The Parish of St James the Great, Audley Diocese of Lichfield
Address for correspondence The Benefice Office, 14 Church Street, Audley, Stoke-on-Trent, ST7 8DE
Annual Report and Financial Statements
of the Parochial Church Council
For the year ended 31[st] December 2021
Vicar
The Reverend Simon Tomkins
Bankers: National Westminster Bank Crewe (A) Branch The Square, Crewe
Independent examiner: Mrs. Kathy Lovatt 2 Colenso Way Bradwell Newcastle ST5 8SJ
Website: www.jmj.org.uk/
The Parochial Church Council is a registered charity no: 1134853
Aim and Purpose
St James Parochial Church Council (the PCC) has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent, the Reverend Simon Tomkins, 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 church building and the Church Hall on Church Street, Audley.
Objectives and Activities
The PCC is committed to prayer and the promotion of the gospel of Jesus Christ, encouraging as many people as possible to put their faith in Jesus, and equipping them to live out that faith day by day.
When planning our activities, the PCC has considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, and in particular the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion.
We meet together at our worship services, for courses, and in small groups to hear the Bible taught and to pray. Our services and groups are open to all.
We run Christian activities for children and young people and are involved in outreach work in local schools. With lockdown and the issues with the church hall roof, we haven’t been able to run our normal activities for parents and toddlers, but we hope they will restart soon.
Pastoral work includes visiting the sick and bereaved and helping couples prepare for marriage and baptisms.
We support those promoting the gospel in the UK and overseas.
To facilitate this work, it is vital that we maintain the fabric of both the Church and the Hall.
Achievements and Performance
Worship and Prayer
Under normal circumstances, there are two services held on a Sunday with different styles to meet the needs of different people across our community. All are welcome at either service. The 9.00 service is a small, friendly and reflective service. We normally follow the traditional words of the Book of Common Prayer Service for Morning Prayer. The 10.30 Family Service is livelier. We enjoy being a church family meeting together around God’s Word to pray and worship. There’s a huge range of ages (from tiny to very senior) and different types of music (from traditional hymns to more modern choruses and songs). There’s a crèche for little ones and our Sunday school, The Mix, runs for children in primary school through to Year 9. About once a month we hold an All-Age Service. At both the 9.00 and 10.30 services we listen to the Bible being read and preached, and, for those who would like to, there’s a chance to join in saying a statement of faith together. Once a month at each service we celebrate Holy Communion together. Each weekday morning, a group led by staff and congregation members meets for an online Morning prayer service with time to sing, pray, hear the Bible read and taught, and to share news and encouragements
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At the APCM in April 2021 121 parishioners on the Church electoral roll.
Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals
Through this year, we have only been able to conduct 5 marriages, 1 wedding blessing, 1 baptism, 1 thanksgiving service. We have led 16 funerals and 4 interments of ashes.
Community Events
We feel the privilege and responsibility of our role in the community. We were delighted that this year we were able to host the Remembrance Day service with Audley Methodist Church and Audley Brass Band and the uniformed organisations. Our Christmas Carol Services were slightly smaller than normal with increased fears around the omicron virus, but a trial of an earlier child-friendly carol service seemed well received.
We were glad to have been able to coordinate local support, particularly through the first lockdown, by setting up a ‘parish helpline’ and a team of volunteers to deliver shopping and prescriptions to those who are self-isolating. We started to wind this down from June 2021 as the need was, thankfully, greatly reduced.
The 2021 Christmas Tree Festival took place in the midst of renewed uncertainty over COVID, but it was wonderful to see community groups come together to decorate trees and for many in the village to enjoy the displays.
Christmas Tree Festival 2021.
Courses
Over the course of the lockdown, we have held informal online courses for those investigating the Christian faith. We ran a Simply Christianity course in-person and online in September 2021.
Small Groups
Our small groups this year have continued to meet online to pray together, study the Bible, and share the joys and pressures of life together.
Staffing
The Staff team is led by the Revd Simon Tomkins as Vicar.
