highlight the limitations of the resource available to us. Therefore, we could do with a few more volunteers. Training in use of the mowers and strimmer’s can be provided but there are lighter tasks that can be tackled such as weeding, pruning or cutting the edges to keep them tidy. Please do speak to the Church Wardens if interested in more details.

11 FINANCIAL AND OTHER STATUTORY INFORMATION

11.1 STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards.

Law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires 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 its incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to: -

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

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

When planning our activities for the year, the PCC, considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit in particular, the specific guidance to charities concerned with the advancement of religion.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity financial information included on the charity’s website in accordance with legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements

11.2 RISK MANAGEMENT

The PCC actively reviews the major risks and challenges generated within the church by means of its regular meetings. Approval is required for all key operational and financial decisions.

11.3 RESERVES POLICY

It is the policy of the PCC to invest reserves based on the timescale in which they are expected to be used.

Individual assets gifted to the PCC will be held in the form they are gifted unless it would be inappropriate to do so.

Assets not expected to be utilised in the next 5 years will be invested in a suitable investment vehicle, accepting a degree of investment risk in order to seek higher expected returns.

Assets not expected to be used in the next 3 years will be invested (until needed) in the CBF Church of England Deposit Fund. This will avoid short term investment risk while earning a higher rate of interest than is available via bank deposits.

Assets likely to be needed in less than three years will be held on deposit with a retail bank in order to provide maximum liquidity.

The PCC will seek to establish a prudent reserve balance in the general fund line with expected expenditure, with a target range of 3- 6 months of routine expenditure in addition to pre-funded, anticipated exceptional outgoings.

The PCC will also seek to build a prudent reserve in the Restoration and Maintenance Fund in line with the anticipated expenditure on a church building of the nature of St. Lawrence with suitable contingency for emergencies. Predicting expenditure following the reordering of Project Inspire makes it difficult to put a target figure on this objective, however given the costs of the project it is unlikely that the reserve will be restored to a satisfactory level that covers contingency for some time. Consideration of a suitable target will be given once some history of costs has been established, but in the meantime an objective of £50,000 - £100,000 is in place.

11.4 VOLUNTARY HELP

The PCC wishes to express their gratitude to the many volunteers who help in so many ways in the various activities of the church and who provide support to the PCC.

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

11.5 TRANSACTIONS AND FINANCIAL POSITION

The Statement of Financial Activities displays a summary of the Analysis of Income and Expenditure for the year ended 31 December 2024. The key performance indicators are as follows: -

The principal funding sources of the church activities continues to be regular gifts and donations from members of the congregation, supplemented by grants from outside bodies and legacies. The large surplus in Restricted Funds is a result of the fund raising for project Inspire, for which the PCC are very grateful to the volunteers who have worked so hard to bring in this funding.

The PCC is aware of the need to increase our regular income in the coming year and to ensure sufficient liquidity on the unrestricted funds. Concerted efforts were made this year to encourage the congregation to consider their giving in light of the Biblical principles set out in a short sermon series through a letter to each regular attendee. Unfortunately the increase in giving as a result was relatively modest and was not sufficient to replace the lost income from a small number of generous givers who for whatever reasons (including moving out of the area) have stopped giving to St Lawrence. We remain dependant on generous one-off gifts to top up our income to what is really a bare minimum level to operate a church of our size.

Income was also generated from the letting of fixed asset properties.

The reserves of the charity stand at £934,149 (2023 £837,344). General purpose funds, which include buildings and the designated funds amounts to £591,476 (2023 £591,026), restricted funds, which includes funds for capital projects, restoration, maintenance, and fabric amounts to £336,051 (2023 £239,906) and endowment fund amounts to £6,621 (2023 £6,465).

11.6 GOING CONCERN ASSESSMENT

The PCC have no reason to doubt that it can continue as a going concern. We are not aware of any risk that could give rise to material financial liabilities, our building is insured by a specialist insurer. Our income has been relatively stable for many years and as attendance numbers are trending (slightly) upwards it is reasonable to expect this to continue. While our income may not exceed our current expenditure with the safety margin we would prefer, large parts of our expenditure are not strict liabilities. Most notably failure to pay our Parish share, over half our expenditure, would not lead to the diocese enforcing payment if it would cast doubt on our ability to operate as a going concern.

Approved by the PCC on and signed on their behalf by:

Revd. Andrew Cinnamond

Date:

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

12 INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT TO THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF LECHLADE

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade (the Charity) for the year ended 31 December 2024.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

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

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner’s statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with 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 the 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 statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

…………………………….

