CHRISTCHURCH ANNUAL REPORT, 2019/20 Page 1 ## **CHRISTCHURCH CLARENDON PARK (BAPTIST/METHODIST)** ## **ANNUAL REPORT, YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020** ## **Administrative information** Christchurch Clarendon Park is a Baptist/Methodist Local Ecumenical Partnership (LEP), formed in 1992 by the former Clarendon Park Baptist and Clarendon Park Methodist Churches. The church meets in the premises of the former Methodist Church, which were extensively remodelled and refurbished in 1996/7. We are members of the Leicester Trinity Methodist Circuit (23/7), the East Midland Baptist Association and the Baptist Union of Great Britain. The address is Christchurch Clarendon Park 105a Clarendon Park Road LEICESTER LE2 3AH Tel. (0116) 270 5369 Website: www.christchurchcp.org.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/christchurchcp Twitter: www.twitter.com/christchurch_cp Email: enquiries@christchurchcp.org.uk General correspondence should be addressed to the Church Secretary: Mr Chris Whitford, 23 Brinsmead Road, Leicester LE2 3WD Correspondence concerning the accounts should be addressed to the Church Treasurer: Dr Lawrence Whittaker, 24 Stoneygate Court, Leicester LE2 2AH ## Christchurch is **Registered Charity No.1148934.** Risk Assessment and review is carried out by the Resources Team (in respect of buildings and health and safety) and by the Executive concerning the future viability of the Church. The number of church members at the beginning and end of this period was ||31|August|2019|31|August|2020| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Baptist||22|||23|| |Methodist||45|||39|| |Joint||47|||47|| |||114|||109|| CHRISTCHURCH ANNUAL REPORT, 2019/20 Page 2 In addition, there are approximately a further 100 people on the community roll and a considerable number of contacts through groups which use the church premises on a regular basis. The Managing Trustees are the members of the Executive. Ordained ministers in pastoral charge are _ex officio_ members of the Executive. The other members are elected by the Annual Church Meeting. The Trustees have the power to co-opt up to a further four Trustees. The current Trustees and those who served during the year ended 31 August 2020 are Miss Alison Charlesworth Prof Angela Thody (to 24 Nov. 2019) Rev Debra Chidakwa Akue Mr Chris Whitford (Secretary) Rev Edson Dube (to 31 Aug. 2020) Dr Lawrence Whittaker (Treasurer) Mr David Eyre Mrs Susan Williams Mr Alan Stead ## **Independent Examiner** Barry W Wilford, 7 Wickham Road, Oadby, Leicester LE2 5SJ ## **Bankers** Barclays Bank, 1–3 Haymarket Towers, Humberstone Gate, Leicester LE1 1WA National Westminster Bank, 1 Granby Street, Leicester LE1 6EJ ## **Aims and organisation** The purpose of Christchurch is to advance the Christian faith primarily in Clarendon Park, Knighton, Knighton Fields and Stoneygate, in the city of Leicester. In achieving its purpose, the Church engages in a range of activities both on its own and with others, as described later in this document. The agreed aims and objectives are the responsibilities of a number of Teams and Committees, especially the Executive, the Mission & Ministry Team and the Resources Team. During the year, pastoral oversight was provided by Rev Edson Dube, serving his third and final year as our Methodist minister. Rev, Debra Chidakwa Akue has become our Methodist minister from September 2020. A Baptist input was maintained by Rev John Rackley, who conducted services and gave other input when requested. John became the Christchurch Associate Baptist Minister on 1 October 2019. ## **Public benefit** The Trustees are aware of the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit in “The Advancement of Religion for the Public Benefit” and have regard to it in their administration of the Church. The Trustees believe that, by fulfilling their responsibility to work together with the ministers and co-operate in all matters of concern and importance for the promotion of the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical, they provide benefit to the public by: -  Providing resources and facilities for public worship, pastoral care and spiritual, moral and intellectual development, both for the Church members and for anyone who wishes to benefit from what the Church offers; -  Promoting Christian values and service by members of the Church to the community, to the benefit of individuals and society as a whole; CHRISTCHURCH ANNUAL REPORT, 2019/20 Page 3 -  Providing attractive meeting facilities to a wide range of community groups. ## **Safeguarding of children, young people and vulnerable adults** There are no _serious incidents_ or other matters relating to Christchurch during the year ended 31 August 2020 which the Trustees should have brought to the attention of the Charity Commission. ## **Review of significant events, progress and achievements** The past year seems to have been dominated by Covid-19 and it is easy to forget that the first six months were quite normal, with no premonition of what was to come. Two new initiatives were started early