The PCC of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Christ Church West Didsbury and St Christopher Withington
Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2023
Reference and administrative details
The charity name.
The legal name of the charity is:- The PCC of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Christ Church West Didsbury and St Christopher Withington.
The charity’s areas of operation and UK charitable registration.
The charity is registered in England & Wales with the Charity Commission in England & Wales (CCEW) with charity number 1147596.
Legal structure of the charity.
The governing document of the charity is the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure (1956) as amended by church representation rules that came into force on 28 November 2006.
The trustees are all individuals.
The principal operating address, telephone number, email and web addresses of the charity are:-
Christ Church Rectory 35 Darley Avenue West Didsbury Manchester, M20 2ZD Telephone 0161 445 4152 Email address admin@christchurchdidsbury.org.uk Web address http://christchurchdidsbury.org.uk
The Trustees in office on the date the report was approved and who served during the reporting year were:-
Rev A Pilkington until July 2023 Rev T Phipps from August 2023 Mrs S Atherton Mr S Baird until March 2023 Mr B Bartlett Mrs J Bastow from March 2023 Mrs S Belle Dr A J Bradbury Dr J Galloway Prof D Kloss Mr R Lowe Mrs B Malone Rev A Meadowcroft Ms J Partington Ms E Radcliffe Mrs R Tebay Mrs A Tonner Mrs J Weaving Mr G Whalley Mrs J White Mr Y Dunn from March 2023
Objects and activities of the charity
The purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document.
Charitable object – promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the church.
Summary of objects – to enable as many people as possible to worship at our churches and to be part of the parish community through prayer, learning about the Gospel, provision of pastoral care and through missionary and outreach work.
The main activities undertaken during a normal year to further the charity’s purpose for the public benefit.
Activities include:-
-Provision of worship and prayer.
-Outreach to residential homes and schools.
-Use of buildings by other Christian communities.
-Provision of accommodation for community groups.
-Providing space for concerts open to all.
-Christ Church takes part in the national Heritage Open Weekend each September, locally organised and advertised by Didsbury Civic Society under the Didsbury Open Doors banner. The church has a themed display in addition to information about parish history and various architectural and decorative features of the building.
-Christ Church is open every Wednesday and Saturday morning for visitors as advertised through the Heritage Lottery Fund website following extensive grant aid for roof works.
-Charitable donations locally, nationally and internationally.
-Provision of accommodation to Chorlton and Didsbury Food Bank for storage and distribution of food.
-Work with Southway Housing Association, including coffee mornings and monthly events. -St Christopher’s Church is used by various community groups including South Manchester u3a. The building is also used by the NHS for Health and Wellbeing sessions. Until January 2023 it was also used as a night shelter.
-Christ Church Hall is used by the National Childbirth Trust for classes for parents.
The trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit in managing the activities of the charity.
The main achievements and performance of the charity during the year.
During 2023 the church has continued normal activities despite the retirement of Rev Pilkington during the year. At the time of the report there is an interregnum with the roles of the incumbent being undertaken by the curate, Rev Tom Phipps, and Rev Ann Meadowcroft. Services continue to be streamed for those unable to attend in person.
In addition, Christ Church has been open for private prayer for 2 hours on Wednesday and Saturday.
Carol singing has taken place at residential homes at Christmas.
There is a parish WhatsApp group so that church members can be contacted and respond to needs for assistance by parishioners with shopping etc..
Work with local schools has continued face to face, particularly Experience Easter.
Our buildings have been regularly used by community groups. These include services for children and adults and include karate, theatre school, Cocaine Anonymous, music tuition and other Christian groups.
Concerts open to the public continue and church buildings are used for rehearsal.
Chorlton and Didsbury Food Bank has continued to use our hall for storage and distribution throughout the year.
Donations to other charities and individuals in need were maintained at previous levels.
Regular maintenance has been carried out on our buildings.
Structure, governance and management of the charity
The methods used to recruit and appoint new charity trustees.
Trustees are elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting.
Bankers CAF Bank Ltd 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ CCLA 1 Angel Lane London EC4R 3AB
In view of the current interregnum the report has been approved by the trustees by email during May 2024.
FINANCIAL REPORT FOR PERIOD THE PERIOD JANUARY – DECEMBER 2023
Summary
We continue to have healthy finances with income of £144,812 and expenditure of £132,266.
Total income from stewardship, collections and contactless donations was just under £46,000 (approximately the same as 2022) with net income of almost £48,000 from the hire of the church and halls. We also received a legacy of £10,000 from our friend Marion Davies RIP and the PCC have resolved to wait for the appointment of a new rector before deciding how this legacy should be used.
