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2022-12-31-accounts

The Church of St Philip and St Paul with Wesley Scarisbrick New Road, Southport, Merseyside PR8 6QF

Annual Report and Accounts

For the year ended 31 December 2022

THE CHURCH OF ST PHILIP AND ST PAUL WITH WESLEY, SOUTHPORT ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Reference and Administrative Information

The Church of St Philip and St Paul with Wesley is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Charity registration number: 1155030 Official correspondence can be sent to:

St Philip and St Paul with Wesley, Scarisbrick New Road, Southport PR8 6QF.

The Joint Council (JC) arises from our Sharing Agreement on the building. In practice the meetings of the JC are very brief and deal with questions of policy regarding expenditure on management, exceptional expenditure, substantial capital expenditure on structural repairs or improvement of the church building. The Ecumenical Church Council (ECC) arises from being a Local Ecumenical Partnership (LEP) and is the joint decision-making body for the church. Those who served on the Ecumenical Church Council during 2022 until the date of approval of this report are:

The Rev’d Marie-Anne Kent (Minister) Mrs Margaret Harwood (Church Steward till April 2022) Ms Yvonne Sowood (Church Steward till April 2022) Mr Peter Jones (Treasurer) Mrs Val Jones Mrs Beth Matthews Mr Barry Stewart Mrs Anne Stewart (From April 2022) Mr Mike Swinnerton (From April 2022) Mrs Carol Newman (From April 2022) Mrs Shirley Potts (Circuit Steward rep)

The following members of the Ecumenical Church Council also make up the PCC

Rev’d Steve McGanity (Priest-in-Charge) Rev’d Rachel Bray (Curate) Miss Gail Rooke (Churchwarden) Mrs Christine Moyes (Till April 2022) Miss Margaret Moore Mr Mark Paterson (Till April 2022) Miss Samantha Ramsay Mr Jeremy Hooper Mrs Annette Swinnerton (Till April 2022) Mrs Helen Ball

Reader: Mrs Christine Moyes. Local Preachers: Mr Nigel Mawdsley Safeguarding Officer: Mrs Bethan Matthews Bankers: Barclays Bank plc, 265-267 Lord Street, Southport PR8 2HF Independent Examiner: Mr Stephen Hardiman Architect: NJSR Chartered Architects, 57-59 Hoghton Street SouthportPR9 0PG

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The day to day management control of the church is exercised by the Leadership team which is made of up of the Methodist Minister, the Curate, Churchwardens, Church Stewards and the Treasurer. It meets in the lead up to all Council meetings, helping to set the agendas and continue to develop vision. Church Council sub-groups covering different areas of church life, and on occasion special task groups, also meet during the year, carry out detailed work and report back to the council.

STRUCTURE, MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE

The Methodist Church Council (MCC) is constituted according to the Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church Standing Order 611. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure 1956. All Church members are encouraged to participate fully in the life of the church. The Property sub-group oversees building maintenance and repair and reports back to the Council. Individual members of the church councils receive external training as and when deemed appropriate eg Safeguarding training.

Risk Assessments

The ECC undertakes an ongoing programme of risk assessments to identify their major risks. Procedures are being put in place to manage those risks and minimise their impact on the life of the church. Action in the main areas of risk is taken as follows.

(a) Financial Risk

An annual budget is prepared to ensure short term viability. Actual results compared with budget are reported to every church council meeting (approx. 7 times a year). Investments are only made in approved low risk funds approved for charity use. All assets are insured and levels are reviewed. Best practice is followed for cash handling.

(b) Compliance with Law and Regulation

A procedure for recording accidents is in place and Church Wardens and Church Stewards have been briefed in fire evacuation procedures. We seek to meet the requirements of Health and Safety legislation and the Equality Act 2010. We have a fire safety officer and have continued to carry out regular work in the building to further comply with issued guidance. We have reviewed and risk assessed our emergency procedures. We followed government guidance for Covid-compliance during the pandemic, carrying out regular Risk Assessments, which have helped guide decisions about if and when to close the building for worship.

(c) Child and Vulnerable Adult Protection (Safeguarding Policy)

We are committed to following best practice with regard to safeguarding and child protection. Safeguarding is a standing item on our church council agenda. All church council members are required to undertake up to date safeguarding training. The Methodist Church’s annual Safeguarding Audit also ensures that our processes are rigorous and up to date.

(d) Operational Risk

Plans have been agreed with our Church School for services to be held in the school hall in the event of the main worship area of the church becoming unusable for a limited period. The use of the St Paul’s Hall would also be an option.

