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2020-12-31-accounts

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| The Parochial Church Council ! of : the Ecclesiastical Parish of St. Bartholomew, Otford | Registered Charity Number 1135073

Also known as St. Bart’s, Otford

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| Clerical Vacancy
until 24 August 2020
Rev. David Guest
from 25 August 2020 :
The Green
Otford
Sevenoaks
Kent
TN14 5PD
st.bartholomews@otford.net
www.stbartholomews.co.uk
Annual Report and Financial Statement for the year
ended
31 December 2020
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Trustees

The Trustees are the members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC). Those members are either exofficio, elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) or co-opted by the PCC in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. Trustees are not remunerated.

During the year ended 31 December 2020 the following served as members of the PCC:

Vicar The Reverend David Guest from 25 August 2020

Clerical Vacancy until 24 August 2020

Wardens Mr Russell Edwards — from April 2016 and re-elected in 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020 Mrs Janet Hunt — from April 2018 and re-elected in 2019 & 2020

Representatives on the Diocesan Synod Representatives on the Deanery Synod Mr. Derek Shilling — Lay Chair PCC (26.8.2019) |= Mr. Mark Holmes - PCC Minutes Secretary Mrs. Margaret Lidbetter Mr. Jason Gunn (from April 2019 until October 2020)

Elected Members

Mrs. Samantha Barnett (2019)

Mr. David Calcott (2018)

Dr. Colin Deane (2017)

Mrs. Jo Chandler (2018)

Mr. Philip Gardner (2017 — continued due to Covid -19 Pandemic)

Ms. Dawn Hallam (2017 — continues due to Covid-19 Pandemic)

Mrs. Jocelyn Hart (2019)

Mr. Martin Lea (2019)

Mrs. Emma Peters (2019)

Mr. Ben Southgate (2018)

Mrs. Heather Stanley (2018) — PCC Treasurer

Mrs. Joan Beacom (Oct 2020)

Retired in October 2020 - APCM held in October 2020 due to Covid-19 Pandemic

Mr Colin Deane

Independent Examiner

Mr. Antony Stevens, 22 Willow Park, Otford, Kent TN14 5NE

Bankers

CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent Page 2 of 26

Governing Document

The Parochial Church Council Powers Measure 1956 as amended, and Church Representation Rules previously exempted from registration.

All members of the PCC are trustees of the charity. Elected members of the PCC are normally appointed for a period of three years and are required under the PCC’s own policy to stand down for a minimum of one year following the three-year period (Due to COVID-19 and the holding of the 2020 APCM in October two members of the PCC have continued for a further year. The PCC meets every two months to transact the business of the Church. In between meetings of the full Council the Finance and Standing Committee’ is authorised, subject to the PCC’s directions, to conduct the business of the PCC should decisions need to be taken between full meetings of the PCC.

Objects of the Charity”

The PCC has the responsibility of working with the Sequestrators, Rev. Tim Hatwell (Rural Dean), Russell Edwards and Janet Hunt until the Induction, Installation & Institution of the Reverend David Guest on the 25 August 2020 to uphold the ministry and mission of the Church in the areas of worship, the nurture of faith, service to the village of Otford and Christian witness. This is done through: -

To meet our objectives, and by way of good stewardship of the property for which the Vicar, Churchwardens and PCC are responsible, we maintain the fabric of St Bartholomew's Church (which English Heritage has listed as a Grade 1 building), the adjoining Church Centre and the Church Hall (located in the High Street).

To ensure the objectives are complied with the PCC meets regularly. There were 8 PCC meetings during the year with a high average attendance level, largely held via Zoom. Much of the PCC’s work is assisted by committees. Those committees report and make recommendations to the PCC. The main committees are: -

Finance and Standing — meets on average at two-monthly intervals between PCC meetings. It has the legal authority to continue the business of the PCC, subject to any directions given by the Council. It aiso monitors income and expenditure.

Fabric — monitors the condition of the Church fabric, Church Hall, churchyard and car park and arranges maintenance and repair work as required. Fair— plans and organises the St Bartholomew’s Fair, normally the principal fund-raising event of the year.

' Members of the Finance and Standing Committee are the Vicar, the Churchwardens, the PCC Minutes Secretary, the Treasurer and three other members of the PCC or the Vice Chair of PCC and two members of the PCC.

2 For Charity Commission purposes the Charity comes within the classification of “Religious Activities” to help the general public particularly within the parish of Otford, Kent and the surrounding area but also through mission giving further afield. It provides the services listed in this document. Page 3 of 26

Events Team — plans and organises social and fund-raising events during the year.

Readers & Revs — meets to provide mutual fellowship and support, and the opportunity to continue to grow in theological and ministerial studies.

Mission Links — communicates the work of Christian agencies supported by St. Bart’s through written articles and arranging for speakers to visit. It recommends the allocation of available funds to Christian mission and relief organisations, both in the UK and overseas.

Worship Advisory Group — monitors the nature and content of Church services and recommends changes and new initiatives in conjunction with the Vicar and PCC.

Electoral Roll

In 2020 there were 200 members on the Electoral Roll.

SUMMARY OF THE MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS DURING THE YEAR

When planning our activities for the year the incumbent and the PCC consider the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. Many of the activities and services listed in this report are carried out by volunteers and St Bart’s is very grateful for this. It is difficult to estimate the exact number of volunteers, but we believe that it is well over half of the number on the Electoral Roll.

COVID 19 Pandemic

On the 23 March 2020, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a statement to the Nation to the effect that the public should stay at home where possible. Alt Churches were required to cease holding public worship and were closed until mid-June 2020. Following the easing of Government restrictions, a Risk Assessment was carried out prior to the reopening of the Church building for worship and prayer. Social Distancing guidelines greatly reduced the numbers of people who could worship at any time in St. Bart’s. During all closures of the Church the lobby continued to be open to receive donations to the Loaves N’ Fishes food bank.

Maintaining Services and contact during the Pandemic

At the beginning of 2020 St. Bartholomew’s Church remained with a clerical vacancy. The Church Wardens and Ministry Team met regularly to keep church life and services on track.

The Wardens, Ministry Team along with members of the PCC were determined to keep St. Bartholomew’s Church active and connected. Ministry Team meetings continued weekly via conference calls and Skype. Their aim was to make arrangements for maintaining contact within the church family and to use technology to provide online services. Contact was maintained in three ways.

