
**Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2022** 

**Accepted and approved by the PCC at a meeting on 28th March 2023** 

## **Charity Number   1135051** 

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## **CONTENTS** 

|Introduction from Chris Hobbs|5|
|---|---|
|Annual Report of the PCC|6 - 10|
|Fabric Committee Report|11|
|Electoral Roll Report & Safeguarding|12|
|Reports on Church Life|13 - 22|
|Financial Statements|23 – 38|
|Independent Examiners Report|39|



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## **Introduction** 

I have heard it said that we will come to refer to ‘pre-Covid’ times and ‘post-Covid’ times in the same way that a previous generation spoke of ‘before the war’ and ‘after the war.’  Indeed, we are already doing so.  It has been that kind of upheaval, and we are not really over it yet.  Many still seem to be weary, while others are wary of growing weary.  And relationally we are still not back to where we were.  But I am confident that we will get there. 

And we have much to be thankful for, as these reports will detail, and not least for the first full year since 2019 of meeting without Covid restrictions. And more than that we can give thanks to God for preserving us, both individually and as a church family through such a testing time. 

The reports that follow relate to what God has done among us in 2022.  I hope that as you read them you will pause to thank him for what he has done.  While the following words were originally uttered in a very different situation to ours, amid a landscape of destruction and desperation, our God is still the same and we too have experienced his love, his compassion and his faithfulness: 

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23, NIV 

Yours warmly, in Christ, 


Rev Chris Hobbs Senior Minister/Vicar 

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## **Annual Report of PCC for 2022** 

## **Background** 

The parish has two church buildings, St Stephen’s and St Wulstan’s, with Rev Chris Hobbs serving as Vicar, Andy Martin as Associate Minister until July 2021, and Ben Wells as Assistant Minister. 

The PCC has a duty, with the Vicar, as stated in the Parochial Church Council (Powers) Measure 1956, to consult together on matters of general concern and importance to the parish.  The PCC also exists to co-operate with the Vicar in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. 

## **Membership** 

Members of the PCC are either ex officio or elected by the APCM in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.  During the calendar year 2022 the following served as members of the PCC: 

## **Clergy** 

Rev Chris Hobbs Rev Andy Martin Rev Ben Wells 

Vicar Associate Minister until July 2022 Assistant Minister 

## **Wardens** 

Mr Richard Griffith until August 2022 Mr Richard Phillips from September 2022 Mrs Chris Stonehouse 

## **Deanery Synod Representatives** 

Mr Ben Barker from APCM 2022 Mr Christopher Barry Miss Helen Buckley Mr Andy Walker 

## **Elected Members** 

Mrs Pamela Devas until APCM 2022 Miss Abigail Embaie Mrs Sue Fearon Mrs Virginie Hannam until APCM 2022 Mrs Mandy Hughes Mrs Karen Pearson from APCM 2022 Mr Michel Randrianandrasana Mrs Faith Sen Mr Martin Sherlaw Mr Harry Stileman from APCM 2022 Mrs Stephanie Tam from APCM 2022 

from APCM 2022 from APCM 2022 

**Parish Treasurer** Mrs Karen Pearson 

from APCM 2022 

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## **Committees** 

The PCC operates through a number of sub-committees, which meet between meetings of the full PCC: 

## **Standing Committee** 

This is the only sub-committee required by the Church Representation Rules.  It has power to transact the business of the PCC between its meetings, subject to any direction given by the PCC.  These are set out in the Terms of Reference agreed by the PCC in February 2022 

## **Finance Committee** 

This committee prepares the annual budget and monitors overall income and expenditure in the parish. 

## **World Mission Committee** 

This committee maintains contact with the Christian workers whom we support outside the parish, both overseas and at home, and keeps the church informed about missionary matters. It recommends to the PCC the payments to be made from the World Mission budget. 

## **Fabric Committee** 

This committee oversees the general maintenance and repairs of all church property, 

including the two church buildings of St Stephen’s and St Wulstan’s and the property at 103 Bournbrook Road. 

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## **Financial Activities note for 2022** 

## **Financial Activities** 

The PCC approved a broadly balanced budget for 2022 anticipating expenditure of £342,470, an increase of £54,202 on the 2021 budget of £288,268.  This reflected the need to continue to employ the Associate Minister for longer than originally planned, enabling Chris Hobbs to take a much-needed sabbatical; to increase the level of Missionary Giving to support two members of the church as Candidate Mission Partners; and to replace the heating system at St Wulstan’s building and carry out other repairs and improvements. 

## **Financial Performance** 

Overall, giving to the Parish increased to £308,999 (2021: £262,551), and other income increased to £26,773 (2021: £16,297).  Total income was less than budgeted by £6,698. 

The Parish was able to meet all of its financial commitments including the £62,799 (2021: £62,799) contribution to the Diocesan Common Fund as requested.  Total expenditure was £23,140 below budget. 

As a result of the above, the Parish General Fund generated a surplus of £16,442 for the year ended 31 December 2022.  The balance carried forward to 2023 was £72,304. 

## Restricted Funds 

The Parish continued to operate a number of restricted funds in 2022.  The total balance of restricted funds as at 31 December 2022 was £25,356.  None of the restricted funds individually had a balance exceeding £10,000 at the year end. 

## Charitable and Political Donations 

The PCC continues to make gifts from its donated income and the amount given through the Missionary Fund amounted to £52,100 (2021 : £45,700). 

No donations were given for political purposes. 

## _Karen Pearson_ 

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## **Review of PCC Meetings in 2022** 

At its meetings in 2022, the PCC: 

## **January 4th (via Zoom)** 

- agreed for Andy Martin to be employed 5 days per week until end June 2022 

- agreed for Chris Hobbs to have extra Christmas leave and a 3 month sabbatical 

## **January 27th** 

- heard that the overall deficit for 2021 was only £1470 

- agreed trustees of the Discretionary Fund to be Incumbent and Churchwardens 

- agreed the updated Parish Safeguarding Policy, along with other policies 

- heard about progress in learning from the ‘Lessons Learned Review’ 

- agreed to give staff 2 weeks additional leave to be taken in 2022 

## **March** 

- approved the 2020 Finance, Fabric and PCC reports to be presented to the APCM 

- discussed the idea of ‘oversight areas’ for the People and Places 

- programme 

- agreed that we need an Associate Minister and would like it to be Ben Wells 

## **May** 

- agreed for Andy Martin to chair the meeting in the absence of Chris Hobbs 

- welcomed new PCC members and elected officers for the year 2022-3 

- • agreed new Data Protection Policy, Data Breach Policy and Data Privacy Notice 

## **July** 

- welcomed the Area Dean Phelim O’Hare to speak about People & Places’ oversight areas and to answer questions 

- agreed a new Premises Hire Policy, and Fire Policies for both SS and SW buildings 

- agreed for people to pay what they can afford to come to the 2023 Weekend Away 

- heard about the response to the Keeping Safe questionnaire 

- heard a brief report on Chris Hobbs’ sabbatical 

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## **September** 

- agreed the new vision statement of ‘knowing Jesus + making Jesus known’ 

- agreed to continue live-streaming 10am services, apart from All Age services 

## **October** 

- agreed the proposed budget for 2023 

## **November** 

- heard that £34k had so far been given/pledged to the £46k 2023 

- Giving Appeal 

- agreed to match Tom Bryant’s rate of pay to that of Helen Buckley 

- agreed to respond cautiously with reservations to oversight area proposals 

- agreed to write to the Acting Bishop of Birmingham about ‘Living in Love and Faith’ 

- agreed various safeguarding documents 

- agreed a structure for Safer Recruitment 

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## **Fabric Committee Annual Report for 2022** 

The Committee continues to meet on a quarterly basis, and comprises: 

Tim Pearson 

Sally Hill Paul Coley 

Thanks are given to Church members who supported the two Maintenance Mornings, in May and November, and also to those who decorated 103 Bournbrook Road in August prior to Ben and Rachel Wells moving in. 

Financial summary: 

## **Budget £13,100 Actual expenditure £14,554** 

The largest items of expenditure were: 

- £2,665 Quinquennial surveys for both churches (c.30% recoverable from Diocese) 

- £2,184 StS fixed wiring 5-yearly testing and remedial works 

- £1,418 StS intruder alarm works 

- £1,296 103 Bournbrook Road heating and plumbing servicing and repairs 

All costs are inclusive of VAT, rounded off to the nearest pound 

Matters worthy of comment: 

- In September the gas fired heater for the St Wulstan’s central heating was replaced, at cost of c.£9,000, although not funded from the Fabric budget. This has proved more effective and reliable than the old unit. 

