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← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St Faith's Lee On The Solent

2024-12-31-accounts

Annual Parochial Church Meeting & Celebration 3pm Sunday 27[th] April 2025

Reports

Our vision is to be a welcoming innovative Christian community of all ages and all stages of faith, nurturing spiritual growth, and representing God’s living presence in our town

St Faith’s Annual Parochial Church Meeting & Celebration 3pm, Sunday 27[th] April 2025

Agenda

Welcome and Introduction

Prayer

Annual Meeting of Parishioners

Annual Parochial Church Meeting & Celebration

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St Faith’s Church

Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Council Meeting (APCM)

held at 3pm on Sunday, 28[th] April 2024

In the Bulson Hall of St Faith’s Church, Victoria Square, Lee-on-the-Solent

Present:

Meeting Commenced: Meeting Finished:

Rev Dr Paul Chamberlain, Mr Cliff Rook, Mr Mike Shrives, Mr Luke Marshall and 71 other parishioners. (For names please see the red Attendance List Book, held by the PCC Secretary.)

3.00pm 4.12pm

Annual Meeting of Parishioners

Welcome and Introduction

Cliff Rook (CR) welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited Rev Dr Paul Chamberlain (PC) to open the meeting in prayer.

Appointment of Churchwardens

Luke Marshall and Mike Shrives were both proposed by Cliff Rook and seconded by David Honour prior to the meeting. Both candidates were elected by unanimous votes.

Annual Parochial Church Meeting

1) Apologies for Absence

Rita and Andrew Morgan, Elaine Johnson, Ruth and Richard Dewland, Caroline Keyzor, Mark and Helen Gibbons, David and Ruth Honour, Angela Torroni, Sheila Frew, Michael Shepherd, Frank Parkinson. (14 in all).

2) Minutes of the meeting 23[rd] April 2023

There were no questions raised.

3) Matters Arising

Kevin Dean (KD) inquired as to the outcome of the mission statement review which was committed to during that meeting. PC responded that the focus of the review had been not so much on the mission statement itself, as to how well we were meeting the objectives it lays down.

4) The Electoral Roll

PC reported that the electoral roll stood at 259 members.

5) Elections to the PCC

There were 6 candidates for election/re-election nominated prior to the meeting:

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In addition, Kayleigh Ledwith was proposed during the meeting by Jo Drew, and seconded by Sarah Shrives. All of the candidates were approved by unanimous vote.

6) Approval of the Welcome Team

The current membership of the Welcome Team was read out, see Appendix A below. These names were approved by unanimous votes.

7) Presentation of Church and Parish Centre Accounts The annual accounts for 2023 had been made widely available prior to the meeting.

The Treasurer, Colin Skinner (CS), invited questions.

Jo Drew asked about the Listed Place of Worship Grant Scheme on p18, which appears to be around 50% up on last year, and whether there were any constraints on how it is spent? CS explained that these figures are reclaimed VAT on the work done on our recent external repairs, so there were no conditions attached. There is still a little more to come.

She also asked why parish centre bar takings had fallen by two thirds, from £11k to £4k. CS replied that there had been a lower number of events, with a proportionate decrease in takings. Also, there was one wedding reception in 2022 which contributed over £2.5k to the earlier year’s total.

CS then drew the meeting’s attention to the report on progress in Q1 2024 contained in the Weekly Notes:

==> picture [345 x 171] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
Church General Fund Q1 2023 Q1 2024
Church Income Actual Budget Actual Variance
Income from Giving £32,472 £37,037 £46,370 £9,333
Income from Fundraising £0 £0 £0 £0
Other Income £11,030 £9,425 £9,541 £116
Total Church Income £43,512 £46,712 £55,911 £9,199
Church Expenditure
Church Running Expenses £43,595 £45,336 £44,964 £372
Church Mission £79 £163 £1,380 (£1,217)
Total Church Expenses £43,674 £45,499 £46,344 (£845)
Church Surplus/Deficit (£162) £1,213 £9,567 £8,354
----- End of picture text -----

He highlighted that church income from giving was £9k above budget, which was very encouraging, resulting in an overall income approximately £9k better than budget. Expenses are roughly as expected, so that for the first time that he could remember, the church was £8k in surplus at this point of the year.

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==> picture [334 x 183] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
Parish Centre Fund Q1 2023 Q1 2024
Parish Centre Income Actual Budget Actual Variance
Letting Income £12,445 £12,231 £15,589 £3,358
Function Income £2,276 £5,900 £3,876 (£2,024)
Other Income £1,285 £0 £0 £0
Total Parish Centre Income £16,005 £18,131 £19,465 £1,334
Parish Centre Expenses
Salaries £7,036 £8,691 £9,242 (£551)
Event Costs £1,376 £1,788 £4,703 (£2,915)
Overhead Costs £7,322 £5,804 £6,467 (£663)
Total Running Costs £15,733 £16,282 £20,412 (£4,129)
Parish Centre Surplus/Deficit £272 £1,848 (£947) (£2,795)
----- End of picture text -----

He reported that, for various reasons, the Parish Centre had got off to a slow start in 2024. There had been some costs that exceeded expectations, and in particular the Performing Rights Society’s fees were up £700 on previous years.

The result was a loss of almost £1k. The management committee for the Parish Centre are meeting to see what can be done. There are quite a few events planned for the rest of the year, including 5 or 6 weddings, so CS is hoping that it will end up in a better position this year than last.

Brian Mansbridge proposed a vote of thanks to CS and his team, which was approved by general applause. CS thanked BM and emphasised that it was indeed very much a team effort, so asked the team to stand briefly for their work to be recognised:

8) Presentation of Written Reports

These had been made widely available prior to the meeting. CR invited comments on each in turn. Only 1 report attracted a comment:

Courses

Katy Moritz proposed a vote of thanks to Mike Moritz for all the work that went into the many courses that had been laid on during the year, which was approved by applause.

9) Rev’d Dr Paul Chamberlain

PC began by saying that the reports briefly reviewed a few moments ago reflected just how many people were involved in doing so much as a church, and thanked everyone who contributed in any way. We are a community, living, praying and working together to benefit not just each other, but also the wider community.

He went on to thank everyone who gives to church for their generosity, which currently leaves us in surplus and more secure than at any time during his ministry here, opening up the scope for new mission and other activities.

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He also thanked those who work behind the scenes, such as the finance team, who put in a huge number of hours across the year, or set up for services, or clean the premises, etc. and also those who have stepped up to join the PCC.

This year is the 10[th] anniversary of his arrival. Much has happened, and there is a great deal to be thankful for. However, he focussed in on one of the key objectives given to him on arrival by the PCC, which was to broaden the age range in the church. On his arrival, 95% of church members were retired, unlike our town, where the figure is 20%. (This we have in common with the church nationally). We have made progress in 10 years, but are not yet where we need to be. Those who are members are ageing, and increasingly need to draw back from the level of contribution they made when younger. As a result, we may have to consider making a strategic decision to stop doing some of our current activities.

We (and the Church of England as a whole) need to find a solution to this in the next 10 – 20 years if we are to continue. We have not been successful in helping younger people to find a home in the worshipping communities within our parishes.

The same applies more widely to many other organisations, driven by changing societal attitudes to retirement; where people retiring used to look to pay something back to society, now they often focus either on travelling the world, or providing childcare support for grandchildren.

More evidence comes from the census, where in 10 years (from 2011 to 2021), the proportion of people identifying as Christian fell from 60% to 46%, while the figure for those declaring no religious affiliation rose from 27% to 46%. Younger people figure strongly in the latter group.

One element of our local response is to review the format of our Sundays@11 service over the next few months, to see whether it is still engaging young people as it aims to do.

One thing we can all do is to pass on the good news of Jesus to those we meet. The church as a whole has not traditionally been effective in this, but we need to find a way to change things. He went on to highlight the various elements of the “Thy Kingdom Come” initiative, which encourages us to identify 5 people to pray for, on an ongoing basis.

Paul will be on sabbatical from August to October, including attending New Wine, spending 6 days on a silent retreat, undertaking archaeology training, and experience, and finally visiting Pompeii. Becca will take the same period, doing some things together, and some individually.

Plans are being developed to ensure cover in their absence. Erica and Will will still be around, also Mike for much if not all of this period.

Paul then invited questions.

CR thanked PC for the enormous amount of work he and Becca do for the church, drawing loud applause, and went on to ask everyone to respect their time out by not troubling them during the times they do spend in the vicarage during this period.

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Rosemary Snoad wanted to know who produced the many photographs which add so much to the reports, so they could be congratulated. PC replied it was mostly him, but also Becca and others, and photos matter as they show the church is all about people.

Jo Drew commented that one of the biggest challenges in engaging young people was the sheer number of other activities open to them on Sundays these days. PC agreed that this is a huge problem, but there are still people asking the big questions about life, what is it all about, is there a god, etc, and these are the people we need to find and connect with.

Alison Jeanneret commented that cost of living pressures mean many young people have to undertake parttime work, and are often scheduled to work on Sundays, with little or no scope to object. Also that entertainment is no longer something only found outside the home, with many youngsters spending much of their leisure time at screens. PC agreed, adding that many people got out of the habit of socialising as a result of the pandemic.

Alan Millard says that he wears a cross for all the time he works on litter picking around Lee, to invite the curious to ask questions.

Becca Chamberlain suggested the most effective way to reach out to others is by sharing our story of the difference it has made to us.

Maureen Heighes commented that the rise in pension age for women from 60 to 68, over a very few years, has also contributed to the changing patterns of retirement which PC mentioned earlier.

PC highlighted that while the census indicates that while 42% of our town identify as Christians, our church membership certainly doesn’t reflect that, so perhaps what was decreasing most was ‘cultural Christianity’, with no underlying commitment.

Roland Rogers said that the church hosts 2 youth groups, most of whose members come from Christian families, but we are doing our bit to try and reach this age group.

10) Building Project – “Another 90 Years”

Mike Moritz (MM) then spoke about the building project. He began by reminding everyone of PC’s earlier comment to the effect that the church is about people, not a building. Having said that, we are a community that is blessed with a fantastic building and facilities. The building is however now 90 years old, and in a number of respects is clearly showing its age. A sub-committee of the PCC has been looking at this for a year now, and has also identified some less obvious issues:

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The project team have come up with 4 key objectives:

The project will shortly be going out to the wider community to seek their views, but wanted to come here today to speak to church members first. The leaflet that goes out will seek responses via a QR code leading to a website (or through paper alternatives), to allow the team to identify people’s specific priorities, so that the team is informed about public opinion, and not just pursuing their own agenda.

To secure potential external sources of funding, it essential to demonstrate that we have indeed consulted widely and through that process have identified improvements which will benefit not just the church, but also the wider community.

The process will be:

Joan Rook asked what happened to the glass door? PC replied that we were given money to put a glass door in the West end of the church. That money is still there, but we will not be allowed to go ahead unless we can demonstrate that it is part of a well-thought-out larger plan.

Gillian Sinclair pointed out that if a glass door were there now, it would simply highlight the poor state of the rest of the building.

Jo Drew asked whether church members who don’t actually live in Lee would be included? Roland Rogers confirmed that the wider maildrop would be for the parish only, but church members would be contacted through all the usual channels, Weekly Notes, etc. and there is already a page on the church website.

Roy Brammall commented that a number of other churches would already be further on in similar journeys, and could we benefit from their experience? MM replied that the architect we are currently in contact with has been involved with a number of similar projects. He also sits on the Diocesan Architecture Committee, and so can offer informal guidance on what developments are likely to prove acceptable on that front.

Tim Barker asked when paper copies would be available? PC confirmed that they would be out shortly, in plenty of time to meet the end-June deadline.

Alison Jeanneret asked whether the building is now watertight, and PC was delighted to confirm that this is correct.

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11) Any Other Notified Business There was no other business.