Firstly, a list was drawn up of those who were likely to be isolated due to the ‘lockdown’. These people received regular phone calls from a member of the leadership team, and other volunteers from within the congregation.

Secondly, an email was sent out weekly, entitled Ministry Team Update. This took the form of an informative letter, a pattern of Bible Readings and prayers and a biblically based Reflection. For those without an email address a paper copy was delivered. This form of contact lasted for five

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months, at which time our Vicar, David, continued the method of contact on behalf of himself and the Ministry Team.

Thirdly, the WhatsApp group was reinvigorated and members of the congregation encouraged to participate as an additional means of maintaining contact, sharing news and advertising events and activities. There was an awareness that those without a smartphone were excluded from this. As a result, the letter and phone calls were considered essential.

Services went online as soon we were able to get the tech sorted, we have much to thank our technically-minded members for the success of this. The Season of Easter came towards the beginning of the restrictions. An online service at 10 o'clock, followed by a slot for our young people and a contemplative hour in the afternoon were provided on Good Friday. On Easter Day a 10 o’clock Service and the time for young people were put online. This pattern continued throughout the year, including during those times when services were permitted in church. In August we received several very generous donations which enabled us to purchase camera and other technical equipment to allow filming of our main morning Service and thus the ability to stream it live into our homes. We cannot thank Russell enough for all his technical know-how and building of equipment to make this happen. These went live two weeks before the arrival of David Guest. This enabled us to Live Stream the Induction, Installation and Institution Service as only 30 people were allowed in the Church. When services in church were permitted, as well as the Sunday 10 o'clock service, David re-introduced the Sunday 8 o’clock and Wednesday morning Holy Communion services.

As with so many aspects of life we can also say that our services in 2020 had a very different feel and required a great variety of talents, imagination and creativity! in April when we would normally hold our APCM we were in lockdown. Our team of Lay Readers organised between them who would undertake what elements of our pre-recorded services with our technical team putting all the elements together into a cohesive and seamless morning Service. After the first lockdown we did partially return to some services in Church in August, slowly building back up to three services on a Sunday and the Wednesday morning service too until the third lockdown in December. These services involved a great amount of planning, organisation and careful positioning to ensure all COVID safe procedures were followed. Each service had its own seating plan, depending on attendees, restricted numbers, with everyone required to wear face masks throughout the service. Some readers and leaders of Prayers still recorded their contributions from home for which we are very grateful.

Christmas Services were still very limited as to the number of people who could attend, with no singing and pre-recorded Carols the only option available. David introduced an Advent Bible study series focused on Sunday Advent themes.

We are grateful to all who contributed to the Nativity scene erected in the old West Porch which proved to be such an important witness to the community along with knitted Angels which were left around the village for people to take home.

Choir

The choir’s membership has remained stable at 19. Our normal schedule continues to include singing three morning and two evening services per month, with special services of music for Candlemas and over the Advent and Christmas season. Unfortunately, for reasons known to all, we were not able to follow our normal schedule during 2020.

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During the early part of the year, we performed music covering our usual wide range, from Tallis and Palestrina to Warlock and Howells. We sang full choral evensong on one occasion in March, with music by Robert Ashfield (former organist of Rochester Cathedral) and S. S. Wesley.

The choir was obliged to keep away from church from 22™ March until the end of September. We were then able to field a reduced choir of six people (due to the constraints of social distancing, using the Lady Chapel instead of the choirstalls. This number was increased to nine through October, which the choir achieved by using both the choirstalls and the Lady Chapel, overcoming with panache the obstacle posed by each half of the choir not being able to see or hear the other half! We had a triumphant but brief return to evensong on 1* November, with special music for All Saints’ Day. Before we were plunged into another lockdown and having a few days’ grace before the new restrictions applied, the choir undertook a lengthy recording session (with the able technical services of Russell) at which we recorded all the hymns for the rest of November’s services and some for December, along with an anthem for Remembrance Sunday. These were included in the live-streamed services.

As restrictions eased again, we made another return to evensong on 6" December, with music for Advent, but the decision was then taken to close the church for live services until further notice, and we decided that, for safety reasons, this should also extend to the choir, so our last choral service was the evensong on 6" December.

It was a very strange Christmas, with no concert, no carol service etc, but at least we were able to provide some music for Christmas services by way of carols recorded at one of our concerts in 2011. The choir is, as ever, fortunate to have so many dedicated and faithful members, who have been itching to get back into the choirstalls.

During 2020, Gillian Shilling achieved 20 years’ service in the choir, and Susan Reid a quite remarkable 50 years’ service. During 2021 we hope to mark these achievements, as well as some other milestones falling in 2021, including Kevin Grafton who achieved 40 years as organist in June of 2020.

Music Group

As reported last year our music group continues to thrive. it has not only kept a steady membership across all age ranges but has added a couple of extras to its percussion section.

Like many other parts of our church family the music group have been able to meet on very few occasions during the pandemic. However, we have been able to record songs and even a video.

Through the miracle of modern technology and much hard work by Russell Edwards (one of our members), we have recorded all the songs required for our All Together Worship services. We have done this by each laying down tracks of our own individual parts and then Russel! mixes them down to make a single audio track to be used in our live streamed services. Some people have even recorded themselves multiple times playing different instruments and singing vocals too. It has been fun but no replacement for playing live.

We look forward to worshipping together as a group and leading God’s people in worship once again in the future.

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Bell Ringers

There has been hardly any ringing in 2020. Local residents even wrote in the village Facebook group that they were missing the sound of bells being rung. For a few weeks bells could be rung but only three out of six could be used and only before a service due to Social Distancing requirements. David Guest as part of his Induction, Installation and Institution tolled one of the bells. We were all saddened to hear that Colin Fleetwood had died just after Christmas, he was a stalwart of the band often remarking ‘well that wasn’t too bad!’ at the end of ringing. This always raised a smile among those present. We will be seeking to recruit more ringers when social distancing rules allow. Many thanks to Martin Whitehead, our Steeple Keeper and all those who have worked so hard to maintain our Tower and team.

Cameo

In 2020 the regular Monday and Saturday evening meetings of CAMEO, for those who live alone, came to an abrupt pause on 23rd. March. This day was the beginning of the first national ‘lockdown’. it was also the day on which our group was due to start our Spring holiday. This has yet to happen, as has our planned Autumn holiday for 2020.