in the year, both directed at enlarging our horizons to the wider world. First, the church has started to examine how it can develop its mission to the local community. It has had a significant social engagement for many years but sharing the gospel can be more of a challenge. Secondly, the Eco team was re-launched and started to explore how the church can play its part in meeting the climate emergency. Progress with both of these has been slowed by the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, but is continuing. One of our teenagers volunteered her time to the church during her gap year before going to university, helping with Parent and Toddlers and Luncheon Club, running the social media accounts, organising Christmas publicity, and several other initiatives. After the lockdown in March she very quickly set up a Sunday afternoon service on Zoom. At the end of July the church gave her as good a send-off as we could, without being able to meet. Our minister, Rev Edson Dube, moved to a new appointment at the end of August. The church meeting had previously decided that it wished to continue with a Methodist minister. The Circuit was not looking for a replacement for Edson for the 2020/21 connexional year and discussions continued throughout the year on what ministerial provision would be made for Christchurch. At almost the last moment, in July, a Methodist minister, then living in the USA, became available. After several meetings and interviews on Zoom, an invitation was made to Rev Debra Chidakwa-Akue, for a 5 year appointment. She arrived in Leicester at the end of August and despite the Covid-19 restrictions has quickly settled in and become engaged with the church. We are looking forward to her ministry with us. The last six months have been challenging. Church services and all other activities on the premises had to be stopped. As already mentioned, a Sunday afternoon get-together was started immediately, which quickly evolved into an online service. We also expanded the weekly notice sheet into a ‘Keeping in Touch’ newsletter, which includes a reflection and prayers for use at home. We are very grateful to Susan, who prepares this each week, and the other contributors. It is sent out to over 100 households, mostly by email, some hand-delivered and a few posted. The ‘pastoral links’ keep in touch with their groups by phone or conversations on the doorstep. Nevertheless, a lot of members are finding the isolation very hard. Tragically we have lost one member from Covid-19. We continue to search for ways to support the wider community but activities like Parent and Toddler, Luncheon Club and Wild Honey are by their nature communal and keeping in touch is about all we can do. A Church Meeting was held in March just before the lockdown and the trustees decided to cancel the June Church Meeting. As this meeting normally approves the budget for the following year a ballot of members was held by post/email/phone. Other business was deferred. With some easing of the lockdown our first Sunday service for five months was held on 30[th] August, with about 35 attending. CHRISTCHURCH ANNUAL REPORT, 2019/20 Page 4 ## **Financial review** Early in the year we spent nearly £10,000 on a significant enhancement of our audio visual facilities. The large VDU screens which were part of this provide a significant improvement to the presentation of information under the lighting conditions in our Worship Centre. But the second half of the year was inevitably dominated by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has reduced the income of so many charities. Our regular supporters maintained their giving most commendably, but our lettings income fell by £5,000 compared with 2019 and cash collections were down. The long—and ultimately terminal—illness of our cleaner, Jane, resulted in additional expenditure for someone to cover for her. We were grateful for a legacy from the estate of the late George Bell, a faithful servant of Clarendon Park Baptist Church and Christchurch but the overall result of the above events was a deficit of over £20,000. We are grateful to have been able to hold sufficient reserves to support such a challenging year. ## _Reserves Policy_ Christchurch seeks to expand its membership amongst all age groups and makes provision for the expected expenditure in maintaining its witness. In common with most UK churches, however, its membership has declined in recent decades. The income of the church depends critically on some two dozen key supporters, any of whom could move away or otherwise cease to be with us. As the membership falls, there are fewer volunteers for the tasks of maintenance, necessitating increased expenditure on professional services. With buildings valued at £5m, some of which are more than a century old, there is also the risk of exceptional property expenditure, for example for a new roof or the remedy of an infestation of dry rot. The church therefore considers it appropriate to maintain financial reserves in the range £50,000 – £100,000, for uninsurable risks, such as loss of income and exceptional property expenditure. At 31[st] August 2019 the reserves (General Fund and Legacy Fund) amounted to some £88,600. There was one Designated Fund, a Renovation Fund (£19,600) for major maintenance of the fabric. The Reserves Policy is reviewed each spring by the Resources Team, whose recommendations are brought before the Trustees. CHRISTCHURCH ANNUAL REPORT, 2019/20 Page 6 ## **CHRISTCHURCH, CLARENDON PARK** ## **RECEIPTS & PAYMENTS ACCOUNT for the year ended 31 August 2020** |**_Notes_**