Since September 2018, the St James Christian Workers Trust has employed Revd Scott Seivewright as our Youth and Families minister to support outreach to young people, their families, and to support pastoral ministry in all its forms around the benefice.
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We are very grateful for the work of Mrs Donna Wilcox as Benefice administrator.
We are also very grateful for Mrs Mary-Ellen Williams who has responsibility for keeping the church hall and church building clean week-to-week.
Children and Young People
Like all our activities, our work with children and young people has been affected by the government lockdown and other Covid restrictions this year.
In addition to our children’s groups on a Sunday morning, we now have an evening group for young people at Secondary school, which has continued online. We hope to be able to restart a regular after-school club in our local primary school.
St James Tots (formerly Prampushers) was our parent and toddler group which met each week until the first lockdown. Very few of the families who came along were regular worshippers at St James and it was therefore of benefit to many outside our Church family. We hope to be able to restart this in a new format once lockdown conditions ease and the church hall reopens.
During the course of the year, our Vicar and Youth and Families Minister have had the opportunity to go into our local schools to lead assemblies on Microsoft Teams and support teaching staff.
Weekend Away ‘at home’
We enjoyed an online weekend ‘away’ at home in February with St John’s, Alsagers Bank and St Martin’s Talke, and Ste Casey’s talks on the strength of weakness were much appreciated – as were the home baked cookies and the quiz!
Other Activities
There is a healthy and active Mothers Union affiliated to St James, who continued to meet online, and resumed their regular meetings and Friday morning coffee in the Pensioners Hall, and to provide valuable encouragement and support to their more isolated members.
For details of other groups and activities, please see the document the PCC compiles for the APCM and is available through the Benefice office.
Synod
Three members of our PCC sit on the Newcastle Deanery Synod, and another one also sits on General Synod. This provides the PCC a link with the Churches around us, in the diocese as a whole and the Church of England nationally.
Church Buildings
Over the course of the year, the Church normally receives visits from local school children for special services, and hosts the Village Service of Remembrance in November. We were really grateful that Ravensmead School were able to visit for their Christmas services. The church hall has been out of action for most of the year while work on the roof has been progressing (or stalled due to the need to apply for grants when we discovered the roof was in a much worse state than we’d realised). We hope to make the building safe and structurally sound to secure its long-term use by the congregation and community.
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St James Church Hall - For much of 2021 the Hall has been surrounded in scaffolding
Mission and Evangelism
We continue to prayerfully and financially support those sharing the gospel at home and overseas. We maintain active links with mission partners in Crosslinks, Chrysolis, UCCF and UFM as they work in Africa, Eastern Europe and the UK. Additionally, we support Yasha who work with women involved in the sex industry in Stoke.
Pastoral Care
The clergy and others in the church family would normally try to visit the sick and bereaved regularly, and try to take Communion to those who request it who are housebound (particularly at Christmas and Easter). Where possible, this has happened in person, but much has had to be done over the phone.
Ecumenical relationships
Many of us enjoy close personal friendships with members of Audley Methodist Church, and the vicar and minister meet to plan and pray together. In January 2018, the Bishop of Lichfield agreed to the request made to him by St James PCC for episcopal oversight from the Bishop of Maidstone.
Financial Review
Overview
The total income for the year was a little over £93,000 and total expenditure just over £128,100
Total cash funds at the year-end were £77,664 compared with £112,734 at the end of 2020. Unrestricted funds accounted for £59,170 compared with £88,995 in 2020, and the total of Restricted Funds also fell from £23,738 to £18,494.
Unrestricted Funds
Income to Unrestricted Funds totalled £78,348. As in previous years most of our income comes from the regular generous gifts of the Church family whether through standing order
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or envelopes placed in the offering on a Sunday. In addition, at the end of the year we added contactless giving as an option on a Sunday. We encourage those who are able to Gift Aid their giving and in total this year we were able to reclaim £14,181 from HMRC on these gifts and through the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme. For the first time since before the pandemic we held a Giving Review Day where those who consider St James their Church family have an opportunity to review their giving. Many existing donors as well as some new folk took advantage of this to give to both the general work of St James and towards the Hall roof project.