We maintained contact by regular phone calls until outdoor groups were permitted. We then resumed our weekly meetings in smaller groups on two afternoons. Members alternated between these occasions so that different combinations of people were able to meet. As usual, these were Bible Study one week and discussions the next week. Our Saturday evening activities were suspended as we couldn’t meet indoors. This pattern continued until the end of October, when restrictions sent us back to maintaining contact by phone and socially distanced doorstep calls. We look forward to resuming our meetings and taking the two holidays we have on hold.

Children and Young People

With the onset of COVID 19 several of the youth activities have moved online. Our oldest age group, YPF who are year 9 and above have met every Sunday , we have run quizzes, craft activities and held discussions. The benefit of structure and the opportunity to check in with each other has helped us stay connected with these young people. A couple of unexpected bonuses have been the epportunity to join with a family who had moved away from the village but wanted to join us, and for the young people themselves to initiate an outreach of making hearts for some of the older members of the congregation who were not able to join with others digitally. We even managed to create a nativity presentation for Christmas, complete with updates for the year of COVID, which was well received. In addition, we have a WhatsApp group where we can keep in touch during the week, where the young people have been able to lead, particularly with 'would you rather’ questions which has sparked debate and conversation

For our children, years 4 - 8 we have continued with a monthly session of our group EPIC. This again had enabled us to stay connected with our young people and for them to see each other. These sessions are more structured than for YPF and we quickly learnt the need to turn off the comment and name change functions! It has been particularly encouraging to see this group of young people record bible readings and prayers with their families. They have also been able to use their artistic talents by creating stop animation Lego bible stories and painting and decorating the figures for the external full-size nativity that was a feature of our Christmas celebrations. Three of these families have also been trained as part of our technical team supporting the streaming of our services, they seem to have a natural talent in all things technical.

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We have not been able to run Sunday club or Messy church this year, but at the request of one of the parents we started doing a recorded short message for the young people on our web site, this has developed into a weekly event, usually led by a cast of puppets, and often one of the leaders’ cat makes an appearance, much to the delight of our younger children

As a challenge at the start of lockdown the children were asked to learn the Lord's prayer, with a creme egg as a reward for being able to say it fully, a surprising number of children were very keen to earn their creme egg.

Safeguarding

St. Bart’s appointed Miss Naomi Hunt as its new safeguarding officer following the retirement of Joan Beacom, our previous Safeguarding Officer at its first full meeting following the APCM in November 2020. The PCC and Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) have been working during the year to ensure all PCC members have an Enhanced DBS check, along with key volunteers working with Children and Vulnerable Aduits. The PSO and Lead Safeguarding Warden (Janet Hunt) have also been working through the year to identify volunteers within the Congregation who should complete Basic awareness and Foundation training. Safeguarding appears as an Agenda item on all PCC and Finance and Standing committee meetings. There were no issues raised with the Diocesan Safeguarding team.

Pastoral Care

During 2020 there were no Baptisms or Weddings. There were 11 Funeral services conducted.

We have two Pastoral Assistants who work within the Parish. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic it has not been possible to undertake home visits. Socially distanced gatherings have been held outdoors in a garden when regulations allowed. Since appointing David Guest as Vicar, no home visits have been possible due to Covid restrictions.

Fellowship and Special Events

Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic it was not possible to hold St. Bartholomew’s Church Fair in June nor the Annual Christmas Market in the Church Centre in November. At the beginning of April we launched Zoom coffee after our 10.00 morning Service, which we still continue with and have a regular group of attendees.

As we were still not able to meet in person social events have been held via zoom, including a Quiz night and a Christmas party.

Fundraising

The year started with a successful Burns night supper held at the end of January along with a soup lunch both held in the Church Centre. All other in person planned events had to be cancelled or postponed.

We realised soon after the pandemic hit that it was likely to have a significant impact on our finances — very few services; no summer fair; no more soup lunches or pop-up meals. In response, we set up a fundraising team, pulled together from all the different fundraising groups we have had previously. This gave us a diverse and creative team who have worked together to amazing effect, raising over £11,000 In just over 5 months.

The highlight of the year was the Silent Auction, which raised almost £5,000 thanks to the generosity both of those donating items and of those bidding. Food, and in particular, cakes, were very popular lots.

The summer pop-up stalls outside the Hall in the High Street also proved extremely successful, raising money whilst increasing our visibility in the local community — jams. cakes and crumbles being particular favorites. We hope to have more of these in 2021.

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As everything went online, we also decided to set up an online shop, selling all the beautiful products made by our congregation. Made in Otford —- www.madeinotford.org — has proved to be an ongoing success — cakes again being a best seller item!

Vicar

David Guest was appointed as Vicar in March 2020 moving from East Sheen in August 2020. The Service of Institution by The Rt Revd Simon Burton-Jones, Bishop of Tonbridge, Induction and Installation by The Ven Julie Conalty, Archdeacon of Tonbridge took place on the 25" August under Covid regulations which limited the number of attendees to thirty. The congregation was made up of members of David’s family, Diocesan and Parish representatives. The Service was live streamed and therefore members of the wider Parish were able to welcome David from their own homes.

Wider Community

Due to Covid-19 restrictions we were unable to hold the Annual Civic Service — this will be planned for 2021 or when social distancing regulations have been lifted.

The Remembrance Sunday service was again limited in the number of people who could attend due to social distancing regulations. The Service was live streamed, and members of both the Church Parish and Village could watch from home. A Wreath was laid at the War Memorial by the two Wardens on behalf of the Parish to remember those who had died. We were very grateful to a member of our Band who recorded the last post, for the service.

Called to Grow

Called to Grow is a five-step process developed as part of the Diocesan Vision, Called Together, to encourage and equip us as a Parish to consider the whole life of our church community, and what God may be asking of us. It is underpinned by prayer and adaptable to any setting.

Despite the Pandemic we have continued work on our Called to Grow plan, with regular reviews held at PCC meetings. To some extent plans have been put on hold to give the new Vicar the chance to look at the direction of travel. We have however been able to engage more widely with our village community through our Pop-up shops on a Saturday during the summer months.

