2023-12-31-accounts - The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St Mary's Slaugham And St Mark's Staplefield

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The Parish of St Mary's Slaugham and

St Mark's Staplefield Common

End of Year Financial Statements

Year ending 31[st] December 2023

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Mary’s

Slaugham and St Mark’s Staplefield Common

registered charity number 1134786

for the year ended 31[st] December 2023

AIMS AND PURPOSES

Slaugham & Staplefield Parochial Church Council has the responsibility of co-operating with the Rector to promote the whole mission of the church (pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical) within the ecclesiastical parish, comprising the villages of Handcross, Pease Pottage, Slaugham, Staplefield and Warninglid.

The PCC maintains an overview of worship throughout the parish and makes suggestions on how our services can involve and include the different people who live within our parish.

Our services and worship put faith into practice through prayer, scripture, music and sacrament.

When planning our activities for the year, the incumbent considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance on ‘charities for the advancement of religion’. We tried to enable local people to live out their faith as part of our parish community through:

worship and prayer, learning about the Gospel, and developing their knowledge of,
and trust in, Jesus.
provision of pastoral care for people living in the parish.
outreach.
missionary support.

To facilitate this work, it is important that we maintain the fabric of our three church buildings, St Mary’s Slaugham, St Mark’s Staplefield and All Saints Handcross.

As a united parish there are times when we jointly worship together and plan together so that maximum benefit can be derived for both the whole parish.

Objectives for 2024

Having now formally united as one parish and rebranded as ‘West Weald Parish’, we are working to strengthen the unity we share whilst also seeking opportunities to serve the

communities in a more focused way. The appointment of Phil Hawksley as Licensed Lay Worker has enabled us to make significant developments in the life of All Saints, and we are working at developing our links in Pease Pottage and Warninglid. We are also focused on completing the toilet project at St Mark’s.

Attendance at worship

Our average attendance is between 80 and 100 each week across the Parish, which comprises people of all ages. Whilst there has been a slight decrease at St Mary’s, we have seen and are seeing signs of growth across the parish as a whole.

Developing and supporting believers, both established and new

We have run an Alpha course in All Saints and seen a number of people come to faith in 2023, leading to two adult baptisms.

Prayer is a central part of all we do across the parish. We have continued our monthly prayer gatherings and have plans to develop these further and offer more opportunities for people to pray together for the needs of the parish, the schools and wider world issues.

We conducted five weddings, six child baptisms, two adult baptisms, and 16 funerals (including ashes interments) in 2023.

The joint choir of St. Mary’s and St. Mark’s Staplefield and musicians were able to participate at services held for Harvest, Remembrance and Christmas, including at our annual carol services and crib service on Christmas Eve, which was very well attended and a great joy to be part of.

Evangelism and outreach

The Handcross Community Pantry remains our main and most thriving activity for mission, supporting local families with food supplies, and building community through the Saturday morning café. We have planted a new worshipping congregation into All Saints and have held our first worship event in Pease Pottage, and have been developing links with St Catherine’s Hospice.

The Rector continues to be heavily involved in all our schools and, with us now having four Christian head teachers, there are even more opportunities with regular assemblies and visits.

Provision of the church buildings

We are blessed with having three church buildings in the parish. St Mary’s in Slaugham would normally be used regularly for most of our church services as well as other activities and groups. All Saints in Handcross is good and centrally placed, and has become much

more utilised in the past year. St Mark’s is used regularly for Tuesday and Sunday worship and has been used for other prayer events for school and church. We want our church buildings to be used by the wider community as well as for church services, and we welcome groups meeting there; we seek to see St Mary’s used more for quiet days and retreats, and it has also been used more by local Slaugham residents for events.

The Creative Expressions art group continues to meet at St Mary’s on Fridays.

We are pleased when people enjoy the church building, be they worshippers or visitors, and our visitor book regularly has entries which reflect our care of the church for the enjoyment of all.

Future developments for the church buildings and properties

We continue with the plans to install a toilet at St Mark’s, and we are re-opening discussions about the access at All Saints.

