ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF BLACKMORE ST. LAURENCE
Charity Number 1134161
Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council
For the year ended 31st December, 2024
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 CCLA Fund Managers Limited One Angel Lane London EC4R 3AB
Cambridge and Counties Bank Charnwood Court 5B New Walk Leicester LE1 6TE
Independent Examiner:
Mrs. Clare E. Corby Farriers, Blacksmiths Alley Blackmore Ingatestone CM4 0QU
Page 1 of 9
Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council for the Year Ended
31[st] December 2024
Administrative Information
St Laurence Church is situated in Church Street, Blackmore. It is in the Deanery of Epping Forest and Ongar and is part of the Diocese of Chelmsford within the Church of England. The correspondence address is The Vicarage, Church Street, Blackmore, Ingatestone, Essex, CM4 0RN.
The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a charity, registered with the Charity Commission, No. 1134161.
Aims and Purposes
St Laurence Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church; pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also specifically responsible for the maintenance of the Grade 1 listed Church building and churchyard.
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 seven 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
As well as the Sunday Services there are Prayer Meetings Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings. There are also Bible Study Groups every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. During the summer, Sean Wood led a Celtic service once a month after Teas in the Tower.
There was a Starlight Trail round the churchyard again this Christmas. The Starlight Service was a great success and Midnight Mass was also very well attended.
Page 2 of 9
Church Attendance
There are 64 parishioners on the Electoral Roll, 12 of whom are not resident within the parish.
Deanery Synod
John Hughes and Andrew Smith attended John Fry’s inaugural meeting in February and, in June, Rev Sandra Eldridge (Diocesan Environmental Officer) gave an inspiring talk on environmental issues. In October there was a meeting in St Laurence attended by Michaela Southworth who is Chief Executive of the Diocese.
The Church Building
The church remains open to visitors every day during daylight hours.
Tower and Lychgate: The great news this year was that we have secured an NHLF grant for the full amount of money to proceed with the work on the Tower. Many thanks to Richard Thwaite for all the work he put in on this. There are still other expenses we shall have to meet and work must be done between March and November because of the bats.
The organ had a major overhaul this year, at a cost of £14,500.00 (ex VAT)
Work has been carried out on the sewer pipe.
Pastoral Care
Sandra Wood and Sandra Keeble continue to run this successfully, bringing help to those in need. They have produced a Pastoral Care Policy, a summary of which is available in church.
The Ministry Team are now responsible for the Prayer Chain which is for urgent requests. Other requests are to be included in the Weekly Sheet.
Friday Club for under 12’s has 20 children attending each session and Friday Club Plus, for older children, now has 25 members.
Open the Book takes place fortnightly at Blackmore School and in July all the children in Year 6 were given bibles.
Little Lauries for babies, toddlers and their carers has proved very popular.
Serenitea, which is held every Tuesday morning is very popular attracting both churchgoers and non- church-goers.
Mission and Evangelism
During 2024 MODS organised a Beetle Drive; Safari Supper; Medieval Feast; Jazz on the Green; Harvest Supper ; Christmas Quiz and Carols on Horsefayre Green.
Create meets once a month.
We continue to support Children in Distress and they have a sales stall at Serenitea.
Ecumenical Relationships
St Laurence continues to co-operate with Blackmore Baptist Church.
Gill Hall – Secretary.
Page 3 of 9
Financial Report
Receipts totalling £233,719 were received in 2024 including interest from all accounts, grants totalling £122,060 designated for the Tower Restoration and money received from the Friends of St Laurence (FoSL) to cover for Tower work costs (ex VAT) so far.
Payments for the year amounted to £107,662 producing a surplus of £126,077.
Excluding the grants which are planned to be spent in this year, the actual surplus was £3997.
The majority of funds are generated by regular giving from the congregation along with other donations from friends and visitors. Funds are also generated from fundraising and social events, church users and fees.
Our parish share of £42,919 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 of Chelmsford. The Diocese allocates the specific costs for the provision of ministry, training for future ministry and Diocesan services to each church. Our share requirement was significantly down on the previous year due to organisational changes and the removal of a one-off payment in 2023 agreed by the PCC to support other churches in the deanery.
Tower Restoration costs (excluding VAT) have been met by monies from FoSL. Other significant costs have been the restoration of the Church Organ (£17,340) and repairs to the sewerage pipe across the churchyard (£2,160). These have been paid from church funds. VAT has been reclaimed on these items but payment was not received in time to be included in these accounts.
We have continued to support Children in Distress, the Brentwood Schools Christian Workers Trust, the British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, Agapé and the Church of England Children’s Society.
I would like to thank the many church members and friends who support the church through regular and one-off giving, all those who come to support the fundraising and social activities and those who give up their time to help manage and run all the activities that the church puts on. I would also like to thank the Friends of St Laurence for their fundraising activities, support for the fabric of the building and the churchyard and for providing funds for the costs incurred so far for the Tower and Lych Gate restoration project.
John Hughes – Treasurer
Page 4 of 9
Financial Statement for the Year ended 31[st] December 2024
General Fund Receipts and Payments Account
| Receipts Voluntary Receipts Planned Giving (Gift Aided) Planned Giving (Not Gift Aided) Service Collections, Contactless & Online All other giving FoSL Funding Gift Aid & VAT 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 (1.5 yrs) Church Activities 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 Lych Gate Vicarage Church Total Payments Surplus/Debit |
Note s 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |
2024 2023 £ £ 33390 33197 1115 850 7073 5631 8188 8960 16090 5646 12268 12358 0 0 122060 1810 2290 1464 7732 6074 5103 2713 2299 2051 1370 605 1404 707 4089 1040 383 536 496 365 975 1890 7344 7068 50 1035 |
|---|---|---|
| 233719 94000 |
||
| £ £ 1378 1214 2603 2718 42919 56351 2471 4518 20 854 2378 1922 10186 9313 2268 1968 3538 4485 406 542 1779 3767 18036 8047 0 0 19681 8231 |
||
| 107662 103929 |
||
| 126057 -9929 |
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| Transfers Between Accounts 2024 2023 £ £ Santander Current to Santander Savings 75860 Santander Current to CCLA General 40000 Santander Savings to Santander Current 3000 Santander Savings to CCLA General 17000 |
|
|---|---|
Notes to the Accounts for the year to December 2024
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 Accounts and Funds
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.