- The Quiniquennial Survey did not reveal any major defects at either Church 

- No further progress is reported towards providing a new organ. It is envisaged that the Fabric Committee will continue to work with David Hoare to consider the various options for repair or overhaul, and for the possible introduction of an aesthetically and acoustically sympathetic electronic organ. 

- Church of The Light, attended mainly by Christians from the Middle East, continues to use St Wulstan’s, in return for a monthly fee. However the Parish is still responsible for repairs. 

- Members of the Fabric Committee partially rebuilt some of the forecourt garden walls at St Wusltans in July, on which the coping stones were loose and unsafe. In October they replaced a broken window and door locks/bolts following a break-in. 

**Tim Pearson Chair, Fabric Committee 26[th] February 2023** 

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## **Electoral Roll Report** 

The electoral Roll was revised in **April 2023** . The numbers for the last three years are shown below: 

**2021 : 170 2022 : 161** 

**2023     :         166** 

13  people came off the electoral roll 

17 people came onto the electoral roll 

## **Safeguarding** 

The council has complied with its duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 to have due regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. 

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## **Reports on Church Life** 

## **Sunday Services** 

After all the restrictions forced on us by the Covid pandemic, it was a relief to be able to meet in person once again for a whole year, and to be back to our normal service times of 10am at Stephen’s and 6pm at St Wulstan’s.  Although one thing that we have retained from those strange couple of years is the livestreaming of the morning service. 

We were enormously grateful for the technology that enabled us to meet online while we were unable to meet in person, and for the people who knew how to use it.  But we have realised more clearly than ever that we are embodied souls and that something is missing when we cannot meet physically. 

We have enjoyed seeing steady growth in both 10am and 6pm services, so that they are now both fuller than they were pre-Covid.  And the morning service is so full that we will need to think about what to do about that.  It has also been a special joy to see the number of friends from Hong Kong who have decided to settle in our fellowship. 

Our sermon series at 10am were: Good News from God (Romans 9-11), Who is God? (Exodus 1-20) and Who Do You Think He Is? (Matthew 1-4).  And at 6pm: Here is Your God (Isaiah 40-48), Long Live the King (Mark 14-16), The Word Spreads (Acts 16-17), Chosen by God, Strangers in the World (1 Peter).  We also had a short series both morning and evening on ‘Living in Love and Faith’, looking at issues of marriage, identity, sexuality and gender. 

## _Chris Hobbs_ 

## **Fellowship Groups** 

Fellowship Groups are vital in helping us pursue our vision of ‘knowing Jesus + making Jesus known.’  It is through reading God’s word and praying together that we come to know Jesus better, and are able to encourage one another in making him known to others.  I would really love to see everyone in a Fellowship Group of some kind. 

As with Sunday services, it has been wonderful to be able to meet in person once again, although we remain grateful that it was possible to meet using Zoom while we could not meet in person.  It is possibly an exaggeration, although not much of one, to say that it is our Fellowship Groups that kept us going as a church family during the various lockdown restrictions. 

We continue to have 14 groups (one meeting Tuesday afternoon, 10 Wednesday evenings, one Thursday evening, one Tuesday morning for women, and one on Zoom on Wednesday evenings).   The Wednesday morning group for men ceased in the summer.  Once a month we meet together as a church family for the Prayer Gathering, and there is space for social events each term. 

The Bible studies have continued to follow the morning sermon series (see ‘Sunday Services’ above for details), although we met centrally to discuss the issues raised by ‘Living in Love and Faith’.  It has been noted over the years that people are 

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generally keener to study Bible passages rather than topics, courses or other materials – which is somewhat gratifying. 

## _Chris Hobbs_ 

## **Evangelism** 

As a church, we’re all about knowing Jesus and making Jesus known. As one writer puts it, “ _we offer Jesus…He is the magnetic person that we present to people.”_ 

## _A Passion for Life_ 

'A Passion for Life' is a movement that exists to see the good news of Jesus proclaimed across the UK and Ireland.  After some sessions in Fellowship Groups to equip us for this, we joined in with this national and regional enterprise in Spring 2022, putting together a series of lower key initiatives on 1[st] -3[rd] April here at SSSW.  There were central ‘Stay and Play’ events on the Friday and Saturday as well as a Sunday service with more of an evangelistic edge.  The rest of the weekend was kept free for people to connect with those in our different communities. 

There were some great stories from our church family: one family doing an Easter trail on their road; others gardening outside their house and prayerfully engaging with neighbours; others having good conversations with work colleagues and friends about Jesus. 

## _Evangelistic courses and Bible studies_ 

In the autumn of 2022 we ran a Christianity Explored course which had 10 people joining, with a mix of  English and Cantonese speakers.  Headed up by Thom Wilkinson and Eldric Li, they were ably assisted by Julia McCormick, Thomas Luk and Stephanie Tam.  There were many searching questions and one person choosing to follow Jesus by the end of the course.  Praise God!  We also ran a Hope Explored course after Christmas, looking at snapshots from Luke’s gospel about how Jesus gives hope, peace and purpose (in fulfilment of Isaiah 9:6). The course was led by Mark and Rebekah Fox and Margaret Twiss, with three people joining, two of whom have since joined the Friday evangelistic Bible study for friends from Hong Kong. 

Nick and Pamela Devas have also been doing an evangelistic Bible study every Friday morning with friends from Hong Kong.  Having started with Christianity Explored towards the end of 2022 they have continued by going through the whole of John's gospel.  At the last count, there were 7 seekers plus four believers who help with the Cantonese. 

The challenge with all of our evangelistic endeavour is to continue to make Jesus known ‘wherever we are’ and to pray for more opportunities! 

## _Ben Wells_ 

## **World Mission Committee** 

The task of the World Mission Committee is to keep at the centre of our church’s life Jesus’ commission to take the gospel into all the world (Matthew 28: 19-20).  So we seek to encourage everyone to be aware of the opportunities for world mission near and far, and to share in this through prayer, financial and practical support, and in some cases going. In particular it involves supporting those from our church who are serving in full-time mission.  To this end, we organise an annual World 

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Mission Sunday and a Suffering Church Sunday, and encourage prayer for our mission partners in church, in the monthly prayer meeting, through fellowship groups and young people’s groups. 

Members of the World Mission Committee in 2022: Nick Devas (Chair), Maurice Sinclair, Andy Martin (until July), David Stokes, Anne Ruck, Faith Sen, Elizabeth Barry (from April). We met four times in 2022. Among other things this year, we produced a revised version of the Vision for World Mission paper for approval by the PCC, and an updated leaflet about our Mission Partners. 

Our Mission Partners are: 

- John and Ruth McNeill, serving with Agapé in Europe and UK 

- Phil and Ceri Keates and family, serving with Agapé’s FamilyLife ministry, based in Newcastle 

- Mike and Linnet and family, serving in a sensitive location in Africa 

- Lyn and Andrew Griffin, serving with Agapé in Italy but relocated to UK in mid2022 to serve with the FamilyLife team 

- Mike and Rachel Hill (Associate Mission Partners), serving with Friends International (international students) in Birmingham 

- Jomo Nderitu (Associate Mission Partner), leading youth ministry in Marsabit Diocese, Kenya 

- Mark and Rebekah Fox (Candidate Mission Partners) who completed training at Oak Hill College in 2022 and were accepted by OMF International to serve in East Asia from 2023. 

In May 2022, our speaker for World Mission Sunday was Peter Rowan, UK National Director for OMF, and in November Daniel Burke from Open Doors spoke at our Suffering Church Sunday.  In 2022, around 16% of the church’s budget was used to support out Mission Partners. 

The Committee also receives reports about: 

- International student ministry 

- Bolivia, and the connection with the church there through Maurice Sinclair 

- Work with refugees and asylum seekers in Birmingham 

- Activities for newly arrived friends from Hong Kong 

- Work with young people in Romania, through the Riley family. 

To God be the glory! 

_Nick Devas_ 

## **Men’s Ministry** 

The aim of Men’s Ministry is to give men opportunity to meet together in a range of contexts; to build friendships, encourage one another in our faith and to support our evangelism.  We aim to have an event each month, which have included Men’s Breakfasts, Dad’s Stay and Play, trips to the pub and going to the Men’s 

Convention.  The numbers at these events range between 10-25 and we are always open to suggestions of how we may develop this work to include people in different stages of life. 

_Chris Stonehouse and Ben Barker_ 

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## **Women’s Ministry** 

There are many components to Women’s ministry at SSSW church, some more visible than others. Details of some of these are below. 

## **Midlands Women’s Convention** 

About 20 of us enjoyed the visit to Monyhull Church for the convention in October.  The church was packed and we learnt from 1 Peter together and enjoyed eating lunch outside. 