Deanery Synod

Shoreham Deanery Synod brings together representatives from parishes stretching from Otford to Stansted and from Farningham to Shipbourne. St. Bart’s is the largest benefice in the Deanery by electoral roll. Members are elected at Annual Parochial Church Meetings to serve a 3-year term. The Synod met only twice in 2020, chaired as usual by the Rural Dean, Rev. Tim Hatwell (Rector of ightham). Plans to meet for a service on Ascension Day had to be abandoned. At a normal meeting, the first half is open to non-members of the Synod and consists of a presentation by a relevant speaker followed by questions and answers. The second part consists of routine Synod business. The first meeting of 2020 was held on 18 Feb 2020 at St. Mary’s Platt. Graham Wilkinson, the Growth Enabler for the Tonbridge Archdeaconry (and a lay minister at Bidborough) spoke about the Diocese’s approach to Called to Grow plans. He described Called to Grow as being about: e Listening — to God's calling and the needs of our communities

He explained that Called to Grow plans were reliant on a vision of where the local church should be in a few years’ time, which was usually developed at a workshop session with many of the church community. Graham’s role involved facilitating these workshops. He went on to explain how plans Page 9 of 26

are usually developed after the initial workshop to the point of an action plan, agreed with the PCC and the congregation, with owners for specific actions. Graham had not yet engaged with St. Bart’s since we were then in a vacancy, but | was able to update him on the good early progress we had already made in developing a Called to Grow plan.

The business part of the meeting covered a report on clerical vacancies in the local area, an update on the Diocesan safeguarding team and a discussion of early guidance on mitigating coronavirus risks.

The second meeting was held on Wednesday 24 June 2020 via online video-conference. Unfortunately, nobody from St. Bart's was able to attend, owing to a combination of availability and confusion over the Zoom invitation. This was a speaker-only meeting with no routine business. The speaker was Jenny Ross, Diocesan Communications Officer. She spoke on the topic of ‘Digital Church in the Diocese and where we go with it’. Her key points were:

Twice the meeting broke into breakout rooms: firstly for people to share experiences and ideas and secondly to think about responses to what had been said and what support churches might need. | normally circulate my personal notes from each Deanery Synod meeting to PCC members within a day of the meeting. If other parishioners are interested in receiving them, | would be happy to include them.

Mission Links

During this year of isolating and lockdowns all our Mission Partners, like everyone else, have had to think of new and innovative ways to enable them to continue to minister to others. Some have not had to change what they do too much, because of the nature of their work, whilst others have had to really think ‘outside the box’.

Those who have been able to continue almost as usual include Loaves N’ Fishes, who have been very busy during this time as many more have found themselves in need of food banks and we thank all who have so kindly donated so generously and regularly.

FEBA, as a broadcasting ministry, have also been able to continue their work as before but their message of hope is more important than ever. However, the pandemic has meant that many children have been unable to go to school as usual so FEBA has been broadcasting some educational programming.

Scripture Union has already, for many years, turned to technology to continue sharing the Gospel and they have needed to be even more resourceful and imaginative in this area. Did you know that 95% of UK children do not go to church! So please do pray for the work of the SU as they use the media which is most used by young people.

The Bible Society have continued their translation projects and continued to distribute Bibles across the world whenever and however they can.

The Children’s Society have continued their work in different ways: “Now we're stepping up the fight for hope at a time when it's under threat like never before. The pandemic has plunged families into poverty, left children isolated and scared about the future. Help us fight back for their hopes, their ambitions, their whole generation.”

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Hospices of Hope shop, here in the village, has been closed for some time, this has given the chance to revamp their coffee shop. Their teams in their 4 partner countries have continued their palliative care in very difficult conditions.

Just as we have had to adapt how we reach out to serve our community, further afield in Bolivia, the Peart family have just started helping with healthy meal planning for the orphanage for children with disabilities next door along with their work with the local Anglican church. They report that ‘we involve our whole family in our service too; being more effective as a team’. Our girls lead weekly evening bedtime Bible stories, so we are better able to welcome the children of our church and community into our home (albeit virtually) to help them feel Christ’s comfort and presence during such uncertain times.

Christian Aid Week was a challenge in 2020, we are grateful to those of our congregation and the Methodist Church who volunteered to deliver envelopes.

Pursue in Kenya with working with women and girls also continued in these difficult times.

Sevenoaks Area Youth Trust (SAYT) Team and Sevencaks Counselling services, whose work is essentially face to face, had to branch out to different media, too. The SAYT Team usually spend a lot of time working with schools, work which has not been allowed over the last year, but they have been providing video sessions with a member of staff and a volunteer following safeguarding guidelines and Sevenoaks Counselling has been counselling by phone or online.

Please do go to the church website and the Mission tab where you can click on the website links for all our Mission Partners. Maybe spend a couple of minutes looking at their work and then pray for them.

Communication

To communicate with both parishioners and the wider village community our website (www.StBartholomews.co.uk) is updated on a regular basis with details of services and other events. The last copies of our popular Parish magazine were distributed to some 400 homes in the parish, by a large group of volunteers. We wish to thank all those who had worked so hard on the magazine over many years, regrettably no new editorial team has come forward and therefore the magazine will no longer be published as we move into 2021. We now have a St. Bart’s WhatsApp Group with over 70 members and an active Facebook page.

Policy on Reserves

The PCC upholds a policy to maintain general reserves at a level of £35,000. This policy is reviewed on an annual basis. The PCC also maintains a fund for cyclical maintenance and repair. Other funds held and set aside for specific purposes at the close of 2020 are dealt with in the Accounts Section of this report.

Further Financial details

The accounts for St. Bartholomew’s Church Otford are dealt with electronically, which allows for management information to be prepared for Finance and Standing Committee and PCC meetings. Outgoings can be assessed against budget, as can income, and adjustments made to plans and budgets in a timely manner.

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Gift Aid claims are made on a regular basis which assists with the flow of income. This means that the PCC is well placed to ensure that donations are being used for the purposes for which they were given. In September, the annual Stewardship Sunday was held.

Gift Aid

The charity is recognised by HMRC for Gift Aid on any relevant donations for the financial year ending 31% December 2020.

Fundraising

The charity raises funds from the public — primarily from Church members. It also seeks to raise funds from third party donors such as established trusts for specific projects such as the re-ordering scheme. It does not work with commercial participators in raising funds and does not have a trading subsidiary.

Policies

As described above St Bart’s has a policy on its reserve funds. It follows Church of England guidance on safeguarding, under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (to have regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerabie adults).

Grant making

Grant making is not the main way that St Bart’s carries out its charitable objectives although St. Bart’s does support the work of other Christian mission agencies in the UK and abroad through its away giving, as shown in these accounts.