Our parish share has again been fully paid, we have spent over £10,000 on our buildings (as set out in the Church Wardens’ report), and made charitable payments of £500 each to: Kimbilio Congo Children’s Trust, the Church Army, Hope for Justice and our linked diocese in Namibia and locally to St Ann’s Hospice and the Barlow Moor Community Association.
The appendix to this report includes a breakdown of all income and payments.
Bank Balances and Available Funds
| Bank Balance CAF Bank current account CCLA deposit account Total as at 31/12/23 Available Organ fund Hall and buildings fund Reserve Available general funds Total as at 31/12/23 |
At 01/01/23 £12,149 £36,287 At 01/01/23 £6,918 £5,572 £18,000 £17,946 |
At 31/12/23 £24,696 £34,373 £59,069 At 31/12/23 £7,720 £879 £20,000 £30,469 £59,069 |
|---|---|---|
Any restricted funds (those held for donor-specified purposes such as fund-raising for named charities or for the church hall) or fees collected on behalf of the diocese (for weddings, funerals, etc.) were used for those purposes.
Other fund balances above have been designated by the PCC for specific purposes but are still part of un-restricted funds under charity law and can be re-directed back to general funds by the PCC.
The CCLA account includes a reserve of £20,000. It is set at this level by the PCC, with the aim of ensuring it is equivalent to approximately two months of un-restricted expenditure, which is considered sufficient to cope with any timing fluctuations in income.
Parish share
The assessed parish share for 2023 was £44,064 and was fully paid through payments of £33,000, gift aid claims of almost £11,000 and a credit of £980 awarded under the diocese incentive scheme due to our full share having been paid in 2022. The timing and slightly higher than expected level of gift aid we received meant that our payments exceeded the total required and £686 was allocated towards our 2024 parish share.
The assessed parish share for 2024 is £48,470 (an increase on 2023 but still £500 lower than 2022) and the PCC will be monitoring the financial position on an ongoing basis with a view to paying in full once again.
Flat
Rental income for 5 Montmano Drive of almost £10,885 (net of Gascoigne Halman fees) was received during 2023, compared with £9,491 the previous last year. Running costs were at a similar level to previous years.
Accounting and Audit
As the annual income for Christ Church and St Christopher’s was less than £250,000 during the past financial year, it is not necessary to retain the paid services of chartered accountants to produce audited accounts. Our financial statements are produced on a “Receipts and Payments” basis (reconciled against our bank accounts).
An independent examiner, Mrs Helen Whittingham, a qualified chartered accountant ,who is the Finance Director at Your Housing Group and a member of the Finance Committee at St Anne’s Church in Sale, was re-appointed to review our accounting records and financial statements. Our financial statements will be submitted to the Charity Commission by the PCC.
And last but not least
Thanks as ever, are due to those who participate in the weekly ‘counting house’; to Mrs Joan White , who manages all Gift Aid claims and as well as doing many of the weekly counts; and to Dr Andrew Bradbury who has taken over as the main co-signatory for our bank accounts following Revd Anne’s retirement and continues to provide invaluable advice and guidance to the treasurer and PCC.