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All formal risk assessments are recorded and filed, and reviewed annually.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

The objective of the church and its councils in formal Church of England terms is “to cooperate with the minister in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical” (PCC Powers measure 1956). In Methodist Standing Orders it is the local church that exercises the whole ministry of Christ where it is and it is the church council itself which “has authority and oversight over the whole area of the ministry of the church”. In our experience as an LEP, these different ways of stating our objective are complementary. When planning our objectives for the year, the church council gives consideration to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance to charities concerned with the advancement of religion.

The church’s four key values continue to be: Worship, Belong, Grow and Serve. Our 2022 Verse for the year was Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14. We reflected on this at many points during the year.

Our priorities in 2022 were:

Factors relevant to the achievement of our stated objectives.

Feedback from the Church Review.

2022 has been a year of some rebuilding after the major impact of Covid on the life of the church. This will continue into 2023 as the impact has been sustained and significant on many levels, especially in regard to the scale of the pastoral care needs for both congregation and community. We have started to address how we might practically do this better, but it is challenging.

Feedback to the wider church about the outcomes from the Church Review took place early in the year and we continue to work to address some of those. For example, mental health was clearly identified as an area of concern within our community. Two facilitators have now trained to lead Kintsugi Hope well-being groups and they will begin to be rolled out in 2023. We recognized a desire to build stronger links with school and the wider community. In 2022 we launched a Thursday morning Tea & Toast initiative for school families. This developed in focus and action during the year and is being appreciated by children and families. It has been encouraging to receive donations from local supermarkets etc to practically support it. Church groups such as Tiddlers and Toddlers and the Friends Together groups have built up again and very much valued by all who come and we honour the leadership teams of these missional groups in the life of the church.

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Marie-Anne, our Methodist Minister was on sabbatical from May to the end of the summer. Rachel was priested in June 2022. We decided to experiment with Café Church in the Autumn and look forward to developing the model during 2023.

We held Spring and Christmas fairs which helped raise much needed funds, but were excellent events in building community within the congregation and encouraging many from our community to come through the doors.

Achievements and performance including review of charitable achievements against objectives

The following section highlights areas of activity and performance

Methodist Membership and the Electoral Roll

At 31st December 2022, there were 76 members on the Methodist membership roll; 38 Joint Members and 38 Methodist Members. One person had transferred in from another church, 6 people were removed from the roll, 5 become joint members and 4 members had died.

At 31 December, there were 103 on the Church of England electoral roll, 2 people had died and there were 7 new members.

WORSHIP AND CHURCH LIFE

In 2022, average attendance at Sunday Worship has been 57 adults and 7 children. For 10.30 baptism services the average was 79 adults and 9 children. We have continued our monthly midweek communion services and hope to grow attendance at these in 2023. We host a monthly 9am Circuit Communion service. In November, we hosted a Circuit Service which was live-streamed. We also took part in an outdoor act of worship at 11am on 11th November which included some of our school children. During the year we had 10 infant baptisms and 4 weddings. There were 4 church funerals, 1 Memorial service and 2 funeral services at Southport crematorium.

Pastoral care

As mentioned above, the extent of the pastoral care task is enormous and there are no easy answers. We stay in touch monthly with all on our community roll which includes a letter from one of the clergy and details of upcoming events as well as information about regular groups and events. Lyfe groups have continued to support one another in different ways and we hope to strengthen some of the groups in 2023. Links with local nursing and care homes have continued. Our Friends Together group for those who have been bereaved is very much appreciated and the Christmas meal in December, to which other older members of the congregation were invited was once again a highlight. Home Communion is taken out to some who can’t get to church.

Youth and children’s work .

Our Trekkerz group for the 3-11’s continues under the leadership of a committed team and is very much valued by both the children and their families. The Sunday@6 group for the 11+’s has grown and also includes young people from outside of PPW. A group of young people went to the Methodist Youth Assembly 3Generate at the end of September and was enjoyed by both the young people and the team of leaders. We plan to take a group again in 2023. Our Guiding groups have restarted and we hope that Girls Brigade will relaunch in 2023.

Church-School Partnership

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Our foundation governors support the work of the school and the Chair of Governors is a member of our Church. His membership on the Church Council continues to be an asset in strengthening church-school links. Marie-Anne and Rachel lead school assemblies both in school and in church and also go into classes from time to time to take part in lessons. They also meet half-termly with the Vision and Values group from school. The excellent Prayer buddies initiative continues and is enjoyed by both school and church. A member of the church also takes part in Sweaty Church. We honour the outstanding commitment and work of all our school staff during another demanding year.

