ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF BLACKMORE ST. LAURENCE
Charity Number 1134161
Annual Report and Financial Statements of the
Parochial Church Council
For the year ended 31[st] December, 2022
Incumbent:
The Reverend Sam Brazier-Gibbs The Vicarage Church Street Blackmore Ingatestone CM4 0RN
Bankers:
Santander plc Bootle Merseyside L30 4GB
CCLA Investment Management Limited COIF Charity Funds Senate House 85 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4ET
Independent Examiner:
Mrs. Clare E. Corby Farriers Blacksmiths Alley, Blackmore Ingatestone CM4 0QU
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Independent Examinerfs Report to the PCC of The Priory Church of St. Laurence, Blackmore. This report on the accounts of the PCC for the year ended 31 December 2022 is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with general directions 8iven by the Charity Commission. Respectlve responsibilities of trustees and examiner As members of the PCC, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. You consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144121 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It 15 my responsibility to= Examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Charities Act To follow the procedures laid down by the general directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515llbl of the 2011 Charitie5 Act. To state whether particular matters have come to my attention Basis of Independent examinerfs report My examination was carried out in accordance with the general direction5 given by the Charity Commission. An examination include5 a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC 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 PCC 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 Vie and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. Independent examlnerfs statement In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: Which give5 me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements.. To keep accounting records in accordan with settion 130 of the 2011 Charities Act and To prepare account5 which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Charitie5 Act have not been met. or 2. To which. in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understarlding of the accounts to be reached. Clare E Corby Farriers, Blacksmiths Alleyi Blackmore, Essex CM4 OQU th 5 May 2023
Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council for the Year Ended 31[st] December 2022
Structure, Governance and Management
The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. At St Laurence the membership of the PCC consists of the incumbent (our vicar), the churchwardens, the reader and members elected by those members of the congregation who are on the Electoral Roll of the church. All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.
The PCC passed a resolution to rescind the Six Year Rule for electing churchwardens and will elect them every year.
The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish, including deciding how the funds of the PCC are to be spent. The full PCC met six times with the average level of attendance of 80%. Given the wide responsibilities of the PCC it has a number of Task Groups. Each dealing with a particular aspect of parish life.
These Task Groups, which include Mission, Outreach and Discipleship; Pastoral Care; Health and Safety; Children and Youth Work; Fabric and Finance; Worship Group and Leadership Team are all responsible to the PCC and report back to it regularly with minutes of their decisions being received by the full PCC and discussed as necessary.
Achievements and Performance
Worship and Prayer
This year has seen the resumption of normal Sunday services, with the choice at Communion of receiving a dipped wafer or taking the traditional wafer and wine. We no longer use hymn books and the words are projected on to a screen.
There are also Prayer Meetings on Monday evenings and Tuesday mornings
Bible Study is held on Thursday afternoons and Christianity Explored on Thursday evenings.
There was a full programme of services over the Christmas period including the Starlight Service and Midnight Mass.
Church Attendance
There are 55 parishioners on the Electoral Roll, 13 of whom are not resident within the parish.
Deanery Synod
There have been several meetings this year, attended by Joh Hughes, Kevin Wood and Rev Sam, with Bishop Guli introducing herself at the November meeting.
The Church Building
The heating in the church has been under discussion for much of this year and it has now been decided to replace the side heaters, which have always been in the wrong position, with new ones which will be in the correct position.
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The DAC have approved the Schedule of Works for the recladding of the tower and lychgate and a lot of work has gone into sorting out available grants, etc., but we are having trouble getting approval from Brentwood Borough Council and our architect is working on this.
The church is now open to visitors every day during daylight hours.
Pastoral Care
Sandra Wood and Sandra Keeble area running this successfully, bringing help to those in need.
Serenitea, which is held every Tuesday morning is very well supported and attended by many people who are not regular church goers.
The Prayer Chain is currently being run by Sam.
Mission and Evangelism
During 2022 MODS organised a St George’s Evening of song with Graham O’Leary; a barbecue; Harvest Supper; Christmas Fair and a Christmas Fun Quiz all of which were very successful.
Children and Youth Work:
Friday Club for under 12’s is well attended and the Youth Group for teenagers has twelve members.
Ecumenical Relationships
St Laurence continues to have a good relationship with the Blackmore Baptist Church.
Gill Hall – Secretary.
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Financial Report 2022
Receipts totalling £85,440, details of which are shown in the Financial Statement, were mostly placed throughout the year in our General Account with Santander plc, the exception being interest on other accounts, which was retained with them. Payments amounted to £79,374 producing a surplus of £6,066.
We have seen an increase in funds generated by church social and fundraisings activities which have fully resumed following the covid pandemic which curtailed activities in 2020 and 2021. We have also seen an increase in fees following a full year of weddings, funerals and baptisms.
Our parish share of £49,490 was paid in full. The parish share largely provides the stipends, housing and training for the clergy and the necessary legally required administration of the Diocese as the Church of England is the state church. The Diocese allocates the specific costs for the provision ministry, training of future ministry and Diocesan services to each church.
We have continued to support Children in Distress, the Brentwood Schools Christian Workers Trust and the British Legion’s Poppy Appeal and have resumed supporting the Church of England Children’s Society through a collection at the Starlight Christmas service.
Regular giving by monthly standing order has increased over 2021 and we are still encouraging the take-up of this as it makes budgeting easier and helps us to understand our financial position and outlook. A new booklet “Generous Giving” has been produced and is available in printed copy in church or online from the link on the church website ‘Giving’ page.
I would like to thank the many church members and friends who support the church through regular giving, which is our main source of income, all those who come and support the fundraising and social activities and the Friends of St Laurence group for their fundraising activities and support for the fabric of the building and the churchyard.