J M Russell FCA

Chartered Accountant

37 Market Square, Witney, Oxfordshire, OX28 6RE

Date: ..............

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Statement of Financial Activities

For the period from 01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024

Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment Total Prior year
funds funds funds funds funds total funds
Incoming resources
Incoming resources from generated funds 3,530 — — — 3,530 6,033
Voluntary income 126,101 — 98,519 — 224,621 142,348
Activities for generating funds 9,384 — 26,087 — 35,472 15,316
Investment income 41 — 10,798 — 10,840 5,242
Incoming resources from charitable activities 3,008 — — — 3,008 4,250
Other incoming resources — — — — — 0
Total income 142,066 — 135,406 — 277,472
 173,190
Resources used
Costs of generating funds
Fundraising trading: cost of goods sold and other costs 100 — 3,112 — 3,212 2,511
Charitable activities 125,746 352 34,919 — 161,018 138,516
Governance costs 15,417 — 1,173 — 16,591 13,440
Other resources used — — — — — —
Total expenditure 141,263 352 39,205 — 180,822 154,468
Gains / losses on investment assets — — — — — —
Net income / (expenditure) resources before transfer 802 (352) 96,200 — 96,650
 18,722

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Transfers

Transfers Transfers Transfers
Gross transfers between funds - in
—
1,200
—
—
1,200
25,602
Gross transfers between funds - out
(1,200)
—
—
—
(1,200)
(25,602)
Other recognised gains / losses
Gains on revaluation, fixed assets, charity's own use
—
—
—
156
156
508
Net movement in funds
(402)
847
96,200
156
96,806
19,230
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
591,026
—
239,851
6,465
837,343
818,112
Total funds carried forward
590,629
847
336,051
6,621
934,149
837,343

There may be minor discrepancies in the totals if the pence are not being shown

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Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Statement of Financial Activities

For the period from 01 January 23 to 31 December 23

Unrestricted Designated
funds
funds		 Restricted Endowment
Total
Prior year
funds
funds
funds
total funds
Incoming resources
Voluntary income
Activities for generating funds
Investment income
Incoming resources from charitable activities
Other incoming resources
Total income
Resources used
Costs of generating funds
Fundraising: cost of goods sold and other costs
Charitable activities
Governance costs
Total expenditure
Net income / (expenditure) resources before
transfer
Transfers
Gross transfers between funds - in
Gross transfers between funds - out
Other recognised gains / losses
Gains / losses on investment assets
Gains on revaluation, fixed assets, charity's own use
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
REPRESENTED BY:-		 124,936
100
24,076
—
149,112
157,865
8,051
—
5,804
—
13,855
12,655
51
—
5,048
143
5,242
2,456
4,251
—
—
—
4,251
2,156
—
—
—
—
—
—
137,289
100
34,928
143
172460
175,132
—
—
3,242
—
3,242
483
126,718
80
11,719
—
138,517
166,467
13,440
—
—
—
13,440
12,962
140,158
80
14,4961
—
155,199
179,912
(2,869)
20
21,429
143
18,723
(4,780)
13,269
11,450
591
293
25,603
22,529
(11,467)
(13,513)
(49)
(574)
(25,603)
(22,529)
—
—
—
508
508
(859)
—
—
—
—
—
25,000
(336)
(2,043)
21,240
370
19,231
19,361
592,094
2,043
217,881
6,095
818,113
798,752
591,027
—
239,852
6,465
837,344
818,113
Fund
Incoming
Outgoing
Transfers
Fund
Last Year

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Balance Resources Resources Balance
01 /01/2023 31/12/2023
Unrestricted
General fund 592,094 137,289 140,158 1,802 591,027 592,094
Designated
Perrinsfield House 1,799 — 80 (1,719) — 1,799
Restricted
Audio/visual 5,737 — — — 5,737 5,737
Bells Appeal Fund 2,556 82 — 17 2,655 2,556
Brownrigg Fund 18,618 513 — — 19,131 18,618
Choir Fund 1,396 1,045 — — 2,441 1,396
H Arnold Memorial Fund 1,917 190 — — 2,107 1,917
Hardship Fund 1,912 200 — — 2112 1,912
Fabric Appeal 110,284 3,536 814 — 113,006 110,284
Mission — 100 — (100) — —
Project Inspire 57,569 30,071 10,365 — 77,275 57,569
Reordering (West end) Fund 255 — — — 255 255
Restoration and Maintenance Fund 18,073 165 3,051 — 15,187 18,073
Endowment
H Arnold Investment Fund 5,903 508 — — 6,411 5,903
Total funds carried forward 818,113 173,699 154,468 — 837,344 818,113