The PCC supported the following Christian mission agencies during 2020.

Loaves and Fishes FEBA Scripture Union Bible Society Children’s Society Hospices of Hope Christian Aid Pursue Sevenoaks Area Youth Trust Sevenoaks Counselling

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@”’}| CHARITY COMMISSION | © Independent examiner's report on
FOR ENGLAND AND WALES the accounts °
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Section A

Independent Examiner's Report

Report to the trustees/ St Bartholomew’s Church members of On accounts for the year | 31%‘ December 2020 Charity no | 1135073 ended (if any) | report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/12/2020. Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act’). | report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, | have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent | have completed my examination. | confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: e the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or e the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or e the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (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. | have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enabie a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. * Please dele qi i fhe words in the brackets if they do not apply. — i, ; = Name: | Mr Antony Stevens Relevant professional | Chartered institute of Management Accountants qualification(s) or body (if any):

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Address: | 22 Willow Park, Otford, Sevenoaks, Kent .TN14 5NE
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Section B

Disclosure

Only compiete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity Accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose.

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End of Year Financial Statements

Year ending 31°t December 2020

Statement of Financial Activities

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|||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Unrestricted|Designated|Restricted|Endowment|Total|Prior year| |funds|fonds|funds|funds|funds|total funds| |a| |income and emiowments from:| |Donations and legacies|£108,261|£750|£12,775||£121,785|£119,320| |Incorne from charitable activities|£5,203||£1,145|=|£6,348|£11,296| |Other trading activities|£16,065|£4580||=|£20,645|£26,513| |investments|£325|£359|£08|—|£7a2|£044| |Other income|£3,846||||£3,548|—| |eee| |Total income|£133,700|£5,685|£14,048|—|£153,406|£458,070| |Expenditure om:| |Raising funds|£475||—|—|£475|£2,194| |Expenditure on charitable|activities|£110,701|£22,522|£9271|—|£142,443|£154,675| |Other expenditure|£143|£2,130|-|=|£2,333|£8,300| |—__SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSsSSSSeseee ——| |Total expenditure|E171,313|£24,712|£3224|—|£145,252|£165,259| |Gains / losses on investment assets|E46|||—|£340|E778| |Eee| |Net income i|(expenditure) resources before transfer|£22721|(£19,023)|£4797|—|£8,495|(£5,410)| |——————————————————| |——————————————=——————————————————————————————————| |Transfers| |Gross transfers between funds - in|£12,708|£64414|£1,822|—|£78,044|£38,501| |Gross transfers behween funds - out|£30,582)|(£48,575)|(£1,777)|-|(£78,944)|{£83,501}| |Other racognised gains /losses| |ee|ee|pe|ed| |Net movement in funds|£4,836|(£1,183)|EARA2|—|£5,495|{£6,410}| |Raconcifiation of|funds| |i| |Total furnés brought forward|£39,690|E38,806|£205,971|—|£234,467|76| |Total funds carried forward|£44,526|£37, 522|£210,813||£252,561|£234|AGT| |ee| |Represented by| |Unrestricted| |General fund|£44,526|—|||£44,526|£39,600| |Designated| |AV and iT Maintenance|ad|£1,883|—||£1,863|£1.26| |Church Hall||£15,743|—||£15,743|£22,466| |Cydical Maintenance|—|£5,041|-|-|£0,044|£8,453| |Mission|-|£70,075|—||£10,075|£8,681| |Restricted| |Bemard Worssam Fund|-||£500|=|£500|=| |Gameras|and|IT|||£112|—|£112|| |ChoralMusic Fund|—|=|£5,652||£5,652|£5,578| |Charch Hall|=|—|£201 572||£201,572|£205,572| |Jean Kelsey Music Fund|||£1248||£7,840|£1,567| |Office|Computer|=|-|£1,313|=|£1,313|—| |Re-ordering Fund|=|=|(£185)|_-|(£185)|(£3,048)|

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Balance sheet

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||||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |General|Designated|Restricted|Endowment|At 31/12/2020|0|At 31/42/2013| |Fund|Funds|Funds|Funds|£|£| |Fined asseta| |Tangible assets|=|-|£201,572||£201,572|£201,572| |investments|£5,288|oe|—||£5,286|£4,946| |Fixed assets|£5,206||Ean|572||£208,858|£206,518| |Curent|assets| |Debtors|E1M17||||£1,017|£1422| |Cash at bank and in hard|£30,197|£37|017|£10,064|—|£87,208|£81,089| |Curent|assets|£40,214|£37,917|£10,094|a|£88,225|£83,411| |Lisbifities| |Creditors:|Amounts|falling due in one year|£73|£4|=B54|—|£2,124|£5,462| |Net current assets less current abilities|£39,241|£37622|£9,241|=|£286,103|£77989| |Total assets|bess current liabilities|£44,526|£37,622|£210,313|a|£292,961|£264,457| |Total net assets less Rabilities|4a,526|£37,622|£240,813|—|£292,961|£284|467| |Representedby| |Unrestricted| |Unrestricted|- General|fund|£44|526||=|—|£44,528|£39,000| |Designated| |Designated|-|AV and IT Maintenance|-|£1,853|—|-|£1,883|£1,206| |Designated|- Church|Hall|=|£15744|—||£15,743|£22,466| |Designated|- Cyclical|Maintenance|=|£0,041|—|-|£0,041|£6,453| |Designated|- Mission|=|£10075|-|—|£10,075|£6,861| |Restricted| |Restricted|- Bemard Worssam Fund|-|—|£500||£500|a| |Restricted - Re-ordering Fund||—|(£185)|=|(E185)|(£3,048)| |Restricted-|Cameras|and iT|-|-|£2712|—|£112|| |Restricted|- Office Computer|-|—|£1,313|-|£1,313|=~| |Restricted|- Sequestration|Account|-|-|||—|| |Restricted - Vicarage Devorations|||—|an||=| |Restricted|- Choral|Music Fund|||£5,052||£5,652|£5,576| |Restricted|-|Church|Hall|—|—|£201,572|—|£201,572|£201,572| |Restricted|- Church Repair||—||—|-|—| |Restricted|- Jean Kelsey Music Fund|-|--|£1.46|_|£1,843|£1,887| |Fundsof the church|£44,526|£37,622|£210,813|—|£292,961|£284|467|

