S GEORGE’S PARISH CHURCH
ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
23[rd] APRIL 2023
REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL.
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1.1 Since our last APM, the PCC has met on six occasions. At each meeting as routine items of business the Council has considered reports from the Church’s Committees and Groups, which have occurred since the last Council meeting. In addition, reports were received from representatives of Diocesan and Deanery Synods of what has occurred at meetings of the respective synods. In particular in order to keep the Diocesan Budget as sustainable as possible and at the request of the Deanery Synod we intend to work as closely as possible with our neighbouring Parishes in order to share resources, an example of this has been the recent Lent Course run in association with St Hilda’s, St Aidan’s and St Paul’s.
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1.2 The Council’s Annual Meeting was held on the 1st[ of] May last, with the usual items of business, namely, the election of officers for the year, ie. Andrew Pinkett as Hon. Treasurer and myself as Hon. Secretary. Mr Michael Nicholson was elected as Lay Vice Chairman. The meeting also considered the terms of office of the Lay Members of the Council and the appointment of Committees and Groups.
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1.3 As previously reported, the proposal of establishing a Charitable Trust to manage and erect a new hall is paused and enquires have yet to be made to establish the possible costs involved in keeping the present building but making it “fit for purpose” for say the next twenty years. This is still the current situation.
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1.4 This has been a further busy period for the Council considering the present circumstances and ensuring the appropriate Risk Assessments have been carried out and measures taken to ensure the Church and any activities allowed have been secure as far Health and Safety and Safeguarding Regulations are concerned. The meetings have been well attended. As indicated above, reports have been received at each meeting from the various committees and Groups. The Fabric Committee have kept Council updated on the progress of work being undertaken and details of the repairs, which have been completed throughout the period. The Council have also agreed through a tendering procedure through John Barney’s our Architect to explore funding and permissions in order to start work on the stonework and glazing repairs to the West End.
1.5 Repairs to a downcomer, hall heaters and “Pat” testing to electrical appliances in the Church and the Hall have been undertaken. Repairs to storm damage to the Stained Glass and Roof in the Apse. (Details of this work are referred to in the Church Wardens Report.)
1.6 During this period, it has not been possible to have many social events but those organised ie, Cullercoats Music Festival, and talks have been well supported and enjoyed by all. We look forward to this year when we can again have such events as concerts, choral evensong etc. The Friends of St George’s also have been quiet but have managed to hold their some events ie, Heritage Weeks in September last and secure some funding from donations and subscriptions.
1.7. There have been some items of correspondence received, which. have been considered and decisions made on how to take them forward.
1.8. With regard to Finance, the Council has recognised we continue to have difficulties due to the current economic situation and the after effects of the pandemic. Thus, we have kept a close eye with the help of the Hon Treasurer between the levels of the working balances this year and last. The Council has reviewed all our charges and fees and made some increases in local charges for weddings and funerals and the use of the Church Hall. As far as the Parish Share is concerned we met our pledge to the Diocese of £46000 in 2022 and hope to increase this over the next two/three years, depending on the level of our overall finances. (See the Treasurers Report)
1.9. As previously reported the Council has adopted the latest Diocesan Model Safeguarding Policy and this has been updated and the Council has approved statements on various aspects of the new Diocesan Safeguarding Dashboard for incorporation into our Safeguarding Action Plan, and work on this is ongoing. Arrangements have been made for appropriate members of the church who work with children and vulnerable people to be checked and registered accordingly. The Council has received regular reports the Parish Safeguarding Officer, including the completion of Declaration forms by Members of the PCC including participation in appropriate “online” and other safeguarding training and others including those working with children, vulnerable people and others. As a result, I would state that the Council has complied with its duty under Section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Measure 2016 (duty to have regard to House of Bishops guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults). (Further information is in the Parish safeguarding Officer’s Report).
2. Also discussions regarding Church Services have taken place and decisions taken having regard to the reinstatement of Evensong on the first Sunday of the month, with Benediction every three months, discontinuing the said Eucharist on a Friday, with Baptisms now to be held at 11.30am on Sundays instead of 11.15am.
2.1. The “Choir Club” has continued to meet and the choir has sung at the 9.30 service on Sundays or other special midweek services. We look forward to other expanded activities as the year progresses.