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Balance sheet (Separate funds) As at: 31 December 2024

As at: 31 December 2024
General Designated Restricted Endowment At 31/12/2024 At 31/12/2023
Fund Funds Funds Funds
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 575,000 — — — 575,000 575,000
Investments — — — 6,567 6,567 6,411
Fixed assets 575,000 — — 581,567 581,411
6,567
Current assets
Debtors 4,212 — — — 4,212 6,100
Cash at bank and in hand 23,941 1,747 337,206 54 362,950 253,362
Current assets 28,153 1,747 337,206 54 367,162 259,462
Liabilities
Creditors: Amounts falling due in one year 12,524 900 1,155 — 14,579 3,530
Net current assets less current liabilities 15,629 847 336,051 54 352,582 255,932
Total assets less current liabilities 590,629 847 336,051 6,621 934,149 837,343
Total net assets less liabilities 590,629 847 336,051 6,621 934,149 837,343

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Fund movement summary

Selected period: 01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
Fund
Fund Balances
brought forward
Incoming
Outgoing
Transfers
Fund balances
Resources
Resources
Carried forward
Audio/visual
5,737
—
—
—
5,737
Brownrigg Fund
19,130
—
—
—
19,130
Hardship Fund
2,112
—
1,000
—
1,112
Mission and Outreach
—
—
—
—
—
Perrinsfield House
—
—
352
1,200
847
Project Inspire
77,275
127,508
21,427
—
183,356
Restoration and Maintenance Fund
15,186
—
7,668
—
7,518
World Church Donations
—
—
—
—
—
Cottage Fund
—
—
—
—
—
General fund
591,026
142,066
141,263
(1,200)
590,629
Fabric Appeal
113,005
7,397
7,668
—
112,734
H Arnold Memorial Fund
8,516
472
1,190
—
7,799
Reordering (West end) Fund
255
—
—
—
255
Lighting Fund
—
10
—
—
10

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Disasters Fund — — — — —
Services Fund — — — — —
Bells Appeal Fund 2,655 173 252 — 2,576
Choir Fund 2,440 — — — 2,440
Totals 837,343 277,628 180,822 — 934,149
There may be minor discrepancies in the totals if the pence are not being shown There may be minor discrepancies in the totals if the pence are not being shown

Approved by the Parochial Church Council on 8[th] May 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

S Holmes, Trustee……………………………………….. L. Plog

V Jones, Trustee…………………………………………

Notes to the Accounts

1 Accounting Policy

Accounting Convention

The Financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with transactions recognized at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the notes to the accounts. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom FRS102 and the Charities Act 2011.

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Funds

Endowment funds are funds, the capital of which must be maintained: only income arising from Investment of the endowment may be used for the purpose for which the endowment was established.

Restricted funds may be expended only on those restricted objects provided in the terms of the trust or bequest, or in the case of donations or grants received for a specific object or invited by the PCC for a specific object. The funds may only be expended on the specific object for which they are given. Any balance remaining unspent at the end of the year must be carried forward for each fund. Unrestricted funds are general funds which can be used for PCC ordinary purposes. This includes designated funds that are identified purely for administrative purposes and can be designated entirely at the PCC’s discretion.

Incoming Resources

Planned Giving, collections and donations are recognized when they are received. Tax refunds are recognised when the resource to which they relate is received. Grants and legacies are accounted for when the PCC is legally entitled to the amounts due.

All other income is recognised when it is receivable.

Resources Expended

Grants and donations are accounted for when paid. The diocesan parish share is accounted for when due.

All other expenditure is recognised when it is incurred and accounted for gross.

Fixed Assets

Consecrated land and benefice property is not included in the accounts in accordance with S.96(2)(a) of the Charities Act 2011.Moveable church furnishings held by the vicar and churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal are inalienable property, listed in the church inventory, which can be inspected at any reasonable time. For anything acquired prior to 2000, there is insufficient cost information available and therefore such assets are not valued in the financial statements. Subsequently no individual item has cost more than £1,000 accordingly all such expenditure has been written off when incurred.

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Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Equipment used within the church premises is depreciated on a straight line over 4 years. Individual items of equipment with a purchase price of £1,000 or less are written off when the asset is acquired.

Investments

Investments are valued at market value at 31 December 2024. The Statement of Financial Activity includes net gains and losses arising on revaluations at the year end.

