111 FRIENOSOF AGM 12" May 2024 Chairman'sAnnual Report This isthe Annual Reportforthe year ending 31"December 2024, the tenth fullyear8ince the Friends was launched. The charity has been established as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). registratlon number 1161272, with the following objective: to preserve and protect St James the Less Church for the benefit of the public as a place of worship and such other charitable purposes as the Trustees deem appropriate. A close working relationship has been established wlth the Parochial Church Council (PCC) to identify improvements and modifications to the church which are beneficial in achieving greater use of the church buiLdings for both religious and secular purposes. In addition, the Friends are involved in ralslng funds to finance developments agreed bythe pcc. Membership of the Friends is available to anyone who supports its objectives and is interested in furthering its purposes. General meetings of the Friends are held bi- monthly to which all members are invited. Members are also invited to take part in the work of the varlous sub-groups. The Secretary of the Friends also maintains a database of supporters who wish to be kept informed of the activities of the Friends but do not wish to play a more active roLe in the running of the charity. These supporters are welcome to attend all our meetings but do not have voting rights. AIL databases are maintained in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations. The three Trustees of the Friends are: Chairman, Trustee and Treasurer: Paulwhatmough Trustee: Rita Murphy Trustee: Mel WlnstanLey The contact details of all the Trustees can be found on the Charity Commission website or by contacting the Secretary. It is the roLe and responsibility of the Trustees to ensure that the organisation is run in accordance with its constitution and charity law. Charity No 1161272 Financial Review: A copy of the Financial Statement is attached to this report and will be discussed fully later in this meeting under the item of the Treasurer's Report. In additon in May the Friends received a formal request from the PCC for financial assistance with the roof repairs. It was suggested that the Friends might consider taking responsibility for the preparation and redecoration of the church which was estimated at £18,500. It was agreed to supportthis request up to a maximum of £22,000. Events: The first event of the year was the Afternoon Tea heLd at the church on 10" February. It was a great success thanks to aLI the hard work of the ladies of the Events Committee, Tickets were Limited to 60 and were quickly sold. We were entertained by the Ossie Sisters, a close harmony singing trio of which one member, Rhian, is granddaughter to one ofourfounder members. Colin Burford. Itwas Eunice Burford's birthdayon thatday and many members of the family celebrated at the Afternoon Tea which was to be Colin's last event with the Friends before he passed away in April. A total of £683 was raised on the day. At the end of April and beginning of May volunteers from the Friends assisted the Parochial Church Council with catering at the Wray Scarecrow FestivaL and on the church staLI at Wray Fair" a lot of baking, soup and sandwich making, washing up and hard work made for enjoyable and rewarding days. Our next event was our very first Plant SaLe & Coffee Morning held at the church on Saturday, 8" June 2024. Many of our green fingered members had been preparing for this occasion from the previous autumn and we had a large variety of plants on offer. We also had a couple of craft stalls and many second hand books to seLI. We are very grateful to Suzanne Wakeman for designing some wonderful posters and promotional signs which obviously paid off as we were somewhat overwhelmed by the response. An astonishing£1018 was raised injust a coupLe of hours and itwas agreed thatthis should become an annuaL event. Due to the repairs to the church roof and and the PCC beLief that work would be commence in the autumn. it was decided that the Friends would not be able to plan for future events at the church untiLthe PCC was in a position to clarify matters. The repair work did indeed commence in the Autumn and at the November meeting it was agreed that the Friends would not meet again until March 2025 when it was hoped that the Charity No 1161272 church would be back to normal. However the members of the Events Committee met socialLy in October for coffee, cake and chatter at The Bridge Tearooms in Wray. Although not strictly a Friends event in December the Friends organised a raffle at the community event, the Christmas Sparkle, held at the new refurbished Wennington Hall. A further £800 was raised with all proceeds going to the church roof repair fund. A few days later 21 members of the Friends met for a Christmas lunch at The Highwayman which was greatly enjoyed by all present. As a charitywe are indebted to the members ofour 100 Club and its administrator, Sue Wood, for ensuringthat our funds continue to grow to the tune of over £4,000 during the year and we are very gratefuL for her support and hard work. Outgolngs: The Friends continue to raise funds to assist the PCC with the repairs to the roof in order that the structure of the church may be maintained as a community asset for the present generation and the generations to come. In Memorlam: It is with sadness that we said goodbye to two members of our community: Colin Burford MBE was a founder member of the Friends together with John Holt. They both saw the need to engage with the community in this sparsely populated area of Lancashire to ensure thatthe church continued as a centraLforce forthe community. It is thanks to their vision that the Friends were conceived and CoLin guided us through the process of forming the constitution and becoming a CharitabLe Incorporated Organisation that was entered on the Register of Charities on 14" April 2015. Colin served as a first Chairman from inception to his resignation in July 2020. He continued to support the Chair and the Trustees until forced to stop due to ill health. Chris Berry was anotherwho was a member ofthe Friends since its inception and was instrumental in setting up and maintaining the website and marketing for us. He was always willing to give a helping hand when asked and, along with Colin, is a great Loss to our community. Paul Whatmough Chair Charity No 1161272 Friends of St. James the Less Re8lstered Charlty Number 1161272 Flnanclal Ststement 31st December 2024 Prepared and presented by: Paul Whatmough Coach House Wennington Treasurer and Trustee Friends of St. James the Less 10th Annual General Meetln& 12th May 2025 Treasurer's Re ort The Financial Ststements relate to the year ending 31st December 2024. The Financial Statements have not been independently examined because it is not a requirement of the Charities Cornmission. Friends of St. James the Less 100 Club Income and Ex endlture Year to 31st December 2024 2024 Income Monthly Membership 6175.00 Expendlture Prlze Money 2010.50 "Profit" to General A/c 4164.50 Balance Sheet at 31st December 2024 Bank Balance Less unpresented cheque Less Payments in Advance 2070.00 0.00 2070.00 Friends of St. James the Less General Account ncom• and Ex endhre Year to 31st December 2024 2024 2023 Income Wennington Hall Xmas Social Sale of Jam Plant Sale Afternoon Tea Lancaster Singers Donations Surplus from IIXI Club Lost chq5 by Barclays Bank Total Income 18CA).CQ 42. 1022.28 920.00 189.00 0.00 524.73 26.50 4137.25 353.75 4164.50 300 8602.53 4877.48 Exp•ndltur• Afternoon Tea Expenses Secretary expenses Pop up Gazebo Wennin8ton Hall Xmas Soc141 Tfr to PCC Lost chqs by Barclays Bank Total Expenditure 236.68 102.24 333.99 18(KJ.(KJ 122. 3LK).LWJ 2336.68 558.23 Annual Surplus 6265.85 4319.25 Represented by Bank balanc• blfwd Annu•l surplus 8•nk balance clhvd £22.072.53 6265.85 20338.38 17753.28 4319.25 21072.53