## **Women’s Breakfasts** 


We’ve shared breakfast together on Saturday mornings in June and in January, with 40+ people each time. Most recently we learnt with Helen Hobbs about supporting each other and helping ourselves deal with anxiety.  The pastries and granola are good, but the highlight is always spending time together. 

## **Women’s Book Club** 

We meet roughly every other month, and in the last year we have read Secular Creed, God in the ICU, The Greatest Secret, Women of the Word and God’s Smuggler – the last of which was the favourite!  Speak to Elizabeth if you’d like to join. 

## **Prayer Triplets & 1-2-1s** 

A number of women benefit from meeting together regularly to pray in prayer pairs, triplets, quartets or meet up with an older Christian.  These are sometimes arranged informally but if you can’t find anyone then please speak to Naomi Stevens. 

_Elizabeth Barry & Naomi Stevens_ 

## **Children’s Work** 

One of the hi-lights this year was the return of Holiday Club!  After the COVID break it was really good to be able to run a club again this summer.   With no restrictions! We enjoyed pretending to be spies while we looked for clues about Jesus in the book of Luke. 

Another hi-light was the Christmas Adventure.  We were able to welcome lots of visitors into the building as we thought about some of the reasons Jesus came.  The animals and the hot chocolate were popular! 

This year we re-named crèche (under 3’s).  It’s now called **“Sparks”** .  We wanted to do this to reflect the two purposes of this group.  This group meets a practical need - loving parents/ carers by helping them to be part of the main service.  But it also meets a spiritual need.  These early years are foundational (this is the most active stage of child development).  What these young children see and hear will help shape and form their faith decisions. This is not just a babysitting service. Please do pray for an overall team leader who could lead this ministry. 

Sunday Club and Explorers continue to be a joy.  Children are excited to be there and a pleasure to spend time with. 

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I’m very thankful to God for a team of Godly, servant-hearted leaders who continue to make Jesus known to the children they are working with. 

## **Work in schools** 

I’ve continued to lead assemblies at St. Mary’s School, and we were very pleased to welcome Raddlebarn school to church for their Christmas Carol Service. 

_Helen Buckley Children’s & Families Minister_ 

## **Stay and Play** 

Stay and Play is a lovely group on Friday mornings for parents, carers and their toddlers and babies.  Each week we play, chat, have snacks, read a story and sing songs.  We have a very kind team of helpers who set up, tidy up, register guests, as well as make them hot drinks and snacks.  We get around 20 non-church households each week, some who are regulars and some new ones too.  It is a great opportunity to serve different families in our communities and welcome them into our church where they can build relationships with Christians and connection with our church family.  We hold a party at the end of each term and we're looking forward to the Easter one soon when Helen Buckley will come and share something of the Easter story with the children and we'll have a chocolate egg hunt too! 

_Alice Johnston_ 

## **Youth work** 

The change to our church vision strapline (knowing Jesus + making Jesus known) has made it more difficult to adapt to our ministry with youth, children, and families, but we’ve basically aimed to continue “partnering with parents and carers”. 

**Pathfinders** have been meeting in ways that are now much more similar to preCOVID. On Thursday evenings we have been thrilled to welcome lots of Pathfinders, and have started studying the Bible in small groups rather than all-together as a result. 

During the year Pathfinders on Thursday has continued to have an attendance of around 15-20 young people.  We’re very thankful to God for the opportunity to tell lots of young people whose families are not regular church-goers about Jesus for the first time, and especially thankful for a number of members who’ve continued attending regularly after moving to secondary school in September. 

On Thursdays we’ve studied: “The wonder of Easter”, Exodus, and made a start on a BIG Bible Overview, which will run until summer 2023. 

On Sunday mornings we have really enjoyed having more time to look deeper into what God has to say to us in his word.  We heard God speak to us through 1 Thessalonians, Exodus, Genesis 11-24 and Matthew 1-2. 

Our leaders for Pathfinders in 2022 were Tom Bryant, Christy Fung, Sophie Hobbs, Charlie Robinson, Chris Stonehouse and James Bowles.  Please pray for some new female leaders this year. 

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Our **annual weekend away** at Gaines in November 2022 actually happened, for the first time in a few years!  We had a great time together and Tom spoke from Genesis 1 and 2. We’re booked in again for November 2023, keep your eyes peeled for details! 

The **summer camp** for Pathfinders, Quinta, went really well.  Tom Bryant, Charlie Robinson and Elizabeth Barry went as leaders along with 9 Pathfinders, who had a great time!  This year the camp is undergoing some structural changes and is hugely oversubscribed. Please pray for that situation. 

**Cross Section** (for years 10-13) continued in 2022 on Sunday afternoons.  We learned from the Bible and ate toasties together.  We had a series thinking about “Sex and Relationships”, anxiety and then studied Exodus.  In September we moved times to meet on Thursday evenings.  At the moment Cross Section’s age group is small, but we are preparing for the next age group to move up in September 2023. 

During 2022 Cross Section was led by Tom and Naomi Bryant and Helen Buckley, as well as Helen Hobbs and Ruth Griffith, who helped as interpreters for one of the members. 

_Tom Bryant Youth & Families Minister_ 

## **Students 2022** 

This year our students have been learning ‘big’ truths about what our great God is like! 

## **Summer Term 2022** 

After a wonderful student weekend away in March 2022 looking at the theme of ‘Hope’ with guest speaker Charlie Butler, we finished off our year long series in Ephesians. It was refreshing to spend the whole year in Ephesians, seeing God’s big plan of bringing _"unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (Ephesians 1:10)._ 

## **Autumn Term 2022** 

With a number of students graduating over the summer, it was wonderful to see the Lord answer prayers for some new students! The Lord brought a range of ages (undergrads and masters) and nationalities (English, Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian, German, Chinese) and it was encouraging to see people growing in love for Jesus and one another as we studied Colossians. The term finished with our Christmas party and some delightful festive food cooked by Sue Fearon. 

## **Spring Term 2023** 

During the spring term we did a Bible Overview together in our Tuesday evening sessions, and it was amazing to trace God’s big plan of salvation through the Bible story.  We joined with some of UoB Christian Union’s week of events exploring the Christian faith from 13[th] -17[th] Feb as they looked at the theme of ‘Home.’ 

We also ran another weekend away at Quinta, and welcomed back an old face from SSSW’s past, Jake Tasker (now training for ministry) who opened up 1 Kings 1-11, helping us to treasure God’s greatest King Jesus all the more. 

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We continue to pray that all our activities this year, will lead our students to remain rooted in Christ, strengthened in their faith as they are taught, and overflowing with thankfulness for all He has done (Colossians 2:6-7). 

## _Ben Wells_ 

## _Associate Minister_ 

## **International Students Ministry** 

International students make up a large proportion of the population of our parish.  As the world comes to our doorstep, this provides a wonderful opportunity to give a welcome, show care and hospitality, and above all to share the gospel with them. 

The main avenue for this is the Globe Café, which meets on Monday evenings at St Wulstan’s, under the auspices of Friends International.  This is led by Chris Stonehouse, with a committed team mainly from St Stephen’s but with some other churches represented. Inevitably, Covid had a serious impact on this work, which had to go online in 2020, but from autumn 2021 Globe Café was able to meet again in person.  With many international students being quite risk-averse, it has taken a long time for numbers to build up, but during the autumn term of 2022 numbers were averaging around 12 per week.  While still significantly lower than pre-Covid, it is still an encouraging improvement on the previous year. 

Globe Café is primarily an opportunity to welcome and get to know international students, although the activities and topics discussed often lend themselves to deeper conversations. But it also provides opportunities for individual follow-up and invitations to join various Bible studies. Church families have offered home hospitality, particularly over Christmas.  A number of Christian international students have made our church their home, and others have come occasionally. 

The Sunday night Chinese Bible study has a continuous enrolment, with typically 4-8 seekers each Sunday, with David, Matthew and Celia helping.  From the second half of 2022, we divided into a seekers group, led by David Chen, and a discipleship group led by Nick.  We praise God for one person coming to faith in Jesus, and others growing in their understanding.  Nick and Pamela continue to follow up some of those who have returned to China through online Bible studies. 

There is also a group for Indonesian students, the Indonesian Christian Community, which continues to meet monthly online, led by Kent and Erny, but with occasional in person gatherings and Bible studies hosted by John and Anne Ruck. 

In all these things, we work closely with Mike and Rachel Hill, Friends International Team Leaders, and Associate Mission Partners of our Church. 