Current Assets

Amounts owing to the Charity at 31 December 2024 for tax recovery are included in amounts recoverable. Bank deposits include cash held on deposit either with CBF Church of England Funds or at a Bank .

2 Staff Costs

2024 2023 £ £ The Charity employs a part time administrator. 11,329 10.338 £ £ The Charity also paid honoraria to the Director of Music, and 2,498 1,376 certain choristers. For the first time in many years we also paid an organist.

Page 29

Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

3 Fixed Assets for use by the Charity

2024 2023 £ £ Gross Freehold Land and Buildings at valuation 575,000 575,000

The freehold land and buildings are held in trust by the Diocese, and for accounting purposes the historical cost is deemed to be the valuation at the date the property was acquired. The PCC considers that depreciation is not considered necessary, since the properties are deemed residential properties and are fully maintained by the PCC.

The properties held are as follows: a) Church Cottage Lechlade: valuation £350,000.

b) Perrinsfield, Lechlade: valuation £225,000.

4 Investments

Cost Value £ £ CBF Investment Fund 226.27 shares 3,654 5,232 Unrealised Gain/(Loss) in period £117 Cost Value £ £ Page 30

Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

CBF Short Duration Bond Fund 895.53 shares
1,435
Unrealised Gain/(Loss) in period £39
5
Debtors and Prepayments
2024
£
Gift Aid tax recoverable
2,474
Prepaid Heat and Light
400
Donation
588
Grant Receivable
750
TOTAL
4,212
6
Creditors
2024
£
Incumbents Expenses
1,401
Cleaner
38
Village Hall
Electricity
Donation to Dornakal School
1,800
Admin Salary
1,014
Parish Share
Professional Fees
World Church
6,886
2,310
850		 1,335

2023
£
3,500
1,100
750
750
6,100
2023
£
1,827
78
90
635
900

Page 31

Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Other
TOTAL
7
Donations to Missionary Societies
CMS Chile
CMS Nepal
Scripture Union Pakistan
Ram Prasad
Sat 7
iServe Africa
Dornakal School for the Deaf		 280
14,579 3,530
2024
2023
£
£
1,900 1,900
2,375 2,375
950
950
950
1,425 1,000
1,425 1,425
900
900

8 Amounts Collected on Behalf of Others

The PCC collect funds on behalf of other charitable institutions as follows:

The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal was gifted in cash the collection from the remembrance service..

The PCC also operates a restricted fund called the Hardship Fund to raise money to support local charities who are helping those in financial difficulties. The fund currently stands at £1,112 having donated £1,000 in the period.

9 Financial Commitments

At 31 December 2024 the Charity had no financial commitments.

10 Related Party Transactions

Page 32

Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Members of the PCC and their families have made gifts to the work of the church and the Inspire Project in their capacity as members of the congregation. This is mainly through the Parish Giving Scheme which includes anonymous donations. The total value of known gifts received from PCC members and their families is £40,025.

No members of PCC received any remuneration or were reimbursed for expenses incurred in the exercising of their duty as PCC members during the year.

Trustee indemnity insurance is provided for, but cannot be separately identified as its part of a larger insurance premium

Page 33

Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

St. Lawrence Church Parochial Church Council, Lechlade Analysis of income and expenditure Selected period: 01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024

Total
Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment This year Last year
Incoming resources
Incoming resources from generated funds
00111 - Standing Orders Barclays 3,530 — — — 3,530 6,033
001 - Standing Orders Lloyds 2,280 — — — 2,280 4,010
0011 - Gift Aid envelopes 1,450 — — — 1,450 1,095
0012 - Parish Giving Scheme 78,103 — 2,068 — 80,172 66,335
002 - Gift Aid on PGS 12,906 — 525 — 13,431 16,394
003 - Other planned gifts 6 — — — 6 —
004 - Collections 5,063 — — — 5,063 6,901
0041 - Goodbox / Stripe / Easy 4,739 — 3,725 — 8,464 6,109
Fundraising
005 - Charities Aid Foundation 6,800 — — — 6,800 3,600
006 - Sundry gifts 7,040 — 1,776 — 8,817 9,760
0061 - Southrop and Eastleach 2,640 — — — 2,640 2,880