We have been pleased to be able to host several weddings this year after the Covid cancellations in 2020, which along with fees from funerals has increased the income from Parochial fees. Planned building work on the Hall has significantly limited the income from Hall hiring this year just as the Covid restrictions were lifting. With the hall roof works still uncompleted, we expect this to continue in the first half of 2022.
Payments from unrestricted funds were a little down on 2020 totalling £65,755. The largest single expense remains the Parish Share. In addition to the costs of running the Church and maintaining our buildings, we have continued financial support of Christian organisations, and our Mission partners working locally, nationally, in Europe, and in Africa. Details can be found at the end of the report.
Staff salaries cover our cleaner, as the salaries of our Youth and Families minister and Administrator are paid by the Christian Worker’s Trust.
Although with relatively few in person services this year some of our costs have reduced, these have been largely outweighed but the cost of additional licenses and tech equipment as we have moved online with Zoom and started streaming services. In addition, regular updates have been mailed out to those members of our congregation not on line, and so our postage costs have been higher than in previous years.
As we are part of a benefice, there are some expenses which are shared across the 3 parishes. In 2021 these came to £2,320. As the largest parish, St James took responsibility for 75% of these costs with the other 25% shared between St Martin’s and St John’s. For administrative purposes, St James usually pays the full amount of expenses (which therefore appear as a payment in our accounts) and then reclaims the 25% from the other parishes on a regular basis.
Following the installation of the new Church Gate, the Fabric projects designated fund was closed.
Restricted Funds
Total income to our restricted funds this year was £5,611 with total payments of £62,351.
The Refurbishment fund is the only fund which receives regular donations and covers refurbishment, non-routine maintenance and upkeep of the main Church building. There were no major projects or notable expense from this fund in 2021.
Whilst the Hall fund receives no regular income, this year we have received a legacy and some gifts from the giving review day. The major expenditure from this fund has been on the roof repairs. After the work started the roof was found to have significant additional structural problems and whilst these were investigated further the work was put on hold, and the grant we have been awarded, not claimed until it was clear we should progress with the works. Having secured a loan from Lichfield Diocese, and an extension to the Grant, the PCC have
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now instructed the works to continue, and we are hopeful that this will be completed by the Summer The unrestricted fund has needed to transfer £51,295 during the year to cover the costs of the initial works and ongoing scaffolding costs.
The CYP fund has had no income and limited expenditure this year due to the mainly online format of children and youth work.
The Weekend Away Fund had a small amount of expenditure to cover the Zoom awayday held in February 21
The St James Tots Fund has had no activity as it has not restarted after the Covid lockdown,
We were grateful to Mothers’ Union for their gifts to the Flower fund to cover the Harvest flowers this year.
The Community Support Fund was set up to channel donations specifically to support the village response to the first Covid lockdown.
The main expenditure from the Tower Fund this year is both visible and audible in the village as the Church clock is now automated and chiming!
The Church Building Fund Scheme and the Interior Decorating Scheme are funds held with Lichfield Diocesan Board of Finance for the Church building quinquennial report and decoration of the Vicarage respectively.
Plans for Future Periods
The significant expenditure on the Church Hall has meant that this year we depleted some of the reserves built up over the last 5-6 years. The financial pressures in the coming year with the ongoing works on the Church Hall and changes in the Parish Share are not underestimated. However we would still look to maintain a reserve above the recommended minimum of 3 months running costs of £20,000.
We are also aware that with a Church building as old as ours, we need to be prepared for unexpected expense and we believe it to be essential to build up a significant reserve in the Church Refurbishment Restricted Fund to cover such unexpected expenditure.
Reserves Policy
We do not believe that it is desirable to build up large reserves. However, we recognise that it is prudent to establish reserve funds sufficient to enable us to survive a period of unexpected expenditure or sudden loss of income.