**_Receipts_**
Planned Giving
Loose Cash
Donations
Legacies
Interest
Tax recovered
Sundry
_3_
Lettings
Benevolence
Collections, etc, for external orgs
_4_
**_Sub total_**
Asset & Investment sales, etc
**_Total Receipts_**
**_Payments_**
Methodist Circuit
Baptist Ministry, etc
_5_
Charities
Benevolence
Communication
_6_
Recurring property expenses
_7_
Repairs & Renewals
_8_
Cleaning
Sundry
_9_
Passed to external organisations
_10_
**_Sub total_**
Asset & Investmment purchases
**_Total Payments_**
_Net of receipts/(payments)_
Transfers between funds
Cash funds last year end
**Cash funds this year end**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds, £**
**Restricted**
**Funds, £**
**Total**
**Funds, £**
**Last Year, £**
Adjusted
**£**
**£**
39,716
**39,716**
39,364
3,168
**3,168**
5,333
6,072
2,160
**8,232**
6,807
1,000
**1,000**
2,100
1,002
**1,002**
973
12,454
488
**12,941**
12,535
816
1,955
**2,771**
1,357
15,626
**15,626**
20,841
-
**-**
-
674
**674**
2,269
**79,852**
**5,276**
**85,129**
**91,579**
-
-
-
-
**79,852**
**5,276**
**85,129**
**91,579**
53,595
**53,595**
50,015
4,370
**4,370**
4,779
4,237
**4,237**
4,479
117
**117**
159
2,682
**2,682**
2,444
13,725
**13,725**
14,460
12,436
188
**12,624**
6,472
6,304
2,610
**8,914**
7,152
2,772
2,005
**4,777**
3,108
674
**674**
2,269
**100,121**
**5,593**
**105,714**
**95,337**
-
-
-
-
**100,121**
**5,593**
**105,714**
**95,337**
_(20,269)_
(317)
_(20,586)_
_(3,758)_
_(117)_
117.
0.
0.
109,183
750
109,933
113,691
**88,797**
**550**
**89,347**
**109,933**| |---|---| CHRISTCHURCH ANNUAL REPORT, 2019/20 Page 7 ## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT for the year ended 31 August 2020** |£
**_Notes_**
**2019-20**
**ASSETS and LIABILITIES as at 31 August 2020**
£
**This year**
**ASSETS**
**Cash Funds**
Barclays Bank
10,468
National Westminster Bank
4,002
CFB Deposit Account
74,577
Deposits with Baptist Union Corporation
-
Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes, Trust 19440
-
Cash in Hand
301
**89,347**
**Investment Assets**
None
**Land and Church Buildings**
_Note 1.2_
606,381
**Tangible Fixed Assets**
Church contents, including furniture, fixtures,
_Note 1.3_
179,588
fittings, computers and other equipment
**LIABILITIES**
**Current Liabilities**
Roof repairs
1,020
**Pension Scheme Liability**
_Note 12_
21,600|£
**2018-19**
£
**Last Year**
7,651
11,247
29,936
60,108
946
44| |---|---| ||**109,933**
None
606,381
179,051| ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - 31 August 2020** **1 GENERAL** 1.1 The basis of preparation is in accordance with the Charities Act 2011, on a Receipts and Payments basis. - 1.2 The Church Land and Buildings are valued at cost, as follows: Land and original buildings (1900) 9,822 Refurbishment and new buildings (1996/97) 596,559 - 1.3 The Church Contents are valued as for insurance. 1.4 The current Restricted Funds are the _Benevolence Fund_ (no year-end balance), the _Key Deposits Fund_ (£550), the _Party Deposits Fund_ (nil) and the Cleaning _Fund_ (nil). There is one Designated Fund, a _Renovation Fund_ (£19,836) for major maintenance of the fabric. The _Legacy Fund_ (£30,606) is unrestricted but is named to indicate the accumulated value of unspent legacies received. ## **2 INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS** The following organisations come within the control of the Church Meeting and operate their own independent accounts. Their transactions for the year, which have been independently examined, are summarised below: |Art Group
Junior Church
Luncheon Club
Parent & Toddler Group
Wesley Guild
_Wild Honey_Project
**TOTALS**|**Balance**
**31.8.2019**
**Receipts**
**Payments**
**Balance**
**31.8.2020**
3
354
334
23
830
-
-
830
240
2,199
1,733
706
2,042
685
1,542
1,185
104
250
131
223
472
760
446
786| |---|---| ||**3,691**
**4,248**
**4,186**
**3,753**| The above payment figures include £2,385 given by the internal organisations to Christchurch. These internal transactions need to be taken into account for a true calculation of the turnover of the charity as a whole. CHRISTCHURCH ANNUAL REPORT, 2019/20 Page 8 ## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT for the year ended 31 August 2020** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - 31 August 2020** |**3 SUNDRY INCOME**||**4 COLLECTIONS, ETC,**|| |---|---|---|---| |Restricted Funds|1,955|**FOR EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS**|| |Coffee money|343|Baptist Home Mission|71| |Other|473|BMS World Mission|191| ||**2,771**|Methodist Home Missions|71| |||Methodist World Mission|41| |**5 BAPTIST