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Page 16 of 26

Statement of assets and liabilities

Previous
Balance balance
en
investments.
6432 258 Shares in CBF Invesiment Fund - Asset
Generalfund Unrestricted £5,286 £4,946
£5,286 £4,948
Investments £5,286 £4,946
Tangibleassets
434: Church Hail -Asset
Church Hall Restricted £201,572 £201,572
¥201,572 £201,572
Tangible assets £201572 £201,572
Cash atbankand in hand
6506: CAF currentaccourm -Azset
BemardWorssam
Fund		 Resticted £500 =
OfficeComputer Restricted £50 _
ChurchHall Designated £505 £1,778
CyclicalMaintenance Designated a £1,450
Generalfund Unrestricted £5,567 £4414
£6,621 £7,642
6507: CAFFreewill Account -Asset
AVand iT
Maintenance		 Designated £750 —
Camerasand IT Resticted £112 —
OfficeComputer Restricted £1,263 —
Generalfund Unrestricted £13,529 £8,196
Re-orderingFund Restricted _
£16323 £8496
6510: CCLA(CBF)depositaccount account
- Asset
AVand IT Designated £1,113 £680
Maintenance
ChoralMusicFund Restricted £5,652
Church Hail Designated £15,532 £14,091
CyclicalMaintenance Designated £9,944 £A02
Generalfund
JeanKelseyMusic		 Unrestricted
Restricted		 £15,977
£1,649		 £4 465
—
Fund
Mizsion Designated £10,075 £7
£64,140 £20,149
6515: Harnpshire Trust 90 DayAccount
- Asset
AYand IT Designated _ £56
Maintenance
ChoralMusicFund
Church Hall		 Restricted
Designated
£5,076
£7,058
Cyclical Maintenance Designated = £4,601
Generalfund Unrestricted £0 £18,056
deanKelseyMusic
Fund		 Restricted £0 £1,867
Mission Designated — £8,674
i
ie
01April2021 Page1

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|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Previous| |Balance|balance| |—|£45,358| |6590:|Cash|in hand|- Asset| |General fund|Unrestricted|£124|£145| |£124|£145| |Cash at bank and|in hand|£87,208|£81,989| |Debtors| |205:|Accounts|Receivable|- Asset| |Church|Hall|Designated||£208| |General fund|Unrestricted|£1,017|£1,214| |£41,017|£4,422| |Debtors|£1,017|£1,422| |Creditors: Amounts|falling due in|one|year| |6601:|Loans|received|- Lishiiity| |Re-andesing|Fund|Restricted|EBSA|£3,048| |CBSA|£3,043| |204: Accounts|Payable|- Liabiity| |Church|Hall|Designated|£204| |General fund|Unrestricted|£973|£1,746| |£1,268|£2,415| |Creditors:|Amounts|taliing due in one year|£2,121|£5,462| |Grand Total|£297,961|£284,467|

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Page 18 of 26

Analysis of income and expenditure

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||||||||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Unrestricted|Designated|Restricted|Endowment|This year|Total|Last|year| |enn|rrr|rrr|cre| |income and|endowments| |Donations and legacies| |0101|- Git Aid - Bonations|£69|874|£600|£2,914|we|£73,385|£68,299| |0110|-|Gift|Aid|-|Envelopes|£1,087|aes||—|£1,087|£4,829| |6201|- Other planned giving|£10,867||£120|—|£10,|S87|£11,583| |0301|- Loose plate collections|£1,586|—|—|—|£1,586|£3,959| |0302 - Wall Safe|£371|——|—|=|£321|fA5S2| |051|- One-off|Gift|Aid|gifts|£1,490|——|£4,400|=|£5,590|£1,000| |0550|- Donations appeals etc|£1,146|—|£27 330||£3,476|£2|664| |0601|- Tax recoverable on Gift Aid|£20,608|£150|£2,508|—|£23,266|£18,877| |0610 - Tax Recovery -|GASDS|£765|—|Fe|—|£765|£2|456| |0701|- Legacies|—|—|£500|£500|£3,003| |1270 - Youth work|£120|=|——|=|£120|£1,025| |1280|- Church refreshments|£197||—|—|£197|£503| |1510 - Book of Remembrance|£200|—|—|—|5200|£270| |eee| |Donations and legacies|Totals|£108,261|£750|£12,775|—|£121,785|£119,320| |income|from|charitable|activities| |1101|-|Fees|for|weddings|&|funerals|-|£1,869|—|—||£1,269|£4,344| |PCC| |DBF1111|-|Fees|forweddings& funerals -||—|£1,145|a|£1,145|£3,276| |Clergy1121|-|Fees weddings&|funerals PTO|£109|—||a|£105|£165| |1260 - Parish magazine sales|£3,225|—|—||£3,225|£3,511| |income from charitable activities|£5,203|=|£1,145||£6,348|£11,296| |Totals| |0901|- Other funds generated|£A60||——|—|£460|£2|698| |0910 - Ctwrch fair|£3,373|——|——|-|£3,373|£6,152| |0912| |-|Rian|d|siridee|£776|—|=|im|£778| |0973 - Christmas market|£1,595|—||—|£1,595|£3,163| |0914 -|Events|£7,059|—|—||£7,059|£4045| |1240 - Church hail lettings|—|£4,580||a|$4,580|£7,223| |1250 - Magazine income - acivertising|£2, B00|—||-|£2,800|£2,574| |ee|————————————=—=ELL—r..x| |Other trading activities Totals|£16,065|£4,580|—|—|£20,645|£26,513| |investrents| |1001|-|Dividends|£148|=|=|—|£148|£144| |1020 - Bank and building society|EAT|£359|£95|—|£634|£797| |interest| |a|TT|TT|TT| |investments|Totals|£325|£359|£95|—|£782|£941| |Other income| |0810 -|Covid-19 Job Retention Scheme|£3,B46|a|—|=|£3,846|| |Other income|Totals|£3, B46|||—_|£3,846|a|