PC closed the meeting in prayer, thanking God for all that goes on in our community, and asking for his blessing as we move forward.

The meeting closed at 4.12pm.

Appendix A Members of the St Faith’s Welcome Team, 2024

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Reports for the calendar year 2024

- 1. AV (audio visual) Team

We are a small team who provide an important element in both the Parish Eucharist and Sundays@11 – the sound and screens. The words are provided to us before each service, the operator mixes the vision and audio during the service. At the Parish Eucharist, we also use our microphones and video cameras to enable the weekly live stream of the service on the St Faith’s YouTube channel.

The system, whilst looking complicated, can be mastered with appropriate training and mentoring, there are also some opportunities to use it at other events such as the concerts put on throughout the year, so you can get creative with vision mixing.

If anyone would like to have a session, to see how it all works (without commitment) please contact me or one of the team.

Jon McDonald

2. Building Development Group

Now to the church interior works. “Renew the decorations” we heard from everybody and yes, this is a priority task but there is not much point painting the wall if the plaster has to come off! To know what else is required we conducted a survey. We also must address financing the works and that will require applying for grants as well as internal fundraising. To get any grants today churches must demonstrate that we are also here for the community. Unsurprisingly redecoration came out of the external surveys just as clearly, but also directions about meeting rooms, acoustics, lighting, accessibility. Add to that we must address long term sustainability. After the survey information, focus groups have been used to test ideas. Aided by designs from the church architect we believe we have initial concepts.

While the early plans are not yet technical enough to start work the principals from the feedback are:

This coming year we will firm up the plans and start on funding; a big challenge and responsibility for such a small group, especially as we have lost key members who have moved out of the Parish. When will the work start? Half a million pounds would do it or volunteers to help with the grant application processes.

Brian J Mansbridge MBE

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3. Children and Families’ ministry

Families@11

Our vision is to Know, Grow and Show God’s Love.

The Kids@11 team provides groups most Sundays during Sundays@11. The groups are for children from the age of 2 years old and up, with the senior group for year 6 and upwards choosing when to join the main service or Lowry Room activity. Although some families attend church each week, it is far more common to see children once or twice a month or less.

Teaching primarily comes from the Roots material (https://www.rootsontheweb.com/), which follows the lectionary readings. Some Sundays children and families are encouraged to participate in communion and prayer responses together, while on other weeks, the children and adults pray separately. Kids@11 therefore is sometimes 20 mins and sometimes 30 mins.

We have a fabulous team with a mixture of parents and others. A special thanks to everyone involved either as helpers or leaders, and a special welcome to those who have joined this year.

We see supporting families as essential in helping children on their faith journey, as 20 mins twice a month is only a small influence in the life of a child.

For Harvest, we made and sold cookies and cards and used the donations to support the Harvest Appeal. We also took responsibility for decorating a tree at the Christmas Festival, which was a lot of fun.

The Families’ Facebook group is a closed group intended to allow families to share what they have been doing and different ideas about doing faith at home to encourage one another. SJ and Becca have been the ones who have posted most and the page has not really fostered the community we had hoped.

The children that come really enjoy the Sundays@11 and the Kids@11 groups are greatly appreciated. The community that we are building, is greatly valued.

We have continued to arrange Families@11 Breakfasts, one at Lent, one in the summer and one at the start of Advent. These are a good opportunity to get church families and children’s team volunteers together, and it was especially good to launch the activity packs and material for the families to participate in at home.

Rainbow Toddlers

Our vision is Sharing God’s Love.

Rainbow Toddlers has had an excellent year, with lots of families enjoying the space as we use the church and the Bulson Hall in the cold/wet weather, and families love the outside space. We have a great team with lots of excellent ideas for creative ways to engage the families that come along.

The vision for Rainbow Toddlers is Sharing God’s Love and we do this through hospitality and supporting one another. We hold an optional story time each week, and tell a Bible story once a month. Largely we follow calendar events celebrating saint’s days, festivals and enjoyed marking the Olympics this year.

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The team has grown and changed but we are a consistent committed bunch. We have lunch together on the first Tuesday of the month and there is a very friendly and supportive atmosphere. Currently Jenny Morris helps set up, Sue Hamilton and Sarah Shrives provide the refreshments, sometimes excelling themselves with seasonal treats such as pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and Christmas cake in Advent. SJ, Bronwen, Karen, Becca, Ros, Sandra and Doug are stalwarts of the current team.

This year we have continued a half termly Bring & Swap encouraging families to bring items they no longer need and swap them for others. They were invited to donate towards a different charity each time and together we have raised money for various causes over the year and also benefitted one another with sharing resources. We also give regular donations to church and the parish centre in acknowledgment of the use of the building, however the church sees Rainbow Toddlers as a key part of our ministry to the town and, as such, Rainbow Toddlers does not hire the building in the usual way.

Term Charity Amount
Spring1 Water Aid £32.00
Spring Toilet Twinning £60.00
Spring2 Comic Relief £58.85
Summer 1 Marvels & Meltdowns £68.00
Summer 2 Smile Train £30.00
Autumn 1 Make a Wish £95.00
Autumn 2 Children in Need £75.01
Total £418.86

We have consistently had 40 families registered and more attending some weeks than others. It has been great to involve the families in the Christmas Tree Festival and many came along to see the decorations their children made, and joined us for services too!

We finished the year with a brilliant Christmas Special, with Father Christmas, the Nativity Story and a giant craft. Christmas books were given out to the children and some new big toys to the whole group.

Messy Church

Messy Church values are about being Christ-centred, for all ages, based on creativity, hospitality and celebration.

Messy Church has continued each month throughout the year, taking a break in August. Each session starts with table top games and refreshments, and then a short video of the Bible story on the big screen, followed by a variety of activities linked to the theme to explore together as a family. We then have a short service followed by a meal together. We have had good numbers attending and are building a sense of community and inviting people to explore faith together.

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We have covered all sorts of things including, the Olympics, Temptation, Mothers & Others, Care for the World, Easter, Christmas and other Bible themes!

We held a Messy Church event as part of the Christmas Festival on the Sunday; it was really popular with people who had booked in advance and also with others who just happened to be passing through.

Our biggest challenges are engaging the adults in matters of faith, and encouraging older children to come along.

Summer Reading Challenge – To encourage everyone of all ages to read the Bible together over the summer.

Although Becca was away for the summer on sabbatical, she did put a summer reading project together but it was not widely undertaken.

Schools Ministry

Our vision is to show that Christianity is relevant in today’s culture and to support the schools in our community

This year we had Year 3 from the Junior School visit for the Easter Experience and, for the end of school celebration, Year 6. We have also been invited into the schools for assemblies and Paul, Will, Mike, SJ and I have all been in to both the Infant and Junior Schools. The Open the Book team visit the Infant School each fortnight, where the team share, the children act out, Bible stories. This has been led by Bridget Dean and Rev’d Will Alvarez.

If you are interested in helping with the Children and Families ministry we would love to talk

to you.

We would like to offer parenting courses, parenting for faith courses to resource parents, grandparents and all those supporting children, and more regular kids’ clubs, as well as continuing with all of the above. The biggest challenge to the ministry is firstly people being involved, and secondly advertising and social media. So if you would like to join our children’s ministry, or if you have skills with graphics and digital media, do get in touch.

Becca Chamberlain; Children and Families Coordinator (Voluntary) families@stfaithslee.org.uk

Sabbatical Report – Children and Families

During Paul and Becca’s Sabbatical from August to November Sarah-Jane Murphy and Juliet Swann helped to run the children and families’ work at St Faith’s.

In Kids@11 we followed the lectionary using the Roots material for most of the time but we also led a few sessions on communion which taught the children all about why we take communion and why it is important to us. We also covered Generosity Week by donating teddy bears and stuffed toys to a local charity called

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Marvels and Meltdowns. SJ was able to attend leadership team meetings, which helped both her and the others.

Rainbow Toddlers has an amazing team and ran well with the help of SJ and Karen who chose the theme of nursery rhymes for the autumn term, finishing with a Christmas party. In the Summer holidays the team from Messy Church and Rainbow Toddlers joined together to put on a morning family fun session on Noah's Ark. Lots of families came and enjoyed activities, games and short service with many staying for a picnic lunch.

Sarah-Jane Murphy

Junk-model Noah’s ark, with a hand-print rainbow, from our summer fun day

4. Courses at St Faith’s

Over the past year, we have continued to invest in discipleship and outreach through our programme of courses at St Faith’s. Our aim has been to offer welcoming, accessible spaces where people can explore faith, grow deeper in their walk with Jesus, and find their place within the worshipping community.

We ran a successful Start course in new Year 2024. This was followed by a Moving On course, supporting participants as they explored the next steps in their faith journey. In June, we trialled a lunchtime course, but with only one person signing up, we decided not to go ahead. We continue to reflect and adapt, learning what works best in different seasons and times of day.

A highlight from the past year was our Holy Spirit Saturday, inspired by the Alpha Course, which took place in the Lowry Room last spring. Designed to create space to explore and encounter the Holy Spirit, it was a joyful and encouraging time of worship, prayer, and ministry. The day was well attended—not only by course participants, but also by others from the wider church family—and brought a strong sense of God’s presence.

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One inspiring story this year is Jayne’s. After a powerful encounter with God while visiting a church building, Jayne came to our Start course in 2023. She then completed the Moving On course and has since taken the lead in forming a small group with others from her cohort. Most recently, she co-led the Prayer Course with support from Clare Ashburner—a brilliant example of how people exploring faith can quickly become active, valued members of our worshipping community.

We give thanks for all that God is doing through these courses - drawing people to faith, deepening discipleship, and growing our community. Please continue to pray for this ministry as we look to the year ahead.

Rev’d Mike Moritz

5. Cuppa and Company

Cuppa and Company is a community support group for those experiencing loss, loneliness or change in their life circumstances. We meet in the Bulson Hall every Thursday between 2 and 3.30, excluding the main school holidays. Transport is available from ICANGO, if required, for those who live locally.

There are two teams operating on alternate weeks, led by Sue Castle and Sandy Smith from our congregation. Each team consists of 5 volunteers from both St Faith’s and the wider community. During the past year Frankie Gunns has decided to retire. We were very pleased to welcome new volunteers from our congregation, namely Pam Ede, Jan McCredie and Ruth Dewland. All have fitted in extremely well and their help is very much appreciated. We also appreciate having Rev. Erica Wilkie with us for most weeks.

Our client numbers vary from week to week but are generally in the region of 10 to 12 for most weeks. During the past year we have welcomed 9 new clients, not all of whom attend regularly, and lost 3 clients due mainly to ill health or moving to a nursing home.

Tea and homemade cakes are provided by the team, and occasionally supplementing the cakes, is Gillian Ashby, a past member of Cuppa and Company. These are very much appreciated.

Cliff Rook

St Faith’s Lent Lunch, in spring 2024

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We are also grateful to Heidi Ford, the Community Champion from Asda, Fareham, for supporting our events with donations of cakes and attending occasionally with a game or quiz to get the brain cells working! At Easter we held our usual celebrations of a decorated Easter Tree, Easter cards, an egg for all our clients, and a small raffle. Cakes were supplemented by hot cross buns.

In the summer we hired the Wheelhouse Hall at Hill Head and took our clients for afternoon tea by the sea. We were blessed by a lovely sunny day and the event was enjoyed by all who attended and we hope to return there again.

At Christmas we decorated a tree for the Joy of Christmas Festival and produced information leaflets advertising Cuppa and Company to the wider community visitors to the Festival. We hired an entertainer who sang songs which were greatly appreciated by our clients and included audience participation. He was very popular and we hope to book him again for next year. Once again, we held a raffle and all clients received a prize, donated by our volunteers, together with a Christmas card.

Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers who give up their time each week, make delicious cakes, and offer a welcome chat with our clients.

