Trustees Annual Report St Andrews Community Church 1-May-2020 to 30-April 2021
St Andrews, Market Street, Craven Arms, SY7 9NW Registered Charity: 1147123
Aims
St Andrews Community Church (SACC) seeks to enable ordinary people to demonstrate Christian love and care in and around Craven Arms, Shropshire, through community, pastoral care, outreach and social activities.
We promote cooperation with other like minded charities that share the Christian values both locally in this rural area and further afield.
Objectives and Activities
We seek to serve the Community in areas of need, aim to enrich lives, and provide love, care and compassion.
By welcoming people to meet together and worship our Lord and creator in different ways, we aim to grow personal relationships with Jesus, to share our passion with others and to seek the guidance, strength and compassion that comes from His Holy Spirit. This includes prayer, worship, outreach, mission and pastoral care – even if this has been mostly remotely this past 12 months
SACC enjoys ties to Rural Ministries, works with local denominations in Craven Arms and surrounding towns and villages and supports other charities with similar aims.
Overview and disruptive impacts
Over the past 12 months we have seen unprecedented constraints on our ability to be able to meet together, although we hope and pray these will be removed in the near future. We have continued to meet online or in very limited groups, and outreach has been through the support and different methods than before. We have maintained a Covid secure foodbank throughout this entire period.
It has been a hard decision to keep St Andrews building predominantly closed, but with limited access and space, we felt it was important to keep people as safe as possible.
These events have had a significant impact on our financial situation, and on our ability to support people in our community.
Achievements and performance
This year Government Covid-19 Restrictions and also by decision of our church leadership have prevented us meeting with the young people in the area in the same way we have before
The Traveller Site in Craven Arms was hit by an outbreak of Covid-19 and the whole site had to isolate. We reached out as a church, via one of our town councillor’s and the council officials attending the site. They enabled us, to send gift bags to each home with craft activities for children and outreach materials; chocolates for the adults and assurance we were thinking and praying for them all. The outbreak was contained with no deaths as far as we are aware.
In the October half term, we found a resource by Scripture Union called “In the Search of Hope” an on-line activity trail using QR codes from mobile phones, to access clues, as an alternative to Halloween activities, for children and families to follow around the Discovery Centre grounds, (by their kind permission.) They also allowed us to leave gift bags containing sweets, outreach material, craft activities and toys for families to collect on completing the trail, inside the centre. This had been very popular with more participants than the Light Party the year before.
At Christmas; as we had a family with young children attending Zoom Church, members of the fellowship donned Nativity Outfits and we did a pop up Nativity on line, including the family in the fun. It attracted the interest of a lady outside of the fellowship, who asked for a link to join in.
At Easter ‘Fair Trade’ chocolate eggs were sent to the Sunday Club children and Play & Chat families.
During this time and always following Government guidance those interested in the youth and children’s work have met up as allowed outside to prayer walk and pray for schools, the members of the toddler group and children and young people in general. Play & Chat leaders have phoned parents of the toddler group regularly to keep in touch.
Over this past 12 months the Craven Arms Community Food Bank, which is hosted at St Andrews, has continuing to provide to those in the community who need food. Lockdowns overlapping through this period caused an increase in people using the food bank as they lost employment or were furloughed. The period in between lockdowns didn’t see less usage as the ‘clients’ problems hadn’t gone away.
The majority of the clients are single men, but we also have several families who are collecting fairly regularly. The food bank has also delivered to a couple in Leintwardine for most of the year and to several single mothers with young children in Craven Arms who couldn’t collect.
We have been enabling people to get help to receive benefits from the council and to apply for a grant if they need it.
We have attended monthly Zoom meetings held for the food banks in the Hereford diocese. These have been run by the Shropshire local government and have been a forum where we could share problems, ideas etc. Visitors from various organisations were invited too, e.g. Healthwatch involved us in a food poverty survey, those working with homeless people and someone from Food Share. It was a forum to exchange information.
The food bank joined the Fare Share Go scheme, but has not been productive as we didn’t receive much food. We collected for 3 months or so but have now withdrawn from the scheme.
During the period, we gave out over 1000 bags of food. At Christmas we gave out 20 bespoke hampers, ordered by the social services for their clients and we gave Christmas fayre to everyone that came into the food bank over the festive period as well as the usual staples.
We are so grateful for the help people from St Andrews, Leintwardine Church and the general public who have given in the manner of monetary or food donations. There has been a great response during the pandemic.
We are hoping to move premises to just opposite St Andrews, which will make it much easier to manage stock and clients plus it will clear the church kitchen.