2.2. Two members of the Council are to stand down this year, namely, Mrs Sheila Hill and Mr Sean Dowinton. I would like to thank them on behalf of the PCC for their services to the Council and the Church.
I would also like to express my thanks to everyone for their support.
B McNally. Honorary Secretary.
April 2023.
SAINT GEORGE'S CHURCH CULLERCOATS
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2023 - CHURCH WARDEN'S REPORT
Paul and Vivienne would like to give our thanks to Fr. Adrian for his support and help during the year. This role is an ongoing learning curve and it’s good to have the opportunity to share and work things out.
We would also like to thank all who have assisted us during the year. Firstly, thank you to the ‘sidespersons who have taken on new duties this year supporting us especially when we are busy elsewhere during Sunday services. The rota for readings and prayers is now established and whilst the offertory can be taken by the sidespersons, we are always open to having other volunteers helping.
Enabling the main Sunday services run smoothly is very much a team effort. Thanks go to all of the volunteers, for their contributions. A special mention for Helen and Paul who throughout lockdown set up and streamed the 8am Sunday service and have continued to do this. Our online service regularly reaches 50 individuals, an interesting extension to our congregation.
Music at St Georges Church is an important part of our worship, our thanks go to both our Director of Music, Andrew and Louise for their time given at services and at choir rehearsals. Choir club meets weekly and now has an earlier session for younger singers.
May we also thank the retired clergy who assist so frequently filling in for services, without them it would be a struggle to maintain the number of services which are offered.
It's been great to have a year of mostly ‘back to normal’ activities after covid and lovely to see most people feeling confident enough to catch up in the hall over coffee on a Sunday after the 9.30am service. We are very grateful to all of those who help with the coffee on a Sunday morning.
We have also managed a couple of social occasions, a pie and pea quiz night, coffee mornings and a wonderful evening of Music, Poetry and beer arranged by Maurice. Thanks go to the volunteers who stepped up to make these such a success.
During the course of the last year we hosted a service of Confirmation for Churches in our Deanery which was presided over by the Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt.Rev. Tony Robinson SSC. We have also hosted the Annual General Meeting of the Newcastle Diocese branch of The Society under the patronage of St Wilfrid and St Hilda which was attended by the new Bishop of Beverley, the Rt.Rev. Stephen Race SSC.
Churchwardens have responsibilities to the Incumbent, the Archdeacon, and the Bishop. Last year Paul and Vivienne were pleased to attend the swearing in service for churchwardens in person, god to meet with others rather than seeing faces on ‘zoom’.
We also have responsibility to ensure the inventory of Church belongings is up to date and accurate, and once again we have carried out an audit, and found everything to be satisfactory. Once every two years we expect a visit from the Archdeacon who carries out an inspection, according to our records we were due a visit in 2020 but due to lockdown it didn’t occur. We are still waiting.
We can also report that the insurances for the church buildings and contents are up to date, together with those for the church hall. Our CCLI Licence for music has also been paid. Currently the premiums that are paid for insurances are: Church & Church Hall £11,559.63 CCLI £253.28
Thank you all again for you much valued support.
Vivienne Barke Paul Corrigan
HONOURARY TREASURER’S REPORT ST GEORGE’S CHURCH
FINANCIAL YEAR 2022
Before I make comments on the Accounts I would like to thank those other people who play an active and important part in managing the finance of this church. A very loyal, but small group of people meet on a Monday morning to open planned giving envelopes, reconcile loose cash, record monies against income categories and take these monies to the bank. I know that this group works diligently and unseen but make my
task that much easier. I would like to thank the Planned Giving team who keep the records on planned giving and deal with all the Inland Revenue returns. Others I would like to mention are Father Adrian whom I pester regularly on financial matters ,William Burgess the Honorary Auditor whose support and help is much appreciated and Brian McNally who patiently checks and countersigns all the cheques I place before him.