George Whalley Hon. Treasurer
APPENDIX TO FINANCIAL REPORT
| 2022 | Income Receipts | 2023 | 2022 | Payments Made | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clergy | ||||||
| 40,770 | Plannedgiving (stewardship) | 40,587 | 705 | Rectorywater | 707 | |
| 2,968 | Cash collections | 3,389 | 2,661 | Rector's workingexpenses | 1,635 | |
| 2,097 | Contactless Payments | 2,007 | 2,696 | Rectorycouncil tax | 2,831 | |
| 845 | Magazine | 942 | 3,158 | Curates' workingexpenses | 2,520 | |
| 7,010 | PCC fees | 5,311 | Churches | |||
| 37,407 | Hall hire/rent | 45,789 | 52,332 | Parish share/fees to dicoese | 45,981 | |
| 2,635 | Charitable donations | 863 | 4,477 | Gas | 12,452 | |
| 396 | Other donations / fundraising | 2,664 | 2,094 | Electricity | 4,066 | |
| 1,037 | Fairtrade | 350 | 972 | Water | 1,042 | |
| 120 | Coffee | 36 | 7,434 | Insurance | 7,863 | |
| 1,806 | Other | 2,572 | 690 | Broadband | 960 | |
| 11,363 | Tax refunds(Gift Aid/GASDS) | 10,770 | 1,094 | Cleaning | 1,642 | |
| 9,491 | Flat Rental Income | 10,885 | 3,201 | Repairs/maintenance | 2,102 | |
| 2,670 | Upkeepof services | 2,960 | ||||
| 1,005 | Churchgrounds | 2,360 | ||||
| 6,200 | Organist and music | 6,172 | ||||
| 162 | Sundayschools/education | 330 | ||||
| 896 | Magazine | 721 | ||||
| 6,513 | Charitablegiving | 5,029 | ||||
| 1,543 | Fairtrade | - | ||||
| - | Admin and Facilities Mgt | 1,505 | ||||
| 8,932 | Other | 8,752 | ||||
| Halls | ||||||
| 1,387 | Gas | 3,097 | ||||
| 691 | Electricity | 1,437 | ||||
| 2,076 | Cleaning | 1,931 | ||||
| - | Repairs/maintenance | - | ||||
| 337 | Other hall expenses/refunds | 696 | ||||
| Flat | ||||||
| 3,554 | Runningcosts | 3,129 | ||||
| 117,945 | Ordinary subtotal | 126,164 | 117,479 | Ordinary subtotal | 121,917 | |
| 466 | Surplus/Deficit | 4,247 | ||||
| Extraordinary | Extraordinary | |||||
| 5,589 | Hall & buildings fund | 4,846 | 7,069 | Hall & buildings fund | 10,348 | |
| 370 | Organ Fund | 802 | 1,875 | Organ Fund | - | |
| - | Transfers from CCLA | 3,000 | - | Transfers into CCLA | - | |
| - | Bequest | 10,000 | - | Other | - | |
| 2,500 | Other | - | ||||
| 8,459 | Extraordinary subtotal | 18,648 | 8,944 | Extraordinary subtotal | 10,348 | |
| 485 - |
Surplus/Deficit | 8,300 | ||||
| 126,404 | Total Income Receipts | 144,812 | 126,423 | Total Payments | 132,266 | |
| 19 - |
Total Surplus/Deficit | 12,547 |
FINANCIAL REPORT FOR PERIOD THE PERIOD JANUARY – DECEMBER 2023
Summary
We continue to have healthy finances with income of £144,812 and expenditure of £132,266.
Total income from stewardship, collections and contactless donations was just under £46,000 (approximately the same as 2022) with net income of almost £48,000 from the hire of the church and halls. We also received a legacy of £10,000 from our friend Marion Davies RIP and the PCC have resolved to wait for the appointment of a new rector before deciding how this legacy should be used.
Our parish share has again been fully paid, we have spent over £10,000 on our buildings (as set out in the Church Wardens’ report), and made charitable payments of £500 each to: Kimbilio Congo Children’s Trust, the Church Army, Hope for Justice and our linked diocese in Namibia and locally to St Ann’s Hospice and the Barlow Moor Community Association.
The appendix to this report includes a breakdown of all income and payments.
Bank Balances and Available Funds
| Bank Balance CAF Bank current account CCLA deposit account Total as at 31/12/23 Available Organ fund Hall and buildings fund Reserve Available general funds Total as at 31/12/23 |
At 01/01/23 £12,149 £36,287 At 01/01/23 £6,918 £5,572 £18,000 £17,946 |
At 31/12/23 £24,696 £34,373 £59,069 At 31/12/23 £7,720 £879 £20,000 £30,469 £59,069 |
|---|---|---|
Any restricted funds (those held for donor-specified purposes such as fund-raising for named charities or for the church hall) or fees collected on behalf of the diocese (for weddings, funerals, etc.) were used for those purposes.
Other fund balances above have been designated by the PCC for specific purposes but are still part of un-restricted funds under charity law and can be re-directed back to general funds by the PCC.
The CCLA account includes a reserve of £20,000. It is set at this level by the PCC, with the aim of ensuring it is equivalent to approximately two months of un-restricted expenditure, which is considered sufficient to cope with any timing fluctuations in income.
Parish share
The assessed parish share for 2023 was £44,064 and was fully paid through payments of £33,000, gift aid claims of almost £11,000 and a credit of £980 awarded under the diocese incentive scheme due to our full share having been paid in 2022. The timing and slightly higher than expected level of gift aid we received meant that our payments exceeded the total required and £686 was allocated towards our 2024 parish share.
The assessed parish share for 2024 is £48,470 (an increase on 2023 but still £500 lower than 2022) and the PCC will be monitoring the financial position on an ongoing basis with a view to paying in full once again.