Care for others – pastoral care, tangible support, charitable giving – within the parish and beyond

Pastoral care takes place through visiting, whether people are at home, in hospital or in a nursing home. The Rector visits when possible but there are a number of people involved in visiting. We also continue to be able to hold our regular visits to the Belle Vue nursing home in Warninglid.

There has also been support of the wider community. Our Parish Relief Fund was used to help a number of people who had been struggling financially. We also became aware of a number of people in our locality who have been made homeless due to circumstances beyond their control. We have referred some of them to other agencies which can provide the practical support that they need, but we aim to keep in touch with them as far as possible. We have become increasingly aware of the need to help and support people struggling with addiction and we are looking into partnering with some charities and agencies who may be able to help.

Helen Arnold has been regularly phoning the older members of our community through her role on the Rosemary Club, and has been informing the Rector of any needs or concerns.

Financial Review of 2023

This year was the first year of the new Parish, which held various financial challenges. There are still separate bank accounts for the churches of St Mark’s and St Mary’s with All Saints, though the Parish Share is now paid for the entire parish as one whole. Sensitivity has to be applied when people make gifts expressly for the benefit of one or other churches and this has to be respected.

Income

Total income from donations and legacies for 2023 was £135,833 which was less than in 2022. This was due to a reduction in the number of church members and a lack of large one-off donations seen in the previous year. The Parish Share now paid to the Diocese for the Parish of St Mark’s and St Mary’s was reduced by 20% to £59,096, following consultation between the Diocese and the Rector, which was paid in 12 monthly instalments as usual. This money pays for clergy salaries, pensions, housing costs, training and also a contribution towards the Church of England at a national level. It also helps churches less able to pay for themselves within the Diocese. The Gift Aid claim for 2020/2021 was made and £1,315 was received from HMRC in April 2023. The treasurer would like to thank Barbara Butfoy for her work on preparing the data.

Staff Posts

We currently have two part-time employees: Fae Widdowson as Parish Administrator and Paul Hollinshead as Digital Communications Outreach Worker. From November 2023, we also have a full time Apostolic Lay Worker, Phil Hawksley, based at All Saints church. He is in a unique position as an outreach worker responsible for the mission work being carried out centred on Handcross village. His expenses are met by contributions from the church family. We are incredibly grateful for the amazing work carried out by all these people.

A number of members of the PCC also receive payments throughout the year for expenditure incurred in the running of the church, especially the wardens responsible for church supplies such as palm crosses and candles. Barbara Butfoy has continued, as in previous years, to be pivotal in obtaining supplies for the Pantry. We now have a separate Pantry bank account into which donations can be made. Barbara has a debit card to make purchases.

Parish Magazine

The Parish Magazine is now produced online in a very much reduced format at no cost.

Churchyard Maintenance

After Brian Funnell’s retirement last year, we were fortunate to obtain the services of Matt Sugrue, recently retired, who has taken over churchyard maintenance and is doing a splendid job. Brian is a tough act to follow but Matt seems to be rising to the challenge for which we are very grateful.

Church Maintenance

The usual expenditure was required on annual inspections of electrical and safety systems.

The new heating regime appears to be satisfactory, whereby the underfloor heating is switched on only for the main Sunday services, funerals, etc. Whilst the church is not as warm as it used to be, the congregation has adapted well. There are fleece blankets available for those who need them, and the heating costs are manageable. The increased usage of All Saints has resulted in an increase in electricity bills in that church.

Mission Giving

Ignoring income to restricted funds and wedding and funeral fees collected on behalf of the diocese, our Mission giving was about 11.1% of income. This includes donations to the Pantry. Since we started the Pantry, we have never run out of food to redistribute, for which we are truly grateful.

Reserves Policy

It is the policy of the PCC to maintain 2 months’ worth of expenditure in unrestricted funds.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) has registered with the Charity Commission as required by the Charities Act 2011.

Membership of the PCC is determined under the Church Representation Rules and consists of certain ex-officio members (the incumbent, curate, lay readers licensed to officiate in the church), the churchwardens and members of the Deanery, Diocesan or General Synods, and a maximum of twelve members of the churches, who are elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM). Members are warmly encouraged to stand for election to the PCC and we try to ensure a balance of skills and experience where possible.