Unlike normally, we have not been opening St Andrew’s building mid week. Our main gathering has continued, albeit more restricted, as a ‘Zoom’ interactive services on a Sunday.
With restrictions looking set to be lifted in June, we hope to restore some of the connections lost into the local community allowing us to meet others and helping them to grow and develop their connection with our loving generous God.
Financial Review
Regular giving has accounted for £25,811 (down 9%). While there have been no unrestricted donations, we have seen an increase in donations towards the Foodbank (£8,227). The total receipts (including interest payments and tax reclaimed) are £42,546.51. All SACC funds come from personal donations, with no money raising activities direct to SACC funds.
Expenditure was £13,186 (down 45%) over the period. The main reduction is the absence of stipend payments. We have just a part time cleaner, and all other staff are volunteers. Expenditure is detailed in the report and includes £4,298 mission and outreach giving.
SACC aims to regularly support mission giving to charities from the annual budget. Over the year this has included:
International Charities ; Compassion, Through the Roof, Tearfund, Bible Soceity, Langham Partnership, World Vision
National Charities; Christian Concern, CAP, YFC, DFN Local Charities ; CAB, Empathy, Shrewsbury Street Pastors
SACC trustees maintain a regular interest in the financial activities, and in particular any reserves, to ensure there is a balance of unrestricted funds to cover at least 3 months unrestricted expenditure. The balance in reserve has been exceeded at all points this year. SACC has no funds in deficit.
During the period, funds were invested with Kingdom Bank who specialise in supporting church developments.
SACC does not make grants.
Volunteers and support
SACC does not currently support a pastor through a stipend. SACC relies extensively on the volunteers for the generosity of their time and energy. Noteworthy volunteer support includes the following (non-unique) networks: Foodbank – 8; Youth, children and schools activities – 5.
A particular thank you to the 4 teams that have worked very hard in the Craven Arms Community Foodbank, who have had to work in same household teams to comply with government rules. A big thank you too for the background support of shopping for over a 1000 bags and hampers.
Our volunteers have worked very hard, and we are extremely grateful for their untiring support in all areas. A large amount of work and commitment has been provided both by members and nonmembers, and it is a testimony that SACC is still adequately supported only by members’ financial contributions.
Administrative
As of 30[th] April 2021, the elected leaders (who are also the charity trustees) were:
Marc Morris (Chair and Administrator) David Duncalf John Hughes John Stringer Julia Gell
As of 30[th] April 2021, the trustees of the charity holding the property were:
John Stringer Jim Gell Raymond Heighway Judy Cornhill John Hughes Andrew Wheeler
SACC does not pay any of its trustees for their duties, and is not regulated nor registered outside the Charity Commission.
Governance
St Andrews Community Church (“SACC”) is an association with members, having been accepted onto the Charities register on 3[rd] May 2012.
Trustees are elected by members of the church following a nomination and selection process by members, as defined in Church Rules. All trustees were elected as above at the AGM in June 2017. Ordinarily, they would have been up for re-election by the planned AGM in June 2020, but Covid-19 restrictions had prevented us so far from following the required process for nomination and election of Trustees. All trustees agreed to remain in post, with no membership objections. In April (into May) 2021 we have recommenced the nomination process for a proposed dual AGM in June 2021, restrictions permitting.
SACC is responsible for the maintenance of the church property, St Andrews, in Market Street, Craven Arms.
SACC has written policies covering: Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable People
st Andrews Community Church Financial Statements pefwyj 1-May-2020 to 30-Awil-2021 RECEivfs AND PAYMENTS Receipts 25.811.10 25.111.10 28.427.$5 1.541.10 5.631.70 35.em.35 20.311_10 8.0.04 ¥947.74 7.45152 125.81 7.125.81 125A1 240.1x1 33.&18.LI5 8.6.04 4554. 43.020.44 Payments 156 g.626.17 1.44&23 3.87&29 144.94 3.817.83 4.181.10 717.15 4ZJ.LIJ 144 321KI.20 4.041.DB 4041.01 1.504.OB .n215 4.484.08 24.Ig2.82
STATEMENT OF AssEfs AND LIABILrriES La5n Funds 45.a75.81 I3.3.40 7.01. 53.284.71 13,653A6 23.944.87 13.624.84 5g.329.27 7.8C. 66 938.17 37.W.71 2D1W19 Note5 5Fwker5 £ £ 4.298.29 fr M1$} £ 7.37 Ollr £ 478.95 £ ie40.89
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
....................................... ....................................... Mr Marc Richard Morris Mr John Stringer Trustee (Chair) Trustee Date: Date:
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