ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING
Held on SUNDAY 30[th] April 2023 at 1.00pm
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
A Annual Vestry Meeting - Election of churchwardens
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Prayers
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Minutes of last Meeting
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Chairman’s remarks
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Election of Wardens
B Annual General Meeting
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Opening Worship
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Apologies for Absence
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Minutes of last Annual General Meeting
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Matters Arising
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Christ Church Reports
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Matters arising from Reports
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Appointment of Auditor
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Report on Electoral Roll
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Elections:
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9.1 PCC members
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9.2 Deputy Wardens and Sides persons to be elected at PCC
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Any other Business
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Date of next Annual General Meeting 28[th] April 2024
CHRIST CHURCH MORETON
Annual Vestry Meeting 15[th] May 2022
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Opened in prayer
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Minutes of last year’s meeting are they an accurate record, yes agreed and signed.
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Elections of Wardens
Two nominations for the Church wardens, Steve Eaves nominated by Bob Holmes seconded by Les Evans also Jane Matthews nominated by Steve Eaves and seconded by Steve Smith. We affirm Steve and Jane as Church wardens.
End of the vestry meeting
CHRIST CHURCH MORETON
Annual Parochial Church Meeting
15[th] May 2022
Chaired by Revd Alan Ward, Rural Dean
1. Opened in prayer by the prayer ministry team represented by Lindsey Lawrence
2. Apologies for absence
Bob Holmes, Rachel Myatt, Kath Hotchkiss, Karen Alsop, Beryl Blackman, Doreen Bryce, Clair Culligan, Keith Culligan, Lynn Hindle, Martyn Hindle registered apologies.
Steve Eaves and Nick Alsop registered intentions of any other business
3. Minutes of the last AGM
All agreed that they were a true copy 25[th] April 2021, It was noted that at the meeting it had been agreed that the Auditor was Diane Topping, as she was unable to help us this year Anne Turner has audited the accounts, Alan signed a copy of last years minutes.
4. Matters arising from last meeting
Nothing from the last meeting to carry over.
5. Christ Church Reports
No comments on the church reports of the PCC, church wardens and Rector’s reports. Deanery synod report was handed round as it was not in the booklet, no further comments.
Electoral Roll report was given by Eileen Hughes last year’s total was 115, 4 removals, 3 additions so now standing at 114.
6. Maters arising from reports
The treasurer spoke about the accounts, we did end the year in the black by £400, the accounts show that the majority of the income was from donations thanks to all who kept their giving going. As we face the future with significant cost increases please continue to pray for our finances, we also thank God for his great blessings on Christ Church.
Vision Committee have been working on the way forward for Christ church and have worked on a five year plan
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Children and family work will be well established – to be growing as a church we need to pass on to the next generation and we do have a great opportunity with school
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Every member ministry – so involving everyone, but need to work out how we do this. The welcome team will be revived to build relationships with new people
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Stronger links with the community – we have seen a start with the work with Moreton in bloom we need to bring God into this work
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Finances will meet the ambition of the Church – in the past we have been blessed with the finances when it was needed ie the streaming equipment. God does provide but we need to think about God’s need in Moreton.
Preachers and leaders is another group that works in the background. The group looks at the teaching in Church and during the vacancy decided to work through 1 Thessalonians looking at how we can sustain ourselves and to encourage and equip each other. Over the summer we will be looking at ‘we is greater than me’ showing how we are stronger together and look at people in the bible who have lived out their faith. To go where God is leading and how He equips us for this.
Update on our vacancy, Lynda Jones and Steve Eaves are our representatives in the process supported by Helen Edwards of Simeon’s Trust and Mike Gilbertson the Archdeacon. A parish profile was prepared and in mid-April the Rectory was inspected where it was established that there is a lot of work to be done, such as a new boiler, new kitchen, new bathroom, new electrics, work on the roof and boundary walls. In total around £150,000 of work is required. The diocese now has to look into the possibility of buying a new home on the Jellico estate (Cadbury’s site) or to do the work. We can’t go ahead with the advertising of the post until a decision is made on the Rectory. The original timescale was to shortlist applicants by the end of May and to interview in June, but this has now been pushed to September interviews. It is usual for an interregnum to last around eighteen months we have completed our side of the process quickly and are ahead of the game, but we do have a delay now and we need to all work together and support one another and all pray for the right person for this post
Question raised about the value of the Rectory, this is a personal opinion and not formal but assume it would be worth about £300,000 to £350,000 in it’s present state and another similar sized property has been sold for £420,000.
Further question raised about clergy notice period, for clergy it would be three months notice to give, may be shorter for a curate, but will also depend on the Bishop’s diary to get the induction service booked in.
No further questions and we are encouraged to support one another, it is good to be able to understand where we are up to and we all need to pray about this.
7. Appointment of auditor
It is proposed to ask Anne Turner if she would audit the accounts again next year.
8. Electoral role
Dealt with earlier on in the meeting
9. Elections
We have four vacancies and four nominations
Nick Alsop proposed by Steve Eaves and seconded by Steve Smith. Mandy Smith proposed by Eileen Hughes and seconded by Ian Stott. Robert Holmes proposed by Steve Eaves and seconded by Barry Smith. Lynda Jones proposed by Jane Matthews and seconded by Les Evans. These were duly appointed.
We are hoping to ask PCC to co-opt Janet Broadbent on to PCC to enable the 9.00 am service to be represented and also to ask Pam Betts to take the minutes for the PCC meetings. Next year they will have been on the Electoral role for a period of at least six months, they can then decide if they want to join PCC as a full member.
We appoint deputy wardens but agreed to leave this to the PCC along with the sides persons appointments.
10. Rectors report
A written report was included in the annual report from Graham before he left.
11. Any other business
Steve Eaves expressed thanks to Jane Matthews and Debbi and presented them with flowers. Thank you to Alan Ward for his support and again presented him with a small thank you gift.
Nick Alsop wanted to thank the congregation for the support his wife Karen has received on her volunteer work with OM in Norway and please continue to keep her in your prayers.