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Total
Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment This year Last year
income and endowments £133,700 £5,689 £14,018 = £153,406 £158,070
Grand totals
=====[==z=xaxKK&—eae¥T=====<==<=<=<===== -LcCcl_]>===[="=[|=[|[{==$>*= ——F—[====[=—[=—[[=[=[=[=[=[=[=[======="===
Expenditure
Raising funds
1730 - Costs of fund raising £475 — _ — £ATS £2,194
SEneeae
Raising funds Totals £ATS = er — SATS £2,194
Expenditure on charitable activities
1801 - Mission Giving — £7,122 — - £7,122 5A,748
4850 - Home mission _ £3,649 _ — £3,649 £4,748
1907 - Mission & Ministry Support £64,988 — — a £64,988 £64,969
1911 - Fees clempy holding PTO £99 — _ — £9 £165
2001 - Salaryof Caretaker £3,932 — _ — £3,562 £3,856
2050 - Salary of parish administrator £14,667 oy _ = £14,667 £14,377
2051 - Pension Contributions Office £2,193 — —— _ £2,193 £2,078
Staff
2101 - Working expenses of incumbent £449 o — = £449 £622
2110 - Visiting speakers7 locums — _ £624 — 624 £1,737
2120 - Council tax £1,276 _ — _ £1,276 £2017
2130 - Vicarage house expenses £AD = £2,479 =a £2,519 £367
2140 - Water rates - vicarage £205 _ _ _ £205 E217
2180 - Youth work £191 — £43 _ £234 £3,169
2201 - Fees & subscriptions £357 = = _ £397 £245
2320 - Organ / piano tuning £566 — = =e £566 £6,456
2321 - Organist fees £2,740 = — ~ £2,740 £3,099
2322 - Choir expenditure £208 — - — £208 £325
2340 - Upkeep of services £608 = — — £829
2341 - Altar Requisites — - — — _ £443
2345 - Church refreshments £65 — _ — £65 £618
2350 - Upkeep of churchyard = = = - — £851
22360 - Printing, stabonery, postage and £993 _ — _ £995 £SB0
other
2361 - Computers and office equipment — — =e = = £335
2362- Photocopier maintenance £425 — _ ma £A25 £805
2365 - Church office - telephone £419 — _ — £419 £780
2386 - Internet & Website £750 ~ _ _ £750 £706
2370- Cleaning & sanitary supplies £575 _ — = £575 £115
241 - Church running - electric £1,178 — — _ £1,170 £1,552
2410 - Church sunning - gas £2,323 = — _ £2,323 £2,516
2420 - Church running - water £129 — — — £129 £60
2422 - Church sound and vision £316 £305 £6,075 _ £6,697 £2,705
2430 - Church running- security ear a5 ae a £974 £1,090
2450 - Church manning - nmeurance £3,642 _ _ _ £3,542 £3,451
2460 - Church maintenance £2,729 £2,129 — — £4,853 £5,977
2461 - Church maintenance - cydical _ = _ — _ £3,630
2470 - Church - performing rights £358 _ _ — £358 EM
ficence
2501 - Magazine expenses £3,275 — — as £3275 £3,663
2530 - Hall running - electricity _ £685 _ _ 26BS E653
2540 - Hall running - gas _ £1,720 —— _ £1,720 £1,649
2550 - Hall running - insurance _ £1,323 _ — £1,323 £1,255
2560 - Hail ranning - maintenance — £1,590 = — £1,590 £1,187
2570 - Hall deaning and materials — £3,420 — = £3,420 £4,320
2571 - Hali performing rights — £147 _ — E1dT £156
2580 - Hall running - water _ £432 _ _ £452 £702
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Total
Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment This year Last year
eeeeee
Expenditure on charitable £110,701 £72 522 £9,221 _ £142,443 £154 675
activities Totals
Other expenditure
Options2510 - Hall Appr.- Condition Survey& = £2,190 — — £2,190 £2,280
2602 - Bank Charges £120 — — — £120 £120
2610 - Accountancy software £23 _ _ — £23
2910 - Re-ordering work _ = am — — £5,968
Other axpenditure Totais £143 £2,190 _ — £2,333 £3,390
Expenditure Grand totals £111,318 £24,712 £9,221 os £145,252 £165,259
—meoO“ewwsSsSSSSSSewS——sS—ao—o5oasanaa#)aas9a9”S SSeS
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Approved by the Parochial Church Council on 14 April 2021 and signed on its behalf by:
a [.]
|
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JA Hunt RJ Edwards Mrs Janet Hunt (Churchwarden) and Mr Russell Edwards (Churchwarden)

Notes to the Financial Statements for year ending to 31 December 2020

The notes on the following pages form part of these accounts.

1. Accounting Policies

The PCC is a public benefit entity within the meaning of FRS102. The financial statements have been prepared under the Charities Act 2011 and in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 governing the individual accounts of PCC, and with the Regulations’ “true and fair view” provisions.

2. Assets

2.2. Moveable Church Furnishings

Typically, these are capitalised at cost and depreciated over the useful economic life other than where insufficient cost information is available. In this case the item is not capitalised, but all items are included in the Church’s inventory.

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2.3. Tangible Fixed Assets for use by the charity

These are capitalised if they can be used for more than one year and cost at least £1000. They are valued at cost or else, for gifts-in-kind, at a reasonable estimate of their open market value on receipt.

Depreciation is calculated to write off the capitalised cost of fixed assets less their currently anticipated residual fair value over their estimated useful lives as follows:

No depreciation is provided on buildings as the currently estimated residual value of the properties is not less than their carrying value and the remaining useful life of these assets currently exceeds 50 years, so that any depreciation charges would be immaterial.

An impairment review is carried out each year end and any resultant loss identified included in expenditure for the year.

2.4. Church Hall

The Church Hall is currently the subject of a consultation process to determine its future use. The PCC has suspended all non-essential maintenance to the Hall until this process is complete, with the result that the fabric of the Hall is continuing to deteriorate.

As part of the consultation process the PCC commissioned a condition survey of the Hall, with associated costs for repairs, from an independent firm of surveyors. A sum of £12k was set aside within the Church Hall Designated fund in 2019 to cover costs identified within the report as needing attention within the short term either (a) for H&S of users; {b) to maintain a watertight structure or (c)} requiring further investigation, some of which was expended within 2020, with further works planned for 2021.

in 2019 a further £10k was set aside within the Church Hall Designed fund to cover ongoing losses from the day-to-day running of the Hall. Losses of £4,533 were made on the running of the Hail in 2020, partially due to the pandemic.

2.5. investments

Investments quoted on a recognised stock exchange or whose value derives from that are valued at market value at the year end. Other investment assets are included at PCC’s best estimate of market value.

2.6. Short Term Deposits

These are the cash held on deposit either with the CCLA or at a bank.

