Parish of South Crawley ## Trustees Annual Report for 2023 Our aims and purposes as a charity The PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent and team vicars, in: e The promotion of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ according to the doctrines and practices of the Church of England. e Promoting in the parish the whole mission of the church, pastoral, social, evangelistic and ecumenical. This can be summed up as ‘To know Jesus better and make Him better known’. e Providing practical and spiritual support and care for people in the parish, from the youngest to the eldest, irrespective of level of need or ability to pay. e Providing financial support to other organisations with similar objectives. What we planned to do to achieve our charitable objectives When planning our activities for the year, our incumbent and the PCC have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance on ‘charities for the advancement of religion’. The council has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016, fully recognising its duty to have due regard to House of Bishops' guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. The parish covers three of the neighbourhoods of Crawley and has a church in each area, namely St Mary’s Southgate, Holy Trinity Tilgate, and Christ the Lord, Broadfield. The PCC has oversight of the whole parish. Much of the day-to-day decision-making is delegated to the District Church Council of each church. Each DCC has representatives on the PCC. For this year we discussed and planned the following objectives and activities to fulfil our aims: Objectives and Activities We enable as many people as possible to worship at our churches and to become part of our parish community: e Teaching, baptising and nurturing new and existing believers is something we do at least weekly on Sundays and also through many different weekday meetings. We offer services of worship to God: e Five or six services of Christian Worship are held across the parish every week of the year, with extra ones around the festivals of Christmas and Easter. e Our services are open to all and attract a range of people from the area we serve, including many ethnic minority members. i **----- Start of picture text -----**
e put faith into practice, through prayer and attending to Scripture, through musical worship
sacrament, through community and social events, and especially through involvement in
itable service to those around us.
e ng the year, the Team Vicar of Christ the Lord, Broadfield, left for another post. A parish
ile was created, and after advertising and interview, the Revd David King was appointed,
to be licensed in April 2024. During the interregnum, the DCC of CtL has worked hard to
the services and other activities going. Clergy from the Team and Deanery have assisted
ading services and preaching.
We pr e the gospel and pray that the unchurched may find life in Jesus Christ:
e assist people from all walks of life to develop their knowledge of, and trust in, Jesus.
° offer courses to advance religion, including the Alpha course, and take part in educational
ses, such as safeguarding training.
° aim to live out our Mission Statements — ‘Worshipping Jesus, Making him known, Sharing
love’ (St Mary’s); ‘The heartbeat of God in the community’ (Holy Trinity); ‘In the
munity, of the community’ (Christ the Lord).
e We have established home groups at which we learn about the Bible, and engage in worship,
prayer and fellowship.
We engage in evangelism and outreach to the parish in various ways:
e Wereach out to the unchurched and provide community cohesion through provision of Messy
Church, Community Fun Days, The Alpha Course, Craft evenings, ‘Monday Munch’ in
Broadfield, Tuesday Communion and Coffee in Tilgate, The Gate Café and ‘Cake and Company’
in Southgate, and our baby group ‘Wriggle and Roll’.
e Weshare inthe town’s worship and witness through the Good Friday event in Queen’s Square,
and the Sunrise service in Tilgate Park.
We provide three buildings for people to enjoy:
e We maintain the fabric of the church buildings as a resource for worship and community
events for each or our three neighbourhoods.
We provide tangible pastoral and financial support to the poor and needy:
e We actively encourage our members to be involved in the Crawley Foodbank Partnership,
Open House (charity for homelessness), Oasis (crisis pregnancy centre) and Christians Against
Poverty (Life skills training and debt counselling), Sussex Aid (working with refugees) and the
‘Love your Neighbour’ scheme. We offer financial support to many of these agencies, and
are also able to help individuals and families who have emergency needs.
We consider the needs of people served by other charities and overseas:
e We give grants to wider Christian charities. As well as the organisations named above, we
give to the national charities CPAS and Home Start. And we give to the international charities
TEAR Fund, Mercy Ships, Mission Aviation Fellowship, Kids Alive and New Life Africa
International.