Cliff Rook, Sue Castle, Sandy Smith

6.Events

Summer Fete

St Faith’s Summer Fete took place on Saturday 11[th] June – but the weather was terrible! So a few days beforehand, the decision was made to move the Fete inside. We managed to fit all the stalls into the church, and kept the Bulson Hall for refreshments, and our new endeavour – The Great Lee Bake Off! In this, we invited local people to submit bakes, which we afterwards sold in pieces to raise funds for Sophie’s Legacy, a local charity supporting families with sick children.

Obviously with the weather, the Fete wasn’t what we planned – but we still had plenty of people coming through our doors, and all the stallholders were pleased with the last-minute change: they didn’t want to be outside, either!

Thanks to the Summer Fete planning team, and everyone who got VERY wet first thing that morning, making sure that the event could go on. It was a great event, despite the weather.

Rev’d Dr Paul Chamberlain

Peace and Joy: Christmas Festival

In December 2024, we held our second Peace and Joy: Christmas Festival at St Faith’s, a joyful weekend-long event that brought together a wide range of activities for the community. Running from Friday to Sunday over the first weekend of December, the festival was designed to show that St Faith’s is alive, active, and here to bless the people of Lee—sharing the fun and warmth of Christmas, celebrating its deeper meaning, and offering invitations to join our Christmas services and post-Christmas Start course.

At the heart of the weekend was our Christmas Tree Festival, featuring around 40 beautifully decorated trees from local community groups, schools, and businesses. While community groups displayed their trees

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for free, local businesses kindly supported the event by paying to take part. The trees remained on display throughout the weekend, creating a wonderfully festive atmosphere in the church.

The weekend also included a wide range of events and activities:

Wreath making at the Christmas Festival

While visitor numbers were lower than we had hoped, those who came were full of positive feedback, and the atmosphere throughout the weekend was warm, vibrant, and deeply appreciated. We also raised a small financial surplus, though this was not the main aim of the event.

The festival was made possible by a highly committed and well-organised team, building on experience from the previous year. After the event, the team met to review the weekend and submitted helpful suggestions to the PCC for how to improve any future events. One learning point was around publicity, which was less effective this year. This was partly due to no longer working in partnership with Monserrat Events, who had previously overseen many aspects of promotion and delivery.

Overall, Peace and Joy: Christmas Festival was a rich and creative expression of our desire to love Lee in Jesus’ name, and to share the message of hope and joy at the heart of Christmas.

Rev’d Mike Moritz

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7. Fabric Committee

The Fabric Committee consists of volunteers from the church community who meet regularly every 2 months, the minutes are presented to the PCC two weeks later. The main purpose is to keep watch over the general maintenance of the Church and Parish Centre. To focus on this, we follow a monthly schedule, some of which is suggested by Ecclesiastical Insurance, supplemented by relevant points relating to the care and safety of these buildings. The meetings include a general ‘walk about’ to take note of any problems that may not have been seen before. These are then noted with an action plan attached to the minutes for further attention by us or if necessary, by outside agencies. The general maintenance, replacement of kitchen equipment, bulbs, materials required for hygiene, Pat tests, lightning conductors etc are maintained on a rolling programme organised by the Administrators.

During the year, the following has been achieved.

16 people renewed their First Aid qualification in July, First Aid boxes are kept replenished. Defibrillator has run out of Guarantee this and the cabinet need replacing. Thanks must go to the caretakers and the small Team who have always been ready to turn their hand to all the above.

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If you would like to join the Fabric Committee and/or help with the upkeep of our building and grounds on occasion. please do let Paul know.

Margaret Hunt

Working on the Garden of Remembrance in spring 2024

8. Flower Team

The ladies of the Church Flower Team have kept the Church filled with flowers throughout the year (except for Advent and Lent, of course) and they change the flowers in the Bulson Hall each season. Thank you to those members of the congregation who kindly comment on our arrangements; it is good to know they are looked at and appreciated.

We have found yet more places in the Church in which to place flowers, so there was a lovely display of Spring flowers and lilies for Easter. It really was delightful to see the Church decorated florally again after the bareness of Lent.

After summer flower arrangements, autumn brought Harvest Thanksgiving and the Church was full of the vibrant colours of the season, with arrangements including flowers, foliage, corn, and fruit and vegetables. This was followed in November with red carnation and poppies arrangements for Remembrance Sunday.

At the beginning of December, we had our amazing Christmas Tree Festival, which not only involved the Church family, but also businesses and other organisations from the village. The Church looked wonderfully colourful with all the twinkling lights and glitter, and such a variety of decorations on the trees. The Flower Team made all their own decorations for their tree – doves (made out of card and glittered) and Christmas roses (made out of coffee filter papers!) We were proud to come third in the Judge’s Choice competition!

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The Flower Team led wreath-making sessions at Easter and Christmas; these have become very popular annual events, which encourage people who may not have had much flower-arranging experience, to come and try their hands at something new and different. All those taking part seem to thoroughly enjoy the evening spent with flowers and go home feeling a great sense of achievement.

Christmas in flowers was celebrated on the theme of candles and the colour scheme was gold and white. Each arrangement featured a large candle (made out of pipe lagging and sprayed gold!) With the colourful wreaths on the pillars, lit candles on the windowsills, the Christmas floral decorations set the scene for a joyful Christmas celebration. A new ‘stable’ was kindly made and donated by a member of our congregation, so we were able to set a small Nativity scene on the altar of the Lady Chapel.

The Flower Team had several successful fund-raising events during the year, which means we are selfsupporting financially. We would always welcome donations, though, especially if they are in memory of a dear one to whom an arrangement can be dedicated.

I would like to thank all the ladies in the Flower Team who devote their time and talents to keeping the Church looking so colourful and beautiful with their flower arrangements. I know the ladies themselves get much pleasure from arranging flowers, especially if it also brings pleasure to those who come into our Church.

Carolyn Keyzor

9. Friends of St Faith’s

The Friends of St Faith’s exists to help maintain St Faith’s buildings and grounds. Individuals can join the Friends for a suggested donation of £20 per year (although they can give more, if they wish!) and the Friends committee organises fundraising events to add for the resources the Friends have to spend.

After the quiz in November 2023 our Chair, Tim Austin, stood down. Our thanks go to him for his enthusiasm and hard work over the past 5 years. In 2024, the Friends Committee consisted of Jo Drew, Alice Green, Frankie Gunns, Shelley Rees, Joan and Cliff Rook, together with ex-officio members our vicar Paul Chamberlain (acting Chair), and churchwardens Luke Marshall and Mike Shrives.

We held three quizzes during 2024, which were great fun, and which raised the sum of £2841.65. This, along with subscriptions, Gift Aid and bank interest gave us a total income of £4499.34. This allowed the Friends Committee to pay £308 for boiler repairs and make a donation of £2000 towards the Organ Fund. We have committed a further £1500 for future repairs and maintenance work with other requests for funding being considered.

The Friends has a bank balance of £6814.64 at 31st December 2024, which includes our reserve of £1,500.

Thanks to all the committee for their work over 2024 and to everyone who has supported the Friends via membership or attendance at our events. If you’re not a member of the Friends but would like to be, please pick up a leaflet in the south porch and join us! Your contributions make a big difference to helping us maintain St Faith’s and its grounds.

Rev’d Dr Paul Chamberlain (Acting Chair)

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Easter Day flowers

10. History Group

The St Faith’s History Group has two key objectives, one, to provide an opportunity for anyone who likes to research and solve historical puzzles about St Faith’s church and Lee-on-the-Solent, and two, to share that information to encourage people from around the Lee-on-the-Solent and Gosport area to feel comfortable stepping inside the church building, some for the first time in their lives and allow them to discover the wealth of activities that our church provides. To support these goals the History Group organised two large events during 2024.

Over 70 delegates from across the south-east of England from Portsmouth and Southsea, Reading, Woking and Lee-on-the-Solent were welcomed to our Art Deco Concrete Architecture Conference in March 2024 about the famed architects John Seely and Paul Paget who designed the St Faith’s building in 1932/1933.

Later in the year almost 50 people attended our guided tours around the church building as part of Gosport Heritage Open Days (GHOD) in September 2024. As part of this, the footprint of the original St Faith’s Church, known lovingly as the ‘Tin Tabernacle’, was identified and marked-out on the grass outside the Bulson Hall. All GHOD 2024 tours finished with the serving of cream teas with freshly baked scones. Throughout the year we sold another 60 copies of Ninety, the 56 page history book about St Faith’s Church from 1933 to 2023, with all monies received going into the accounts to support the running of the church.

St Faith’s History Group – Bringing History Alive. Kevin Dean

11. Mothers’ Union

Last summer we celebrated 120 years of Mothers’ Union at St Faith’s. Although there is no solid historical evidence, Mothers’ Union in Lee-on-the-Solent would have started before the church building as we know it today, was built. I have been told it is one of, or the oldest organisation in Lee. Last July we celebrated the event with a service of thanksgiving and rededication of our banner.

We continue to thrive as a branch of 38 members meeting most months through the year. We have a variety of speakers and try to have a good selection of topics. Lent Lunch with reflection and our Autumn Lunch

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are now fixtures in our calendar. In May we visited Chichester with a guided tour of the cathedral conducted by a excellent guide.

Continuing support for AFIA (Away From It All holidays) is one of the Diocesan projects we especially aim to support and fundraise for. Under the AFIA project, members from our branch willingly help when MU in the Diocese hold a Day at the Seaside based at the Parish Centre for women and children from local refuges. We serve drinks and refreshments to offer a welcome on arrival, fish and chips delivered at the beach and later we provide hot and cold snacks for tea before they leave. As well as that we collect toiletries and small toys for children at our local refuge. A few members in our branch also sew and knit for babies at QA making knitted hats, baby blankets and jackets and sewing quilted covers for incubators. We also have a member who volunteers at the Child Contact Centre at the EC Roberts Centre in Portsmouth. We again managed to donate almost £1,000 to MU charities this year despite not holding any specific fundraising events. We are extremely grateful to Mary Shepherd for her marmalade sales, which gives our funds a huge boost. We ended the year by again decorating a Christmas tree for the St Faith’s Christmas Tree Festival.

We also support and attend Diocesan and Deanery events through the year. We will continue to do all we can to help and support families.

Sue Hamilton

12. Music

As Music Director, I am incredibly proud of the work of our church choir and musicians. I feel very privileged to help lead them in our musical ministry and I am very grateful for both their skill and continued support. Our music continues to flourish at St. Faith’s, and we have maintained our broad range of repertoire variety and worship styles. From choral services, to contemporary worship and Taizé, there is truly something for everyone.

Towards the end of the year, our focus has become the upkeep of our lovely church organ. It is a fine instrument but is now in the need of a little TLC; in particular a good cleaning of the pipes and electronic components. The work is scheduled for autumn 2025 and, at the time of writing, we are about to put on a big fundraising concert. A mixture of sacred and secular music, the concert promises to be a memorable event.

We are always on the lookout for new members to join our music team. If you are a singer or instrumentalist and are interested in becoming involved, we would love to hear from you.

Richard Dewland

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Passover Celebration on Maundy Thursday

13. Open House

Open House has continued to thrive over the past year and attendances have increased with an average of 22 attendances a week. Some people come regularly each week, others drop in from time to time. People like the fact that they can come at any time during the morning and stay for as long or as short a time as they wish. One of our regular attendees said recently that Open House ‘was her favourite time of the week’ which is great feedback for our volunteers.

During the morning, after catching up with others and enjoying coffee and cake, some people enjoy a game of Rummikub and several have learned how to play. We have also introduced Bananagrams which is a word game similar to Scrabble and we’ve had a couple of quizzes which were very popular. In the run up to the Christmas Tree Festival, the Lowry Room was a hive of creative activity for those who wanted to be involved in making tree decorations.