_Nick Devas_ 

## **Music Ministry** 

Singing is a natural response to God’s redeeming work in our lives and as we sing together week by week we’re living out Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:19-20: 

_Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ._ **Ephesians 5:19-20** 

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When we sing together at church we sing “up” to God with songs of praise and adoration, and we sing “out” to one another with words of encouragement and truth. 

We aim to sing a variety of songs, old and new, from a range of different sources. Over the past year we’ve been singing some great truths. Do you recognise these lyrics? 

_“When the enemy surrounds and my heart grows faint within; When the darkness overwhelms and my fears are pressing in; I will trust in You, O Lord, in the silence I will wait.”_ 

_“There is one gospel to which I cling, All else I count as loss. For there, where justice and mercy meet, He saved me on the cross.”_ 

_“Rejoice and be anxious for nothing, Praying for all that you need. Come with a song of thanksgiving; Lay your requests at His feet.”_ 

Why not search for these songs online and “make music in your heart to the Lord”? 

Thank you to our fantastic music team for using their gifts faithfully week by week to serve us. 

_Allan Ooi_ 

## **Ministry for Senior Members** 

As the church grows and its demographic changes, it can be hard for those who have been members of the congregation the longest.  Having so many young children is wonderful but they can make you feel unstable, the buzz of conversation is great but it can be hard to hear what people are saying, new technology makes communication easier but it can be hard for some to access.  And that is apart from the general challenges of health and mobility that affect many older people. We would like to recognize this and start to think about how we can better care for our senior members; both those who can make it to church or fellowship groups and those for whom that is no longer possible. 

There is already one afternoon fellowship group run by Paul Coley which is specifically for those who can no longer get to an evening group.  I have also been meeting with Margaret Twiss and Jean Phillips to discuss what else we can do to serve those in the ‘senior’ category.   We are trying to be more consistent in visiting those who can no longer get to church.  Maurice Sinclair and Jean have been taking communion to those who have requested it, and we have had a couple of afternoon teas at the vicarage just to get people together.  In March we will be running a series of Lent Teas at church.  We are considering the possibility of a monthly mid-week service or event for the summer term. 

Any other ideas or offers of help would be gratefully received! 

_Helen Hobbs_ 

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## **Hong Kong English Conversation Group** 

It has been a great pleasure over the past year or so to welcome many friends from Hong Kong, and to have a number of families settle at our church. Recognising that some struggle with English, we decided towards the end of 2021 to start an English Conversation Group. This meets on Monday mornings in the Cranmer Room, and averages around 20 participants per week. Some of the early members have moved on to work or formal courses but newer arrivals have joined. Around half of the participants come to our church, most of the others belonging to the Birmingham Chinese Evangelical Church. 

This activity is intended simply as an opportunity for people to listen and talk in English around a topic in a relaxed atmosphere. For a small sub-group whose English is particularly limited, we do provide some language teaching, but for the others it is just about gaining confidence in using the language they have. They have greatly appreciated this and benefitted from it. 

This has led on to some joining a Bible study doing Christianity Explored and other material on Friday mornings, with much help from some of the Cantonese speaking believers. We have also been involved in some initiatives to enable our Hong Kong friends to better follow the services, such as translated sermon headings on the screen, and translated summaries of the sermon circulated to the Whatsapp group, as well as discussions about the possibility of a Cantonese-speaking Fellowship Group. 

We are grateful for a committed and enthusiastic team: Richard and Jean Phillips, Nick and Pamela Devas, David and Sue Stokes, Tony and Helen Burridge, and Helen Hobbs. 

_Nick Devas_ 

## **Welcome Box** 

Last year we started an outreach ministry to asylum seekers and refugees in our neighbourhood. Partnering with Welcome Churches (who are also behind UKHK.org), we offered welcome boxes with personalised gifts and a welcome leaflet to our church. The welcome boxes are prepared and delivered by volunteers on our team, who also offer personal friendship, support with living in Birmingham and a welcome to our church community. 

So far the team has delivered five welcome boxes and four of those neighbours (and their families) are still in regular contact. The welcome boxes were requested through self-referrals in our case; we were able to get the word out through working with related charities (such as Birch and Migrant Help) and local accommodation providers. We have also made friendships with two other families without an official welcome box. It has been a joy to see some of our new friends coming to Christmas events and Stay and Play. We appreciate the value of social events where anyone can come and experience something of Jesus’ love lived out in our community. 


Asides from the gospel, our loving community is perhaps our most valuable asset. Our prayer is that through Christian welcome, refugee neighbours would both feel valued and feel drawn to investigate the welcome of Jesus. 

21 



Daniel Maduk, Nwafenna and I were also blessed by the Welcome Churches conference last November. There were many useful resources for churches welcoming refugees and refugees living out their faith in their challenging context. The greatest blessing was perhaps worshipping and celebrating together. I’m looking forward to the next one! 

_Christopher Barry_ 

## **Christians Against Poverty  :  Birmingham South Debt Centre** 

CAP is an international and well-respected debt charity. Our local debt centre is supported by our own church and by Christ Church Selly Park.  Judy Ward, a member of Christ Church, manages the centre and works with clients to find the best way to become debt free. 

In many cases debt is linked to other problems such as poor mental or physical health or relationship breakdown. As Christians we seek to share Christ’s love and compassion with the clients; most are happy for us to pray with them. We also offer more practical support; clients receive hampers at Christmas, thanks to the generosity of staff at Paragon Bank. 

Judy is supported by a team of committed volunteers from St. Stephen’s and Christ Church.  As well as visiting clients and delivering hampers, we meet monthly (on Zoom) to pray for clients and for Judy.  We would appreciate prayer for the future direction of the debt centre; what began as a partnership of six local churches is now just two, and this affects our funding.  The work can be very challenging and frustrating at times, so it would be a huge encouragement for Judy to have another debt coach to work alongside her. 

If you would like to find out more about CAP, please do get in touch with me. 

_Richard Phillips_ 

## **Winter Night Shelter** 

There were no activities at St Stephen’s in this area during 2022. 

22 



## **Financial Statements** 

## **2022 General Fund Income** 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
2.8%<br>2.2% 2.9%<br>16.8%<br>64.8%<br>10.4%<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>



**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Gifts - Standing Orders<br>Gifts - Other<br>Income Tax on gifts<br>Diocese re curate housing<br>Room Hire Income<br>Other income<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


## **2022 General Fund Expenditure** 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
0.8%<br>2.4% 7.1%<br>20.0%<br>24.4%<br>7.9%<br>9.7%<br>11.0%<br>0.2%<br>16.6%<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


Diocesan Common Fund 

Clergy costs 

Office Salaries 

Ministry Trainee 

Missionary Fund/Gospel Causes Buildings & Maintenance 

Ministry Costs 

Office and Ancillary costs 

Evangelism Other costs 

23 



## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES  01 JAN 22 TO 31 DEC 22** 

|**`01 Jan 21 -`**<br>**`01 Jan 22 -`**|
|---|
|**`31 Dec 21`**<br>**`31 Dec 22`**|
|**`Unrestrd Restrict Endowment  Total`**|
|**`All Funds                                 Funds    Funds    Funds      Funds`**|
|**`£                                         £        £        £          £`**|
|**`Incoming Resources`**|
|**`308,127  Incoming resources from donors 256,898   79,724         -   336,622`**|
|**`7,500  Grants received                  8,764        -         -     8,764`**|
|**`8,874  Income from operating activity  17,729    1,333         -    19,062`**|
|**`-  Activities to generate funds         -        -         -         -`**|
|**`51  Income from Investment             280        -         -       280`**|
|**`-------                                 -------  -------   -------   -------`**|
|**`324,552   Total Incoming Resources      283,671   81,057         -   364,728`**|
|**`Resources Expended`**|
|**`-  Cost of Generating Funds             -        -          -        -`**|
|**`53,916  Grants                           2,750   57,644`**<br>**`-   60,394`**|
|**`280,218  Expenditure on church work     264,482   11,883          -  276,365`**|
|**`2,251  Buildings development                -      426          -      426`**|
|**`100  Governance costs                   100        -          -      100`**|
|**`-------                                 -------  -------    -------  -------`**|
|**`336,485  Total Resources Used           267,332   69,953          -  337,285`**|
|**`-------                                 -------  -------    -------  -------`**|
|**`(11,933)  NET RESOURCES BEFORE TRANSFERS 16,339    11,104          -   27,443`**|
|**`Transfers Between Funds`**|
|**`-  Miscellaneous Transfers          7,180   (7,180)         -        -`**|
|**`-------                                 -------  -------    -------  -------`**|
|**`(11,933) NET INCOMING/OUTGOING RESOURCES 23,519    3,924          -   27,443`**|
|**`Gains and Losses on Fixed Assets`**|
|**`-                                       -        -          -        -`**|
|**`-------                                 -------  -------    -------  -------`**|
|**`(11,933) NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS           23,519    3,924          -   27,443`**|
|**`474,396  Fund Balances B/fwd 01Jan22    443,910   18,553        0    462,463`**|
|**`-------                                 -------  -------  -------    -------`**|
|**`462,463 Fund Balances C/fwd 31Dec22 467,429  22,477 0 489,906`**|