Overall Surplus/Deficit
Receipts exceeded Payments by £2774 Gross Receipts £117758 and Gross Payments £114984
General fund receipts £82806 and General fund payments £83246 Restricted fund receipts £34951 and Restricted fund payments £31738
Receipts :
Our principal receipts were
| Planned Giving | £50537 |
|---|---|
| Church maintenance | £12022 |
| Legacies | £12000 |
| Wedding/funeral fees | £7287 |
| Restricted loan | £7000 |
| Collections | £6165 |
The church maintenance figure of £12022 includes an insurance claim receipt for £6714 relating to storm damage. We received 4 legacies in 2022 and the £7000 restricted loan was from the Friends to ease cash flow near financial year end when we had significant church fabric repair bills.
Payments :
Our principal payments were
| Parish share | £46000 |
|---|---|
| General maintenance | £26070 |
| Church Insurance | £10767 |
| Services | £8869 |
£5510
Gas
The General maintenance payments of £26070 included £23501 for the Aisle roof and Apse window repairs
Our contributions towards charities has continued. Half of the collections raised from weddings, baptisms and funerals is given to a charity nominated by the families. £1790 was donated with the money going to 20 different charities.
Parish Share
In 2022 we achieved our Parish share pledge of £46000.
We have increased our pledge to £48000 for 2023. It is worth noting that only 5 of the other 18 parishes in the Tynemouth Deanery have also increased their pledges in 2023.
Friends of St Georges
The Friends loaned St Georges £5146 in 2020 to pay Architects fees. The Friends have since very generously converted this into a donation. The Friends made a further loan of £7000 to ease our cash flow in late 2022 when we had significant fabric repair bills.
HMRC
In early 2020 HMRC made an overpayment to us of £9321. They have offset this against the tax refund they owe us for 2020 and 2021. At the end of 2022 they owed us approx. £700.
Energy Bills
We are on fixed price tariffs so the recent spike in energy prices had limited impact on our bills in 2022. However the electricity contracts are renewing in 2023 and we will be paying more in the current year.
End of Year Balances and Reserves
At year end the General fund cash balance was £34389. This equates to about 20 weeks normal general expenditure. However the 2023 Budget forecasts a £12000 deficit on the General fund .
At year end the balance on all the Restricted funds was £28722 but we have a £7000 liability – the loan from the Friends - which will need to be repaid.
I would like to express my thanks to everyone for their support throughout the year.
A J PINKETT Treasurer
March 2023
St. George’s Church Fabric Committee Annual Report March 2023
Church Building
Over the year general maintenance has been carried out.
Late November 2022 saw the scaffolding erected round the Apse to facilitate the repairs to the roof slates and the stained glass damaged during storm Arwen. We took advantage of the scaffolding being in place to have the other windows to the front of the Apse inspected and subsequently had polycarbonate covers fitted on the outside to protect those windows which were loose and in danger of being blown out. The worn stonework around the windows was also repointed to hold the windows more firmly. This work should ensure that we do not have any problems with the windows for many years.
Fortunately the scaffolders were sturdy fellows and while discussing the problems that we were having with accessing the top of the flagpole to re-attach the flag fixings they volunteered to help in lowering and lifting the pole back into position. The last time this was done it took five of us to struggle to do this. This time it was managed with three. I will be ever grateful to them for their help. As soon as the weather improves we will have the flag flying again.
The West window has been of great concern for some time the stonework is badly eroded and much of the glass loose. We now intend to have this rectified. The church Architect has prepared a report and is currently seeking estimates for the work. When that is completed we will seek to raise the funds and hopefully proceed with the repairs.
Church Hall
No major work has been needed in the hall.
Some of the heaters have either been damaged or ceased to work and been replaced. Minor repairs to electrical plugs and water pipes has been undertaken. Michael Nicholson
Fabric Committee Chairperson
– Deanery Synod Report to APM April 2023
Since the last APM, Deanery Synod has met three times, in June, October and March, with Aubrey Bowles, Brian McNally and Margaret Patterson as representatives from St. George’s.
Revd. Tim Mayfield is Area Dean, with Dr. Pat Bragg as Environment Champion, Revd Dr. Rae Caro as Mission Enabler (new estates), Emma Doran as Lay Chair, Jan Porter as Secretary and Dr. Iain Shaw as Finance Officer. The post of Treasurer is currently vacant.