The full PCC met regularly during the year, as did the St Mark’s subcommittee. The PCC Standing Committees (comprising rector, curate, two churchwardens, treasurer and one assistant warden) are able to transact the business of the PCC between meetings, subject to any directions given by the council. There are two unelected assistant churchwardens at St Mary’s who help greatly.

The Mission Partnership Committee advises the PCC on funding and support issues relating to people and organisations. The church understands the correlation between mission and evangelism, and gives away at least a tenth of its disposable voluntary income.

The staff team (comprising Rector, four churchwardens, All Saints Missional Community Leaders, Catering Outreach Manager, Digital Outreach Worker, Administrator, Mentoring Co-ordinator) meet on a weekly basis to pray and share ideas and vision, and they also communicate regularly on WhatsApp.

This report was approved by the Trustees on ………………………………………………………………………… and signed on their behalf by:

Colin Tomlinson Churchwarden

Helen Arnold Churchwarden

Receipts and Payments Account

						Prior
	Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Endowment	Total	year
	funds	funds	funds	funds	funds	total
						funds
Receipts
Donations and legacies	130,777.84	-	5,055.00	-	135,832.84	-
Investments	5,575.56	-	-	-	5,575.56	-
Other income	45,103.00	37,497.00	126,987.00	115,001.00	324,588.00	-
Income from charitable
activities	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other trading activities	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total Receipts	181,456.40	37,497.00	132,042.00	115,001.00	465,996.40	-
Payments
Expenditure on charitable activities	132,573.08	-	3,235.09	-	135,808.17	-
Raising funds	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other expenditure	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total Payments	132,573.08	-	3,235.09	-	135,808.17	-

Excess of receipts over payments before transfer	48,883.32	37,497.00	128,806.91	115,001.00	330,188.23	-
Transfers:
Gross transfers between funds -
in	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gross transfers between funds -
out	-	-	-	-	-	-
Excess of receipts over payments before other gains	48,883.32	37,497.00	128,806.91	115,001.00	330,188.23	-
Net movement in funds	48,883.32	37,497.00	128,806.91	123,350.70	338,537.93	-
Reconciliation of funds
Excess of receipts over
payments at beginning of the	-	-	-	-	-	-
year
Excess of receipts over payments for the year	48,883.32	37,497.00	128,806.91	123,350.70	338,537.93	-

Balance Sheet (Summary)

	As at 31/12/2023 As at 31/12/2022
Fixed assets Investments Current assets Cash At Bank And In Hand Liabilities Net current assets less current liabilities Total assets less current liabilities Liabilities Total net assets less liabilities Represented by Unrestricted Unrestricted - General Funds Designated Designated - All Building Projects Fund Designated - Hardship Fund Designated - May Ball 2019 Designated - St Marks Toilet Fundraising Restricted Restricted - All Saints Re-Ordering Restricted - Carpet Fund Restricted - Church And Churchyard Repair Restricted - Heating Costs Restricted - Leaving Gift	123,350.70 -
	123,350.70 - 215,187.23 -
	215,187.23 -
	- -
	215,187.23 -

	338,537.93 - - -
	338,537.93 - 48,883.32 - 700.00 - 450.00 - 28,391.00 - 7,956.00 - 83,867.00 - 1,320.00 - 30,149.00 - 1,000.00 - 285.00 -

Restricted - Mission Fund Restricted - Parish Ministry By Avril Or Phil Restricted - Parish Relief Fund Restricted - StM Toilet Endowment Endowment - Gibson-Warren Endowment - Mission Sale Endowment - Sunday School Endowment - Warren Endowment Fund Totals	60.00 - 1,235.91 - 890.00 - 10,000.00 - 28,586.68 - 39,607.09 - 11,257.44 - 43,899.49 -
	338,537.93 -

Statement of Assets and Liabilities (by fund)