12. Date of the next AGM
14[th] May 2023
Betty closed in prayer
Annual
Report
Year ended 31 Dec mber
s t
Members of the Parochial Church Council from 1[st] January 2022 to 31 December 2022 :
Rector Revd Graham Cousins (ex-officio) Retired 27[th] February 2022 Associate Minister Revd Debbi Stott (ex-officio) Deacon Revd Betty Turner (ex-officio) Wardens Mr Steve Eaves (re-elected 15[th] May 2022) Mrs Jane Matthews (re-elected 15[th] May 2022) Secretary Mr Les Evans Treasurer Mrs Lynda Jones
Other members :
Mrs Carol Allen Mr Nick Alsop (appointed 15[th] May 2022) Mrs Beryl Blackman (Deanery Synod member) Mrs Janet Broadbent (co-opted 24[th] May 2022) Mrs Clair Culligan Mr Les Evans (co-opted 24[th] May 2022) Mrs Jane Fisher (Deanery Synod member) Mrs Julie Harris Mr Bob Holmes (appointed 15[th] May 2022) Mrs Eileen Hughes Mrs Gillian Hughes Mrs Lynda Jones (appointed 15[th] May 2022) Mr Phil Jones Mrs Lindsey Lawrence (Deanery Synod member) Mr Phil Raymond Mrs Mandy Smith (appointed 15[th] May 2022)
Mr Steve Smith (retired 15[th] May 2022) and (co-opted on 24[th] May 2022) Dr Ian Stott (retired 15[th] May 2022)
Bankers : Santander
Custodian Trustee : Chester Diocesan Board of Finance
Christ Church and Public Beneft
Christ Church Moreton PCC is a Christian charity which undertakes a variety of activities in Moreton with wide ranging public benefit. The individual sections of this report explain in some detail the activities that take place (with statistics where available) and these provide public benefit in one or more of the following areas:
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The Christian faith provides a religious, moral and ethical framework. Christ Church PCC and the members of Christ Church seek to explain this faith to people in the parish and to live it out in their lives.
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The PCC maintains the parish church as a place of worship in the town and has regular services of worship, mainly on Sundays and in addition on special occasions in the church’s year, for example Christmas and Easter Week.
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The parish centre is maintained to supplement the church building in the provision of facilities for social care and outreach (e.g. Toddler group Tea Bar/Lighthouse, foodbank, family pack project and various clubs) and for teaching the Christian faith.
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Christ Church is available and well used for weddings, funerals and wedding blessings. The churchyard, though having no new burial plots or space available in the Gardens of Remembrance, is still open for burials and for the interment of cremation ashes in existing plots.
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Christ Church helps to provide moral and spiritual education of children both by helping manage and provide spiritual instruction for Christ Church voluntary aided school and by running Sunday school and mums and toddlers groups.
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The church and its members try to carry out Jesus Christ’s teaching to provide for those in need through giving away part
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of its income, by organising collections for relief charities and by providing assistance for local needs such as the homeless.
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The church has a pastoral care team which undertakes hospital and sick visiting and visits and assists those who are bereaved. A special service is held annually for those families bereaved during the year. The church also runs groups to help particular social care concerns.
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The church is also aware of working in Moreton and strives to ensure that its activities do not cause problems for people living in the area.
Essentially everything that is done at Christ Church is open to anyone who wishes to partake. Some areas of work, for example the toddler group, are necessarily limited to certain groups of people, but anyone who falls into such a group (subject to space being available) is welcome. Some parts of church services (such as taking communion bread and wine) are restricted to members of faith, but all are welcome to attend and partake in all services. Although most of those who benefit from the PCC’s work live or work in the Moreton area, some beneficiaries are overseas (eg the recipients of mission donations) or in other parts of the UK (eg UK societies assisted).
Most of those carrying out the church’s activity are volunteers whose benefits from the activity are incidental to their work. The Rector receives stipends on a national scale and adequate housing for the work he does in the parish, but again the benefits are necessary for the proper running of the church and are incidental.
The PCC are aware of the general guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission and this is taken into account in planning and operating the churches activities.
DEANERY SYNOD
As usual, the Deanery Synod met three times in 2022, in February, May and October to discuss matters of interest and concern to the Deanery and to share news and prayer for the parishes within Wallasey Deanery.
Over the three meetings, Synod engaged with presentations on a number of current issues:
Living in Love and Faith – aimed at helping the Church of England discern a way forward in relation to matters of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.
CAP (Christians Against Poverty) Wallasey – Shirley Bowen who heads up the Wallasey Centre made a presentation about the history and the work of CAP nationally and locally, and about future plans for a new Centre in Wallasey to support clients across the Wirral. CAP are looking for churches across all the deaneries to work together to support families and individuals struggling with debt.
Faith4Change – A regional Christian environmental charity, based in Merseyside, who helped Synod to understand the Church of England’s Net Carbon Zero plan in response to climate change. Faith4Change are working in partnership with the Dioceses of Liverpool and Chester and Harbour Project Management to support churches to become Net Zero Carbon by 2030 and to achieve an Eco Church award.
Deanery Synod also heard reports on the progress of Everyday Faith – the new name for the Chester Diocese initiative helping parishes engage in mission and outreach and all-member ministry, and the new Wirral Waters Development – a major regeneration project for the north-Wirral waterfront.
Synod members and their parishes were also part of planning for the very successful three Bishop’s visit in June. Christ Church hosted Bishops Mark and Julie for an informal meeting of church and community groups engaged in community action. The meeting acted as a forum for information exchange and to encourage co-operation and engagement for the future.
Debbi Stott – Deanery Secretary (retired Oct 22)
RECTOR’S REPORT
As Graham retired on the 27[th] February 2022, there will not be a Rectors report this year we pray that the next Rector will be in place for a report this time next year.
TREASURER’S REPORT 2022
The church accounts are included with this report. 2022 has been a difficult year for everyone, not only Christ church but our country as a whole, prices have risen due to the war in the Ukraine amongst many other political and economic issues, and although many households have seen their expenses increasing
faster than their income as a church, we have been blessed with faithful givers who have maintained their giving to the church. This has meant that our income has not significantly decreased from 2021, however our costs have risen leaving us in a deficit position for 2022.