However, games are not mandatory! Some people much prefer the opportunity to socialise with others and with our volunteers. People often comment how Open House gives them the time to really get to know one another. Rev. Will Alvarez attends regularly to chat to our guests and we enjoy having him with us. From time to time, we have also hosted Connect Groups who need somewhere to meet and they have been keen to mix with our guests rather than sit separately for the whole morning, thus giving an Open House experience to a wider group.

During the year, three of our wonderful volunteers have had to step down due to health issues but they all come back from time to time to enjoy the fellowship that Open House provides to both guests and volunteers. A big thank you to them for all they have contributed. We have two new volunteers but would welcome more so that we can maintain a flexible rota and be less reliant on just a few people.

I would like to thank everyone who volunteers with Open House for their invaluable gifts of time, kindness and, of course, cake!

Andrea Simkin

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14. Parish Centre

As we reflect on 2024, it’s clear that the Parish Centre not only fulfilled its role as a vibrant meeting place for our church community but also earned high praise from the local community for a variety of occasions. In 2024, we had 17 regular hirers contributing a significant amount of income to the Parish Centre. Two new hirers Betsy (Chair Yoga) and the Stokes Bay Strummers joined our community in March and October respectively.

Throughout the year, on a rough estimation for occasional hirers, we successfully hosted 17 birthday parties, 8 meetings and training sessions, 5 christening parties, 26 events (e.g. celebrations, exhibitions, concerts and big community events etc...), 11 funeral wakes and 4 wedding receptions. A highlight was our Wedding Fayre in June, which resulted in three bookings for wedding receptions scheduled for 2026. In addition to our occasional hirers, the Parish Centre remained a hub for church groups. All these brought a dynamic year for the Parish Centre filled with growth and achievements, alongside some challenges.

In May, we faced the resignation of our caretaker Adrian, followed shortly by Ruth, our previous Church & Parish Centre Manager. During this time, our vicar Paul Chamberlain was also soon to be on a well-deserved three-month sabbatical starting in July. We all encountered a busy transitional period.

To navigate these changes effectively, the vicar embraced this change by restructuring our organisation. I was committed to my new role as Parish Centre Manager, with Paul Stocks stepping into the Senior Caretaker position to oversee caretaking responsibilities. We also decided to split the Church & Parish Centre Manager role into two new positions. In July, we welcomed Rebecca Hawkins, who generously volunteered for two months as our Church Administrator, provided invaluable support during this period. A round of applause was also due for our Church Wardens, curates and other ministers for their invaluable support during Paul’s sabbatical. Their dedication made a significant difference in ensuring the smooth operation of our Centre, especially during that transformative time.

In September, we celebrated a major milestone as Rebecca accepted the new position as Church Manager & Financial Administrator. Additionally, we also welcomed Steven Sandifer as our new caretaker, bringing with him over 10 years of experience in school caretaking. Together, we formed a robust team to ensure the continued growth and success of the Parish Centre.

Shortly after our new team was formed, we faced a significant challenge when a roof leak in the Bulson Kitchen led to a ceiling collapse. Thanks to the prompt and coordinated efforts of various parties, repairs were completed quickly, ensuring minimal disruption to our regular hirers.

In late Autumn, we addressed reports of faulty lighting in the Lowry Room; we successfully replaced all lights in the Lowry with energy-efficient LEDs.

In Winter, we took proactive steps by offering out-of-date bar stock on a donation basis to reduce inventory. While bar takings continue to provide good income for the Parish Centre, we acknowledge we face an ongoing challenge of finding staff to run the bar, especially during large events. We plan to review the bar hire rates in 2025 to ensure they are competitive yet sustainable.

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Overall, 2024 has been a mixed year for the Parish Centre. Although we faced substantial changes and challenges, we embraced the opportunities for growth and improvement that these changes brought. With numerous major events and weddings successfully held, it demonstrated the Centre’s continued vitality and importance to our community.

Florence Lo

Judging at the Great Lee Bake Off

15. Pastoral Team

St. Faith’s Connect: A network of people in St Faith’s community, simply looking out for each other.

Connect is a pastoral network of small groups created so that people can get to know each other. To assist with this the groups are organised around the three Sunday Services.

Our Coordinators continue to provide their time and care supporting this network, reaching out to members in their group. The pastoral team would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all they do.

Whilst Connect is a light touch, some Coordinators have also held coffee mornings/ an informal get together at different venues. Further it has often been the awareness of our Coordinators that has enabled the pastoral and clergy team to reach out to individuals.

We have held several informal “cuppa and catchups” for Coordinators at a local garden centre. We will continue to look for ways we can support our Coordinators.

In our report last year we informed you that we had two groups at the Parish Eucharist where we were still looking for someone to take on the role of Coordinator. We are very fortunate that two people have now taken on those groups as Coordinators. Throughout the year we have been able to allocate new members of St. Faiths to Connect groups. However, with the numbers we currently have and being in the pleasant

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position of new people joining St Faiths we are looking to create a further Connect group for those attending the Parish Eucharist, so we are currently looking for a Coordinator for this new group.

Angela Torroni, Carolyn Marshall and Karen Hooper

16. PCC

St Faith’s Parochial Church Council (the PCC) has the responsibility of cooperating with the Incumbent, the Rev’d Dr Paul Chamberlain, in promoting the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social, and ecumenical. As well as the Church itself, which is a Grade II listed building, the PCC is also responsible for maintaining the Parish Centre and the grounds.

The PCC is committed to enable as many people as possible to worship at our Church, and to become part of our parish family. PCC members who have served during the year of 2023 until the date of this report were:

The Incumbent Rev’d Dr Paul Chamberlain Churchwarden Mr Mike Shrives Churchwarden Mr Luke Marshall PCC Lay Chair Mr Cliff Rook Clergy Rev’d Will Alvarez, Rev’d Mike Moritz, Rev’d Erica Wilkie PCC Members Mr Mike James, Mrs Annabel Brammall, Mr Roland Rogers, Mrs Bridget Dean, Mrs Joyce Dawson, Mrs Mandy Fulton, Mrs Margaret Hunt, Mr Ian Hamilton, Mr Roger Vann, Mr Brian Mansbridge, Mrs Andrea Simkin, Treasurer Mr Colin Skinner PCC Secretary Mr Steve McIntyre

At the PCC meeting in January 2024 the “Joy of Christmas” in December 2023 was discussed, noting the good and the not so good benefits of the event. Overall it was agreed we would hold another event in December 2024, with the return of the Christmas Tree Festival. The Building Development Group proposed a consultation with the wider community to seek their views on proposals for any change to St Faith’s Church. After some discussion the PCC approved that this consultation would go ahead.

At our meeting in March, the PCC discussed having a new logo and branding for the Church and Parish Centre. It was felt necessary to distinguish St Faith’s Lee-on-the-Solent from other nearby Churches, also called St Faith’s.

At our meeting in May whilst there were no main topics for discussion an overview of the PCC role was mentioned for the benefit of new members to the PCC. As a matter of routine at all PCC meetings, finance was discussed, and reported on by our treasurer. At the PCC meetings our vicar Paul, always gives a report on notable events and courses that run here at St Faith’s.

During the July meeting the PCC approved the proposals for the Christmas events and services for the Christmas period. The pending changes to church staff were noted and discussed, and the effect that it would have in and around the Church and Parish Centre. Safeguarding is a subject that routinely is updated on at each PCC meeting. This was the last meeting for our vicar Paul, who was about to commence his three month sabbatical leave.

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At the PCC meeting in September the deterioration of the organ was discussed and a report on what is needed was circulated to the members. After some discussion it was agreed that some form of funding would be investigated but no firm action taken until after Paul had returned from his xabbatical leave.

Paul was welcomed back to the PCC meeting in November, and he was able to update all present on his - enjoyable time away. The meeting was updated on advanced plans for the Christmas Festival at St Faith’s 6[th] 8[th] December. The meeting was also updated on funding for the organ, and with the PCC’s approval, the quote for £17,605 including VAT should be accepted with a view for the work to commence in the summer of 2025.

The many and varied groups who contribute to the ministry of St Faith’s Church regularly submit written reports to the PCC. It is very humbling to know that there are so many people give a lot of their time for our Church of St Faith’s.

Cliff Rook

The Dawn Service on Easter Day 2024

17. People and Planet

2024 has continued to be a productive year for the St Faith’s People and Planet group, thanks to the hard work of those in the group and the support of the St Faith’s church community.

St Faith’s People and Planet group has continued to help guide the church to become more sustainable. In the past year, we have begun to plateau in finding quick fixes to help the church become more sustainable, as we undertook many simple changes when we achieved our silver award last year. We have also found that some changes we made were more complicated than we first thought – Kevin raised the question whether

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our recycled paper was better for the environment, as sometimes recycled papers require more ink. It was only recently discovered, after talking with the printer servicers, that because the ink is baked, we use the same amount as before. Whilst we have identified changing our lighting to LED lighting in the Bulson Hall and potentially the church as a potential quick fix to save energy, we will need the building project to address the larger changes in the future.

The annual wildflower area did not do so well in 2024, compared with the previous years. This could be for two reasons: a wet winter and then a dry spell in the Spring when the additional seeds were sown and a continual battle with the grass encroachment. We are in the process of rethinking how we can develop and maintain this area for the benefit of our pollinators. The perennial patch (small area in front of the office) did well in the summer and hosted a variety of pollinators, including bees, butterflies and solitary wasps. The challenge is having the physical people power to rotavate the area with heavy machinery and boots on the ground to maintain the area i.e. more volunteers who have an interest in the area!

The Recycling Hub continued to be well supported during 2024, although unfortunately Terracycle have stopped accepting dental products, so we can no longer recycle these. Since 2021, we have recycled a total of 67.8 kg of dental products. Most of the items recycled have been sent to Terracycle and by this February we have recycled approximately 97.8kg of bakery packaging, and 30.9kg of cheese wrappers. These have helped to give us a small profit of £160 which stays in the People and Planet Fund to help support environmental projects, and this year we have donated money to give seeds and fruit trees to people in Africa.

Our 21.1kg of biscuit wrappers which we have recycled get recycled via Eco-Freaks. Furthermore, we continue to collect aluminium foil for recycling, and since 2022 have recycled 110.4 kg! The foil continues to be sold and recycled to raise money to support adults with physical and learning disabilities at the QE2 Activities Centre near Southampton. Kevin Dean continues to keep a record of our recycling rates and produces graphs and information on recycling. We have also allowed ICANGO to have a bin raising money for them through recycling printer cartridges (350 so far), and we will be allowing the air ambulance to have a box recycling electrical cables.

Our church members continue to observe biodiversity data across the church grounds, and we continue to post regular notices in the Weekly Notes to support our church community with ways of becoming more sustainable in our own everyday lives. To raise awareness for the People and Planet group and the work we do, we sustainably decorated a tree again at our Christmas tree festival and we will continue to look for ways of raising awareness within the church over environmental sustainability in the future.

Rev’d Will Alvarez

18. Refreshments Team

Sunday mid-service coffee time continues to go well with the help and generosity of the dedicated teams each week. Rebecca keeps our coffee supplies topped up as does Cecily, regarding the supplies of sugar packets and instant coffee.

At times team members have to take on an extra duty if someone is away and we would always welcome anyone who would be willing to be a ‘spare’ team member. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who contributes to the smooth running of coffee time.

Angela Torroni

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The Crib Service on Christmas Eve

19. Safeguarding

Here at St Faiths, we continue to keep safeguarding as a priority in the everyday life of our Church community. We are supported by the Portsmouth Diocese team who have a great deal of experience. In the last year there has been sufficient staff appointed to give each patch a Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser (DSA). This ensures that should advice be needed they are a phone call away, which ensures good practise. They in turn take direction from the National Church.