Page 34

Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

007 - Gift Aid recovery on Sundry
Gifts
4,831
—
—
—
4,831
4,760
020 - Grants
—
—
48,500
—
48,500
750
022 - Inspire Pledges
—
—
40,490
—
40,490
17,750
060 - Non recuring grants
120
—
—
—
120
—
061 - Legacies
120
—
1,000
—
1,120
2,000
079 - Tax recovery Sp App/events
—
—
434
—
434
—
021 - Fund raising events
66
—
26,087
—
26,154
6,556
0311 - Perrinsfield Rent
9,292
—
—
—
9,292
8,760
032 - Bookstall
25
—
—
—
25
—
030 - Dividends and interest
41
—
10,798
—
10,840
5,242
Incoming resources from
generated funds Totals
139,058
—
135,406
—
274,464
168,940
Incoming resources from charitable activities
040 - Fees (weddings funerals) due
to PCC
3,008
—
—
—
3,008
4,250
Incoming resources from
charitable activities Totals
3,008
—
—
—
3,008
4,250
Other incoming resources
095 - Revaluation of Fixed Assets
—
—
—
—
—
508
Other incoming resources
—
—
—
—
—
508		 007 - Gift Aid recovery on Sundry
Gifts
4,831
—
—
—
4,831
4,760
020 - Grants
—
—
48,500
—
48,500
750
022 - Inspire Pledges
—
—
40,490
—
40,490
17,750
060 - Non recuring grants
120
—
—
—
120
—
061 - Legacies
120
—
1,000
—
1,120
2,000
079 - Tax recovery Sp App/events
—
—
434
—
434
—
021 - Fund raising events
66
—
26,087
—
26,154
6,556
0311 - Perrinsfield Rent
9,292
—
—
—
9,292
8,760
032 - Bookstall
25
—
—
—
25
—
030 - Dividends and interest
41
—
10,798
—
10,840
5,242
Incoming resources from
generated funds Totals
139,058
—
135,406
—
274,464
168,940
Incoming resources from charitable activities
040 - Fees (weddings funerals) due
to PCC
3,008
—
—
—
3,008
4,250
Incoming resources from
charitable activities Totals
3,008
—
—
—
3,008
4,250
Other incoming resources
095 - Revaluation of Fixed Assets
—
—
—
—
—
508
Other incoming resources
—
—
—
—
—
508		 007 - Gift Aid recovery on Sundry
Gifts
4,831
—
—
—
4,831
4,760
020 - Grants
—
—
48,500
—
48,500
750
022 - Inspire Pledges
—
—
40,490
—
40,490
17,750
060 - Non recuring grants
120
—
—
—
120
—
061 - Legacies
120
—
1,000
—
1,120
2,000
079 - Tax recovery Sp App/events
—
—
434
—
434
—
021 - Fund raising events
66
—
26,087
—
26,154
6,556
0311 - Perrinsfield Rent
9,292
—
—
—
9,292
8,760
032 - Bookstall
25
—
—
—
25
—
030 - Dividends and interest
41
—
10,798
—
10,840
5,242
Incoming resources from
generated funds Totals
139,058
—
135,406
—
274,464
168,940
Incoming resources from charitable activities
040 - Fees (weddings funerals) due
to PCC
3,008
—
—
—
3,008
4,250
Incoming resources from
charitable activities Totals
3,008
—
—
—
3,008
4,250
Other incoming resources
095 - Revaluation of Fixed Assets
—
—
—
—
—
508
Other incoming resources
—
—
—
—
—
508		 007 - Gift Aid recovery on Sundry
Gifts
4,831
—
—
—
4,831
4,760
020 - Grants
—
—
48,500
—
48,500
750
022 - Inspire Pledges
—
—
40,490
—
40,490
17,750
060 - Non recuring grants
120
—
—
—
120
—
061 - Legacies
120
—
1,000
—
1,120
2,000
079 - Tax recovery Sp App/events
—
—
434
—
434
—
021 - Fund raising events
66
—
26,087
—
26,154
6,556
0311 - Perrinsfield Rent
9,292
—
—
—
9,292
8,760
032 - Bookstall
25
—
—
—
25
—
030 - Dividends and interest
41
—
10,798
—
10,840
5,242
Incoming resources from
generated funds Totals
139,058
—
135,406
—
274,464
168,940
Incoming resources from charitable activities
040 - Fees (weddings funerals) due
to PCC
3,008
—
—
—
3,008
4,250
Incoming resources from
charitable activities Totals
3,008
—
—
—
3,008
4,250
Other incoming resources
095 - Revaluation of Fixed Assets
—
—
—
—
—
508
Other incoming resources
—
—
—
—
—
508		 007 - Gift Aid recovery on Sundry
Gifts
4,831
—
—
—
4,831
4,760
020 - Grants
—
—
48,500
—
48,500
750
022 - Inspire Pledges
—
—
40,490
—
40,490
17,750
060 - Non recuring grants
120
—
—
—
120
—
061 - Legacies
120
—
1,000
—
1,120
2,000
079 - Tax recovery Sp App/events
—
—
434
—
434
—
021 - Fund raising events
66
—
26,087
—
26,154
6,556
0311 - Perrinsfield Rent
9,292
—
—
—
9,292
8,760
032 - Bookstall
25
—
—
—
25
—
030 - Dividends and interest
41
—
10,798
—
10,840
5,242
Incoming resources from
generated funds Totals
139,058
—
135,406
—
274,464
168,940
Incoming resources from charitable activities
040 - Fees (weddings funerals) due
to PCC
3,008
—
—
—
3,008
4,250
Incoming resources from
charitable activities Totals
3,008
—
—
—
3,008
4,250
Other incoming resources
095 - Revaluation of Fixed Assets
—
—
—
—
—
508
Other incoming resources
—
—
—
—
—
508
urces
—
—
—
—
—
508