24 



||**BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DEC 2022**||
|---|---|---|
|**`31 Dec 21`**||**`31 Dec 22`**|
|**`£`**||**`£`**|
||**`FIXED ASSETS`**||
|**`392,245`**|**`Buildings at Cost`**|**`392,245`**|
||**`CURRENT ASSETS`**||
|**`4,419`**|**`Income tax reclaimable`**|**`5,261`**|
|**`-`**|**`Other debtors`**|**`1,700`**|
|**`7,138`**|**`Prepayments`**|**`9,790`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`11,557`**|**`Total Debtors`**|**`16,751`**|
||**`Cash At Bank and In Hand`**||
|**`8,623`**|**`Lloyds Bank Current Account`**|**`26,937`**|
|**`10,156`**|**`Lloyds Bank Treasurers Account`**|**`29,490`**|
|**`1,000`**|**`St Stephens Building Fund CBF`**|**`1,000`**|
|**`80`**|**`Cash`**|**`80`**|
|**`41,000`**|**`St Stephens/St Wulstans CBF`**|**`41,000`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`60,859`**|**`Total Cash At Bank and In Hand`**|**`98,507`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`72,416`**||**`115,258`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
||**`CURRENT LIABILITIES`**||
||**`Creditors Due Within One Year`**||
|**`-`**|**`Diocesan Fees Payable`**|**`442`**|
|**`-`**|**`Other Creditors`**|**`3,794`**|
|**`-`**|**`Accruals - Missionary Giving`**|**`11,150`**|
|**`2,199`**|**`Accruals - Other`**|**`2,211`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`2,199`**|**`Total Creditors Due Within One Year`**|**`17,597`**|
|**`70,217`**|**`NET CURRENT ASSETS`**|**`97,661`**|
|**`462,462`**|**`TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES`**|**`489,906`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`462,462`**|**`NET ASSETS`**|**`489,906`**|
||**`Represented by Funds`**||
||**`Unrestricted Funds`**||
|**`48,682`**|**`Parish General Fund`**|**`72,304`**|
|**`392,246`**|**`Property Fund`**|**`392,246`**|
|**`2,982`**|**`Discretionary Fund`**|**`2,878`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`443,910`**|**`Total Unrestricted Funds`**|**`467,428`**|
||**`Restricted Funds`**||
|**`4,888`**|**`Missionary Fund`**|**`4,887`**|
|**`3,292`**|**`St Stephen's Building Fund`**|**`4,365`**|
|**`7,010`**|**`Senior Members Ministry Fund`**|**`7,142`**|
|**`267`**|**`Stay and Play Fund`**|**`781`**|
|**`1,096`**|**`Winter Night Shelter`**|**`1,096`**|
|**`-`**|**`Youth Worker Fund`**|**`-`**|
|**`-`**|**`Associate Minister Fund`**|**`-`**|
|**`416`**|**`Ministry Trainee Fund`**|**`-`**|
|**`1,583`**|**`Maduk Fund`**|**`4,206`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`18,552`**|**`Total Restricted Funds`**|**`22,478`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`462,462`**|**`TOTAL FUNDS`**|**`489,906`**|



25 



## **SUMMARY OF MOVEMENTS ON ALL FUNDS 01 Jan 22 TO 31 Dec 22** 

|**`BALANCE`**|**`FUND`**|**`INCOME  EXPENSES  TRANSFERS  BALANCE`**|
|---|---|---|
|**`31 Dec 21`**||**`/GAINS 31 Dec22`**|
|**`£`**||**`£        £         £         £`**|
|<br>|**`UNRESTRICTED FUNDS`**||
|<br>**`48,682`**|**`Parish General Fund`**|**`335,772    319,330     7,180   72,304`**|
|**`392,246`**|**`Property Fund`**|**`-          -         -  392,246`**|
|**`2,982`**|**`Discretionary Fund`**|**`630        734         -    2,878`**|
|**`-------`**||**`-------   -------   -------  -------`**|
|**`443,910`**|**`Totals of Unrest. Funds`**|**`336,402    320,064    7,180  467,428`**|
|<br>|**`RESTRICTED FUNDS`**||
|<br>**`4,888`**|**`Missionary Fund`**|**`-          -        -     4,888`**|
|**`3,291`**|**`St Stephen's Building Fund   1,500        427        -     4,365`**||
|**`7,010`**|**`Senior’s Ministry`**|**`217         85        -     7,142`**|
|**`267`**|**`Stay and Play Fund`**|**`1,116        602        -       781`**|
|**`1,096`**|**`Winter Night Shelter`**|**`-          -        -     1,096`**|
|**`-`**|**`Youth Worker Fund`**|**`-          -        -         -`**|
|**`-`**|**`Associate Minister Fund`**|**`18,042     11,297    (6,745)       -`**|
|**`416`**|**`Ministry Trainee Fund`**|**`18          -      (434)       -`**|
|**`1,584`**|**`Maduk Fund`**|**`7,433      4,810         -    4,206`**|
|**`-------`**||**`-------    -------   -------  -------`**|
|**`18,552`**|**`Totals for Restricted Funds 28,326     17,221    (7,180)  22,478`**||
|**`-------`**||**`-------    -------   -------  -------`**|
|**`462,462`**<br>|**`TOTALS FOR ALL FUNDS`**|**`364,729    337,285         -  489,906`**|
|**`=======`**<br>  <br>|<br>|**`=======  =======   =======   =======`**|
|<br>|**NET MOVEMENT IN TOTAL FUNDS IN THE YEAR**||
|**`01 Jan 21-`**||<br>**`01 Jan 22-`**|
|**`31 Dec 21`**||**`31 Dec 22`**|
|**`£`**||**`£`**|
|<br>**`(1,470)`**|**`Parish General Fund`**|<br>**`23,622`**|
|**`(752)`**|**`St Stephens Building Fund                               1,074`**||
|**`(7,245)`**|**`Youth Worker Fund`**|**`-`**|
|**`(1,439)`**|**`Associate Minister Fund                                     -`**||
|**`(225)`**|**`Discretionary Fund`**|**`(104)`**|
|**`(803)`**|**`Movement on other funds                                 2,852`**||
|**`----------`**||**`--------`**|
|**`(11,934)`**||**`27,444`**|
|**`==========`**||**`========`**|