There is a matrix which identifies the training required for the many roles which volunteers within the church do. St Faith’s had a register of 30 plus roles with approx. 100 people filling these at the end of 2024 and is still growing. These require a variety of training but all begin with the initial ‘Basic Training’ which gives an overview of safeguarding information, so that all can feel protected without losing privacy. This training is all that some need to do but if it is the only one taken then this must be renewed every three years. Many roles require further training e.g. Foundation, Awareness of Domestic Abuse etc. Thanks must go to Pam Rigg for her untiring diligence in keeping the Records up to date and making sure that all are aware of any renewal necessary.

The Safeguarding Team (Paul Chamberlain, Pam Rigg, Becca Chamberlain and me) meet regularly to confirm that we are on task, minutes are then presented to the PCC, where any safeguarding policies are discussed and renewed before they are signed and posted on the notice boards. We endeavour to keep the notice boards up to date with any new information that is available from the Diocese.

All church groups have safeguarding as a priority and are required to annually, review and report to the PCC and the team of any changes made to their practice and policies.

Thanks must go the many volunteers in whatever capacity for their willingness to undertake the training and for the time which is so freely given to make the Church a safe place to be.

Margaret Hunt

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20. Welcome Team

Feedback suggests people find St Faith's a welcoming church, and it takes the whole church community to generate a welcoming atmosphere, so I would encourage everyone to look out for newcomers and offer a friendly welcome both during the service and at refreshments.

We have an experienced Welcome Team who give their time before, during and after the service to ensure the church is ready to welcome everyone and things run smoothly. We have about 25 people on the welcome rota, with most being on duty every 4 or 5 weeks. We also have a small group on the reserve list who we can call on from time to time.

The most import role of the team is to be the first point of contact for newcomers and regulars alike. The team's task is to welcome people as they come into the church for services. They provide information about the service, answer any queries, and invite people to stay for refreshments (where appropriate). Welcomers endeavour to introduce newcomers to others, especially to those seated nearby, and also introduce to clergy if there is an opportunity.

The welcome team also acts as the emergency party for any evacuation of the church buildings, for example, during a fire exercise or during any emergency event where people's safety is at risk.

I would like to thank the Welcome Team for their ongoing support, flexibility and humour in maintaining this vital role in the life of St Faith's.

If you have any ideas about how we can enhance the welcome given, do let me know. Also, should you be interested in joining the welcome team for your service, do get in touch - we always need more volunteers for this important task (especially males for the Parish Eucharist service, which is currently an all-female team).

The team currently consists of the following members:

Brian Mansbridge Joyce Reeves Donna Vann
Wendy Mansbridge Mary Bucks Sarah Shrives
Ros McIntyre Andrea Simkin Jon Murphy (with Patrick &
Steve McIntyre Margaret Hunt Michael)
Christine Bean Elaine Johnson Noah Chamberlain
Philip Scott Brenda Savage Alison Jeanneret
Mary Shepherd Sheila Caudrey Andrew Morgan
Kathy Kanji Pamela Elliott Rita Morgan
Ann Conington Alma Hadley Sue Hamilton

Rita Morgan

21. Youth Work

In 2024, we continued our two youth groups, meeting on Thursday evenings at St Faith’s: TGI (younger teenagers) and KFC (older teenagers). However, in December we merged the two groups together, with arrivals from 6.30pm, eat at 7pm, groups from 7.45–9pm and then 45 mins of hanging out and games. This format continued into 2025.

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In the summer, we took a group of young people to CreationFest, a Christian festival in Cornwall. They all enjoyed this, and it was a valuable time to spend together alongside Christin teaching and worship.

Throughout the year, every third Friday of the month was Riptide, a youth group gathering held in different venues across Lee or Gosport. At Riptide, there are games, a talk, food and sung worship.

Rev’d Will Alvarez and I were also both involved in Bay House School, as School Pastors. This involved spending time in the schools and getting to know the young people, alongside School Pastors from other churches. Will was also involved in leading a Christian Union for Bay House lower school on Mondays, and I helped with a CU for upper school on Thursdays. I have also been part of the School Pastors team which is at Leesland Junior School on Wednesday lunchtimes.

Looking ahead, we are aware that many of our young people are turning 18 and leaving school/college, so we need to think about the future of the youth group. Alison Jeanneret, who has been involved with KFC for 6 years, is going to step down soon, and we will miss her. Please pray for the youth team as they consider and pray about these things.

Becky Gemmell

The Youth Group at CreationFest

22. Vicar’s Report

Wow. The pages before this one show how much we do as a church. Thank you to everyone who contributes to St Faith’s in any way, through giving your time, talents or ‘treasure’ to our community. There are too many people to name individually, and I fear I’d miss some people out – so just ‘Thank You’ to everyone.

As I look back over, I’m grateful to God for what he has done among us, and for all the ways we’re seeking to fulfil our vision for our church – written on the front cover of this report.

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I’m not going to repeat what’s been said above, but I particularly want to thank those who lead St Faith’s with me, and especially the leadership team, shown in the photo as we were back in January 2024. I’m so grateful for the team’s wisdom and experience, as we seek to develop what we do at St Faith’s.

I’d also like to thank our staff: Ruth Dewland and Adrian Aspinall (who both moved on from their roles during 2024), Steve Sandifer and Rebecca Hawkins (who joined during the year), and Florence Lo and Paul Stocks. This team does a lot behind the scenes, and I’m so grateful for them.

There are things we do which have yet to be highlighted – our regular services, for example. During 2024, we kept our usual service pattern the same, but we’re always thinking about how we might develop what we do. Thanks to everyone who contributes to those services, including welcomers, chalice assistants, readers, preachers, musicians, the AV team, and the choir.

My role

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St Faith’s in (some) numbers

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Average weekly attendance
8am 31
32
30
28		 26 29
24		 22 22 19 16 13 14 13 15
Parish Eucharist
- adults		 145 144 130 136 136 146 129 126 124 118 100/
47*		 57 79 95 102
Parish Eucharist
- children		 10 11 12 14 16 13 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1
Sundays@11
adults		 47 46 47 45 49/
30*		 41 47 48 47
Sundays@11 -
children		 19 20 16 16/
4*		 13 17 15 10
Thursday
Eucharist		 15 13 13 11 11 14 11 12 14 12 12 9 8 10 11
Electoral Roll 228 249 213 223 241 238 256 268 285 253 250 250 264 264 259
Christenings 45 32 13 18 30 41 22 26 9 17 5 12 18 19 11
Weddings 15 18 13 10 7 10 8 6 5 6 4 5 6 3 4
Funerals 45 26 26 26 26 57 27 31 24 39 42 35 33 24 33

*Before and after churches were closed during the covid-19 pandemic

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000 st FAITH'S LEE WORSHIP. COMMUNITY. HOPE 34

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST FAITH'S LEE ON THE SOLENT

Registered Charity No 1150119

St Faith’s Church and Parish Centre Lee on the Solent in the Diocese of Portsmouth

Financial Statements for the year ending 31 December 2024

Vicar

Rev. Dr. Paul Chamberlain

Treasurer

Colin Skinner

Independent Examiner

Peter Nicholls PN Independent Examinations

Table of Contents

Introduction Page 2
Independent Examiner’s Report Page 9
Notes to the accounts Page 10
Statement of Financial Activity Page 12
Fund Movement Summary Page 13
Balance Sheet Page 15
Tangible Fixed Asset Summary Page 16
Analysis of Income and Expenditure Page 17
Assets & Liabilities Funding Alignment Page 20

Page 1

Introduction to the Financial Statements for St Faith’s Church and Parish Centre for the year ended 31 December 2024.

Financial review

In terms of the Church’s General Fund, it is pleasing to report that 2024 saw an uplift in giving; the Parish Giving Scheme in particular saw an increase of over £10k in regular giving over 2023. We remain very grateful to the many members who give regularly and generously to the life of the Church.

Before the away giving provision of 5% of our giving income, the general fund was £29,716 in surplus; a strong position for the year.

There has been an aggregate net increase in the Church’s funds of £29,789k.

Although 2024 was a good year for the General fund, this was primarily due to the extraordinary generosity of one or two Church members. There are still many members of the Church family who do not give regularly to the life of the Church, and therefore if you are a regular worshipper at St Faith’s Church and do not give regularly, please consider doing so. It is very important to not only to continue to cover our costs from our regular giving, but also to generate funds to enhance our mission and outreach into the local community.

Improving the financial contribution from the Parish Centre remains challenging, see below for more comment on that.

Our accounting policies are detailed in the notes to the accounts and are compliant with Charity law. We continue to use the Church of England recommended bespoke software for Finance Co-Ordinator 4 (FC4). Gift Aid is collated using a complementary package called Donations Co-Ordinator 7 (DC7).

Reserves policy

It is PCC policy to try to maintain a balance of free reserves (net current assets) which equates to at least three months unrestricted expense payments. This is approximately equivalent to £50,000. It is held to smooth out fluctuations in cash flow and to meet emergencies. The funds viewed as constituting our reserves are detailed below. Notwithstanding the increase in the general fund, when taking future development plans into account there are no free reserves in the general fund.

The monies in designated and restricted funds are retained for the purposes detailed below. It is our policy to invest as much of our cash resources as we can in the CCLA Church of England Deposit Funds.

Page 2

Finance team

The finances of the Church and Parish Centre continue to be run by a team who help and support myself as treasurer. The team are:

Rebecca Hawkins

Rebecca joined the finance team in September 2024 as a paid member of staff and has taken over the day-to-day bookkeeping role. Over time she will take on several tasks that the treasurer carries out. The treasurer role will evolve over the next year to being an honorary role which will include quality control and implementing a system of controls and checks.

Richard Froude

Richard has now completed ten years as our bookkeeper and has stood down from this demanding and time consuming role. During this time Richard has been unfailing in his support to me as treasurer and I am truly grateful for all his help.

Richard has kindly agreed to remain on the finance committee and will be supporting Rebecca and Florence with credit control and chasing unpaid invoices.

David Honour

David continues to help the team in making day to day payments to our various service-providers and reimbursements of expenses to our various volunteers.

Peter and Penny Murrells

Peter and Penny carry out our Gift Aid co-ordination and the claiming of this from HMRC.

Roland Rogers

Roland continues to process our payroll and liaises with Stewardship Services, our payroll provider, to ensure our staff get paid each month.

In addition to the above, Mike Shrives, Luke Marshall and Paul Chamberlain are members of the finance committee.

My sincere thanks and appreciation to all the team who volunteer considerable time and energy in helping to run the finances of both the Church and Parish Centre.

Colin Skinner Treasurer

Page 3

The accounting statements

Charity accounts must be prepared in accordance with charity law. The Charities Act 2011 requires accounts to be prepared in line with the current Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP).

The accounts are managed using a software system – Finance Co-ordinator 4 – which is recommended by the Church of England. It enables detailed analysis to take place and can produce a wide variety of reports compliant with statutory requirements

The accounting policies are detailed in the notes to the accounts.

The Church’s funds explained.

The Church’s funds and their respective income, expenditure, transfers in and out and balances are detailed in the fund movement summary on page 13.

Fund types and ‘legal’ purposes are explained in the accounting policies section of this report.

Despite efforts to reduce the number of funds the Church now has some 27 funds with monies in them. Each time the Church embarks on a new initiative or ministry there is often a requirement to establish a fund for these activities thus enabling their finances to be kept transparent and ring-fenced for their specific purpose. A brief description of the Church’s various funds is set out below and on the following pages.

Unrestricted funds

General Fund

This fund contains monies which are either donated or generated for the general operation of the Church. Use of its money is decided by the Finance committee and PCC.

On a day to day running basis there was a surplus for 2024 of £29,716 in the general fund but after transferring £8,472 to the away giving fund and £1,500 to the MES fund the operating surplus was £19,744.

At the year end the General Fund balance stood at £82,517 an increase of £19,745 on the 2023 balance of £62,772. Much of this will need to be spent on the next phase of the Church’s development.