Each meeting has begun with parish representatives asking for prayer for a particular aspect of their parish life. News has been given of comings and goings within the Deanery and reports have been received from Diocesan and General Synods.
At the June meeting, we heard the “Tale of Two Marys,” contrasting the parishes of St. Mary, Monkseaton with St. Mary, Willington, and we were given copies of “A Rich Picture of Tynemouth Deanery,” which is displayed in the Church Hall. I can email you a copy, if you would like one.
At the October meeting, time was given for discussion of Q6 of the Parish Self review: “Do clergy, wardens and the PCC have a shared sense of vision and direction?” and there was a brief discussion of the work going on in the Deanery to support refugees from various places in the world. For people new to the UK, there is a drop-in centre in Howard Street, North Shields. Contact details are available, if you would like to be involved.
At the March meeting, there was discussion on Community Money Advice and an update on the Deanery Planning Process, with a Deanery Lent Course currently running in some parishes and a Deanery Morning planned for Saturday, 10[th] June.
Regarding Parishes, it is interesting to note that the only vacancy at the moment is that of a Vicar in the North Shields Team. However, we need to pray for and support other parishes whenever we can and the recent Lent Course has given us the opportunity to engage with St. Aidan’s, St. Hilda’s and St. Paul’s, Whitley Bay. We give thanks to the Revd. Canon Adrian Hughes for organising that course and for his ministry here at St. George’s. Margaret Patterson
St Georges Parish Church
Annual Parish Meeting
Safeguarding Report
The Safeguarding team has met five times since this time last year. And we have welcomed Maurice Condie to our team. We continue to use the Safeguarding dashboard that the Diocese rolled out in 2021 which ensures we are compliant with the 2016 House of Bishops recommendations on Safeguarding. We have worked hard on several areas in order to reach the goal
set by the Diocese to be at level 3 by November of last year. Although many areas were fully compliant and as a parish, we moved swiftly from level two to level three some areas needed more work/ clarification. Therefore, what follows is a summary of the tasks that have been undertaken and new procedures that have been put in place. Namely:-
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The PCC regularly approve the action plan generated by the dashboard as areas are completed or updated.
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The new Safeguarding Policy statement has been adopted by the PCC.
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DBS checks continue to be maintained and updated.
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Declaration forms for all major groups within the Church have been recently updated and completed.
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Risk assessments have been completed for all major groups within the Church.
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Role descriptions have been created for the Choir leader and Pastoral visitor team.
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Core Safeguarding training has been undertaken by members of the PCC.
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The newly appointed Church warden has completed his Leadership training.
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A procedure is in place for safer recruitment.
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A document on a Safer Environment and Activities has been circulated to all relevant groups.
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A document on how to deal with a disclosure has been circulated to all PCC members and church wardens.
Using the Safeguarding dashboard, we will continue to work on tracking our progress as well as constantly reviewing and updating our policies and procedures. Thus, continuing to work to make our church a safer place for all. We also need to ensure that training is kept up to date by encouraging newly appointed members of the PCC to complete the Basic online training available. And that where necessary refresher courses are undertaken if three years have lapsed, and the person is still in post. This continues to be an ongoing focus. In the following months we will be looking at doing some domestic abuse training with key members of the church. In order that they are equipped to deal with a disclosure of that nature, should it arise. All training and availability can be accessed online via the Diocese.
In accordance with Safeguarding guidelines, we need to report that there have been no Safeguarding issues in this year, and this has been noted by the PCC.
This concludes the Safeguarding annual report for 2023. I would like to thank the PCC for their support and due regard for safeguarding. Lastly but not least my thanks to the Safeguarding team and everyone else for their support and contributions.