26 



## **`INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT AND FUND MOVEMENTS 01 Jan 22 TO 31 Dec 22`** 

||**`01 Jan 22 TO 31 Dec 22`**|**`01 Jan 22 TO 31 Dec 22`**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**`Parish General Fund (Unrestricted`**||**`Fund)`**||
|**`01 Jan 21 -                                           2022 Budget`**|||**`01`**|**`Jan 22 -`**|
|**`31 Dec 21`**|**`12 Months`**||**`31`**|**`Dec 22`**|
|**`£`**||**`£`**||**`£`**|
||**`Income`**||||
|**`2,035`**|**`Gifts - Loose Cash/Cheques`**|**`3,000`**||**`1,778`**|
|**`180`**|**`Gifts - Envelopes`**|**`-`**||**`90`**|
|**`194,601`**|**`Gifts - Standing Orders                  210,516`**||**`217,657`**||
|**`4,078`**|**`Gifts – CAF/Stewardship/Charity Trust`**|**`4,800`**||**`5,371`**|
|**`48,007`**|**`Income Tax on gifts                       50,673`**|||**`56,544`**|
|**`13,650`**|**`Gifts - Giving Response                   46,781`**|||**`27,558`**|
|**`2,195`**|**`Wedding/Funeral Fees`**|**`2,600`**||**`2,521`**|
|**`3,621`**|**`Other income`**|**`2,500`**||**`6,913`**|
|**`2,930`**|**`Room Hire Income                          10,000`**|||**`9,560`**|
|**`7,500`**|**`Diocese re Curates Housing`**|**`7,500`**||**`7,500`**|
|**`51`**|**`Interest`**|**`100`**||**`280`**|
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**||**`----------`**||
|**`278,848`**|**`TOTAL INCOME                                 338,470`**||**`335,772`**||
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**||**`----------`**||
||**`Expenditure`**||||
|**`63,497`**|**`Diocesan Contributions                    62,799`**|||**`63,789`**|
|**`30,050`**|**`Admin & Finance Salaries                  32,234`**|||**`30,896`**|
|**`4,453`**|**`Ministry Trainee Costs`**|**`6,600`**||**`662`**|
|**`5,712`**|**`Clergy Expenses`**|**`5,000`**||**`5,037`**|
|**`1,754`**|**`Staff Expenses`**|**`3,150`**||**`3,819`**|
|**`219`**|**`Speakers Expenses`**|**`700`**||**`377`**|
|**`7,106`**|**`Office`**|**`7,600`**||**`7,257`**|
|**`35,804`**|**`Children's Worker – S&RC                  38,451`**|||**`36,676`**|
|**`1,372`**|**`Children's work`**|**`1,950`**||**`2,135`**|
|**`9,086`**|**`Youth Worker – S&C                        32,445`**|||**`30,691`**|
|**`1,065`**|**`Youth work`**|**`1,550`**||**`3,502`**|
|**`6,729`**|**`Insurance`**|**`6,470`**||**`6,454`**|
|**`8,436`**|**`Buildings/Maintenance                     13,925`**|||**`12,774`**|
|**`7,662`**|**`Utilities: Heat, Light and Power          11,000`**|||**`10,052`**|
|**`5,655`**|**`Cleaning`**|**`6,118`**||**`4,051`**|
|**`100`**|**`Consultancy, inc. Independent Examiner`**|**`100`**||**`100`**|
|**`17,274`**|**`Curates Expenses`**|**`9,800`**||**`12,675`**|
|**`750`**|**`Midlands Gospel Partnership`**|**`750`**||**`750`**|
|**`-`**|**`Weekend Away / at Home`**|**`-`**||**`-`**|
|**`1,135`**|**`Music`**|**`1,320`**||**`1,173`**|
|**`190`**|**`Student Work`**|**`1,495`**||**`1,225`**|
|**`5,077`**|**`Evangelism`**|**`4,000`**||**`2,522`**|
|**`561`**|**`Parish IT Systems`**|**`487`**||**`251`**|
|**`185`**|**`PA Systems Equipment`**|**`560`**||**`250`**|
|**`2,749`**|**`Miscellaneous Expenses`**|**`2,750`**||**`3,112`**|
|**`1,638`**|**`103 Bournbrook Road`**|**`400`**||**`1,780`**|
|**`352`**|**`Kitchen`**|**`1,000`**||**`886`**|
|**`-`**|**`St Wulstans developments                  14,070`**|||**`11,339`**|
|**`13,342`**|**`Transfer to Assoc. Minister Fund`**|**`7,591`**||**`7,574`**|
|**`2,500`**|**`CAP Contribution`**|**`2,000`**||**`2,000`**|
|`-`|**`NIV 2011 Pew Bibles`**<br>|**`2,655`**||**`2,578`**|
|`-`|**`Stay & Play restart costs`**<br>|**`300`**||**`-`**|
|**`45,700`**|**`Transfer to Missionary Fund               53,200`**|||**`52,100`**|
|**`165`**|**`Contingency                               10,000`**|||**`843`**|
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**||**`----------`**||
|**`280,318`**|**`TOTAL EXPENDITURE                            342,470`**||**`319,330`**||
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**||**`----------`**||
|**`(1,470)`**|**`SURPLUS (OR DEFICIT)`**|||**`16,442`**|
|**`50,651`**|**`Balance brought forward 01 Jan 22`**|||**`48,682`**|
|**`----------`**|||**`----------`**||
|**`48,682`**|**`Balance carried forward 31 Dec 22`**|||**`65,124`**|
|**`==========`**|||**`==========`**||
||**`EOY transfers in: Associate Minister Fund`**|||**`6,745`**|
||**`Ministry Trainee Fund`**|||**`435`**|
||||**`----------`**||
||**`Fund adjusted balance carried forward 31 Dec 22`**|||**`72,304`**|



27 



||**`Missionary Fund (Designated Fund)`**|**`Missionary Fund (Designated Fund)`**|
|---|---|---|
|**`01 Jan 21-`**||**`2022 Budget  01 Jan 22`**|
|**`31 Dec 21`**||**`12 Months -31 Dec 22`**|
|**`£`**||**`£            £`**|
||**`Income`**||
|**`45,700`**|**`Transfer from Parish General`**|**`53,200     52,100`**|
|**`-`**|**`Specified Gifts`**|**`-          -`**|
|**`-`**|**`Income Tax on gifts`**|**`-          -`**|
|**`----------`**||**`---------- ----------`**|
|**`45,700`**|**`TOTAL INCOME`**|**`53,200     52,100`**|
|**`----------`**||**`---------- ----------`**|
||**`Expenditure`**||
|**`2,200`**|**`Friends International re Hills`**|**`2,400      2,400`**|
|**`11,000`**|**`Agape re McNeills`**|**`11,300     11,300`**|
|**`11,000`**|**`Agape re Keates`**|**`11,300     11,300`**|
|**`11,000`**|**`Reach Across re Harveys`**|**`11,300     11,300`**|
|**`8,000`**|**`Agape re Griffins`**|**`8,300      8,300`**|
|**`-`**|**`Short term assignments`**|**`600          -`**|
|**`2,000`**|**`Support for Foxes`**|**`7,000      7,000`**|
|**`500`**|**`Crosslinks re Marsabit youth`**|**`1,000        500`**|
|**`----------`**||**`---------- ----------`**|
|**`45,700`**|**`TOTAL EXPENDITURE`**|**`53,200     52,100`**|
|**`----------`**||**`---------- ----------`**|
|**`-`**|**`SURPLUS (OR DEFICIT)`**|**`-`**|
|**`4,887`**|**`Balance brought forward 01 Jan 22`**|**`4,887`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`4,887`**|**`Balance carried forward 31 Dec 22`**|**`4,887`**|
|**`==========`**||**`==========`**|
||**`St Stephen's Building Fund (Restricted Fund)`**||
|**`01 Jan 21 -`**||**`01 Jan 22`**|
|**`31 Dec 21`**||**`- 31 Dec 22`**|
|**`£`**||**`£`**|
||**`Income`**||
|**`-`**|**`Donations - Cash`**|<br>**`-`**|
|**`1,200`**|**`Donations - Standing Orders`**|**`1,200`**|
|**`300`**|**`Income tax reclaimed`**|**`300`**|
|**`-`**|**`Income from events`**|**`-`**|
|**`-`**|**`Bank Interest`**|**`-`**|
|**`----------`**||<br>**`----------`**|
|**`1,500`**|**`TOTAL INCOME`**|**`1,500`**|
|**`----------`**||**`--------`**|
|**`--`**|||
||**`Expenditure`**||
|**`-`**|**`Professional expenses`**|**`-`**|
|**`2,252`**|**`New equipment / infrastructure`**|**`426`**|
|**`-`**|**`Transfer to Parish General Fund`**|**`-`**|
|**`-`**|**`Sundry maintenance & repair costs`**|**`-`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`2,252`**|**`TOTAL EXPENDITURE`**|**`426`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`(752)`**|**`SURPLUS (OR DEFICIT)`**|**`1,074`**|
|**`4,045`**|**`Balance brought forward 01 Jan 22`**|**`3,293`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`3,293`**|**`Balance carried forward 31 Dec 22`**|**`4,364`**|
|**`==========`**||**`==========`**|



28 



||**`Seniors Ministry Fund (Restricted Fund)`**||
|---|---|---|
|**`01 Jan 21 -`**||**`01 Jan 22`**|
|**`31 Dec 21`**|<br>|**`- 31 Dec 22`**|
|**`£`**||**`£`**|
||**`Income`**||
|**`18`**|**`Seniors Ministry Income`**|**`-`**|
|**`-`**|**`Donations - Cash`**|**`217`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`18`**|**`TOTAL INCOME`**|**`217`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
||**`Expenditure`**||
|**`30`**|**`Sundry expenses`**|**`85`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`30`**|**`TOTAL EXPENDITURE`**|**`85`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`(12)`**|**`SURPLUS (OR DEFICIT)`**|**`132`**|
|**`7,021`**|**`Balance brought forward 01 Jan 22`**|**`7,009`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`7,009`**|**`Balance carried forward 31 Dec 22`**|**`7,142`**|
|**`==========`**||**`==========`**|
||**`Stay and Play Fund (Restricted Fund)`**||
|**`01 Jan 21 -`**||**`01 Jan 22`**|
|**`31 Dec 21`**|<br>|**`- 31 Dec 22`**|
|**`£`**||**`£`**|
||**`Income`**||
|**`108`**|**`Stay and Play - Income`**<br>|**`1,116`**|
|**`----------`**|<br>|**`----------`**|
|**`108`**|**`TOTAL INCOME`**|**`1,116`**|
|**`----------`**|<br>|**`----------`**|
||**`Expenditure`**||
|**`94`**|**`Stay and Play - Expenditure`**<br>|**`602`**|
|**`----------`**|<br>|**`----------`**|
|**`94`**|**`TOTAL EXPENDITURE`**|**`602`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`14`**|**`SURPLUS (OR DEFICIT)`**|**`514`**|
|**`253`**|**`Balance brought forward 01 Jan 22`**|**`267`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`267`**|**`Balance carried forward 31 Dec 22`**|**`781`**|
|**`==========`**||**`==========`**|