Page 4

Designated funds

Away Giving Fund

A fund created in 2018 to provide greater transparency over the amounts set aside for the Church’s charitable giving.

After the transfer noted above under the general fund the Away Giving fund balance stands at £8,472 which will be distributed as soon as practically possible.

Bulson interest fund

This fund receives the interest from the Bulson Shares and can be designated by the PCC for any use. This fund is considered as one of our reserves in support of our reserve policy. The year-end balance was £19,934.

KJS door fund

This fund arose through a donation from a former member of the ministry team and has been designated by the PCC for the renewal of the Church’s doors. It can be used for other purposes in consultation with the donor. The year-end balance was £5,000.

Parish Centre fund

This designated fund facilitates the income and expenditure associated with running the Parish Centre. In the year, a surplus of £2,328 was generated. This is disappointing but as last year, work continues to focus effort and resources on activities and events that will be positive for the Centre in 2025. An Insurance claim relating to the Bulson kitchen storm damage remains outstanding at the year end. This has not been included in the Parish Centre’s figures. At the year-end the fund balance was £10,286.

Rainbow Toddlers Fund

Income generated by the Rainbow Toddlers group was in earlier years included as part of the Parish Centre income. In 2016 a separate fund was established for these monies so they could be designated for the benefit of the group. The year-end balance was £2,003 after transferring £3k to the Children and Youth fund. Details of the activities of the group and the donations they have made to other charitable organisations are detailed in their separate report. It is intended during 2025 to amalgamate this fund with the Children and Youth Fund.

Reserve fund

This is held in reserve to meet unforeseen contingencies and supports our reserves policy. The year-end balance was £17,901.

Page 5

Reserve fund Bulson shares

This investment held on our behalf by Portsmouth Diocese at CCLA fund management, is invested in the Church of England Fixed Interest Securities Fund. Interest is received quarterly and paid in to the Bulson Interest fund above. The Capital value showed an increase of £901 in 2024. It can be used for any purpose at the PCC’s discretion and has in the past been used to help pay the parish share. It supports our reserves policy. The year-end valuation was £30,772.

Retention Fund External repairs

There is a 2.5% retention built into the stage payments for the external repairs. The balance retained in this fund of £3,383 which will be paid to the contractor when the retention period expires.

Restricted Funds

Children and Youth Fund

This fund was originally the Conques Pilgrimage fund and used to pay the cost of young church members who needed help with the travel costs at the time of the Conques pilgrimage. The fund has no current use for that purpose and the PCC has permission to use this fund in support of other children’s and youth ministry work in the Church. After a transfer from the Rainbow Toddler fund of £3k the balance at the year end is £1,808. This fund and that of Rainbow Toddlers will be amalgamated during 2025.

Choir Robes Fund

This fund was established to finance the purchase of choir robes by way of an appeal to the congregation. The year-end balance was £13.

Christmas Lunch Fund

This fund holds monies donated for the Christmas Lunch hosted by St Faith’s. The year-end balance was £1,352.

Cuppa and Company

This fund spent ££328 during the year; the year end balance was £27.

Fabric Fund

The fabric fund facilitates the renewing and repair of the fabric of the Church, and is funded by transfers from the general fund when required and by restricted donations from donors. It is the Church’s policy that receipts from legacies unless otherwise

Page 6

stipulated are also credited to this fund. There were no legacy receipts during 2024. The year end balance is £21,430.

Facilities for the disabled fund

This fund received a donation during 2023 of £5,000 plus gift aid, to be used towards the cost of upgrading the accessible toilet facilities. The year-end balance was £6,250.

Flower Fund

This fund receives donations from Church members towards the cost of flowers as well as fees for the cost of flowers at weddings. Fundraising efforts by the flower team such as the flower festival are also recorded in this fund. Activities of the flower team are reported separately. The year end balance was £925.

Friends of St Faith fund

This fund receives donations from church members and the wider community – ‘friends’ and fundraising proceeds from events held. Projects paid for from this fund are considered and actioned by the friends committee and reported separately by them. The year end balance was £6,814.

History Group Fund

The history group received a restricted donation of £15 in 2022 which necessitated the creation of a fund for the purpose of recording the group’s finances. The fund records the transactions of the History Group with a year end balance oif £396.

Llewelyn Jones Grave Trust fund

This fund can only be used to maintain the Llewelyn Jones memorial in the church grounds. This fund received monies from the maturity of a War stock investment held by the Diocese as custodian trustee. The year end balance was £1,064.

Mission Experience Scheme fund

This new fund in 2023 received a grant from the diocese of £880 to meet the expenses of our mission experience participant. It continues to fund the ongoing travel costs relating to her training after a transfer from the general fund of £1,500. The fund balance is £1,566.

Men’s Ministry Fund

This fund records finances for the Men’s group who meet regularly to enjoy fellowship, a meal and a talk from an interesting speaker. The year end balance was £225.

Page 7

Music Fund

This fund is used to finance the purchase of new music, resources and external musicians for special events and services. It has been supported by donations from the congregation, as well as choir wedding and funeral fees. The year end balance was £612.

Organ Fund

This fund receives donations towards the cost of maintaining the Church’s pipe organ. There is currently an appeal running which aims to raise in excess of £17k for the major cleaning and maintenance program scheduled for 2025. The year end fund balance is £6,475.

People and Planet fund

This fund records the financial transactions for the People and Planet group. Their activities are reported separately. The year end fund balance was £256.

TH door fund

This donation and the accompanying gift aid have been restricted for the installation of new doors and their ongoing maintenance by a member of the church. This work forms part of the ongoing re-ordering plans being considered by the fabric committee and PCC. The year end balance was £16,959.

Vicar’s discretionary fund

This fund was established by a donation and associated gift aid from a former member of our congregation who has now moved away. It is used to support the needs of individuals or families who need confidential support. The recipients of such support are known only to the vicar. The year end balance was £809 after disbursements of £440.

Women4women in Lee Fund

This fund created in 2020 is to support the activities of the fund’s committee in their ministry to vulnerable women in Lee. Their activities are reported separately. The year end balance is £598.

Endowment Funds

Bulson endowment fund

This fund represents the build cost of the Bulson Hall and is held in the form of the fixed asset of the Bulson Hall in the Church’s accounts. The value of the fund was written down substantially in 2017 and continues to reduce with a depreciation policy now in place for the asset represented by this fund, now at £192.5k in our books.

Page 8

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of St Faith’s Church, Lee-on-the-Solent.

I report on the accounts of the Charity for the year ended 31 December 2024 which are set out on pages 12-22.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (The Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner’s report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees for any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in any material respect:

I 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 accounts to be reached.

Peter Nicholls

P A Nicholls MBE MAAT 5 Nursery Road Havant Hants PO9 3BG

10 March 2025

Page 9

Notes to the Accounts

1 Accounting Policies

Basis of financial statements

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 PCCs, and with the Regulations’ “true and fair view” provisions. They are prepared under the applicable accounting standards and the 2019 version of the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention except for investment assets, which are shown at market value. The financial statements include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. They do not include the accounts of church groups that owe their affiliation to another body, nor those that are informal gatherings of church members.

Fund accounting

Endowment funds are funds, the capital of which must be retained either permanently or at the PCC's discretion; the income derived from the endowment is to be used either as restricted or unrestricted income funds depending upon the purpose for which the endowment was established in the first place.

Restricted funds comprise (a) income from endowments which is to be expended only on the restricted purposes intended by the donor and (b) revenue donations or grants for a specific PCC activity intended by the donor. Where these funds have unspent balances, interest on their pooled investment is apportioned to the individual funds on an average balance basis.

Unrestricted funds are income funds which are to be spent on the PCC's general purposes.

Designated funds are general funds set aside by the PCC for use in the future. Project funds are designated for particular projects for administration purposes only.

Income

Planned giving, collections and similar donations are recognised when received. Tax refunds are recognised when the incoming resource to which they relate is received. Grants and legacies are accounted for when the PCC is entitled to the use of the resources, their ultimate receipt is considered reasonably certain and the amounts due are reliably quantifiable. Dividends are accounted when declared receivable, interest as and when accrued by the payer.

Page 10

All incoming resources are accounted for gross.

Expenditure

Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding or constructive obligation on the PCC. The diocesan parish share expected to be paid is paid in twelve equal installments and paid over when due.

All other expenditure is generally recognised when it is incurred and is accounted for gross.

Fixed assets

Consecrated and benefice property is not included in the accounts in accordance with s.10(2)(a) and (c) of the Charities Act 2011.

Movable church furnishings held by the vicar and churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal are inalienable property, listed in the church's inventory, which can be inspected (at any reasonable time).

Assets are generally written off on acquisition and not valued in the financial statements.

The Bulson Hall had been valued at build cost and not depreciated over time. After seeking professional advice the PCC took advice to depreciate our Bulson Hall asset over a period of 50 years. A baseline date of the year 2000 has been used to begin the 50-year period of write down with an annual depreciation charge of £7,700.

A summary schedule of the fixed asset movement for the Bulson Hall and furniture is can be seen on page 16.

Investments are shown at market value at 31 December 2024.

2 Statement of Financial Activity (SOFA)

Where headings and sub-headings are shown in the SOFA, these correspond to the analysis of income and expenditure (pages 17 - 19) where a breakdown of the SOFA headings can be found.

3

Balance Sheet

The alignment of asset, cash and liability balances shown in the balance sheet to the Church’s funds can be found in the ‘Statement of Assets and Liabilities showing funding alignment’ on pages 20 - 22.

Page 11

St. Faith's Church Lee-on-the-Solent

Statement of Financial Activities

For the period from 01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024

Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment Total Prior year
funds funds funds funds funds total funds
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies 207,736.61 1,743.44 9,896.70 — 219,376.75 202,003.61
Income from charitable activities 16,718.73 48,087.21 3,844.07 — 68,650.01 74,292.60
Other trading activities 1,236.30 26,368.28 1,485.05 — 29,089.63 5,919.40
Investments 120.02 4,797.68 1,780.53 — 6,698.23 3,748.51
Other income 40.25 — 42.57 — 82.82 14,447.15
Total income 225,851.91 80,996.61 17,048.92 — 323,897.44 300,411.27
Expenditure on:
Raising funds 4,058.92 9,926.70 2,017.69 — 16,003.31 10,507.43
Expenditure on charitable activities 190,931.11 64,348.36 5,494.99 — 260,774.46 245,575.90
Other expenditure 1,145.00 3,276.86 6,110.00 7,700.00 18,231.86 55,041.06
Total expenditure 196,135.03 77,551.92 13,622.68 7,700.00 295,009.63 311,124.39
Gains / losses on investment assets — 901.79 — — 901.79 1,679.75
Net income / (expenditure) resources before transfer 29,716.88 4,346.48 3,426.24 (7,700.00) 29,789.60 (9,033.37)
Transfers
Gross transfers between funds - in — 8,472.00 4,500.00 — 12,972.00 46,080.24
Gross transfers between funds - out (9,972.00) (3,000.00) — — (12,972.00) (46,080.24)
Other recognised gains / losses
Net movement in funds 19,744.88 9,818.48 7,926.24 (7,700.00) 29,789.60 (9,033.37)
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward 62,772.85 87,934.85 59,660.55 200,200.00 410,568.25 419,601.62
Total funds carried forward 82,517.73 97,753.33 67,586.79 192,500.00 440,357.85 410,568.25

Page 12

St. Faith's Church Lee-on-the-Solent

Fund movement by type For the period 01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024