General funds
We finished 2022 in an underfunded position
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the total income for the year was £88,189 (down by £658 on 2021)
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with the expenses being £86,084 (up by £3,330 on 2021) (excluding tithe)
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Total shortfall of £3,718
The PCC continue to tithe the income of the church, and this is donated to missions around the world as well as our local community. The tithe for 2021 was £5,823
Restricted funds
These are funds which have been received for a specific purpose and can only be spent for that purpose.
The bulk of the balance in this account, is accounted for by donations for training workers, children and youth work and holiday at home.
Designated Funds
These are funds which the PCC have designated for a specific purpose, but can be used for another purpose with the permission of the PCC.
This fund decreased in 2022 as the PCC designated money for redecorating the parish centre hall which was completed in 2022; the balance is made up from money designated for mission, our reserve as per policy and the annual Tithe.
I would like to thank everyone who contributed to and prayed for our finances during the year. I would also like to thank all members of the PCC for the careful and prayerful process they undertake with regards to financial decisions. As ever I could not undertake the role of treasurer without the support of Jane Matthews and Eileen who look after the fees and banking and Doreen Bryce who worked faithfully as planned giving officer, who is very much missed.
2023 is looking to be another year of increasing costs and uncertainty for all of us and I pray that God will continue to bless
you and the work of Christ church as we make our way through this year
Lynda Jones Treasurer
CHURCHWARDEN’S REPORT
We seem to start each Churchwardens report saying how tricky and difficult it has been and this year is no exception. The biggest issue this year has been saying goodbye to Rev Graham Cousins and, needless to say, we miss him and Gwen, we are praying that the next Rector appointed will settle in quickly and help us to move forward with our mission of making, growing and being disciples.
Churchwardens are called to represent the people of God, it is a spiritual and missional calling, and we would like to thank everyone who has supported us over the last twelve months as we encourage the family of Christ Church to promote discipleship, unity and peace. We also maintain order in the churchyard and church, especially during our services. We would like to thank our deputy wardens Beryl Blackman and Ian Stott for their work and support over the last year.
The Churchyard is in the hands of Wirral Borough Council and they regularly check the safety of the headstones and have ensured the safety of overhanging branches from the trees in the last year. We are still conscious of the covid restrictions and for 2022 have not bought back the shared cup at communion services. We have cautiously been opening up our activities, welcoming Foodbank and Wirral Debt Advice back. Leasowe Early Years run a toddler group for us. The Keep Fit class returned and, we now welcome Cocaine Anonymous, for their weekly meetings. Moreton in bloom are active in the local community and we assist where we can with their events and offer them the use of our centre to help them prepare for events.
In church the attendance numbers are dropping which is to be expected in a time of interregnum and this has also had a knockon effect on the amount of regular donations received. The Sunday club numbers are down, as are the youth numbers, and the numbers of volunteers offering to help in area’s such as making the teas after a service, flower team and the church
cleaning team. We do thank each person still on these rotas for the amazing work they are doing. We would like to thank Becks Eaves for all her work on the church face book page and we need someone to take over this baton. We also would like to thank Doreen Bryce for all her hard work over many years administering the planned giving scheme.
Please be praying for Christ Church in this period of waiting.
Jane Matthews and Steve Eaves
PCC SECRETARY’S REPORT
We began the year preparing to say our goodbyes to Graham & Gwen as they moved towards retirement and thanked God for their many years of serving the community, Christ church School and of course in our Church here in Moreton.
Despite spending the remainder of the year without a Rector, Church services continued as normal at 9.00 am and with the 10.45 am service also being streamed ‘live’ each week. The 6.30 pm service was not restarted as we would not be able to staff this service. The many activities in the Parish Centre have also continued with great success. The committees and sub committees have continued to meet throughout the year with bimonthly PCC meetings in the Parish Centre and the sub committees in the interim.
As with previous years, finances still continue to be a concern, made more severe by the unexpected energy crisis. One positive from this is the opening in December of the ‘Warm Hub’ in the Parish Centre for 3 days a week. This started in December and will continue until the spring. The funding for this is via a grant from Wirral Council and is run by Church volunteers.
Of course, without a Rector, it goes without saying that all the activities we undertake has meant a lot more work for the church members. At times we are hard pushed to have enough people to cover everything we’ve planned but thank God for his provision during this time and the hard work of all involved on keeping things going.
We thank God for the continued blessing of His work here in Moreton and especially seek His guidance for the coming year.
Les Evans
SAFEGUARDING POLICY
The following policy was agreed at the Parochial Church Council (PCC) meeting held on 12 July 2022
In accordance with the Church of England Safeguarding Policy our church is committed to:
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Promoting a safer environment and culture.
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Safely recruiting and supporting all those with any responsibility related to children, young people and vulnerable adults within the church.
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Responding promptly to every safeguarding concern or allegation.
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Caring pastorally for victims/survivors of abuse and other affected persons.
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Caring pastorally for those who are the subject of concerns or allegations of abuse and other affected persons.
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Responding to those that may pose a present risk to others.
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The Parish will:
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Create a safe and caring place for all.
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Have a named Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) to work with the incumbent and the PCC to implement policy and procedures.
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Safely recruit, train and support all those with any responsibility for children, young people and adults to have the confidence and skills to recognise and respond to abuse.
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Ensure that there is appropriate insurance cover for all activities involving children and adults undertaken in the name of the parish.
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Display in church premises and on the Parish website the details of who to contact if there are safeguarding concerns or support needs.
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Listen to and take seriously all those who disclose abuse.
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Take steps to protect children and adults when a safeguarding concern of any kind arises, following House of Bishops guidance, including notifying the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser (DSA) and statutory agencies immediately.
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Offer support to victims/survivors of abuse regardless of the type of abuse, when or where it occurred.
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Care for and monitor any member of the church community who may pose a risk to children and adults whilst maintaining appropriate confidentiality and the safety of all parties.