29 



## **`Youth Worker Fund`** 

|**`01 Jan 21 -`**|<br>|**`01 Jan 22`**|
|---|---|---|
|**`31 Dec 21`**|<br>|**`- 31 Dec 22`**|
|**`£`**||**`£`**|
||**`Income`**||
|**`-`**|**`Gifts - Loose Cash/Cheques`**|**`-`**|
|**`9,519`**|**`Gifts - Standing Orders`**|**`-`**|
|**`300`**|**`Gifts - One Off`**|**`-`**|
|**`-`**|**`Gifts - Annual`**|**`-`**|
|**`2,347`**|**`Income Tax on gifts`**|**`-`**|
|**`-`**|**`Grants received`**|**`-`**|
|**`9,085`**|**`Transfer from Parish General`**|**`-`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`21,251`**|**`TOTAL INCOME`**|**`-`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
||**`Expenditure`**||
|**`25,869`**|**`Salary and pension costs`**|**`-`**|
|**`2,370`**|**`Oak Hill Fees`**|**`-`**|
|**`-`**|**`Travel costs to Oak Hill`**|**`-`**|
|**`257`**|**`Other Expenses`**|**`-`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`28,496`**|**`TOTAL EXPENDITURE`**|**`-`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`(7,245)`**|**`SURPLUS (OR DEFICIT)`**|**`-`**|
|**`7,245`**|**`Balance brought forward 01 Jan 22`**|**`-`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`-`**|**`Balance carried forward 31 Dec 22`**|**`-`**|
|**`==========`**||**`==========`**|
||**`Associate Minister Fund (Restricted Fund)`**||
|**`01 Jan 21 -`**|<br>|**`01 Jan 22`**|
|**`31 Dec 21`**|<br>|**`- 31 Dec 22`**|
|**`£`**||**`£`**|
||**`Income`**||
|**`30`**|**`Gifts - Loose Cash/Cheques`**<br>|**`60`**|
|**`14,702`**|**`Gifts - Standing Orders`**<br>|**`11,172`**|
|**`2,110`**|**`Gifts - One Off`**|**`560`**|
|**`500`**|**`Gifts - Annual`**|**`-`**|
|**`4,150`**|**`Income Tax on gifts`**|**`2,800`**|
|**`3,120`**|**`Gifts - Stewardship`**|**`3,450`**|
|**`-`**|**`Gifts - CAF`**|**`-`**|
|**`13,342`**|**`Transfers from Parish General Funds`**<br>|**`7,574`**|
|**`----------`**|<br>|**`----------`**|
|**`37,954`**|**`TOTAL INCOME`**|**`25,616`**|
|**`----------`**|<br>|**`----------`**|
||**`Expenditure`**||
|**`37,065`**|**`Salary and pension costs`**|**`17,331`**|
|**`2,328`**|**`Council tax`**<br>|**`1,540`**|
|**`----------`**|<br>|**`----------`**|
|**`39,393`**|**`TOTAL EXPENDITURE`**|**`18,871`**|
|**`----------`**|<br>|**`----------`**|
|**`(1,439)`**|**`SURPLUS (OR DEFICIT)`**|**`6,745`**|
||**`EOY transfers OUT: to General Fund`**<br>|**`6,745`**|
|||**`----------`**|
|**`1,439`**|**`Balance brought forward 01 Jan 22`**|**`-`**|
|**`----------`**||**`----------`**|
|**`-`**|**`Balance carried forward 31 Dec 22`**|**`-`**|
|**`===========`**||**`===========`**|



30 



## **`Discretionary Fund (Designated Fund)`** 

|**`01 Jan 22 -`**|**`01 Jan 22`**|
|---|---|
|**`31 Dec 22`**|**`- 31 Dec 22`**|
|**`£`**|**`£`**|
|**`Income`**||
|**`300    Gifts - Discretionary Fund`**|**`540`**|
|**`75    Income tax on gifts`**|**`90`**|
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**|
|**`375    TOTAL INCOME`**|**`630`**|
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**|
|**`Expenditure`**||
|**`600    Grants`**|**`734`**|
|**`-    Transfer to other Funds`**|**`-`**|
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**|
|**`600    TOTAL EXPENDITURE`**|**`734`**|
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**|
|**`(225)   SURPLUS (OR DEFICIT)`**|**`(104)`**|
|**`3,207    Balance brought forward 01 Jan 22`**|**`2,982`**|
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**|
|**`2,982    Balance carried forward 31 Dec 22`**|**`2,878`**|
|**`==========`**|**`==========`**|
|**`Ministry Trainee Fund (Restricted Fund)`**||
|**`01 Jan 21 -`**|**`01 Jan 22`**|
|**`31 Dec 21`**|**`- 31 Dec 22`**|
|**`£`**|**`£`**|
|**`Income`**||
|**`3,395    Gifts - Bank Transfers`**|**`14`**|
|**`679    Income tax on gifts`**|**`4`**|
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**|
|**`4,074    TOTAL INCOME`**|**`18`**|
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**|
|**`Expenditure`**||
|**`4,709    Disbursements`**|**`0`**|
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**|
|**`4,709    TOTAL EXPENDITURE`**|**`0`**|
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**|
|**`( 635)    SURPLUS (OR DEFICIT)`**|**`18`**|
|**`1,051    Balance brought forward 01 Jan 22`**|**`416`**|
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**|
|**`Balance 31 Dec 22`**|**`434`**|
|**`EOY transfers OUT: to General Fund`**|**`434`**|
|**`----------`**|**`----------`**|
|**`416    Adjusted Balance carried forward 31 Dec 22`**|**`0`**|
|**`==========`**|**`==========`**|



31 



## **`Maduk Fund (Restricted Fund)`** 

```
 01 Jan 21 -                                                       01 Jan 22
 31 Dec 21                                                       - 31 Dec 22
         £                                                                 £
    Income
     2,336    Gifts                                                    6,020
         -    Transfer from Discretionary Fund                             -
       514    Income tax on gifts                                      1,413
----------                                                         ----------
     2,850    TOTAL INCOME                                             7,433
----------                                                         ----------
              Expenditure
     3,020    Grants and disbursements                                 4,810
----------                                                         ----------
     3,020    TOTAL EXPENDITURE                                        4,810
----------                                                         ----------
     ( 170)   SURPLUS (OR DEFICIT)                                     2,623
     1,753    Balance brought forward 01 Jan 22                        1,583
----------                                                         ----------
     1,583    Balance carried forward 31 Dec 22                        4,206
==========                                                         ==========
Winter Night Shelter Fund (Restricted Fund)
 01 Jan 21 -                                                       01 Jan 22
 31 Dec 21                                                       - 31 Dec 22
         £                                                                 £
    Income
         -    Gifts                                                        -
         -    Income tax on gifts                                          -
----------                                                         ----------
         -    TOTAL INCOME                                                 -
----------                                                         ----------
              Expenditure
         -    Grants and disbursements                                     -
----------                                                         ----------
         -    TOTAL EXPENDITURE                                            -
----------                                                         ----------
         -    SURPLUS (OR DEFICIT)                                         -
     1,096    Balance brought forward 01 Jan 22                        1,096
----------                                                         ----------
     1,096    Balance carried forward 31 Dec 22                        1,096
==========                                                         ==========
```

32 



**Parish of St Stephen and St Wulstan, Selly Park, Birmingham** 

## **Notes to the financial statements 2022** 

## **Accounting policies** 

These are given in a separate paper and are based on the Church Accounting Regulations 2006, prescribed by the General Synod. 

## **Unrestricted, Restricted and Endowment Funds** 

A list of funds can be seen in the detailed balance sheet at the bottom of page 3 of the financial statements. 

The Parish General Fund is used to pay for the running costs and maintenance of the two centres, non clergy staff (including Children’s Worker, Youth Worker and Administrative staff), the Diocesan common fund, buildings insurance, clergy housing and other parish expenses. 