	Balance Previous balance
Investments 0010: Warren Endowment Warren Endowment Endowment 43,899.49 - 43,899.49 - 0011: Sunday School Fund Sunday School Endowment 11,257.44 - 11,257.44 - 0012: Sale Mission Room Mission Sale Endowment 39,607.09 - 39,607.09 - 0013: Gibson-Warren Gibson-Warren Endowment 28,586.68 - 28,586.68 - Investments 123,350.70 - Cash At Bank And In Hand 2000: HSBC Current account General Fund Unrestricted 15,593.50 - Parish Relief Fund Restricted 890.00 - Parish Ministry By Avril Or Phil Restricted 1,235.91 - Mission Fund Restricted 60.00 - Carpet Fund Restricted 1,320.00 - 19,099.41 - 2001: Pantry Account General Fund Unrestricted 885.37 - 885.37 - 2002: HSBC Saving account General Fund Unrestricted 9,210.44 - All Saints Re-Ordering Restricted 21,291.00 - 30,501.44 -	43,899.49 -
	43,899.49 - 11,257.44 -
	11,257.44 - 39,607.09 -
	39,607.09 - 28,586.68 -
	28,586.68 -
	19,099.41 - 885.37 -
	885.37 - 9,210.44 - 21,291.00 -
	30,501.44 -

2003: CCLA CBF Deposit

All Saints Re-Ordering	Restricted	62,576.00	-
		62,576.00	-
2004: Barclays
All Building Projects Fund	Designated	700.00	-
Church And Churchyard Repair	Restricted	416.00	-
General Fund	Unrestricted	22,228.44	-
Hardship Fund	Designated	450.00	-
Heating Costs	Restricted	1,000.00	-
Leaving Gift	Restricted	285.00	-
May Ball 2019	Designated	28,391.00	-
St Marks Toilet Fundraising	Designated	7,956.00	-
StM Toilet	Restricted	10,000.00	-
		71,426.44	-
2005: CCLA CBF Deposit (St M)
Church And Churchyard Repair	Restricted	29,733.00	-
General Fund	Unrestricted	952.57	-
		30,685.57	-
2006: Petty cash
General Fund	Unrestricted	13.00	-
		13.00	-
	Cash At Bank And In Hand	215,187.23	-
	Grand Total	338,537.93	-

Fund movement summary

Fund[Opening][Incoming] Outgoing Transfers Gains/Losses Journals Closing

	Fund Op	ening	Incoming	Outgoing Tran	sfers Gains	/Losses Jou	rnals	Closing
Building
Designated		-	700.00	-	-	-	-	700.00
	Sub-totals	-	700.00	-	-	-	-	700.00
Churchrepair
Restricted		-	30,149.00	-	-	-	-	30,149.00
	Sub-totals	-	30,149.00	-	-	-	-	30,149.00
General
Unrestricted		-	181,456.40	132,573.08	-	-	-	48,883.32
	Sub-totals	-	181,456.40	132,573.08	-	-	-	48,883.32
Hard
Designated		-	450.00	-	-	-	-	450.00
	Sub-totals	-	450.00	-	-	-	-	450.00
Heating
Restricted		-	1,000.00	-	-	-	-	1,000.00
	Sub-totals	-	1,000.00	-	-	-	-	1,000.00
Leaving gift
Restricted		-	285.00	-	-	-	-	285.00
	Sub-totals	-	285.00	-	-	-	-	285.00
MayBall
Designated		-	28,391.00	-	-	-	-	28,391.00
	Sub-totals	-	28,391.00	-	-	-	-	28,391.00
Relief
Restricted		-	1,190.00	300.00	-	-	-	890.00
	Sub-totals	-	1,190.00	300.00	-	-	-	890.00