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Ensure that health and safety policy, procedures and risk assessments are in place and that these are reviewed annually.
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Review the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy, Procedures and Practices at least annually.
Each person who works within this church community will agree to abide by this policy and the guidelines established by this church.
GLOBAL MISSIONS TEAM
The purpose of the Global Mission Team is to encourage the Church family to engage with mission agencies and Christian Charities, and to pray for and resource where possible the specific agencies we support.
We began the year reduced in number, so our first priority was to recruit new members and we were pleased to welcome Richard Samples and Julie Harris to the Team.
The team met to distribute the tithe and welcome new members early in the year, and have remained active by email and zoom, sharing prayer requests for the various charities and agencies that we are each responsible for and investigating means by which we can increase the profile of mission in Christ Church.
As the year ended, we had agreed to approach a mission couple living and working in Siberia with a view to becoming mission partners. It is hoped that in supporting specific individuals and through regular communication with the family, the Christ Church can more readily engage with the wider mission field, and be encouraged to support them by prayer, fellowship and as part of our tithe giving.
During 2022, Christ Church has supported a number of mission agencies and individuals in their work but has focussed attention on 5 in particular. Tearfund, Open Doors, Bible Society, Samaritan’s Purse, Charles Thompson Mission & The Ark Project.
The nursing students we had been supporting through the IPASC scheme are now fully qualified and working in their respective communities.
It has continued to be virtually impossible to get any news from our link parish of All Saints in Bunia in the Congo because of the political situation, though we have continued to hold Reverend Japhet Ruhigwa and the congregation in our prayers as a team and through the intercessions rota.
Thank you all for your generous support both in prayer and giving that has enabled us to support global mission this year through the distribution of £6,820. Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters overseas, for the UK church and particularly our own Diocese of Chester.
Debbi Stott
With every blessing
FABRICS AND BUILDINGS COMMITTEE REPORT
The role of the Facilities Committees is to ensure the upkeep and smooth running of the buildings and equipment of Christchurch.
This year the Fabrics committee, assisted by our able volunteers, have continued to maintain and develop our buildings.
One clear highlight has been the redecoration of the main hall. Ever since the
café area was developed a few years ago, the main hall has looked tired by comparison. This summer, using funding from the PCC, volunteers from the church repaired and repainted the main hall in the parish and community centre. The hall now looks so much brighter and welcoming – as well as being thousands of staples lighter.
This year saw the Quinquennial Inspection, funded by the diocese, where every aspect of our buildings and churchyard were inspected by the church architect: Alf Plant. A preliminary report confirms that we have been taking good care of them all. A new feature of this year’s inspection is that, for the first time, a drone was used to take excellent videos of the hard to reach parts of the buildings, thanks to the expertise from our church family. Inspection of the tower and roofs using the drone provided a level of detail to the architect that would have required very expensive scaffolding in the past.
As the days became short and colder, thanks to a generous grant from the council, the café area has been able to operate as a warm hub for parishioners over the winter. Thanks to this grant we were also able to fund some improvements to the heating in
the café area, so that it was truly a warm hub. In addition, we have been able to purchase additional comfy chairs and round tables.
Finally, I would like to thank all of the volunteers that make this work possible. For those who help at the warm hub, working parties, the hall redecoration and perform numerous, often unseen (but welcome) improvements throughout the year. Without your tireless effort, we could do nothing.
Ian Stott
PASTORAL CARE MANAGEMENT TEAM
This year has seen the Pastoral Care management Team returned to normal service with regular meetings and updates.
The focus has extended to awareness of poverty within the community and the action of the Family Pack Project in providing entertainment, hampers and rugs to the elderly has been much appreciated.
The Warm Hub Project allows the Pastoral Care to encourage people to visit for warmth and light refreshments.
The overall work of the Pastoral Care Management Team is to provide prayerful help to those within the community who are suffering from illness, loneliness or depression either due to physical or mental condition but we do need the Family of Christ Church to bring people in need to our attention. All the work of the Pastoral Care is confidential and is carried out with the permission of the recipient.
In order to clarify the role of the Pastoral Care Management Team a booklet will soon be available explaining the work and the services provided.
Your prayers are required and appreciated for the team.
Beryl Blackman
PRAYER MINISTRY
Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God .”
Prayer continues to underpin all we do at Christ Church, particularly as we continue in vacancy.
During 2022, we continued to come together for morning prayer on Zoom on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with numbers holding steady at around 6 or 7.
With all Covid restrictions lifted, it was good to be back meeting together for monthly prayer meetings in the Parish Centre, with both 11am and 7.45pm prayer meetings starting back up again early in the year.
Numbers attending have fallen off, however, since we have been in vacancy.
Late in the year various attempts were made to vary the times and frequency with which we meet for prayer, with particular focus on praying for the process of appointment of a new incumbent and for the spiritual wellbeing and growth of the church at this time. These met with varying and limited success.
However, the prayer chain remains very active, and we have also seen continued engagement from the community through Say One For Me. Prayer ministry at the front of the church on Sundays continues to be a blessing to the 10.45 congregation, while prayer is available for members of our 9 o’clock congregation from clergy and service leaders.
Within each of these areas we are privileged to support those who come seeking prayer for whatever reason; to be making, growing and being disciples, through the practice and encouragement of praying for one another, and seeing God answer prayer.
I am grateful for the faithful commitment of the prayer ministry team over the past year, and encourage you to be praying for them as they continue to serve in these unusual times.
God is calling all His people to prayer, because he has so much that he longs to bring about in us and through us, both at Christ Church, and in the local community. Having seen him at work this year through prayer, will you meet him there again in 2023?
Debbi Stott
FAMILY PACK PROJECT
The Family Pack Project provides free packs of toiletries, children’s clothes and bedding, to disadvantaged families referred to us from schools, nurseries, community workers and other agencies who work closely with them. We also work with Age UK and provide support to those who are elderly and living alone in Moreton.