It has therefore been the long-term objective of the PCC to build up a reserve of funding to permit operations to continue for 6 months following a total cessation of income. At current rates of expenditure, this requires a sum of approximately £40,000 in unrestricted funds. The six-month period is believed to be long enough for the PCC to manage the closure of our ministry in the parish, should this ever become necessary.
Structure, Governance and Management
St James is part of a benefice with St Martins Talke and St Johns Alsagers Bank which was established in August 2015.
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Financial Statements
Receipts and Payments Account
| Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment Total Prior year funds funds funds funds funds total funds |
|
|---|---|
| Receipts Donations and legacies Income from charitable activities Other trading activities Investments Other income Total receipts Payments Raising funds Expenditure on charitable activities Total payments Excess of receipts over payments before transfer Transfers Gross transfers between funds - in Gross transfers between funds - out Excess of receipts over payments before other gains / losses Net movement in funds All assets at 01 January 2021 All assets at 31 December 2021 Represented by Unrestricted General fund Designated Fabric Projects Restricted Children and Young People's Fund Church Building Fund Scheme Church Hall Community Support Flower Interior decorating scheme Refurbishment St James Tots Tower Fund Weekend away |
78,348 — 5,611 — 83,959 96,060 4,603 — — — 4,603 1,952 793 — — — 793 2,325 3,008 — 1 — 3,009 3,286 727 — — — 727 1,215 |
| 87,480 — 5,612 — 93,092 104,838 112 — — — 112 5,687 65,643 55 62,351 — 128,049 85,574 |
|
| 65,755 55 62,351 — 128,161 91,261 |
|
| 21,725 (55) (56,739) — (35,069) 13,577 95 — 51,495 — 51,591 18,036 (51,495) (95) — — (51,591) (18,036) |
|
| (29,675) (150) (5,244) — (35,069) 13,577 |
|
| (29,675) (150) (5,244) — (35,069) 13,577 |
|
| 88,845 150 23,738 — 112,734 99,157 |
|
| 59,170 — 18,494 — 77,664 112,734 59,170 — — — 59,170 88,845 — — — — — 150 — — 112 — 112 244 — — 200 — 200 — — — — — — — — — 99 — 99 65 — — 17 — 17 17 — — 586 — 586 650 — — 15,226 — 15,226 14,112 — — 284 — 284 284 — — 1,043 — 1,043 7,363 — — 927 — 927 1,002 |
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Statement of assets and liabilities
| Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment This year Last year |
|
|---|---|
| Current assets - Cash at bank and in hand Bank current and reserve account - Bank Current and reserve account 2 - Interior Decorating Scheme - Church Building Fund Scheme - Cash in hand - Totals Current assets - Debtors Accounts Receivable - Totals Liabilities - Creditors: Amounts falling due in one year Accounts Payable - Totals Grand total |
55,098 — 17,156 — 72,254 104,537 1,923 — 445 — 2,368 2,343 — — 586 — 586 650 — — 200 — 200 — 50 — 30 — 80 80 |
| 57,071 — 18,417 — 75,488 107,610 3,697 — 77 — 3,774 5,093 |
|
| 3,697 — 77 — 3,774 5,093 1,597 — — — 1,597 (31) |
|
| 1,597 — — — 1,597 (31) |
|
| 59,170 — 18,494 — 77,664 112,734 |
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Fund movement by type
| Opening Incoming Outgoing Transfers Gains/losses Closing |
|
|---|---|