Church monies are held in accounts with Santander, CCLA and Cambridge and Counties banks. The accounts are termed as General or Fabric Funds. A separate spreadsheet is maintained which contains details of funds given / allocated for Designated purposes.
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 Gift Aid and VAT Gift Aid Recovered VAT Recovered 4 Sundry Receipts: Other FoSL Receipts Stondon Receipts 5 Mission Giving and Donations BCSWT Children In Distress Childrens Society British Legion Community Giving Agape 6 Clergy and Staff Expenses: Ministry Expenses & Resources Organist / Bells / Choir Verger 7 Mission and Evengelism: Children and youth Worship Material Training |
2024 2023 £ £ 10397 12358 1870 |
|---|---|
| 12268 12358 |
|
| 50 128 0 121 0 786 |
|
| 50 1035 |
|
| 1200 1200 288 653 0 100 90 90 0 450 1025 225 |
|
| 2603 2718 |
|
| 1976 3918 295 400 200 200 |
|
| 2471 4518 |
|
| 2161 1551 187 322 30 49 |
|
| 2378 1922 |
Page 6 of 9
Notes to the Accounts (continued)
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Church Running Exps. | £ | £ | |||
| Insurance | 3183 | 3096 |
||||
| Copyright Licences | 586 | 517 |
||||
| Consumables | 350 | 347 |
||||
| Hospitality | 390 | 617 |
||||
| General Maintenance | 1687 | 1389 |
||||
| Organ & Piano maint. | 0 | 70 |
||||
| Churchyard | 3298 | 2402 |
||||
| Memorial Plaques | 692 | 875 |
||||
| 10186 | 9313 |
|||||
| 9 | Office Expenses: | |||||
| Office-Stationary | 110 | 228 |
||||
| Office-Postage | 85 | 55 |
||||
| Office-Telephone | 345 | 352 |
||||
| Office-Electricity | 505 | 838 |
||||
| Office-Photocopier | 436 | 283 |
||||
| IT Software/Hardware | 788 | 211 |
||||
| 2268 | 1968 |
|||||
| 10 | Other Outgoings | |||||
| Payments to CDBF | 1779 | 2781 |
||||
| Money collected payments (FoSL, Stondon, McMillan) | 986 | |||||
| 1779 | 3767 |
|||||
| 107662 | 103929 |
|||||
| THE | PRIORY CHURCH OF ST. LAURENCE, BLACKMORE | |||||
| CCLA Accounts - Receipts and Payments | ||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| General | Fabric | Total | Total | |||
| Fund | Fund | |||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| Opening Balance | 13353 | 16829 | 30182 | 28915 | ||
| Receipts | ||||||
| Transfer in from Santander | 17000 | 40000 | 57000 | 0 | ||
| Interest | 1191 | 1404 | 2596 | 1267 | ||
| Total Receipts | 18191 | 41404 | 59596 | 1267 | ||
| Payments | ||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total Payments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Increase / Decrease | 18191 | 41404 | 59596 | 1267 | ||
| CCLA accounts at | ||||||
| 31st December 2024 | 31544 | 58233 | 89777 | 30182 |
Page 7 of 9
THE PRIORY CHURCH OF ST. LAURENCE, BLACKMORE Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31st December 2024
| Bank Accounts YE Balances Santander Current Account Santander Deposit Account C.C.L.A General Fund C.C.L.A Fabric Fund Cambridge and Counties Bank Bank Accounts Total Change from 2023 Change from 2023 (Excluding Grants £122,060 & MMU £392.78) Other monetary Assets Q4 Gift Aid claim 2024 VAT claim 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. |
2024 2023 £ £ 12866.23 7630 76454.79 17416 31544.05 13353 58233.42 16829 63074.21 60496 |
|---|---|
| 242172.70 115723 |
|
| 126449.39 3996.61 £2,316 £3,447 |
Funds Designated for Specific Purposes
Funds for specific purposes are no longer held in separate accounts. A detailed list of these donations is maintained to ensure the funds are allocated correctly. The current monies set aside are:
| Childrens work (from Play School closure) | £846.47 |
|---|---|
| Tower (Grants, Donations, Church allocation) | £134,441.53 |
| Fabric | £1,655.00 |
| MMU | £392.78 |
| Total | £137,335.78 |
| Unallocated | £104,836.92 |
Signed on behalf of the PCC:
Reverend Sam Brazier-Gibbs Chairperson
John Hughes Treasurer
Page 8 of 9
Independent Examiner's 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 2024 is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with general directions given by the Charity Commission. Respertlve 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 Ithe 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to.. Examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Charities Att To follow the procedures laid down by the general directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515llbl of the 2011 Charities 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 direttions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a compari50n of the accounts presented with those records. It also include5 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 vieW and the report 15 limited to those matters set out in the statement below. Independent examinerfs statement In connertion with my examination. no matter has come to my attention: Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements.. To keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Charities Act and To prepare accounts which accord with the accounting record5 and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Charities Act have not been met, or 2. To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Clare E Corbv Farriers. Blacksmiths Alley. Blackmore, Essex CM4 (KIU 30" May 2025 Page9019