Page 35

Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Totals
Incoming resources
Grand Total
142,066
—
135,406
—
277,472
173,698
Total
Unrestricted
Designated
Restricted
Endowment
This year
Last year
Resources used
Costs of generating funds
171 - Fund raising events
100
—
3,112
—
3,212
2,511
Costs of generating funds
Totals
100
—
3,112
—
3,212
2,511
Charitable activities
100 - World Church Donations
10,298
—
—
—
10,298
9,500
104 - Donations
—
—
1,026
—
1,026
120
110 - Parish share: Diocese
82,638
—
—
—
82,638
77,232
1101 - Parish share: Deanery
7,554
—
—
—
7,554
7,554
111 - Incumbent's expenses
1,280
—
—
—
1,280
5,818
112 - Clergy expenses
4,955
—
—
—
4,955
1,990
120 - Church heating
700
—
—
—
700
4,277
121 - Church lighting
1,695
—
—
—
1,695
1,476
122 - Church water charges
163
—
—
—
163
56
124 - Church insurance
4,895
—
—
—
4,895
4,630
125 - Church fabric repairs
525
—
—
—
525
810

Page 36

Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

127 - Gas/electric/water repairs 449 — — — 449 1,481
128 - Organ and Piano maintenance — — — — — 230
129 - Maintenance Fixtures and 2,054 — 252 — 2,306 2,095
fittings
130 - Cost of running services 1,250 — — — 1,250 4,554
131 - Churchyard maintenance 334 — — — 334 570
150 - Cottage heating 120 — — — 120 1,375
151 - Cottage lighting 497 — — — 497 494
152 - Cottage water charges 268 — — — 268 428
153 - Cottage cleaning 418 — — — 418 500
154 - Cottage insurance — — — — — 78
156 - Cottage Repairs 150 — — — 150 555
160 - Honoraria, salaries/wages 2,498 — — — 2,498 1,376
161 - Wages subject to PAYE/NI 371 — — — 371 210
162 - PAYE tax 197 — — — 197 —
1631 - Nest Pension 451 — — — 451 —
164 - Sunday School 252 — — — 252 66
1641 - Holiday Club 279 — — — 279 1,253
165 - Education and Training 169 — — — 169 913
166 - Youth activities — — 1,190 — 1,190 —
190 - Major church repairs or new 537 — 363 — 900 —
work
191 - Architects/other fees for repairs — — 32,088 — 32,088 8,311
or new
192 - Perrinsfield repairs and 736 352 — — 1,089 553

Page 37

Parochial Church Council of St Lawrence Lechlade

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

insurance
Charitable activities Totals
Governance costs
180 - Bank charges
181 - Auditor's fees
184 - Administrator's wages
1841 - Parish Office
185 - Other administration costs
Governance costs totals
Resources used		 insurance
Charitable activities Totals
Governance costs
180 - Bank charges
181 - Auditor's fees
184 - Administrator's wages
1841 - Parish Office
185 - Other administration costs
Governance costs totals
Resources used
125,746
352
34,919
—
161,018
138,516
367
—
—
—
367
357
1,155
—
1,155
—
2,310
—
11,329
—
—
—
11,329
10,338
2,393
—
—
—
2,393
2,744
172
—
18
—
190
—
15,417
—
1,173
—
16,591
13,440
141,263
352
39,205
—
180,822
154,468

grand totals

There may be minor discrepancies in the totals if the pence are not being shown

Page 38