John Hughes – Treasurer
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Financial Statement for the Year ended 31[st] December 2022
General Fund Receipts and Payments Account
| Receipts Voluntary Receipts Planned giving (Gift Aided) Other Planned Giving Service Collections, Contactless & Online All other giving FoSL Funding Gift Aid Recovered Legacies Received Grants Activities for Generating Funds Teas in the Tower Serenitea Social Events Christmas Market Income From Investments & Other Accounts General Accounts Fabric Account(s) Business Savings Bond Church Activities Parish Magazine Merchandise Charity Church Users Fees Other Receipts Other Total Receipts Payments Costs of Generating Funds Fundraising Activities Church Activities Mission Giving/Donations Parish Share Clergy & Staff Expenses Miscellaneous Church Expenses Mission and Evangelism Church Running Expenses Church Office Expenses Church Utility Bills Costs of Trading Other Outgoings Major Capital Expenditure Tower and Re-Ordering Vicarage Total Payments |
Notes 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
2022 2021 £ £ 32653 30047 1010 1745 3684 2367 13011 12430 1815 4515 6997 12578 3000 5000 0 0 864 0 5309 832 1547 2555 1737 1597 124 2 156 43 414 758 0 0 556 241 474 162 1636 1015 10298 6697 155 272 |
|---|---|---|
| 85440 82855 |
||
| £ £ 339 0 2941 2325 49490 43087 6525 6534 289 594 1402 622 9924 6097 1852 1656 1753 996 448 240 2777 1071 1098 8952 537 2663 |
||
| 79374 74835 |
Surplus/Debit
6066 8020
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Notes to the Accounts for the year to December 2022
1 Accounting Policies
The financial statements of the PCC have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2011 using the Receipts and Payments basis.
2 Funds
The general fund usually represents the funds of the PCC that are not subject to any special restrictions regarding their use and are available for application to the general purposes of the PCC unless specified otherwise.
The fabric fund consists of unrestricted and restricted funds designated for the maintenance of the Church building, tower and churchyard.
These accounts include monetary transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC can be held responsible. They do not include the accounts of other Church groups that owe an affiliation to another body, nor those that are informal gatherings of Church members.
The Blackmore PCC have agreed to waive future contributions of Stondon Massey PCC Ministerial and Office Expenses.
Where the PCC collects monies on behalf of other charities, both the Receipts and Payments are included in these accounts.
| 3 Sundry Receipts: Other 4 Mission Giving and Donations BCSWT Children In Distress Childrens Society British Legion Community Giving 5 Clergy and Staff Expenses: Ministry Expenses & Resources Organist / Bells / Choir Verger 6 Mission and Evengelism: Children and youth Worship Material Training |
2022 2021 £ £ 155 272 |
|---|---|
| 155 272 |
|
| 1200 1200 775 450 396 0 90 80 480 595 |
|
| 2941 2325 |
|
| 5940 6144 385 290 200 100 |
|
| 6525 6534 |
|
| 1308 106 45 352 49 164 |
|
| 1402 622 |
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Notes to the Accounts (continued)
| 7 Church Running Exps. Insurance Copyright Licences Consumables General Maintenance Organ & Piano maint. Churchyard Memorial Plaques 8 Office Expenses: Office-Stationary Office-Postage Office-Telephone Office-Electricity Office-Photocopier Magazine Production IT Software/Hardware 9 Other Outgoings Payments to CDBF |
2022 2021 £ £ 2913 2770 541 411 647 163 2310 360 264 108 1883 1828 1367 458 |
|---|---|
| 9924 6097 |
|
| 137 84 30 55 447 434 474 594 535 218 0 0 230 270 |
|
| 1852 1656 |
|
| 2777 1071 |
|
| 2777 1071 |
|
| 79374 74835 |
THE PRIORY CHURCH OF ST. LAURENCE, BLACKMORE Financial Statement for the Year ended 31st December 2022
Fabric Fund Receipts and Payments Account
| Receipts Interest from CCLA Fabric Fund Donations Complaint Goodwill Gesture Payments HSBC Account Closure Transfer Surplus CCLA Fabric Fund account at 31st December 2022 |
2022 2021 Designated Restricted Total Designated Restricted Total £ £ £ £ £ £ 156 156 2 2 0 43 43 0 50 50 |
|---|---|
| 156 0 156 95 0 95 |
|
| 0 309 309 |
|
| 0 0 0 309 0 309 |
|
| 156 -214 |
|
| 14468 1655 16123 14312 1655 15967 |
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THE PRIORY CHURCH OF ST. LAURENCE, BLACKMORE Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31st December 2022
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | Designated | ||||
| Funds | Funds | Total | Total | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Cash Funds and Bank Accounts | |||||
| Santander Current Account | 12687 | 4224 | 16911 |
31538 | |
| Santander Deposit Account | 20062 | 309 | 20372 |
371 | |
| C.C.L.A General Fund | 12792 | 12792 | 12668 | ||
| C.C.L.A Fabric Fund | 16123 | 16123 |
15967 | ||
| Cambridge and Counties Bank | 59456 | 59456 | 59042 | ||
| Total Cash and Bank Accounts | 104997 | 20656 | 125652 |
119587 | |
| Other monetary Assets (all in respect of | unrestricted funds) | ||||
| End of year Income Tax claim | £4,473 | £1,969 | |||
| Other Assets | |||||
| Moveable church furnishings held by the Church Wardens on special | trust | ||||
| for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal. | |||||
| Office Equipment used for Parish administration. |
The accounts have been presented to the PCC on 25[th] January 2023 and signed on their behalf
Reverend Sam Brazier-Gibbs John Hughes Chairperson Treasurer
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