Safeguarding Officer.
| ST GEORGES CULLERCOATS Name of PCC |
ST GEORGES CULLERCOATS Name of PCC |
ST GEORGES CULLERCOATS Name of PCC |
ST GEORGES CULLERCOATS Name of PCC |
ST GEORGES CULLERCOATS Name of PCC |
ST GEORGES CULLERCOATS Name of PCC |
ST GEORGES CULLERCOATS Name of PCC |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 For the year from 1 January to 31 December |
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| Receipts and payments | ||||||||
| Receipts | Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 50,537 7,975 3,931 5,438 1,137 4,561 292 3,672 1,648 0 79,191 |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ 1,790 5,364 12,000 2,083 13,714 34,951 |
Total funds to the nearest £ 50,537 9,765 9,295 5,438 12,000 0 3,220 4,561 292 3,672 1,648 13,714 114,142 0 114,142 112 1,795 46,000 5,250 4,131 1,350 21,171 6,590 1,084 0 87,483 23,886 0 111,369 2,773 0 60,336 63,109 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
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| Voluntary Income: | ||||||||
| Planned giving net of tax | 49,472 | |||||||
| Collections at Services | 13,652 | |||||||
| Other giving and donations (recurring and non-recurring) | 7,824 | |||||||
| Tax recovered via Gift Aid | 4,820 | |||||||
| Legacies received (capital value) | 0 | |||||||
| Recurring grants | 0 | |||||||
| Non-recurring grants | 4,020 | |||||||
| Activities for Generating Funds | 1,813 | |||||||
| Investment Income (including Property) | 36 | |||||||
| Receipts from Church Activities: | ||||||||
| Parochial fees | 4,447 | |||||||
| Income from trading and other church activities | 702 | |||||||
| Other Income | 0 | |||||||
| 86,786 | ||||||||
| Asset & investment sales, etc. | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Payments Costs of Generating Funds Mission / Charitable Grants Church Activities: Diocesan parish share Salaries / honoraria Expenses of clergy etc Mission and evangelism costs Church running expenses Church utility costs Costs of trading Governance costs Sub total Major repairs and building works Asset & investment purchases Total payments Receipts minus (payments) Transfers between funds Cash funds lastyear end Cash funds this year end Costs of other activities (not fund-raising) Total receipts |
79,191 112 46,000 5,250 4,131 0 16,464 6,590 1,084 79,631 79,631 (440) (389) 35,218 34,389 |
34,951 1,795 1,350 4,707 7,852 23,886 31,738 3,213 389 25,118 28,720 |
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| 86,786 | ||||||||
| 59 | ||||||||
| 1,388 | ||||||||
| 40,500 | ||||||||
| 4,879 | ||||||||
| 4,450 | ||||||||
| 886 | ||||||||
| 19,210 | ||||||||
| 5,365 | ||||||||
| 1,632 | ||||||||
| 0 | ||||||||
| 0 | ||||||||
| 78,369 | ||||||||
| 8,043 | ||||||||
| 0 | ||||||||
| 86,412 | ||||||||
| (440) | 3,213 | 2,773 | 374 | |||||
| (389) | 389 | 0 | ||||||
| 35,218 | 25,118 | 60,336 | ||||||
| 34,389 | 28,720 | 63,109 | 374 |
29/05/2023
1
Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the year
| Categories Signed by the chairman of the PCC and the treasurer or a church warden on behalf of the PCC Assets retained for the PCC’s own use Investment assets Other monetary assets Cash funds Liabilities |
HMRC Gift Aid tax refund for Details valuation on the land and Details Details building Details Signature Loan from Friends of St Georges Other cash funds Details Bank current account CBF deposit fund Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments accounts) possible to put an accurate . The Parish Hall. It is not 2020 owed to St Georges |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 8,997 8,722 25,000 20,000 392 34,389 28,722 OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 700 Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) Restricted 7,000 Print Name Rev A hughes A Pinkett |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | |||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
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| Current value (optional) |
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| Current value (optional) |
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| When due (optional) |
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| Date of approval |
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| Rev A hughes | |||
| A Pinkett |
29/05/2023
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An Independent Examiner's Report
To the PCC of St George's Cullercoats.
This report on the financial statements of the PCC for the year ended 31 December 2022 is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 and s.43 of the Charities Act 1993.
As members of the PCC you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements; you consider that the audit requirement of the Regulations and s.43(2) of the Act does not apply. It is my responsibility to issue this report on those financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Regulations.
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission under s.43(7)(b) of the Act and to be found in the Church guidance, 2006 edition. That examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
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(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements
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to keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the Act; and
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to prepare financial statements, which accord with the accounting records and comply with the requirements of the Act and the Regulations have not been met; or
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(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Mr W Burgess
April 2023