In April for the first time since 2019, we were able to welcome families back to the Parish centre. We provided free bags of toiletries as well as Easter eggs. There were refreshments and craft activities for the children. We had over 40 families referred to us but disappointingly less than half of them came. On reflection we felt that it was because there are many more local agencies now providing help to families who are struggling. Schools and early learning centres now have food banks available to parents. We therefore decided to concentrate our resources on the elderly whilst still being available to help those families in need who are referred to us.
We held an afternoon tea in September for the elderly and provided musical entertainment with the Poppies and Phil Smith also sang and did a quiz. This was very successful and much appreciated and enjoyed by all who came.
In December we also organised a Christmas party for them and provided lunch. The children from Christ Church came and sang some Christmas songs and Phil Smith again provided some musical entertainment and a quiz. We provided some Christmas treat bags for them and a blanket. The children from Christ Church School gave them cards and a decoration they had made. Again this was very much appreciated by all who attended.
We were very blessed to receive funding from the Co op Community Fund and Cargill who provided the blankets. We are particularly grateful to Chris Henderson one of our school governors who facilitated the Cargill donation.
In all we have helped over 20 families and provided support to 67 elderly people in the community.
Clair Culligan and Jane Fisher
WORK WITH CHILDREN/FAMILIES
TODDLER GROUP
The Toddler group called Fun Day Tuesday runs at the centre on Tuesday mornings from 9.30am to 10.30am. It is organised by the Outreach team at Leasowe Early Years and we provide the refreshments every week.
We have varying numbers attend from 7 to 15 parents with their children and it is enjoyed by all who go. We are able to advertise church events through them and they are happy for us to give out information or leaflets to the parents concerning anything we may be planning.
The Christmas party was very successful with lots of children attending and Alison Entwistle gave all the children a book about the Christmas story and a tree decoration.
We would like to thank all those who help with refreshments and chat to the parents and children every week as it means that we can have a church presence in this group.
Clair Culligan & Alison Entwistle
SUNDAY CLUB
Sunday Club has returned to normal throughout 2022, after the disruption caused by the pandemic. The numbers usually range between 3-8. The children are still taking part in the Family Service once a month and some of the regular Sunday Club children, joined in with the Nativity service in December.
The Scripture Union resources, ‘Bubbles’ and ‘Splash’ have been used as the main teaching material this year, with XStream being added towards the end of the year, as our established cohort get older. The literature focuses on sound bible teaching, which encourages our children to become disciples for God.
Flyers were sent out to all Christ Church pupils earlier on in the year, alerting them to our presence and inviting them to come along. Flyers have been put out at Toddler sessions. A poster was made and displayed outside church.
The children of the church received a grant to buy books this year and this has been used to start a small library, which will also be accessible to the Youth Group and Toddlers group.
Thank you to new helpers who have come on board this year, Roberta, Steph and Jo. Thank you also to Jill A, an established helper.
Jill Hughes
YOUTH CLUB
The youth group at Christchurch runs for 3 Thursdays a month during term time from 6 to 7.30pm. There is a regular group of 5 children who come, only 2 of which are regular attenders of Christchurch. The group has a great team of volunteers who work on a rota to cover each week and I am very grateful for their loyalty and support for our youth group.
The group starts with football in the hall and the option of games or craft in the drop in, Food is provided each week, there is a short bible message, on a relevant teenage subject and then the young people go to the youth room to enjoy table tennis, pool, game consoles and a tuck shop.
Its been great to see the children come back week after week and to have a safe space to relax and enjoy each other’s company. We are looking at ways of expanding the group and reaching out so that more young people can attend each week. We would appreciate your prayers as we seek to do this.
Lynda Jones
BUILDING THE CHURCH – OUTREACH & DISCIPLESHIP
HOME GROUPS
Christ church has a number of homegroups meeting at the moment and there are a few going still as you probably all know. We have three evening groups held on Tuesdays and Wednesday as well as two afternoon groups held on a Wednesday and Thursday afternoon all of which are well attended .
Since Graham retired, Debbi and Ian have sorted out our studies, which we all have appreciated, each house group can share questions and ask others in the group if we don’t understand or
help answer if we can. We can be praying for each other in our times of need and comfort and are also able to confide our concerns with our friends in the house group. So, the house groups are open to all if anyone feels they would like to join or just try one. Thank you to all the leaders for your faithfulness in leading your group.
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
Carol Allen
MEN’S BREAKFAST
Men’s breakfast continues to be an important part of men’s fellowship here at Christ Church Moreton. We meet on the 3[rd] Saturday of each month and enjoy a rather traditional full English breakfast, fellowship and a short talk. The continued success of Men’s breakfast comes out of our vision of Growing Disciples, through this ministry we have been able to spread the good news of the Gospel to mature and Christians and a good way of bringing the Gospel to men who don’t yet believe in Jesus.
After an enforced break due to Covid restrictions we enjoyed a full schedule of monthly fellowship in 2022. During the year we have maintained our numbers with 30 or more men attending each month from 3 or 4 different churches. We continue to encourage people to bring along non-Christians so we can help let them know the good news of the Gospel in a relaxed setting.
During the 2022 we had some testimonies from people attending Men’s Breakfast and a couple of visiting speakers too. We continue to be blessed with a great team of people who prepare the food so thanks to Les Evans, Bob Holmes and Ian Stott for their work each month.
Steve Smith
WARM HUB
Following receiving funding from the Council we opened up a Warm Hub in December 2022 in the Parish Centre, this included funding to upgrade our heating system, reimbursement for our heating costs, refreshments and keep warm packs for those
attending. The Warm Hub provides a warm welcoming space to members of our community 3 days a week to come and enjoy unlimited Tea and Coffee, toast in the mornings and a light lunch in the afternoons. There are newspapers, games, TV or just an opportunity to spend some time chatting with others. We have been blessed that a number of people have stepped forward to volunteer to fully staff the Warm Hub 3 days a week. This will continue until 31[st] March 2023.
Steve and Mandy Smith
Moreton Christ Church C of E Primary School
Together we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
On Monday 14th March 2022, to celebrate two years since the first lockdown, our whole school came together for an open air, collective worship. It was a sunny morning and Bishop Julie joined us, along with some governors and Reverend Debbi from Christ Church Parish Moreton. It was a wonderful morning of joyful praise.