| General - General fund Unrestricted Sub-total for General Hall - Church Hall Restricted Sub-total for Hall CYP - Children and Young People Restricted Sub-total for CYP CommSupp - Community Support Restricted Sub-total for CommSupp Flower - Flower Restricted Sub-total for Flower Tots - St James Tots Restricted Sub-total for Tots Tower - Tower Fund Restricted Sub-total for Tower Refurb - Refurbishment Restricted Sub-total for Refurb WEaway - Weekend away Restricted Sub-total for WEaway FabProj - Fabric Projects Designated Sub-total for FabProj CBFS - Church Building Fund Scheme Restricted Sub-total for CBFS IDS - Interior Decorating Scheme Restricted Sub-total for IDS Grand total |
88,845 87,480 65,755 (51,400) — 59,170 |
| 88,845 87,480 65,755 (51,400) — 59,170 — 2,540 53,835 51,295 — — |
|
| — 2,540 53,835 51,295 — — 244 — 133 — — 112 |
|
| 244 — 133 — — 112 65 75 41 — — 99 |
|
| 65 75 41 — — 99 17 62 62 — — 17 |
|
| 17 62 62 — — 17 284 — — — — 284 |
|
| 284 — — — — 284 7,363 1,264 7,584 — — 1,043 |
|
| 7,363 1,264 7,584 — — 1,043 14,112 1,671 557 — — 15,226 |
|
| 14,112 1,671 557 — — 15,226 1,002 — 75 — — 927 |
|
| 1,002 — 75 — — 927 150 — 55 (95) — — |
|
| 150 — 55 (95) — — — — — 200 — 200 |
|
| — — — 200 — 200 650 — 64 — — 586 |
|
| 650 — 64 — — 586 |
|
| 112,734 93,092 128,161 — — 77,664 |
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Analysis of receipts and payments
| Unrestricted INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS Donations and legacies Planned Giving - Bank (Gift Aid) 51,156 Planned giving - envelopes (GA/GASDS) 1,740 Planned giving - Bank (no Gift Aid) 6,770 Planned Giving - envelopes (no GA/GASDS) 890 Loose plate collections (GA & GASDS) 1,185 Loose plate collections (no GA/GASDS) 50 Other gifts 310 One-off Tax efficient gifts 416 Tax recoverable on Gift Aid 13,838 Tax recoverable on GASDS 686 Legacies 1,250 Recurring grants 56 Non-recurring one-off grants — Total 78,348 Income from charitable activities Fees for weddings and funerals 3,996 Refreshments 132 Bookstall sales to promote objectives 475 Events income — Total 4,603 Other trading activities Church hall lettings - fund-raising 770 Other Income 23 Total 793 Investments Bank and building society interest 8 Rent from flat 3,000 Total 3,008 Other income Benefice expenses 727 Insurance claims — Total 727 |
Unrestricted INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS Donations and legacies Planned Giving - Bank (Gift Aid) 51,156 Planned giving - envelopes (GA/GASDS) 1,740 Planned giving - Bank (no Gift Aid) 6,770 Planned Giving - envelopes (no GA/GASDS) 890 Loose plate collections (GA & GASDS) 1,185 Loose plate collections (no GA/GASDS) 50 Other gifts 310 One-off Tax efficient gifts 416 Tax recoverable on Gift Aid 13,838 Tax recoverable on GASDS 686 Legacies 1,250 Recurring grants 56 Non-recurring one-off grants — Total 78,348 Income from charitable activities Fees for weddings and funerals 3,996 Refreshments 132 Bookstall sales to promote objectives 475 Events income — Total 4,603 Other trading activities Church hall lettings - fund-raising 770 Other Income 23 Total 793 Investments Bank and building society interest 8 Rent from flat 3,000 Total 3,008 Other income Benefice expenses 727 Insurance claims — Total 727 |
Designated — — — — — — — — — — — — — |
Restricted 970 — 348 — — — 1,102 511 343 30 1,000 — 1,307 |
Endowment — — — — — — — — — — — — — |
Total This year Last year 52,126 57,379 1,740 1,370 7,118 5,705 890 2,510 1,185 1,401 50 510 1,412 1,310 927 7,323 14,181 16,213 717 636 2,250 200 56 56 1,307 1,446 |
Total This year Last year 52,126 57,379 1,740 1,370 7,118 5,705 890 2,510 1,185 1,401 50 510 1,412 1,310 927 7,323 14,181 16,213 717 636 2,250 200 56 56 1,307 1,446 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78,348 3,996 132 475 — |