The Seniors Ministry Fund represents the residual funds formerly held in respect of the Day Centre, which functioned until early 2020 until the intervention of the lockdowns measures arising from the Covid pandemic.  The PCC formally agreed to the permanent cessation of Day Centre activities at their meeting in September 2021.  The remaining funds held are to be applied to the Seniors Ministry of the church as that develops. 

The PCC approved a transfer of £52.1k during 2022 to missionary and charitable causes. This giving is reflected in the Missionary Fund.  To emphasise the commitment to this purpose, the PCC has deemed this to be a restricted fund.  This Fund also records where individuals have made specified gifts via the parish, which have been or will be passed onto the recipients concerned. 

St Stephen’s Building Fund is regarded by the PCC as a restricted fund.  The Fund was established for the purpose of the Building for the Future project to renovate the church building, the majority of work being completed in 2015 and a small contingency balance left to meet unforeseen requirements linked to the project.  The funds held are now applied to projects associated with enhancing and maintaining the church building. 

The Property Fund represents the purchase of 103 Bournbrook Road which took place in June 2010 as housing for the Assistant Minister. 

A Winter Night Shelter Fund was created in 2013 to help with the needs of homeless people.  In order to ensure donations are only used for this purpose this is deemed to be a restricted fund. There was no activity on this Fund during 2022. 

A Youth Worker Fund was created in 2017 in order to administer donations given specifically to fund the youth worker as well as his expenses. In order to ensure donations are only used for this purpose this is deemed to be a restricted fund.  The PCC approved transfers totalling £9,086 from the Parish General Fund during 2021 to ensure that sufficient funds were available to cover Youth Worker Fund costs.  The Fund was left at a nil balance at year end to reflect a change of employment status for the youth worker to a permanent post.  Future funding and costs will be passed through General Funds to reflect this change. 

33 



## **Parish of St Stephen and St Wulstan, Selly Park, Birmingham** 

## **Notes to the financial statements 2022** 

An Associate Minister Fund was created in 2018 in order to administer donations given specifically to fund the Associate Minister as well as his expenses.  To ensure donations are only used for this purpose this is deemed to be a restricted fund.  The PCC approved transfers totalling £7,574 from the Parish General Fund during 2022 to ensure that sufficient funds were available to cover Associate Minister Fund costs.  At the 2022 year end the balance left on the fund, £6,754, was transferred to the General Fund leaving the fund left at a nil balance at year end.  From January 2023 the cost of employing the new  Associate Minister will be dealt with through the General Fund. 

## **Remuneration** 

The PCC’s employees were paid from the Parish General Fund and  Associate Minister Fund as appropriate. 

## **Fixed Assets** 

This represents the purchase of 103 Bournbrook Road which took place in June 2010 to provide housing for an Assistant Minister. 

## **Debtors and Prepayments** 

There are no significant debtors in the current year although a significant amount of income tax recoverable in respect of Gift Aid is due relating to unrestricted giving as well as donations to the various restricted funds.  This balance was claimed in January 2023 and accrued to 2022. 

Prepayments relate to a proportion of the annual insurance premium paid in 2022 which relates to insurance cover in 2023 together other smaller advance payments relating to Church activities in 2023. 

## **Current Liabilities** 

This primarily consists of amounts due for sundry items relating to the Parish General Fund incurred during the final quarter of 2022. 

All Parish Share (Common Fund) contributions for 2021 were paid in full during the year. 

## **Income** 

Donated general income is recorded in accounts for the Parish General Fund. 

The proportion of tax efficient giving was 91.6% of the maximum possible on the total donated income, excluding CAF and Payroll giving (2021 : 91.2%).   Efforts to maintain this high rate of tax efficient donations / giving are part of a constant process in this area. 

34 



## **Parish of St Stephen & St Wulstan, Selly Park, Birmingham** 

## **Notes to the financial statements 2022** 

## **Related Party Transactions** 

The following members of the PCC had the following transactions with the parish during the year (other than the reimbursement of expenses incurred on behalf of the two churches): 

- C Hobbs, A Martin and B Wells received the following non specific expenses: 

   - mileage which was paid at Diocesan rates of 45p per mile (30p per mile outside the Diocese). 

   - contributions to housing and IT costs in line with PCC recommendations. 

B Wells made a rent contribution of £200 per month from July 2021.  This was in respect of enhanced, and more costly, provision of accommodation for the Curate from that date. 

H Buckley was employed by the parish as a children’s worker and received a salary of £32,248 and pension contributions of £2,741 were made on her behalf. 

35 



## **Parish of St Stephen & St Wulstan, Selly Park, Birmingham** 

## **Statement of Accounting Policies 2022** 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 together with applicable accounting standards and the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice. 

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. 

## **Funds** 

The Parish General Fund, the Property Fund and the PCC Reserve Fund represent funds of the PCC that are not subject to any restrictions regarding their use and are available for application on the general purposes of the PCC. 

The accounts include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. They do not include the accounts of church groups that owe their main affiliation to another body (e.g. St Wulstan’s Brownies) nor those that are informal gatherings of Church members. 

## **Incoming Resources** 

## Voluntary income and capital sources 

Offerings are recognised when received by or on behalf of the PCC. 

Planned giving receivable under standing order is recognised only when received. 

Income tax recoverable on gift aid donations is recognised when the income is received. 

Grants and legacies to the PCC are accounted for as soon as the PCC is notified of its legal entitlement and the amount due. 

Funds raised from the church bookstall are accounted for gross, as are donations for missionary purposes. 

Other ordinary income 

Rental income from the letting of church premises is recognised when the rental is paid. 

## Income from investments 

Interest is accounted for when received except for interest due from HMR&C which is recognised when notified of the amount due. 

## **Resources used** 

## Grants 

Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding obligation on the PCC. 

36 



## **Parish of St Stephen & St Wulstan, Selly Park, Birmingham** 

**Statement of Accounting Policies 2022** 

## **Fixed assets** 

## Consecrated land and buildings and movable church furnishings 

Consecrated and beneficed property is excluded from the accounts by section 96(2)(a) of the Charities Act 1993. 

No value is placed on movable church furnishings held by the churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal since the PCC considers this to be inalienable property. All expenditure incurred during the year on consecrated or benefice buildings and movable church furnishings, whether maintenance or improvement, is written off as expenditure in the Statement of Financial Activities. 

## Other fixtures, fittings and office equipment 

Equipment used within the church premises will be depreciated on a straight line basis over four years. Individual items of equipment with a purchase price of £2,000 or less are written off when the asset is acquired. 

A photocopier is leased by an agreement entered into in August 2021. 

## Current assets 

Amounts owing to the PCC at 31 December in respect of fees, rents or other income are shown as debtors. 

Short-term deposits include cash held on deposit either with the CBF Church of England Funds or at the bank. 

37 



## **Vicar:** 

Rev. Chris Hobbs 18 Selly Wick Road Selly Park Birmingham 

## **Bank:** 

Lloyds Bank 142 Edgbaston Park Road Birmingham 

## **Independent Examiner:** 

Dale Brusby 11 Woodstock Court Birmingham 

Chris Hobbs (Chairman) 

____________________________ 

38 



CHARITY COMMISSION
FOR ENGLAND AND WAIES
Independent examinerfs report on the
accounts
Se¢tton A
Independent Examiner's Report
Report to the trusteesl
members of
si stephen's and Sl Wulslan's Churches, Selly Park
On accounts for the year
ended
De￿mber 2022
Charity no
lif any)
1135051
Set out on pages
23-37
I report lo the Iruslees on my examination of the a¢¢ounls of the above
charity I'the Trust") for the year ended 31112 12022.
R•$ponsibilties and
basis of report
As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the
accounts in a￿Ordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011
{ the Act.)
I report in respect of my examination of the Churches accounts carried out
under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I
have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission
under section 145lSllbl of the Act.
Independent The charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 and l am qualified lo
examinerfs statement undertake the examination by being a qualified member of Chartered
Inslilule of Management Accounlanls
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have
come lo my attention in connection wrfch the examination which gives me
cause lo believe that in, any material respect..
the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130
of the Charities Act., or
the a¢wunts did not accord with the accounting records., or
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements
concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Chariti&s
(Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement
that the accounts give a 'true and fair, view which is not a matter
considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection
with the examination to which attention shoLJld be drawn in this report In
order lo enable a proper understanding of the accounts lo b& reached.
Slgned-
Date:
L3
Name:
Dale Brusby
Relevant professional
qualification{sl or body
ACMA CGMA
IER
Oct 2018
39