CHURCH PROPERTY.

Internal:

The church has been maintained as necessary and to an adequate standard. We continue to be reliant on paid cleaning contractors to keep the building clean. The boilers and fire extinguishers have been serviced and the fire alarm system was serviced. The lift now functions well and is now subject regular checks under a service contract. We had a major leak in the hall roof during the winter storms. This necessitated an insurance claim due to the scale of the work.

We initiated a faculty for the removal of the remaining nave pews following consultation. This is to enable greater flexibility of use of the nave space for worship and other things.

External:

The repair and redesign of the front entrance has been delayed further throughout the year but it hoped this work will be completed in Spring 2023.The gutters were cleaned and a number of problem areas where identified which will need addressing further in 2023. The grounds have been maintained as necessary although the condition of the car park/driveway remains in poor condition in places. The gardening team have continued to maintain the flowerbeds and lawn.

FINANCE

Performance of investments

The return on our investments improved in 2022 due to the rise in interest rates. Interest received increased from £40 in 2021 to £1134 in 2022. The bulk of the interest received was attributed to the St Paul’s Trust (£952). The St Paul’s Trust is a permanent Endowment fund and the interest is added back to the fund. We are committed to restoring this fund to £100,000 by 2060 as per the agreement with the Charity Commission. Use of these funds is strictly regulated by the terms of the Endowment and cannot currently be freed up. Interest earned on our CFB deposit account (balance £13,000) amounted to £151 in 2022.

Financial Review

The General Account figures were better than expected due to a number of factors:

Income: Giving was maintained at a similar level to 2021 whilst other donations saw a significant increase. Other significant increases in income came from fund raising, weddings and funerals and the transfer of part of the flat rent to the general account.

In addition to the grant we have gratefully received each year from the Broadhurst Trust, we received a fuel grant from the Liverpool Diocese and a grant from Sefton Council to aid our Tea and Toast project. Overall income was up by £9,000.

Expenditure: Whilst expenses in some areas were higher than expected this was offset by assistance form the Southport Circuit and the Liverpool Diocese in the form reductions in the

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overall Assessment and Parish Share for the year. Total expenditure for the year was as expected, resulting a surplus for 2022 of £1,556

Utility bills are a major expense. The dramatic rise in energy costs did not affect the church in 2022. However in 2023 we can expect to see our electric bill increase by 27% and our gas bill increase by 85%. Careful thought must be given to how and when we heat and, to a lesser extent, light the building.

Restricted Funds Account .

The main activity in this account was the long-awaited transfer of the Rwanda funds to Rwanda (£4,525) for the work of the school run by Peace Ruzindana, wife of the former Pastor of St Mark’s, Shyira.

Building For Our Future Account.

This account is funded by the rental income from the church flat (48A Hampton Rd, above the school). The income is designated for the flat maintenance and church grounds maintenance. During the year the income was £5,225.The flat maintenance was £789. This surplus enabled us to make the decision to transfer £1,500 to support the general account and to purchase the new chairs for the nave at a cost of £1,140.

Grundy Homes Charity.

The church was approached by the trustees of the Grundy homes Charity asking if the church would take this back on as they were ageing and concerned for the future. This was agreed and five trustees were nominated and this was formally handed over in Autumn 2022.

Reserves Policy

We continue to aspire to hold £20,000 in our general reserve. However our current financial situation makes this impossible to realise at the moment.

Agent Transactions

The Church Council acted as a financial agent for funerals and weddings for the following people/organizations: The Diocese of Liverpool, the Church Ministers, as well as for the vergers and organists for occasional offices. Agent payments were directly passed on to the appropriate individuals.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE:

Areas for focus and development in 2023 are:

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ECUMENICAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF

St Philip & St Paul with Wesley GENERAL FUND Receipts and Payments at 31 December 2022

Income
Giving and donations
Tax efficient planned giving
Income Tax recovered
Other planned giving
Plate collections and other giving
Donations
Other trading activities
Lettings
Fundraising
Weddings & Funerals (net)
Charitable activities
Fees
Grants
Receipts from investments
Bank interest
Other Income
Other income
Total Receipts
EXPENDITURE
Charitable activities
Parish Share and Circuit Assessment
Clergy and LML expenses
Mission and relief agencies
Utilities
Insurance
Maintenance and cleaning
Major capital expenditure
Equipment
Salaries
Hospitality & outreach
Resources for ministry
Magazine printing
Publicity & communications
Admin & stationery
Upkeep of services
Governance
Accounting
Sundries
Total payments
Excess of income over expenditure
Balance b/f at 1 January 2022
Balance c/f at 31 December 2022		 2022
16,266
8,061
6,593
13,937
4,114
7,154
3,476
2,052
4,625
1,257
45,501
479
1,713
4,727
4,136
6,295
123
430
26
140
465
285
498
1,160		 44,858
4,114
12,681
4,625
1,257
67,535
65,978
1,556
16,446
18,002		 2021
22,019
8,126
5,935
8,992		 45,072
2,621
5,930
2,700
2,236
58,559
66,154
-7,595
24,039
2,621
4,312
1,618
2,700
2,236
47,792
382
665
5,604
4,029
4,243
0
190
1,184
0
35
0
252
393
92
501
379
413
16,446