— — — — — |
5,611 — — — — |
— — — — — |
83,959 3,996 132 475 — |
96,060 2,458 61 282 (849) |
|
| 4,603 770 23 |
— — — |
— — — |
— — — |
4,603 770 23 |
1,952 2,245 80 |
|
| 793 8 3,000 |
— — — |
— 1 — |
— — — |
793 9 3,000 |
2,325 86 3,200 |
|
| 3,008 727 — |
— — — |
1 — — |
— — — |
3,009 727 — |
3,286 1,215 — |
|
| 727 | — | — | — | 727 | 1,215 | |
| INCOME TOTAL | 87,480 | — | 5,612 | — | 93,092 | 104,838 |
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EXPENDITURE
| Raising funds Costs of applying for grants Costs of reg.giving/stewardship campaign Total Expenditure on charitable activities Regular Mission Giving One-off Mission Giving Secular charities Common Fund (Parish Share) Common Fund Additional Payments Staff salaries Working expenses of incumbent Working expenses CYP/Families worker Staff courses and training Training and outreach - materials Training and outreach - catering Training and outreach - speaker Training and outreach - accommodation Church running - insurance Church office - telephone Church - purchase of equipment Church maintenance Upkeep of services Administration Visiting preachers Other Running Costs Church utilities - electric Church utilities - gas Church utilities- water Catering expenses Bookstall costs Hall running - purchase of equipment Hall utilities - electricity Hall utilties - gas Hall insurance Hall maintenance Hall utilities - water Governance costs examination/audit fee Church major repairs - structure Church major repairs - installation Hall + major repairs - structure Hall + major repairs - installation Other PCC property upkeep Total |
— — — — — 5,536 112 — — — 112 151 |
|---|---|
| 112 — — — 112 5,687 9,000 — — — 9,000 8,180 100 — — — 100 1,579 — — — — — — 27,248 — — — 27,248 31,141 — — — — — — 6,198 — — — 6,198 6,378 145 — — — 145 267 306 — 4 — 310 452 243 — — — 243 925 711 — 42 — 753 2,841 166 — 44 — 210 186 — — 75 — 75 235 — — — — — 690 3,423 — — — 3,423 3,230 549 — — — 549 487 363 — 112 — 475 366 2,888 — 188 — 3,076 2,874 891 — 104 — 996 1,424 3,901 — 41 — 3,942 2,630 — — — — — 108 418 — — — 418 1,644 815 — — — 815 360 2,672 — — — 2,672 1,324 40 — — — 40 40 240 — — — 240 57 653 — — — 653 449 561 — 129 — 690 215 420 — — — 420 306 1,010 — — — 1,010 1,271 1,686 — — — 1,686 1,731 335 — 100 — 436 4,383 512 — — — 512 484 150 — — — 150 200 — — — — — 550 — 55 7,841 — 7,896 — — — 53,606 — 53,606 6,469 — — — — — 2,100 — — 64 — 64 — |
|
| 65,643 55 62,351 — 128,049 85,574 |
|
| EXPENDITURE TOTAL | 65,755 55 62,351 — 128,161 91,261 |
| GRAND TOTAL | 21,725 (55) (56,739) — (35,069) 13,577 |
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| Mission Giving - Regular Betel Ministries Chrysolis (Luke Cawley) Crosslinks (Algeos) Evangelical Alliance North West Gospel Partnership UCCF (Liv Rigby) UCCF (Matthew Leung) UFM (Chelashaws) Yasha total Mission giving - One off Home for Good Keele University Christian Union Newcastle Foodbank North West Gospel Partnership Resourcing Mission Fund (Crosslinks) Cloverley Hall (Weekend away refunds gifted) total |
This Year Last Year £ - £ 315 £ 1,980 £ 1,875 £ 1,980 £ 1,980 £ 100 £ 100 £ 100 £ 100 £ - £ 625 £ 1,200 £ 400 £ 2,500 £ 2,500 £ 1,140 £ 285 |
|---|---|
| £ 9,000 £ 8,180 £ 100 £ - £ - £ 200 £ - £ 220 £ - £ 300 £ - £ 300 £- £ 558 |
|
| £ 100 £ 1,578 |
(There may be minor rounding discrepancies in the totals as the pence are not being shown)
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