After such a long period of children working in separate class bubbles, it was so important for us to reflect on our journey
over the past two years. Our supportive staff team have stepped up and done all they can to support children and families during this
challenging period. Our amazing parents and carers have stood with the school whilst juggling their own challenges at home, which has enabled the relationship between school and families to grow and strengthen in times of struggle.
It was really moving to bring the whole school back together so that children, staff, governors and our faith leaders could safely give thanks together on such a beautiful Spring morning.
In May, we had a blessed time celebrating Pentecost at Christ Church. Our ethos group led the whole school through Experience
Pentecost and were excited to welcome Bishop Mark, Reverend Debbi and a group of parishioners to school to share a special time of reflection and prayer together. Click here to watch a video of our Experience Pentecost: https://youtu.be/REutYFmmzK8 Experience Pentecost…
… with Bishop Mark! … with parishioners! …. with the whole school!
Christ Church enjoyed joining in with the Wirral Travelling Suitcase project as part of Refugee Week in June 2022. Each Wirral school designed a handkerchief of welcome to add to the suitcase as part of the project. Two of our pupils represented the school and turned their handkerchief into a symbol of welcome and hope for refugees and asylum seekers on Wirral. Their message reflected our school vision and values. The final piece was displayed at Wirral Deen centre for all to see and celebrate!
September 2022 saw our school family grow at Christ Church and we are delighted to have successfully opened a preschool in September. It is joyous to see such young children thriving in their
new learning environment. As the EYFS department has grown, we have developed our outdoor provision to enhance it and to ensure that provision is progressive for the children as they journey through pre-school and FS2.
As our school continues to thrive and grow, we have
established a new modular build on the back playground which our year four pupils are based in. This classroom is a wonderful environment for pupils to learn in.
We enjoyed visiting Christ Church Parish on Sunday 25[th] September for the annual back to school service. This is always a wonderful time for the church, school staff, children and families to unite in worship and to pray for the new school year.
This year, our children proudly led the congregation in singing, readings and prayers and the church gratefully accepted a beautiful banner that the children made in school to display in
the church parish centre for the local community to enjoy. The banner has images of our school, the church and Moreton cross with our strapline of ‘Together we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.’
Part of our school’s vision is to ‘serve the Lord with a heart full of devotion….’ Our year 4 children reflected on this and focussed the
Christian Value of Service to spread joy in the community. They went to Harvest Court residential home to spread some Christmas cheer! They
sang songs for the residents and distributed homemade Christmas cards. It was a joy to see the residents smiling and the children were certainly blessed in return by the joy this visit brought to the community.
Thank you to the church for your prayers and support this year. We are excited to witness more blessings in 2023 and pray that our school and church community continues to flourish and grow.
Annual Accounts For the year ended
31[st] December 2022
Chrfsl Church Mor•ton Balanc• Sh••1 Dec-21 Dec.22 Pthsh centre E3(X).(Xl). £3W.tKK>.IK) £18,&86_36 £5.895.62 £7.377.&3 £31.933.79 £35.59 £163.28 £5.3M.05 £40.tx) £2.014.10 CNF Deposit occount Sonlonder currenl account CAF Curent account CNF15hawlw5t ao daYCOunt ower fund Pelty c05h Grft reclaim Funerol Fee5 Debtors Prep(2ymenls Inle Jme £17.958.03 £5.626.79 £9.6Ct>.44 £31.933.79 5.5 £46.87 £5.514.57 £758.IK) £IA96.38 £690.71 se lo be reckjimed t7l.676.32 £74.06l.17 Cwr•n+ LlablMI•s Wething fees rec'd Fe owed "oce5e lee5 owed Shortfall in Pa[h Share Zll 7 Shorlfall in Pa[h Share X118 Shorlfall in Parish share 2019 Shorlfall in Pa[h share 20x1 Shorlfall in PaTt5h Share 27 £360.¢J) £io.¢J) 5.20 £1.935.46 £6.258A5 £999.06 £6.700.92 £0.00 £12.MS.90 £2.724.19 £1.(*5.93 £0.00 1£32.181 £167.C¥) 75. £1.9.4& £6.258.85 £999.06 £6.7(.92 £4.007.S8 £3.490.36 £985.44 1£431.301 £ico.c¥) £crua15 G05 accrud United ulililes Psh centre bohjnce Elec h£ciual £26.062.37 £33.17173 Lon t•wm Llobl £345.429.99 balonc• dlvrKls (Moln Accourti £297.214A2 £8.048. £3.4.[ £188.33 £36.n6.92 Bthnce of UreStricted hJnd5 Boknnce of Iwds IRe5fvicledl Boknnce of twds IFamity packl Boknnce of tvnds IDeary account51 Bohjnce of twd5 IDe5 aled £293.496.n £9.078.72 £3.358.03 £186.63 £34.7¢58.34 £345.429.99 TOTAL 8ALANCE OF FUNDS