 Fund and type
Fund balances
Incoming
Outgoing
Transfers
Gains and
Journal
Fund balances
brought forward
Resources
Resources
Losses
Entries
carried forward
Unrestricted
General - General fund
62,772.85
225,851.91
196,135.03
(9,972.00)
—
—
82,517.73
Sub-totals
62,772.85
225,851.91
196,135.03
(9,972.00)
—
—
82,517.73
Designated
Awaygiving - Away
4,904.00
—
4,904.00
8,472.00
—
—
8,472.00
Giving
BulInt - Bulson Interest
18,189.22
1,745.00
—
—
—
—
19,934.22
Fund
DoorKJS - Door KJS
5,000.00
—
—
—
—
—
5,000.00
Fund
ParCentre - Parish
7,958.19
73,615.18
71,286.68
—
—
—
10,286.69
Centre Fund
RainbowT - Rainbow
3,768.60
2,595.70
1,361.24
(3,000.00)
—
—
2,003.06
Toddlers
ResF - Reserve Fund
14,860.72
3,040.73
—
—
—
—
17,901.45
ResFBS - Reserve
29,870.36
—
—
—
901.79
—
30,772.15
Fund Bulson Shares
Retention - Church
3,383.76
—
—
—
—
—
3,383.76
External Repairs -
2.5% retention
Sub-totals
87,934.85
80,996.61
77,551.92
5,472.00
901.79
—
97,753.33
Restricted
CandYth - Children
475.90
527.70
2,194.74
3,000.00
—
—
1,808.86
and Youth Fund
ChoirRobes - Choir
13.50
—
—
—
—
—
13.50
Robes
Chrlunch - Christmas
1,702.78
399.00
749.57
—
—
—
1,352.21
Lunch
Cuppa - Cuppa and
356.53
—
328.66
—
—
—
27.87
Company
Fabric - Fabric Fund
24,834.84
705.41
4,110.00
—
—
—
21,430.25
FacDis - Facilities for
6,250.00
—
—
—
—
—
6,250.00
Disabled
Flower - Flower Fund
459.57
1,185.09
718.97
—
—
—
925.69
Friends - Friends of St
4,672.67
5,820.74
3,678.77
—
—
—
6,814.64
Faiths
History - St Faith's
15.00
565.78
184.28
—
—
—
396.50
History Group
LJGT - Llywelyn Jones
1,034.24
30.63
—
—
—
—
1,064.87
Grave Trust
MESFund - MES Fund
709.42
220.00
863.11
1,500.00
—
—
1,566.31
MensMin - Mens'
200.29
100.00
74.31
—
—
—
225.98
Ministry
Music - Music Fund
649.95
70.00
107.78
—
—
—
612.17
Organ - Organ Fund
—
6,475.00
—
—
—
—
6,475.00
P-Planet - People and
332.82
94.77
171.50
—
—
—
256.09
Planet Fund
THDoor - TH Door
16,104.58
854.80
—
—
—
—
16,959.38
Fund
VicarsDis - Vicar's
1,250.00
—
440.99
—
—
—
809.01
Discretionary Fund

Page 13



Fund and type
Fund balances
Incoming
Outgoing
Transfers
Gains and
Journal
Fund balances
brought forward
Resources
Resources
Losses
Entries
carried forward
w4winLee -
598.46
—
—
—
—
—
598.46
women4women in Lee
Sub-totals
59,660.55
17,048.92
13,622.68
4,500.00
—
—
67,586.79
Endowment
BulsonInv - Bulson
200,200.00
—
7,700.00
—
—
—
192,500.00
Investment Fund
Sub-totals
200,200.00
—
7,700.00
—
—
—
192,500.00
Totals
410,568.25
323,897.44
295,009.63
—
901.79
—
440,357.85

Page 14

St Faith’s Church Lee-on-the-Solent

Balance Sheet

As at 31 December 2024

General Designated Restricted Endowment At 31/12/2024 At 31/12/2023
Fund Funds Funds Funds £ £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets — — — 192,500.00 192,500.00 200,200.00
Investments — 30,772.15 — — 30,772.15 29,870.36
Fixed assets — 30,772.15 — 192,500.00 223,272.15 230,070.36
Current assets
Stocks and work in progress — 1,562.25 — — 1,562.25 1,073.44
Debtors 3,816.25 — 187.75 — 4,004.00 1,341.50
Cash at bank and in hand 87,860.48 65,512.10 69,381.11 — 222,753.69 183,098.24
Current assets 91,676.73 67,074.35 69,568.86 — 228,319.94 185,513.18
Liabilities
Creditors: Amounts falling due in one year 9,159.00 93.17 1,982.07 — 11,234.24 5,015.29
Net current assets less current liabilities 82,517.73 66,981.18 67,586.79 — 217,085.70 180,497.89
Total assets less current liabilities 82,517.73 97,753.33 67,586.79 192,500.00 440,357.85 410,568.25
Total net assets less liabilities 82,517.73 97,753.33 67,586.79 192,500.00 440,357.85 410,568.25
Represented by
Unrestricted
Unrestricted - General fund 82,517.73 — — — 82,517.73 62,772.85
Designated
Designated - Away Giving — 8,472.00 — — 8,472.00 4,904.00
Designated - Reserve Fund Bulson Shares — 30,772.15 — — 30,772.15 29,870.36
Designated - Church External Repairs - 2.5% — 3,383.76 — — 3,383.76 3,383.76
Designated - Bulson Interest Fund — 19,934.22 — — 19,934.22 18,189.22
Designated - Church In Your Hands — — — — — —
Designated - Door KJS Fund — 5,000.00 — — 5,000.00 5,000.00
Designated - Parish Centre Furniture Fund — — — — — —
Designated - Parish Centre Repair & Improvement — — — — — —
Designated - Parish Centre Fund — 10,286.69 — — 10,286.69 7,958.19
Designated - Rainbow Toddlers — 2,003.06 — — 2,003.06 3,768.60
Designated - Reserve Fund — 17,901.45 — — 17,901.45 14,860.72
Restricted
Restricted - Children and Youth Fund — — 1,808.86 — 1,808.86 475.90
Restricted - GAMP — — — — — —
Restricted - Gift Day 2019 — — — — — —
Restricted - St Faith's History Group — — 396.50 — 396.50 15.00
Restricted - Llywelyn Jones Grave Trust — — 1,064.87 — 1,064.87 1,034.24
Restricted - MES Fund — — 1,566.31 — 1,566.31 709.42
Restricted - Mens' Ministry — — 225.98 — 225.98 200.29
Restricted - Music Fund — — 612.17 — 612.17 649.95
Restricted - Organ Fund — — 6,475.00 — 6,475.00 —
Restricted - People and Planet Fund — — 256.09 — 256.09 332.82
Restricted - Shed Fund — — — — — —
Restricted - Choir Robes — — 13.50 — 13.50 13.50
Restricted - TH Door Fund — — 16,959.38 — 16,959.38 16,104.58
Restricted - Vicar's Discretionary Fund — — 809.01 — 809.01 1,250.00
Restricted - women4women in Lee — — 598.46 — 598.46 598.46
Restricted - Christmas Lunch — — 1,352.21 — 1,352.21 1,702.78
Restricted - Cuppa and Company — — 27.87 — 27.87 356.53
Restricted - Defibrilator Fund — — — — — —
Restricted - Fabric Fund — — 21,430.25 — 21,430.25 24,834.84
Restricted - Facilities for Disabled — — 6,250.00 — 6,250.00 6,250.00
Restricted - Flower Fund — — 925.69 — 925.69 459.57
Restricted - Friends of St Faiths — — 6,814.64 — 6,814.64 4,672.67
Endowment
Endowment - Bulson Investment Fund — — — 192,500.00 192,500.00 200,200.00
Funds of the church 82,517.73 97,753.33 67,586.79 192,500.00 440,357.85 410,568.25

Approved by the Parochial Church Council on 18[th] March 2025 and signed on its behalf by

The Reverend Dr. Paul Chamberlain…………P. Chamberlain…………………………………………………………

Page 15

St Faith's Church Lee-on-the Solent Tangible Fixed Asset summary 31 December 2024

Tangible Fixed Assets
Cost
As at 1 January 2024
Additions
As at 31 December 2024
Depreciation
As at 1 January 2024
Charge for the year
As at 31 December 2024
Net book Value
As at 31 December 2024
As at 31 December 2023		 Buildings £
385,000.00
385,000.00
184,800.00
7,700.00
192,500.00
192,500.00
200,200.00		 Furniture £
5,719.81
5,719.81
5,719.81
5,719.81
0.00
0.00		 Total £
390,719.81
390,719.81
190,519.81
7,700.00
198,219.81
192,500.00
200,200.00

Page 16

Analysis of income and expenditure For the period: 01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024

St. Faith's Church Lee-on-the-Solent

Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment Total 2024 Total 2023
Income and endowments
Donations and legacies
Planned Giving 29,733.00 200.00 949.00 — 30,882.00 31,367.35
Parish Giving Scheme 101,059.44 — — — 101,059.44 90,390.67
On line Donations Gift Aided 330.00 — — — 330.00 35.00
On line Donations Non-Gift Aided 662.00 — 755.00 — 1,417.00 1,440.00
Church Contactless Donations 3,862.00 — 20.00 — 3,882.00 4,285.00
Friends donations — — 1,114.00 — 1,114.00 1,401.00
Messy Church — — 436.25 — 436.25 520.50
Open House Donations — — — — — 400.00
Loose plate collections 3,998.75 87.00 — — 4,085.75 4,583.60
One-off Gift Aid gifts 28,065.00 — 330.00 — 28,395.00 7,000.00
Donations appeals etc 435.25 100.00 5,142.70 — 5,677.95 12,962.02
Donations & Fees for Flowers — — 742.00 — 742.00 298.00
Donations - Lent Book 1,101.00 — — — 1,101.00 —
Donations - Start/Bible Courses 165.00 — — — 165.00 —
Tax recovered on Gift Aided Donations 14,548.47 — 187.75 — 14,736.22 12,641.78
Gift Aid Parish Giving Scheme 23,776.70 — — — 23,776.70 20,380.09
Legacies — — — — — 10,500.00
Non-recurring one-off grants — — 220.00 — 220.00 2,305.00
After Church Coffee Donations — 1,356.44 — — 1,356.44 1,493.60
Donations and legacies Totals 207,736.61 1,743.44 9,896.70 — 219,376.75 202,003.61
Income from charitable activities
Men's Ministry — — 100.00 — 100.00 14.80
Summer Fete 4,489.48 — 208.14 — 4,697.62 —
Other Fund Raising Events 1.00 — 2,928.42 — 2,929.42 3,932.30
Christmas Tree Festival 3,858.25 11.50 94.15 — 3,963.90 3,996.03
Seeley & Paget Conference — — 463.36 — 463.36 —
Fees for Weddings 1,043.00 — — — 1,043.00 1,879.00
Fees for Funerals 5,419.00 — 50.00 — 5,469.00 3,353.00
Church Lettings 1,908.00 — — — 1,908.00 2,379.00
Bulson Hall Lettings — 29,983.75 — — 29,983.75 30,791.30
Lowry Room Lettings — 10,238.35 — — 10,238.35 11,358.10
Rainbow Toddlers — 2,408.70 — — 2,408.70 2,019.10
Hall Lettings Fuel Surcharge — — — — — 1,539.63
Parish Centre Cinema Income — 4,573.21 — — 4,573.21 2,322.00
Parish Centre Other Events — 871.70 — — 871.70 10,708.34
Income from charitable activities 16,718.73 48,087.21 3,844.07 — 68,650.01 74,292.60
Totals
Other trading activities
Risograph recharge 998.80 — — — 998.80 1,153.00
History Book Sales 215.00 — 55.00 — 270.00 1,020.00
Parish Centre Other Events Private Party — 130.25 — — 130.25 —
Private Domestic Events Bar Sales — 5,169.70 — — 5,169.70 —
Bulson Hall Hire Private Domestic Events — 18,560.33 — — 18,560.33 —
Lowry Room Hire Private Domestic Events — 1,170.40 — — 1,170.40 10.00
Parish Centre - Bar Takings 22.50 1,337.60 1,430.05 — 2,790.15 3,736.40
Other trading activities Totals 1,236.30 26,368.28 1,485.05 — 29,089.63 5,919.40
Investments
Bank and building society interest 120.02 4,797.68 1,780.53 — 6,698.23 3,748.51
Investments Totals 120.02 4,797.68 1,780.53 — 6,698.23 3,748.51
Other income
Easy Fundraising 40.25 — — — 40.25 15.26
Amazon Smile — — — — — 25.06
Listed Place of Worship Grant Scheme — — — — — 14,347.65
1270 - Recycling Income — — 42.57 — 42.57 59.18
Other income Totals 40.25 — 42.57 — 82.82 14,447.15
Income and endowments 225,851.91 80,996.61 17,048.92 — 323,897.44 300,411.27
Grand totals