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What we achieved and how we affected beneficiaries’ lives Attendance at worship The parish has the privilege of serving parts of Crawley which are relatively needy. Deprivation indexes put the area in the lowest quarter of the country as a whole and parts of Broadfield are in the lowest ten percent. While we have people who attend from all parts of the town, most of our attenders are from the parish itself. This is a fulfilment of our aim to serve the whole community of the parish. The churches and their activities are open to everyone, and we are pleased that the racially mixed population of Crawley is well represented in our congregations. We believe that voluntary attendance to worship the Lord Jesus Christ, is a major demonstration of the public benefit of our activities. An online presence is maintained through our three websites, which amongst other things, give access to recorded sermons. The average regular weekly attendance for the parish —_—_—_—_—_—_—_—_———— ~~=~~ —_ as a whole, was 123 adults and 16 children. The A place to learn to accept others just as worshipping community figure for the whole parish they are, as they accept me. is 252. Included in this figure are those who attend the monthly ‘Messy Church’ event which is run as a Holyory Triniteriarymemoerb combined event for the whole parish. We are keen to encourage the involvement of all ages, and as well as the Messy Church events in Tilgate, the churches at Southgate and Broadfield hold regular children’s groups on Sundays as well as some midweek activities. ‘First Friday Fun Club’ at St Mary’s attracts a good number of children who do not come on Sundays. A place to belong and link with others in the . local neighbourhood. Teaching,9 baptising and nurturing new and | . existing[believers.] prising 9 St Mary’s member We regularly run the Alpha course in our parish and it is always encouraging to see people coming to faith. We also ran two Lent courses, one in person and one via Zoom. During the year we have baptised nine people and have held funeral services for ten. Some of these were church members, but often we take funeral services for people who have not attended but who have requested a Church of England funeral. During the year, many of our members meet in small groups (home groups) for fellowship, Bible study and prayer. These groups are mainly lay-led and form a very important part of our support structure. ‘The Bible Course’ and ‘The Romans Course’ are examples of home group materials used this year. iii **----- Start of picture text -----**
Evangelism and outreach
We have a number of ways in which we seek to reach out to and serve our communities: Our cafes at
Christ the Lord and St Mary’s and our Communion and coffee at Holy Trinity prove popular. We have
a group for older people at St Mary’s (Cake and Company) which both church attenders and non-
attenders enjoy. The group is dementia friendly, and is growing.
Our Toddler groups, First Friday Fun Club (FFFC) and
‘It gives; me a reason to go out.’ .Messy Church. all cater for. children and families. FFFC
in particular attracts children who do not attend
‘Monday Sunday events. Many are from ethnic minority
Munch’ customer backgrounds.
Our ‘Community Fun Days’ take place once or twice
a year at St Mary’s. The activities and food and drink are free of charge, and it is always good to see
members of the community who may not be regular church members enjoying themselves.
Contact with our local schools is strong. We are in touch with all six primary schools in the parish: in
many we take regular assemblies, and/or welcome the school communities into our churches for
special festivals. Carol services, Harvest Festival, and Easter events took place in our churches this
year.
Provision of the church building for people to enjoy.
Allthreeofourchurchesare multi-purpose bihdings —~>—>~>~—~—>—_—_—_—_—_—_—_—__EEEE
and are widely used during the week for both church = ‘Cake and Co’ is the most friendly group
and community activities. The Church of Christ the of people | have ever been with.
Lord in Broadfield is physically connected to the
Broadfield Community Centre and works closely New member of the group
Community users ofour [buildings] [include] [Songbirds] [Choir] [(St] [M);] [Choir] & [Ko,] a drum teacher and U3A
painting and craft group (HT). Christ the Lord Broadfield has become home to regular performances
by the excellent ‘Ensemble Reza’ which offers its services to the community free of charge. St Mary’s
and Holy Trinity are also used as polling stations.
Holy Trinity is exploring an approach from the Romanian Orthodox Church to use its building on
Sunday afternoons.
In each of our churches, a lot of work goes on to make our buildings safe and weatherproof places for
the congregation and community to enjoy. Major work was done at St Mary’s in replacing all external
doors and some windows. Holy Trinity had work done of the roof, and Christ the Lord made
improvements to the forecourt of the church. Much remains to be done in the year ahead.