Chrlst Church Morelon Accounts YID INCOME £53.673.55 £2.897.23 £10.626BI £14.874.15 £1.319. Pkjnned Giv¥ Cosh CltiOnS Income tox reliJnd5 Donations Hol He £53.W.77 £5.147.47 £11.470_15 £6.590.94 £5.095. £83.390.74 £81.7.33 £185.70 £3.055. £954. £4.{) £127.05 £445.45 £270J5 Bonk Interest Fuwal Fee5 Wedding Fee5 DBF unltrted gant The Teo B T<xJd hAens Breakf05t Fomdy Breakt05t Lod5 Lunch Open ChUh Event5 £79_61 £3.061.03 £1.411. £330.(0 £523.69 £256.Xl £667.éQ £213_2B £212.04 £48.C £88.84829 £88,189.75 EXPENDITURE 64% £52.67&76 £56.396.76 £436.03 £2.284.93 5.154.10 Parish Sh(we Rectc* Exper6es ond Phe RectcA House costs Curale Expen5e5 <wNJ Phc¥)e ChCh Vtilthes ChLwch In5uronce ChLTch pOIS ond Maw)t 5thKe eypense Children51y(MJth TrhDrk Flow5. pUICitY. Oeccwlion Copyrpght CenCeS Churchyard woter Gardening and w05te cc41ectic Parish cenlre Uti&ties Parish centre water Parish cenlre cleonerlcknning Parish cenlre par5 rTin1 Cleoning Fwd ICK centre OMKe woges Of1e stohonery oThY conwler teleFthon¢ £2.470.82 £1.389.63 £4.6XJ.94 £1.916. £2Tr.04 £40.66 £2.423.31 £4.795.74 £29J.45 £S4_10 £397.06 £603.12 %3_47 £725.60 £2.199.21 £4.9? £3.111.90 £1.037.17 £252.24 £209.06 £6.223.80 £1.524.37 £S25.37 £686.92 £4F2.61 £432.61 £1.757.83 £357.92 £2.773.12 £3.32 £48.42 £143.83 £6.583.97 £654.96
chrf Chvrch Mmton Accounts £111.87 OHice petty cosh ond generd eypense Toddlpr5 Mers LYeokfa5t Lo(lies Lunch Fomty Breokf05t Bank ch(xge5 Costs Irovn Restricted lunds actnI Chrst Church Sch expenses Event5 PTole5siond c0515 Cx)nations £128.84 £112.94 £333.45 £93.43 £103.93 £113S6 £127. £162.3) £118.&3 £3.0) £565.C E82.754.02 TOTAL EXPENDITURE £86.084.73 Account Tran ,657.08 rrlhe £5.823.12 £437.11 £54.45 Balanc•lty monlh W••kly Und•rllO¥wpdj (£3.711.70) (£46&70) £296.777.63 £88.848Q9 ££2,754.02 £5,657.08 OpeThrvJ Bnce Income lor Iho yeai Expenditure fu the ye(Y count tran51er5 £297.2742 .189.75 £86.084.73 £5.823.12 97214A2 balonc• of lunda (Main Accovn £293.496.72
Deslgnaled Funds account YrD INCOME .657.fy8 55iOnlTrf fund £5.823.12 £1.429_99 £3CM).O) £7QMJ.(IJ £866.98 £i.coJ.oJ L)0 Music goup Toys lu church MCYC sponscthip Irainiro fc* youth ond Chl¢Jen Parish centre decuatic ocy incorre IALI ME .12 EXPENDIIURE £10.9CI).LIJ sion¥ poyrnents £6.820.CO Hall redecoration Music g¢)up Toys fcy chjrc Training fu youth cl¢en MCYC 5pon5L¥5hip ohts in purish centreo £9CbS.71 £1.374.46 £180_26 £12 454.n TOTAL EXPENDfiuRE £7 781.70 L39.227.59 Opening bakjnce £36.726.92 £9.954.05 Income lu the ye £5.12 £12.454.72 ExpendtFure fc¢ tre ye £T.781.70 £36 726.92 Bala• of lunds
INCOME
£2.010.(K)
£874.65
Chlldr•n ond ltsmlk8swcx
Youm oonot
W
Walasey Deanery accounts Dac-21 *4COME Chthch dorbtstKY £13).CKt £0. IOTAi INCOME £120.( EXPENDinittE £0 09• 3 tsmQPS £121.70 £0. IOIAi EXPENDNURE £121.70 £1B8.33 £188.33 £0 £1>) Exp&ndSlwé fly th• £121.70 2198.33
Christ Church Moreton Balance Sheet
----- Start of picture text -----
Dec-21 Fixed Assets Dec-22
£300,000.00 Parish centre £300,000.00
£300,000.00 £300,000.00
Current Assets
£18,886.36 CAF Deposit account £17,958.03
£5,895.62 Santander current account £5,626.79
£7,377.53 CAF Current account £9,600.44
£31,933.79 CAF/Shawtrust 60 day account £31,933.79
£35.59 Flower fund £35.59
£163.28 Petty cash £46.87
£5,330.05 Gift Aid reclaim £5,514.57
£40.00 Funeral Fees Debtors £758.00
£2,014.10 Prepayments £1,896.38
Interregnum expense to be reclaimed £690.71
£71,676.32 £74,061.17
Current Liabilities
£380.00 Wedding fees rec'd £360.00
£167.00 Fees owed £70.00
£875.00 Diocese fees owed £505.20
£1,935.46 Shortfall in Parish Share 2017 £1,935.46
£6,258.85 Shortfall in Parish Share 2018 £6,258.85
£999.06 Shortfall in Parish share 2019 £999.06
£6,700.92 Shortfall in Parish share 2020 £6,700.92
£4,607.58 Shortfall in Parish Share 2021 £0.00
Parish share owed 2022 £12,565.90
£3,490.36 Accruals £2,724.19
£985.44 Gas accrual £1,085.93
(£437.30) United utilites Parish centre balance £0.00
£100.00 Elec Accrual (£32.78)
£26,062.37 £33,172.73
Long term Liabilities
£345,429.99 Balance of funds (Main Account) £340,888.44
£297,214.82 Balance of unrestricted funds £293,496.72
£8,048.80 Balance of funds (Restricted) £9,078.72
£3,435.08 Balance of funds (Family pack) £3,358.03
£188.33 Balance of funds (Deanery accounts) £186.63
£36,726.92 Balance of funds (Designated) £34,768.34
£345,429.99 TOTAL BALANCE OF FUNDS £340,888.44
----- End of picture text -----
i£o.ooi check £Q.CK)I -O.CK)I £o.(x)I
Christ Church Moreton Accounts
----- Start of picture text -----
YTD YTD
INCOME
£53,673.55 Planned Giving £53,083.77
£2,897.23 Cash collections £5,147.47
£10,626.81 Income tax refunds £11,470.15
£14,874.15 Donations £6,590.94
£1,319.00 Hall Hire £5,095.00