StM Toilet

Designated	-	7,956.00	-	-	-	-	7,956.00
Sub-totals	-	7,956.00	-	-	-	-	7,956.00
StM Toilet res
Restricted	-	10,000.00	-	-	-	-	10,000.00
Sub-totals	-	10,000.00	-	-	-	-	10,000.00
ParMin
Restricted	-	4,171.00	2,935.09	-	-	-	1,235.91
Sub-totals	-	4,171.00	2,935.09	-	-	-	1,235.91
AllSaint
Restricted	-	83,867.00	-	-	-	-	83,867.00
Sub-totals	-	83,867.00	-	-	-	-	83,867.00
Warren
Endowment	-	40,124.00	-	-	-	3,775.49	43,899.49
Sub-totals	-	40,124.00	-	-	-	3,775.49	43,899.49
Sunday
Endowment	-	10,289.00	-	-	-	968.44	11,257.44
Sub-totals	-	10,289.00	-	-	-	968.44	11,257.44
Mission
Endowment	-	37,513.00	-	-	-	2,094.09	39,607.09
Sub-totals	-	37,513.00	-	-	-	2,094.09	39,607.09
Gibson
Endowment	-	27,075.00	-	-	-	1,511.68	28,586.68
Sub-totals	-	27,075.00	-	-	-	1,511.68	28,586.68
Mission Fund
Restricted	-	60.00	-	-	-	-	60.00

	Sub-totals	-	60.00	-	-	-	-	60.00
Carpet
Restricted		-	1,320.00	-	-	-	-	1,320.00
	Sub-totals	-	1,320.00	-	-	-	-	1,320.00
	Totals	-	465,996.40	135,808.17	-	-	8,349.70	338,537.93

Total

Analysis of income and expenditure

						Last
	Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Endowment	This year
						year
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM:
Donations and legacies
0101 - Planned Giving	107,207.89	-	1,200.00	-	108,407.89	-
0103 - Wedding and Funeral Fees	6,210.00	-	-	-	6,210.00	-
0104 - Sundry donations and appeals	16,489.95	-	3,855.00	-	20,344.95	-
0105 - Love Gift	870.00	-	-	-	870.00	-
Donations and legacies Totals	130,777.84	-	5,055.00	-	135,832.84	-
Investments
0107 - Dividends and interest	5,575.56	-	-	-	5,575.56	-
Investments Totals	5,575.56	-	-	-	5,575.56	-
Other income
0120 - Funds brought in	45,103.00	37,497.00	126,987.00	115,001.00	324,588.00	-
Other income Totals	45,103.00	37,497.00	126,987.00	115,001.00	324,588.00	-
Income and endowments Grand totals	181,456.40	37,497.00	132,042.00	115,001.00	465,996.40	-
EXPENDITURE ON:
Expenditure on charitable activities
1101 - Church running costs	20,240.20	-	300.00	-	20,540.20	-
1102 - Utility bills	7,768.13	-	-	-	7,768.13	-
1103 - Rectory Expenses	3,624.38	-	-	-	3,624.38	-
1104 - Other clergy costs	1,000.00	-	-	-	1,000.00	-
1105 - Employees	6,756.96	-	2,935.09	-	9,692.05	-
1106 - Church maintenance	16,394.06	-	-	-	16,394.06	-
1107 - Churchyard maintenance	4,550.94	-	-	-	4,550.94	-
1108 - Youth and children	1,297.29	-	-	-	1,297.29	-
1109 - Mission Giving	10,430.00	-	-	-	10,430.00	-
1110 - Parish Share	59,096.00	-	-	-	59,096.00	-

1111 - Fees from Weddings and funerals	200.00	-	-	-	200.00	-
1112 - Accountancy costs	1,215.12	-	-	-	1,215.12	-
Expenditure on charitable activities Totals	132,573.08	-	3,235.09	-	135,808.17	-
Expenditure Grand totals	132,573.08	-	3,235.09	-	135,808.17	-

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE PARISH OF ST MARY'S

SLAUGHAM AND ST MARK'S STAPLEFIELD COMMON

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Parish Of St Mary's Slaugham And St Mark's Staplefield Common, for the year ended 31 December 2023.

RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES AND EXAMINER

As the charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S STATEMENT

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
the accounts do not accord with those records.

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

Sarah E Bestley BSC ACA

Date

CARTER NICHOLLS LIMITED

Chartered Accountants

Victoria House

Stanbridge Park

Staplefield Lane

Staplefield

West Sussex

RH17 6AS