Page 17

Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment Total 2024 Total 2023
Expenditure
Raising funds
Online Fees 265.12 — 7.98 — 273.10 199.00
Online Fees - Parish Centre — 138.14 — — 138.14 62.58
Costs of fetes & other events 165.70 — 1,353.58 — 1,519.28 1,335.81
Summer Fete Costs 801.34 — — — 801.34 —
Christmas Fayre/Festival Costs 2,826.76 19.99 — — 2,846.75 —
Eventbrite Ticket Costs — 30.09 — — 30.09 107.69
Christmas Tree Festival 2023 Costs — — — — — 2,269.17
Seeley & Paget Conference Costs — — 184.28 — 184.28 —
Parish Centre - Bar purchases — 2,452.76 471.85 — 2,924.61 1,935.20
Parish Centre - Function Costs — 878.50 — — 878.50 3,552.12
Parish Centre Cinema — 2,239.96 — — 2,239.96 1,045.86
Parish Centre - Private Function Costs — 4,167.26 — — 4,167.26 —
Raising funds Totals 4,058.92 9,926.70 2,017.69 — 16,003.31 10,507.43
Expenditure on charitable activities
Giving - relief and development agencies — 5,054.85 60.00 — 5,114.85 6,976.35
Donation to St. Faiths — — — — — 2,000.00
Home mission 586.40 — 73.80 — 660.20 50.00
Secular charities — 268.01 15.50 — 283.51 205.50
Ministry parish share etc 120,094.00 — — — 120,094.00 120,052.00
Church Salaries 13,411.29 — — — 13,411.29 11,747.01
Parish Centre Salaries — 36,318.20 — — 36,318.20 31,601.22
Payroll Administration Fees 855.35 — — — 855.35 788.20
NEST Pension Employer Contribs Church 374.24 — — — 374.24 347.78
NEST Pension Fund Employer Contribs — 1,069.97 — — 1,069.97 936.51
Wages - Casual Bar Staff
PC		 — 982.15 — — 982.15 94.50
Wages - Casual Staff 27.26 — — — 27.26 —
Vicar's Expenses 1,114.40 — 440.99 — 1,555.39 953.15
Associate Minister's Expenses 588.71 — — — 588.71 537.86
Curate's Expenses 1,040.47 — 602.28 — 1,642.75 635.11
Church Flowers — — 599.31 — 599.31 950.58
Altar Requisites 1,404.14 — — — 1,404.14 1,757.44
Water rates - vicarage 84.59 — — — 84.59 118.57
Vicar's telephone 208.00 — — — 208.00 192.00
Education 1,250.00 — — — 1,250.00 182.79
Parish training and mission 3,180.49 — 581.83 — 3,762.32 1,282.90
Youth resources — 662.68 269.01 — 931.69 533.88
Messy Church Costs — — 693.75 — 693.75 760.10
Youth Activities — 279.70 963.18 — 1,242.88 1,072.56
Men's Ministry — — 74.31 — 74.31 —
Warm Space/Open House Costs — — — — — 118.00
Outreach Group Expenses 27.68 — 224.88 — 252.56 —
Church Insurance 2,337.10 — — — 2,337.10 2,303.54
Church office - telephone 114.15 — — — 114.15 —
Church Office - Risograph Printer/Copier 3,407.10 — — — 3,407.10 4,468.12
Church Office - Computers & Equipment 1,515.11 148.97 — — 1,664.08 —
IT resources - purchases & maintenance 69.60 — — — 69.60 260.60
PPL/PRS — 1,626.46 — — 1,626.46 584.96
CCLI 939.00 — — — 939.00 901.00
Organist & Musician Fees 8,910.90 — 80.00 — 8,990.90 8,206.92
Organ / piano tuning 1,690.79 — — — 1,690.79 752.99
Music Purchases 137.00 — 27.78 — 164.78 214.14
Church maintenance 10,070.69 — — — 10,070.69 3,258.11
Parish Centre Maintenance — 7,440.16 307.60 — 7,747.76 10,168.13
Upkeep of Church Grounds 54.98 — — — 54.98 2,731.55
Church Administration 5,703.99 — 31.99 — 5,735.98 4,067.56
Parish Centre Administration — 968.36 — — 968.36 1,050.82
Church - electricity 3,522.62 — — — 3,522.62 4,131.26
Church - gas 3,844.68 — — — 3,844.68 5,497.36
History Book Costs — — — — — 1,009.00
Parish Centre - electricity — 3,522.64 — — 3,522.64 4,131.28
Parish Centre - gas — 4,045.22 — — 4,045.22 6,624.84
Parish Centre - telephone — 168.15 — — 168.15 —
Parish Centre - water — 1,204.49 — — 1,204.49 1,065.30
Parish Centre Refreshment Purchases 10.38 588.35 448.78 — 1,047.51 254.41
Other PCC property upkeep 4,356.00 — — — 4,356.00 —
Expenditure on charitable 190,931.11 64,348.36 5,494.99 — 260,774.46 245,575.90
activities Totals

Page 18

Other expenditure
Verger Fees
Defribrillator Maintenance
Bank Fees & Charges
Depreciation Charge Bulson Hall
Parish Centre - Waste Disposal
Church major repairs - structure
Expenditure Grand totals
Professional Fees
Other expenditure Totals		 Total 2023
870.00
—
—
—
870.00
630.00
—
—
—
—
—
351.48
60.00
49.50
—
—
109.50
13.22
—
—
—
7,700.00
7,700.00
7,700.00
—
3,227.36
—
—
3,227.36
2,960.12
—
—
2,000.00
—
2,000.00
43,176.24
215.00
—
4,110.00
—
4,325.00
210.00
Unrestricted
Designated
Restricted
Endowment
Total 2024
1,145.00
3,276.86
6,110.00
7,700.00
18,231.86
55,041.06
196,135.03
77,551.92
13,622.68
7,700.00
295,009.63
311,124.39

Page 19

St. Faith's Church Lee-on-the-Solent

Statement of Assets and Liabilities showing funding alignment As at: 31 December 2024

Balance Previous
balance
Investments
6440: Bulson Shares - Asset
Reserve Fund Bulson
Designated
Shares
Investments
Tangible assets
6430: Bulson Hall - land and buildings - Asset
Bulson Investment
Endowment
Fund
Tangible assets
Cash at bank and in hand
6501: CAF current account - Asset
Away Giving
Designated
Children and Youth
Restricted
Fund
Choir Robes
Restricted
Christmas Lunch
Restricted
Church External
Designated
Repairs - 2.5%
retention
Cuppa and Company
Restricted
Fabric Fund
Restricted
Facilities for Disabled
Restricted
Flower Fund
Restricted
Friends of St Faiths
Restricted
Llywelyn Jones Grave
Restricted
Trust
MES Fund
Restricted
Mens' Ministry
Restricted
Music Fund
Restricted
Organ Fund
Restricted
Parish Centre Fund
Designated
People and Planet
Restricted
Fund
Rainbow Toddlers
Designated
St Faith's History
Restricted
Group
Vicar's Discretionary
Restricted
Fund
women4women in Lee
Restricted
General fund
Unrestricted
Agency collection
Restricted		 30,772.15 29,870.36
29,870.36
200,200.00
200,200.00
77,779.36
29,870.36
200,200.00
4,904.00
(683.01)
13.50
1,392.78
3,383.76
(43.47)
24,715.47
6,250.00
309.57
(599.09)
737.33
709.42
200.29
649.95
—
5,451.97
332.82
1,412.02
15.00
1,250.00
598.46
24,160.64
2,617.95
30,772.15
30,772.15
192,500.00
192,500.00
192,500.00
8,472.00
(345.06)
13.50
653.88
3,383.76
(372.13)
(3,179.53)
—
775.69
999.19
—
2,246.31
225.98
613.16
6,475.00
3,996.40
256.09
99.63
396.50
809.01
598.46
51,882.96
444.40
78,445.20

Page 20


Balance Previous
balance
6502: Lloyds current account - Asset
Children and Youth
Restricted
Fund
Christmas Lunch
Restricted
Cuppa and Company
Restricted
Flower Fund
Restricted
Friends of St Faiths
Restricted
Music Fund
Restricted
Parish Centre Fund
Designated
Rainbow Toddlers
Designated
General fund
Unrestricted
Agency collection
Restricted
6511: CCLA (CBF) Reserve Account - Asset
Christmas Lunch
Restricted
Door KJS Fund
Designated
Facilities for Disabled
Restricted
Reserve Fund
Designated
General fund
Unrestricted
6512: CCLA (CBF) Children and Youth Account - Asset
Children and Youth
Restricted
Fund
6513: CCLA (CBF) Fabric Fund Account - Asset
Fabric Fund
Restricted
6514: CCLA (CBF) Bulson Interest Account - Asset
Bulson Interest Fund
Designated
6515: CCLA (CBF) Llywelyn Jones Grave Trust - Asset
Llywelyn Jones Grave
Restricted
Trust
6516: CCLA (CBF) Friends of St Faiths - Asset
Friends of St Faiths
Restricted
6517: CCLA (CBF) Parish Centre Reserve Account - Asset
Parish Centre Fund
Designated
6518: CCLA (CBF) TH Door Fund - Asset
TH Door Fund
Restricted
Cash at bank and in hand		 1,186.68
310.00
400.00
150.00
(1,434.22)
(0.99)
4,584.10
1,903.43
1,305.66
246.00		 8,226.59
54,532.58
918.49
119.37
18,189.22
296.91
6,705.98
225.16
16,104.58
183,098.24
240.42
310.00
400.00
150.00
(1,434.22)
—
3,450.96
2,356.58
2,598.85
154.00
—
5,000.00
—
14,860.72
34,671.86
918.49
119.37
18,189.22
296.91
6,705.98
225.16
16,104.58
8,650.66
1,000.00
5,000.00
6,250.00
17,901.45
34,671.86
64,823.31
967.24
967.24
24,609.78
24,609.78
19,934.22
19,934.22
1,064.87
1,064.87
7,061.92
7,061.92
237.11
237.11
16,959.38
16,959.38
222,753.69

Page 21

Previous Balance balance

Debtors
Z05: Accounts Receivable - Asset
Friends of St Faiths
Restricted
General fund
Unrestricted
Debtors
Stocks and work in progress
6600: Parish Centre Bar Stock - Asset
Parish Centre Fund
Designated
Stocks and work in progress
Agency accounts
6699: Agency collections - Liability
Agency collection
Restricted
Agency accounts
Creditors: Amounts falling due in one year
Z04: Accounts Payable - Liability
Christmas Lunch
Restricted
MES Fund
Restricted
Parish Centre Fund
Designated
General fund
Unrestricted
Creditors: Amounts falling due in one year
Grand Total		 187.75
3,816.25		 1,341.50
1,341.50
1,073.44
1,073.44
2,771.95
2,771.95
2,243.34
2,243.34
—
1,341.50
1,073.44
2,771.95
—
—
2,243.34
—
410,568.25
4,004.00
4,004.00
1,562.25
1,562.25
1,562.25
690.40
690.40
690.40
611.67
680.00
93.17
9,159.00
10,543.84
10,543.84
440,357.85

Page 22