Flat
Rental income for 5 Montmano Drive of almost £10,885 (net of Gascoigne Halman fees) was received during 2023, compared with £9,491 the previous last year. Running costs were at a similar level to previous years.
Accounting and Audit
As the annual income for Christ Church and St Christopher’s was less than £250,000 during the past financial year, it is not necessary to retain the paid services of chartered accountants to produce audited accounts. Our financial statements are produced on a “Receipts and Payments” basis (reconciled against our bank accounts).
An independent examiner, Mrs Helen Whittingham, a qualified chartered accountant ,who is the Finance Director at Your Housing Group and a member of the Finance Committee at St Anne’s Church in Sale, was re-appointed to review our accounting records and financial statements. Our financial statements will be submitted to the Charity Commission by the PCC.
And last but not least
Thanks as ever, are due to those who participate in the weekly ‘counting house’; to Mrs Joan White , who manages all Gift Aid claims and as well as doing many of the weekly counts; and to Dr Andrew Bradbury who has taken over as the main co-signatory for our bank accounts following Revd Anne’s retirement and continues to provide invaluable advice and guidance to the treasurer and PCC.
George Whalley Hon. Treasurer
APPENDIX TO FINANCIAL REPORT
| 2022 | Income Receipts | 2023 | 2022 | Payments Made | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clergy | ||||||
| 40,770 | Plannedgiving (stewardship) | 40,587 | 705 | Rectorywater | 707 | |
| 2,968 | Cash collections | 3,389 | 2,661 | Rector's workingexpenses | 1,635 | |
| 2,097 | Contactless Payments | 2,007 | 2,696 | Rectorycouncil tax | 2,831 | |
| 845 | Magazine | 942 | 3,158 | Curates' workingexpenses | 2,520 | |
| 7,010 | PCC fees | 5,311 | Churches | |||
| 37,407 | Hall hire/rent | 45,789 | 52,332 | Parish share/fees to dicoese | 45,981 | |
| 2,635 | Charitable donations | 863 | 4,477 | Gas | 12,452 | |
| 396 | Other donations / fundraising | 2,664 | 2,094 | Electricity | 4,066 | |
| 1,037 | Fairtrade | 350 | 972 | Water | 1,042 | |
| 120 | Coffee | 36 | 7,434 | Insurance | 7,863 | |
| 1,806 | Other | 2,572 | 690 | Broadband | 960 | |
| 11,363 | Tax refunds(Gift Aid/GASDS) | 10,770 | 1,094 | Cleaning | 1,642 | |
| 9,491 | Flat Rental Income | 10,885 | 3,201 | Repairs/maintenance | 2,102 | |
| 2,670 | Upkeepof services | 2,960 | ||||
| 1,005 | Churchgrounds | 2,360 | ||||
| 6,200 | Organist and music | 6,172 | ||||
| 162 | Sundayschools/education | 330 | ||||
| 896 | Magazine | 721 | ||||
| 6,513 | Charitablegiving | 5,029 | ||||
| 1,543 | Fairtrade | - | ||||
| - | Admin and Facilities Mgt | 1,505 | ||||
| 8,932 | Other | 8,752 | ||||
| Halls | ||||||
| 1,387 | Gas | 3,097 | ||||
| 691 | Electricity | 1,437 | ||||
| 2,076 | Cleaning | 1,931 | ||||
| - | Repairs/maintenance | - | ||||
| 337 | Other hall expenses/refunds | 696 | ||||
| Flat | ||||||
| 3,554 | Runningcosts | 3,129 | ||||
| 117,945 | Ordinary subtotal | 126,164 | 117,479 | Ordinary subtotal | 121,917 | |
| 466 | Surplus/Deficit | 4,247 | ||||
| Extraordinary | Extraordinary | |||||
| 5,589 | Hall & buildings fund | 4,846 | 7,069 | Hall & buildings fund | 10,348 | |
| 370 | Organ Fund | 802 | 1,875 | Organ Fund | - | |
| - | Transfers from CCLA | 3,000 | - | Transfers into CCLA | - | |
| - | Bequest | 10,000 | - | Other | - | |
| 2,500 | Other | - | ||||
| 8,459 | Extraordinary subtotal | 18,648 | 8,944 | Extraordinary subtotal | 10,348 | |
| 485 - |
Surplus/Deficit | 8,300 | ||||
| 126,404 | Total Income Receipts | 144,812 | 126,423 | Total Payments | 132,266 | |
| 19 - |
Total Surplus/Deficit | 12,547 |