The church's assets are held in the following accounts:

CAF Bank — current account (for general income and payments for both church and hall) CAF Bank - freewill offering account (for all regular donations made by bank transfer} CCLA — deposit account {instant access account) Hampshire Trust Bank — 90 day account (Interest paying Notice account)

During the year, the interest rate on the Hampshire Trust Account fell to below that of the CCLA account, as a result of which the Hampshire Trust Account was closed.

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  1. Funds

3.1. Unrestricted Funds

These represent the funds of the PCC that are available for spending on the general purposes of the PCC, excluding amounts designated by the PCC for fixed assets for its own use or for spending on a future project and which are therefore not included in its ‘free reserves’ as disclosed on the trustees’ report.

3.2. Restricted Funds

These are funds that must be spent on restricted purposes. Details of the restricted funds held are shown below:

Re-ordering Fund (carrying the outstanding loan for the re-ordering works) Jean Kelsey Music Fund

Choral Music Fund Church Hall (Building) Bernard Worssam Fund Cameras & IT Fund

Office Computer Fund

3.3. Designated Funds

These are funds that the PCC have designated for a specific purpose. Details of the designated funds current held are shown below:

Church Hall (running costs and lettings)

Cyclical Maintenance

Mission Giving AV &IT

3.4. Transfers between funds

Funds were transferred from unrestricted funds to designated funds during the year as follows:

£5,550 To Cyclical Maintenance

£10,000 to Mission Giving £200 to AV & IT

4. Staff Costs

During the year the PCC employed an organist and office staff (all part time). Tax and National Insurance payments were made for relevant employees. Total staff costs amounted to £23,402 which includes £2,193 Employer Pension Contributions. National Insurance Contributions for the year fell below the £2,000 government allowance.

Incumbent costs are covered by the diocese and therefore not included within these accounts.

No members of the PCC are employed, however a person closely connected to a PCC member is employed within the office staff.

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Donations made by PCC members during the year amounted to £21,924.

4.1. Church Workers Pension Fund (CWPF}

St Bartholomew’s Church participates in the Pension Builder Scheme section of CWPF for lay staff. The Scheme is administered by the Church of England Pensions Board, which holds the assets of the schemes separately from those of the Employer and the other participating employers.

The Church Workers Pension Fund has a section known as the Defined Benefits Scheme, a deferred annuity section known as Pension Builder Classic and a cash balance section known as Pension Builder 2014.

Pension Builder Scheme

The Pension Builder Scheme of the Church Workers Pension Fund is made up of two sections, Pension Builder Classic and Pension Builder 2014, both of which are classed as defined benefit schemes.

Pension Builder Classic provides a pension for members for payment from retirement, accumulated from contributions paid and converted into a deferred annuity during employment based on terms set and reviewed by the Church of England Pensions Board from time to time. Bonuses may also be declared, depending upon the investment returns and other factors.

Pension Builder 2014 is a cash balance scheme that provides a lump sum that members use to provide benefits at retirement. Pension contributions are recorded in an account for each member. This account may have bonuses added by the Board before retirement. The bonuses depend on investment experience and other factors. There is no requirement for the Board to grant any bonuses. The account, plus any bonuses declared, is payable from members’ Normal Pension Age.

There is no sub-division of assets between employers in each section of the Pension Builder Scheme.

The scheme is considered to be a multi-employer scheme as described in Section 28 of FRS 102. This is because it is not possible to attribute the Pension Builder Scheme’s assets and liabilities to specific employers and means that contributions are accounted for as if the Scheme were a defined contribution scheme. The pensions costs charged to the SoFA in the year are the contributions payable (2020: £2078, 2019: £2078).

A valuation of the Pension Builder Scheme is carried out once every three years. The most recent was carried out as at 31 December 2016. A valuation as at 31 December 2019 was under way as at 31 December 2020.

For the Pension Builder Classic section, the valuation revealed a deficit of £14.2m on the ongoing assumptions used. At the most recent annual review, the Board chose not to grant a discretionary bonus, which will have acted to improve the funding position. There is no requirement for deficit payments at the current time.

For the Pension Builder 2014 section, the valuation revealed a surplus of £1.8m on the ongoing assumptions used. There is no requirement for deficit payments at the current time.

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The legal structure of the scheme is such that if another employer fails, St Bartholomew’s Church could become responsible for paying a share of that employer’s pension liabilities.

5, Covid-19 Impact

In March 2020, in line with government restrictions, the church was forced to close due to the pandemic. At that time, 2 members of staff were placed on furlough, with costs reclaimed under the governments Covid-19 Job Retention Scheme. One member of staff remains on furlough at year end.

Covid-19, and the associated restrictions, has impacted our ability to raise funds during 2020. The primary impacts were:

e Reduction in loose plate collections, envelope giving and wall safe donations ® Cancellation of fundraising Events such as the Summer Fair & Christmas Market To counteract these impacts, a letter was written to all envelope givers, asking them if possible, to set up a standing order in place of their normal giving. In addition, a Fundraising Group was established to look at alternative fundraising options. These actions have resulted in a positive balance to the accounts at year end.

6. Re-ordering Work

Re-ordering and re-decoration work to the inside of the church were undertaken during 2018. An interest free loan of £14,381 was taken out with a member of the parish to provide cashflow for the works to be undertaken. This loan is being paid down with ongcing donations until May 2021. The balance at the end of 2020 amounted to £185.

7. Legacies

We are grateful for a legacy received during the year of £500.00.

8. Mission Giving

In line with current policy, 75% of the general unrestricted budget surplus from the 2019 accounts was added to the 2019 budgeted Mission Giving of £8,600, making a total of £10,690. This was distributed evenly between the 10 mission partners selected by the Mission Committee.

9. Post Balance Sheet Events

During the latter part of 2020, a number of our regular donors have either left, moved away, or sadly, died. This, combined with the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, has resulted in the PCC approving a negative budget for 2021, with expected losses of £20,000. This loss, if realised, will breach the current reserves policy by taking reserves below the minimum level of £35,000. As a result, the PCC also authorised and approved the anticipated losses as an ‘exceptional circumstance’, allowing reserves to go temporarily below £35,000, but with the intention to re-establish the minimum level as soon as possible.

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To address the situation, a Stewardship Task Force has been established from within the PCC, to look specifically at increasing awareness of our financial predicament and encouraging regular members of our congregation to increase their planned giving. This campaign will be rolled out over a number of months with the aim of achieving a balanced budget again in 2022.

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