MINISTRY, etc**||Spurgeon's|273| |Baptist Pension Scheme|3,478|Others|27| |Rev John Rackley|891||**674**| ||**4,370**||| |||**6 COMMUNICATION**|| |||Photocopier|686| |**7 RECURRING PROPERTY**|**EXPENSES**|Copyright licences|512| |Insurance (gross)|3,591|Telephones, internet|758| |Electricity|2,425|Postage & stationery|101| |Gas|6,197|Printing|77| |Water|146|Publicity|213| |Servicing|1,366|Computer upgrade|289| ||**13,725**|Copier paper|47| ||||**2,682**| |**9 SUNDRY EXPENSES**|||| |Restricted Funds|2,005|**8 REPAIRS AND RENEWALS**|| |Preachers & organists|453|Audio/Visual Enhancements (Legacy Fd)|9,878| |Lettings Officer|1,340|Boiler controls move|1,320| |Catering, various|240|_SongPro 5_upgrade licences|585| |Barbecue expenses|128|Boiler repairs|464| |Toilet rolls|138|Replacement Sound Mixer|249| |Other|474|Other|127| ||**4,777**||**12,624**| |**10 SPECIAL GIFTS**|||| |As Note 4|**674**||| ## **11 BAPTIST FUNDS** Various Baptist monies are held for the benefit of the church by the East Midland Baptist Trust Company (EMBTC) as Custodian Trustee, and these are set out below:-. |Balances as at 1 September 2019
Interest received less Trustee's charges
Balances as at 31 August 2020
The figures exclude accrued interest.|**Capital**
**Income**
**Total**
103,789
40,334
144,123
4,324
4,324| |---|---| ||103,789
44,658
148,447| The funds are invested and managed by Messrs Charles Stanley to achieve income returns with some capital growth on a low to medium risk basis. The amount held on Income Account can be used for any purpose agreed by the Church Meeting. Capital Account represents the proceeds of sale of the Baptist manse in 1999 for £99,620 plus surplus on disposal of investments in which the proceeds were originally held. CHRISTCHURCH ANNUAL REPORT, 2019/20 Page 9 ## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT for the year ended 31 August 2020** ## **12 BAPTIST PENSION SCHEME LIABILIITY** The Church is an employer participating in the Baptist Pension Scheme (“the Scheme”), which is a separate legal entity administered by the Pension Trustee (Baptist Pension Trust Limited). The assets of the Scheme are held separately from those of the Employer and other participating employers. Baptist Ministers of Christchurch are eligible to join the Scheme. The Scheme, previously known as the Baptist Ministers' Pension Fund, started in 1925 but was closed to future accrual of defined benefits on 31 December 2011. Prior to this date the main benefit provided through the Defined Benefit (DB) Plan was a pension of one eightieth of final minimum pensionable income for each year of pensionable service together with additional pension in respect of premiums paid on Pensionable Income in excess of Minimum Pensionable Income. Since 1 January 2012, benefits have been provided through a Defined Contribution (DC) Plan. A formal valuation of the DB Plan as at 31 December 2019 was made by a professionally qualified Actuary using the Projected Unit Method. At the valuation date the market value of the DB Plan assets was £298 million, whilst the level of assets needed to pay benefits was £316m, giving a deficit of £18m (equivalent to a past service funding level of 94%). The Church and the other participating employers in the DB Plan are collectively responsible for funding this deficit. The next actuarial valuation of the DB Plan within the Scheme is due to take place not later than as at 31 December 2022. Under the Schedule of Contributions, the church makes a monthly payment in respect of the DB scheme deficit, currently £309, which will increase in line with increases in Minimum Pensionable Income. The Schedule of Contributions foresees these contributions continuing until June 2026. The pension scheme liability shown in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities is calculated as the current rate per month multiplied by the number of months remaining in the current Schedule of Contributions, which amounted to £21,600. as at 31 August 2020. The Church has been advised that the estimated cost for the church to buy out their Pension Scheme liabilities at 31 August 2020 was about £19,000. This only applies if the Church has meanwhile called a new Baptist Minister who is a contributing member of the Scheme. Consequent upon the departure of the Baptist Minister from the Church in 2016, the Church could have had a cessation event under Section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995. This would make the Church liable for the proportion of the overall deficit (assessed by reference to the cost of securing benefits by the purchase of annuities) applicable to its previous Ministers who were members of the Scheme, calculated as at 31 October 2016. In order to prevent such a cessation event, the Church applied for a 'period of grace' before employing another member of the Scheme. The period of grace lasted three years, following which Rev John Rackley, a retired Baptist Minister, was appointed as Associate Minister. The Church makes a nominal contribution on behalf of John to the DC Plan, and this prevents a cessation event from occurring. ##