Non-judgmental, accepting, patient and kind. | in the parish
have been welcomed since | took myfirst Pastoral care is offered by all the clergy, ably
tentative steps through the door. assisted by many of the laity. Hospital visits,
St Mary’s member home visits to the housebound and services
EET in residential homes are regularly
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undertaken. We are delighted to have a Parish Nurse on our team who does a wonderful job in Broadfield giving advice and signposting people to the agencies which can provide help. A number of our members volunteer with Open House (working with the homeless) Crawley Food bank Partnership, Oasis (Crisis pregnancy centre) and Christians Against Poverty Life Skills. Provision of tangible support to the poor and needy All year round, and especially at harvest time, we collect The Gate Café makes such Gate Café makes such Café makes such makes such such lovely coffee! food to be given to the Crawley Foodbank Partnership. At Christmas, we collect gifts which can be given to the ; Café residents at Open House. We also offer some support to Sussex Aid, which provides clothing and other necessary items for refugees, of which there are many in our town. The Gate Café makes such Gate Café makes such Café makes such makes such such lovely coffee! , Café customer We have also been able to help families in particular need. Other charitable giving The churches each give a percentage of their income to charities including Mercy Ships, CPAS, TEAR Fund, Kids Alive, Open House, Christians Against Poverty, Easter Team, New Life Africa International, Home Start, Mission Aviation Fellowship. We help to raise funds for the Diocesan Family Support Worker who is based in Broadfield. Vv **----- Start of picture text -----**
FINANCIAL REVIEW 2023
The financial statements
These are the statutory financial statements for the whole parish, bringing together the results for
each church and the central PCC funds. The law largely prescribes the format, in particular the
separate accounting for unrestricted funds, available for any purpose, and restricted funds which must
be used for a specific purpose.
Review of 2023
Unrestricted Funds
The combined results for the three Churches plus the Parish Office were:
e Income: £181,675: a decrease of £33,179 compared to 2022 (£214,854)
e Expenses: £191,279: an increase of £19,142 compared to 2022 (£172,137).
e = Deficit: £9,605 (2022: Surplus £24,552).
Income was significantly lower than 2022. However the major part of this difference was the result of
unplanned gifts of significant size in 2022 amounting to £35,000 including gift aid. The underlying
trend in regular giving is flat or decreasing. The increase in expenses was due to rising costs of supplies
of all kinds plus higher property maintenance expenses. Given that our budget for 2023 predicted a
deficit on unrestricted funds of £37,000, we can be thankful for this result.
The deficit of £9,605 was offset by the gain on investments of £33,784 (2022: loss £18,164). This
amount, plus a transfer from restricted funds, resulted in an increase in unrestricted funds of £19,373
(2022: £26,312).
Restricted Funds
The total of restricted funds increased by £14,219 in 2023 and stood at £135,630 at the year-end, of
which £116,353 is held in Building Funds. Note 10 provides details of themovements of [the] [restricted]
and designated funds.
Contribution to the Diocese
The contribution from the parish was £100,700 (2022: £100,700). Income from the Arnold Trust which
pays for a part of our contribution was £11,142 (2022: £9,829).
Balance Sheet and Reserves
Our net assets on the balance sheet increased by £5,154 to £425,540 (2022: £420,386). The deficit
resulting from our normal activities (£23,630) was reduced by the gain on investments which appears
in the Statement of Financial Activities under "Gains/(Losses) on Investments".
Investment Policy
Funds are held in immediate access deposits with Barclays Bank and the CBF Church of England
Investment Fund. Interest received from the bank accounts is minimal and exceeded by charges.
Partly in response to this, in February 2019 the PCC invested £60,000 in equal amounts of shares in
two CBF Church of England Investment Funds. In March 2020 St Mary’s added £30,000 to each so that
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at 31 December 2020 the PCC had invested £180,000: £60,000 on its own account and £120,000 on
behalf of St. Mary’s.
The investments are realisable in whole or in part without delay and so form part of our liquid reserves.
As at 31 December 2023 their market value was £264,006. The current value represents a gain of
£84,006 or 47% on the original investments of £180,000.
Outlook for 2024
In 2023, the PCC fulfilled its pledged contribution to the diocese of £107,000 and has maintained its
pledge for 2024 at the same level, which reflects the PCC’s commitment to continue to play its part in
supporting the wider work of the diocese. It should however be noted that compared to the other
parishes in the deanery, the PCC’s contribution represents one of the highest in terms of the
percentage of unrestricted total income.
In setting a 2024 budget for General Funds the PCC relied on the continuance of pledged giving without
considering unplanned generosity. Hence it estimates a budget deficit of £19,600 for 2024.
2023 was a challenging one in terms of ministry resources as a result of the vacancy at Christ the Lord
Broadfield. The support of both clergy and laity ensured that the financial consequences for the
Church were minimised, though the cost of renovating the vicarage is an expense for the PCC in 2024
and is reflected in the budget.
The building fund reserves of £116,353 will help towards the cost of major work to our infrastructure
at Holy Trinity and St Mary’s, though it is likely that this will not be sufficient. Depending on fundraising
for these projects the extent to which General Funds may be required to cover shortfalls is as yet
unknown.
In the midst of these financial uncertainties the PCC will continue to review the financial situation as
the year unfolds and hopes that, as in previous years, its deficit predictions will prove unfounded. On
the other hand, it is a matter of concern that we are unable to cover our normal expenses as costs
continue to rise and regular income is flat. This is an issue that the PCC will need to address in 2024.