£83,390.74 £81,387.33
£185.70 Bank Interest £79.61
£3,055.00 Funeral Fees £3,061.00
£954.00 Wedding Fees £1,411.00
£420.00 DBF Unrestricted grant £330.00
£127.05 The Tea Bar £523.69
£445.45 Toddlers £256.20
£270.35 Mens Breakfast £667.60
£ - Family Breakfast £213.28
£ - Ladies Lunch £212.04
£ - Open Church £ -
£ - Events £48.00
£ - £ -
£88,848.29 80 £88,189.75
62% EXPENDITURE 64%
£52,678.76
£55,154.10 Parish Share £56,396.76
£690.21 Rector Expenses and Phone £436.03
£2,470.82 Rector House costs £2,284.93
£ - Curate Expenses and Phone £ -
£1,389.63 Church Utilities £2,423.31
£4,620.94 Church Insurance £4,795.74
£1,916.00 Church repairs and Maint £250.45
£229.04 Service expense £648.23
£40.66 Childrens/youth work £54.10
£ - Flowers, publicity, Decoration £397.06
£686.92 Copyright Licences £603.12
£492.61 Churchyard water £283.47
£432.61 Gardening and waste collection £725.60
£1,757.83 Parish centre Utilities £2,199.21
£357.92 Parish centre water £420.97
£2,773.12 Parish centre cleaner/cleaning £3,111.90
£350.32 Parish centre repairs and maint £1,037.17
£48.42 Cleaning £252.24
£143.83 Food for centre £209.06
£6,583.97 Office wages £6,223.80
£654.96 Office stationery and computer £1,524.37
£520.50 Office telephone £525.37
----- End of picture text -----
Christ Church Moreton Accounts
----- Start of picture text -----
YTD YTD
£111.87 Office petty cash and general expense £128.84
£ - Toddlers £ -
£112.94 Mens breakfast £333.45
£ - Ladies Lunch £93.43
£ - Family Breakfast £103.93
£127.60 Bank charges £113.56
£162.20 Costs from Restricted funds account £ -
£ - Christ Church School expenses £ -
£ - Events £118.63
£360.00 Professional costs £360.00
£565.00 Donations £30.00
£82,754.02 TOTAL EXPENDITURE £86,084.73
Account Transfers
£5,657.08 Tithe £5,823.12
£437.19 Balance for month (£3,718.10)
£54.65 Weekly under/(Overspend) (£464.76)
£296,777.63 Opening Balance £297,214.82
£88,848.29 Income for the year £88,189.75
£82,754.02 Expenditure for the year £86,084.73
£5,657.08 Account transfers £5,823.12
£297,214.82 Balance of funds (Main Account) £293,496.72
----- End of picture text -----
Designated Funds account
----- Start of picture text -----
YTD INCOME YTD
£5,657.08 Missionary fund £5,823.12
£0.00 £ -
£1,429.99 Music group £ -
£300.00 Toys for church £ -
£700.00 MCYC sponsorship £ -
£866.98 Training for youth and Children £ -
£1,000.00 Parish centre decoration £ -
£0.00 Legacy income £ -
£9,954.05 TOTAL INCOME £5,823.12
EXPENDITURE
£10,900.00 Missionary payments £6,820.00
£0.00 £ -
£0.00 Hall redecoration £906.71
£1,374.46 Music group £ -
£0.00 Toys for church £54.99
£0.00 Training for youth and children £ -
£0.00 MCYC sponsorship £ -
£180.26 Lights in parish centre0 £ -
£12,454.72 TOTAL EXPENDITURE £7,781.70
£39,227.59 Opening balance £36,726.92
£9,954.05 Income for the year £5,823.12
£12,454.72 Expenditure for the year £7,781.70
£36,726.92 Balance of funds £34,768.34
----- End of picture text -----
Restricted fund account
----- Start of picture text -----
YTD INCOME YTD
£2,010.00 Children and families worker £ -
£874.65 Youth donations £651.55
Warm Hub £230.00
Heating contribution from CDBF £1,217.72
£0.00 Holiday at Home £ -
£230.66 Flowers £197.50
£1,582.80 Shine £15.76
£180.26 Chairs/Furniture £ -
£8,748.75 Streaming equipment £ -
£20,286.15 Parish centre works £ -
£3,680.00 Covid grant Council £ -
Education Grant £600.00
£25.00 Gardening £ -
£28.60 Shoeboxes £12.30
£0.00 Christian Aid £ -
£459.23 Christmas card £174.60
Our food fund £96.69
£0.00 Church weekend £1,588.40
£348.73 through income £1,713.97
£0.00 £ -
£38,454.83 TOTAL INCOME £6,498.49
EXPENDITURE
£0.00 150th Anniversary £ -
£158.69 Youth work £492.15
£75.00 Training £41.90
£200.34 Flowers £389.07
£0.00 Foodbank £60.00
£0.00 Big christmas card £459.23
£1,000.43 Shine £591.11
£3,704.33 Childern and families worker £ -
£0.00 Church Weekend £1,277.63
£18.50 Cooker £10.00
£0.00 Shoeboxes £66.00
£13,481.31 Streaming equipment £ -
£20,286.15 Parish centre works £ -
£3,680.00 Covid grant Council £ -
£0.00 education grant £382.70
£0.00 £ -
£335.49 Through costs £1,698.78
£0.00 Christian Aid £ -
£42,940.24 TOTAL EXPENDITURE £5,468.57
£12,534.21 Opening balance £8,048.80
Family pack
£38,454.83 Income for the year £6,498.49
----- End of picture text -----
----- Start of picture text -----
£42,940.24 Expenditure for the year £5,468.57
£8,048.80 Balance of funds £9,078.72
----- End of picture text -----
Wallasey Deanery accounts
----- Start of picture text -----
Dec-21 INCOME YTD
£0.00 Church donations £120.00
£0.00 £ -
£0.00 TOTAL INCOME £120.00
EXPENDITURE
£0.00 Mileage £ -
£0.00 3 bishops £121.70
£0.00 £ -
£0.00 TOTAL EXPENDITURE £121.70
£188.33 Opening balance £188.33
£0.00 Income for the year £120.00
£0.00 Expenditure for the year £121.70
£188.33 Balance of funds £186.63
----- End of picture text -----