Balance at 31.12.22 includes £10,000 designated building

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ECUMENICAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF St Philip & St Paul with Wesley RESTRICTED AND DESIGNATED FUNDS STATEMENT at 31 December 2022

FUND
Special Collections
Money given specifically for mission
Benevolence
To relieve poverty
Bible Reading
To encourage the use of Bible reading
Flowers
For flowers in the church
Disability
An RNID grant
Special Holding
gift
Rwanda
To build our Rwanda link
Traidcraft
For fairly traded goods
Christian Aid
Parish Weekends
Church weekends away
Building Designated
Expenditure on building and grounds
Children's work restricted
For children's work
Youth restricted
For work with young people
St Paul's Trust
TOTAL*		 Bal b/f
Bal c/f
at 1.1.22
Receipts
Payments at 31.12.22
0
67
0
67
2,041
129
196
1,974
28
162
170
20
114
0
72
42
59
0
0
59
370
0
370
0
4,521
96
4,525
92
268
0
0
268
20
200
0
220
395
1,870
1,590
675
25,866
5,342
3,451
27,757
2,648
17
0
2,665
2,215
362
353
2,224
74,700
983
0
75,683		 Bal b/f
Bal c/f
at 1.1.22
Receipts
Payments at 31.12.22
0
67
0
67
2,041
129
196
1,974
28
162
170
20
114
0
72
42
59
0
0
59
370
0
370
0
4,521
96
4,525
92
268
0
0
268
20
200
0
220
395
1,870
1,590
675
25,866
5,342
3,451
27,757
2,648
17
0
2,665
2,215
362
353
2,224
74,700
983
0
75,683		 Bal b/f
Bal c/f
at 1.1.22
Receipts
Payments at 31.12.22
0
67
0
67
2,041
129
196
1,974
28
162
170
20
114
0
72
42
59
0
0
59
370
0
370
0
4,521
96
4,525
92
268
0
0
268
20
200
0
220
395
1,870
1,590
675
25,866
5,342
3,451
27,757
2,648
17
0
2,665
2,215
362
353
2,224
74,700
983
0
75,683		 Bal b/f
Bal c/f
at 1.1.22
Receipts
Payments at 31.12.22
0
67
0
67
2,041
129
196
1,974
28
162
170
20
114
0
72
42
59
0
0
59
370
0
370
0
4,521
96
4,525
92
268
0
0
268
20
200
0
220
395
1,870
1,590
675
25,866
5,342
3,451
27,757
2,648
17
0
2,665
2,215
362
353
2,224
74,700
983
0
75,683
113,245 9,227 10,727 111,745

* St Paul's Trust

Permanent Endowment set up from proceeds from the sale of the land at St Paul's School. Some of the capital was used for the reordering of the church in 2000. The capital is to be recouped by 2060.

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ds 2,O22 2o2,-
Barclays GeneralCurrentAccount 18,002 L6,446
BraclaysBuildingForOurFuture Account 11,725 15,952
BarclaysRestrictedFundsAccount 5,253 9,672
MethodistCFBDeposit Account L3,O47 t2,Bg5
CCLAaccount held byDiocese 75,683 74,7OO
Totalcurrentanddeposit accounts 129,7?.0 129,655
Thisfigurerepresents:
UnrestrictedFunds
GeneralFund 18,002 16,446
Building&groundsdes 27,79L 25,866
TOTAL45t793 42,312
RestrictedFunds
Special collections 57 0
Flower 42 114
Benevolence L,974 2,4L4
Bible Reading notes 20 28
Children'swork 2,6L9 2,648
YouthWork 2,?Og 2,215
Disability Grant 59 59
ChristianAid 224 2A
Rwanda 92 4,522
Special Holding 0 374
Traidcraft 268 268
Church Weekend 675 395
TOTAL8,244 r2,653
Permanent Endowment 75,683 74,7OO
129,720 129,655