However, with unrestricted funds (excluding investment gains) standing at £244,916 at the end of
2023, the trustees have concluded that there are no material uncertainties about the PCC’s ability to
continue as a going concern.
From the start of 2022 we implemented financial management software which enabled the production
of the reports which are attached, and appointed a new Independent Examiner. Changes require extra
work before their benefits are fully realised. Therefore on behalf of the PCC, | would like to thank
Suzette Downs, the church treasurers, and all those who help in any way in the processes that result
in the preparation of the financial records.
Peter Wigglesworth April 2024
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CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trustees1 members of The Parochlal Church Councll of the Parlsh of South Crawly On accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023 Charlty no 1136132 Set out on pages R8spectlve responsibllltles of trustees and examlner The charitys trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance wlth the Charilies Act 2011 (Ihe Acr). The charity's trustees o)nsider that an audit is not required for thls year urKler section 144 of the Act arKI that an independent examination is needed. It Is my responsiblllty to: examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act, to follow the applicable Direction8 given by the Charlty Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Act, and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basls of Independent examln8rf5 statement My examination was carried out In accordance wlth general Dlrections glven by the Chaiity Commission. An examination inGlude8 a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also indudes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts arKJ seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequenuy no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair, vlew, and the report is IlmSt•d to th0￿ matt•r* B•t out in th• stAt•mant balow. Indepondent examlnerfs In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my statement attention (other than that disclosed below ") which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: the accounting re(x)rds were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or the accounts did not accord with accounting records; or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements con￿ming the fomi and ￿ntent of accounts set in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a Irue and fairf view which is nol a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concems and have come across no other matters In connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn In this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accDunts to be reached. Slgned: Date: as/¥/20 Nama: Suzette Downes Address: 12 Highwood Crescent Horsham RH12 1EN Parish of South Crawley 2023 Statement of Financial Activities Total Funds 2023 Trtal Funds 2022 Fund Funds Inujme from: Donatlons and legacles Church actlvltles 163,41S 1.126 11.779 207￿78 225.878 6.822 14,228 Other fundraisirkg actlylties Investments 11.799 L107 6ffi77 1.107 4,248 Other recelpts 2,429 1850 Totsl Inu) 181.675 47816 249,876 Expendlture I￿. Rai51ng Fund5 Missionary & Charitsble Grants Minlstry Costs Other Church Actlvlty Costs Governance 11,207 I(￿.651 | 72.922 5.168 16.375 12,740 113.936 6&561 6,984 54,289 113,634 127,211 Tot81 exp•hdlture 191379 66A41 257.no 196.237 Net In¢omel(•xwdlturn) Galnsl Iloues) on Investments ransfers ltheen fvnds 19,605) 33,784 119,0251 128,6301 33,784 53,639 (14164) Net mo¥ernent In funds 193Ta ' 114219), 5,154 35.475 otal funds brou8ht forward 270.537 149049 384,911 ¢>tsl funds <•rYled forw•Yd 289J 425,510 420.386 Balance Sheet Totsl Fund5 Total Funds 2022 Intan8lble assets Equlpment 15385 2.5471 ISB85 Z547 Stocks Debtors, prepayments, accrued Income Investments lo￿55 264m6 Cash at bank and In hand 181,826 5 Investments 4251184 422,127 Credltors: Arnounts falllng due within one year (14,929) (4.288) Net ￿rrent assets or (liabllltlesl 410,155 417,839 otsl assets less ￿rreftt Ilabllltles 425,540 425,540 420,386 Unre5trlcted fitnds Deslgnated Funds eneral Funds 278,721 260,493 270,538 149.849 R•strf¢t•d Fun 135,630 otsl d￿rIty funds 425,540 420,386 2: Analysis of income Totsl Fund5 TotolFunds Fund Funds 2023 2022 Regular GMn8 Unplanned 8lvin8 at servkes Ad-H￿ 8lvln8 Speclal Appeals, Grants Glft Ald recoverable 105.406 13,076 20,270 2￿10 I 125,676 15m6 124,389 16.205 18.401 26,532 13213 7370 31,614 33.902 51397 33,887 Donatlons and le8 163A 63 225.878 Fees for weddings & funerals Church v￿nts18T0Ups with thar8es 1,026 ily) 2330 i(x) 1,226 5,596 Church acllTAtles 6.822 Church Hall Rentsl, non' SeThlce5 & worshlp Evan8elbsm. education & tralnln8 Church Acilvlty Costs Bank char8es Bookstall & offtce servlce costs 38.554 2,679 41233 11,625 47,326 58,951 14.095 3,105 601 3A45 711 601 2.639 7.935 9.2 274 2.092 11.340 L304 PCC Offlce Support 11340 4515 Churth Actlvlty Costs 127211 6&561 Independent Examlnatlon Govemance Total expended on all funds 191279 66A41 257,720 196.23 4 Tangible fixed assets Totsl Ilxed ' ?rrtlIx#ldl￿ .. equlwiitsrt , equlpment t l January 2023 dlllons.. Hr*Trlnly. Cooker, Chr15t the Lord: Projert ditions: Chrbst the Lord: Projector dttFons: St Mary5: Avsystem Disposal￿￿￿￿1fflQnt DeprecIa￿On 2.S47 7YJ 759 S.220 ILS55 IL555 14.7051 14.7051 131 Oe¢ember 2023 15384 5 Investments Endo**d Fundls Tot•1 FWMIS 2023 Market value ljanuary 2023 Dlsposa15 at carryln8 Purthases at cost 23Q,222 Net 8alns and revaluatSon MJrket ￿lue 31 l>e¢wn* 2023 264. 6 Debtors Total Funth Totol Futr￿s 2022 Income tax recoverable 6.6n 9.555 446 Prepayments and acuwl In(¢me L267 L26 159 Iherdebtors 33 21 10,855 10.07 7 Credftors: amounts due wfthln one year Unrestricted Fund Restrkted Funds Totsl Funds 2023 TotolFunds 202 Deferred Income ruals for ￿￿11￿eS a￿1 other costs 14.5 3,693 Fees Account 14,9 8 Analysls of net assets by fund Unrestrlcted Fund Restrkted Funds Totsl Funds 2023 TrtolFunds Flxed assets for thurch use Investments 11555 15.385 I64,￿6 10,776 2.547 230.222 10.07 18L82 169.09 Current assets lexceo oshl Cash at bank on dep)51t Current Ilabllllles 29.166 150.164 -14,1( -14,105 Lon8 terni Ilabilloes 426.226 420.38 Balance5 blfv l Jan 2023 Trnnsfer othergains Balance5 9 Statement of funds /fwd 31 Dec 2023 Expendlture Deslgnoled Funds: St. Marfs: Gate Café St. Marfs: Ballard Legacy otal: DesIgTh￿ Funds Restricted Funds: lover £2.000) St. Marfs: Buildlng Fund St. Marfs: Pot of Grace St. Marvs.. Wri88le & Roll Hofy Trlnlty: Building FuThl 5 Investmer 2,137 992 3.549 10,045 2,137 , 992 11,190 118.359 23.998 47,508 94,909 5,108 s,ioi 2.373 6.725 7.729 4.293 141 4.3 3S6 13.458 4.736 1.261 1.723 (2.038) 21,444 7.234 4.846 6.954 All Others 9562 Total: Restrfcted Funds 149W9 47/416 66,441 135.630 General fund 260.493 10.045 280.242 2,137 290,991 992 28.977 278.721 11.190 Deslgnated Fun(ts Total of all unvestrictod fvnds 270538 282379 291.98Y 28.977 289,911 Total funds 420J86 329.795 358,424 33,783 425.540 Note5: Transfers, Other Galns & Losses 2023: Balance of Trnnsfers Is £0; £33,7841s eain on Investments In PCC and St Marfs. 10 Prlor year Statement of Flnanclal l Unrnstrlrt•d Artlvltles for 2022 Fund Total Funds Funds 2022 INCOME FROM: Donatlons and legacles Church actfvi 19S.267 30.610 ' 3330 225077 3.493 | 14,227 i 98 6J23 Other Fundralslre activi Investments 14227 her receipts Total Incom1￿ resources L768 214￿53 247.025 EXPENDITURE ON: Ralsin8 funds Mlsslonary & Charltsble Grants Mlnlstry Costs 10,69) 107.501 12,740 IlJ.936 6,435 Other Church Acdvlty Costs Governance 52.946 68,560 Total re%>urces used In.ts7 I￿164} 196.236 Gainslllosses} on Investments Nd In¢ome/(expendlturel Transfer5 between fvnds {18.164) 35A75 24552 10.923 1.759 11.759)j 9,164 140.686 . Net Movement on Funds 26311 35A75 Balances 81fwd at i Jan. 2022 Balances C1fv4d at 31 Det. 2022 384,911 270.S36 149050 420.386