Parochial Church Council of St Parochial Church Council of St Swithin’s Church Lincoln Swithin’s Church Lincoln Report and Accounts Report and Accounts Year ended 31 December 2020Year ended 31 December 2022 ## **ST SWITHIN’S LINCOLN TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2022** ## **CONTENTS** Legal and Administrative Information Charitable Objects Resources and Financial Activities Vicar/ Chair of Trustees Report Ministry Reports Church Wardens Report Safeguarding Diocesan and Deanery Synod Reports St Swithin’s PCC Letter from the Independent Examiner Accounts Notes to the Accounts ## **LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION** The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Swithin Lincoln, Diocese of Lincoln. Correspondence Address: St. Swithin’s Church, the Salthouse, Free School Lane, Lincoln, LN2 1EY The St. Swithin’s PCC is a charity registered with the Charity Commission, registered number 1162338. St. Swithin’s banks with Natwest Bank, High Street, Lincoln. St. Swithin’s PCC Independent Examiner is Mr Zachary Ramsden FCA, 63 Deakin Leas, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 2JT. ## **CHARITABLE OBJECTS** The primary aims of the Trust are to promote the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. For us specifically this means we aim to be an Anglican church which plays our part in seeking to help people encounter the LOVE>of God, LIVE>in the way of Jesus and GO>in the power of the Spirit to see lives changed and communities transformed. We exist to be a city centre resourcing church. We are seeking to build a community of people who are exploring and going deeper in their understanding, knowledge and experience of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are a community of people influenced by Jesus. A community for whom Acts Ch 2 v42- 47 and John Ch 10 v10 has been influential in our desire to be marked by home, real and courage. Our hope is that: - a. amongst us people will find a welcome and safe place to explore faith and their own identity while receiving love, acceptance, support and encouragement in life, and that; b. we will be good news to the parish, city and region by partnering with others to see social transformation, and that; - c. in time we will be able to resource other churches and plant other churches thus passing on the baton. 1 In particular, though not exclusively, we have a focus on reaching the younger generations - children and families, young people, students and young adults. To do this effectively, we recognise we need a church of all ages joining, praying, serving and giving. ## **ACTIVITIES IN 2022** We focussed our activities and resources in 2022 into defined ministry areas as follows: - Alpha - Evangelistic outreach running in a variety of physical contexts in Lincoln, online and across Lincolnshire using technology to connect sites. - Rising Generations - covering our work with all under 18’s and families with children and extending our pastoral support into Lincoln College. - 18-25’s - Ministry work aimed at those in the 18-25s age bracket, including local students from the two universities in the city providing mentoring and pastoral support and regular ‘Gatherings’ to build social networks and offering quiet study spaces within the Salthouse. - Love Your Neighbour - outreach ministry providing food to those most in need across our city. The launch of the Love Your Neighbour Cafe on a Thursday. Continuous provision of mental Health Crisis support through the Night Light Cafe and running the CAP money course to support people out of debt. - Leadership Development - investment in leadership training for those willing to take a year out to go deeper into their faith and receive training in theology and leadership skills. - We also run a programme for young adults in developing their discipleship and leadership. - Midweek Groups continued to meet regularly in order to connect people for regular support, discipleship and fellowship outside of our regular Sunday services. - Services - three Sunday services providing diverse opportunities for Christians to meet and worship. We also continued to stream our main morning service online. - Worship - continued investment in developing musicians and technicians to grow our expression of worship. - Resourcing other churches through supporting them in development of ministry areas, in particular Alpha, Love Your Neighbour and Love Christmas. ## **RESOURCES AND FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES** The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 along with the FRS 102 SORP 2019. ## **STAFFING** In 2022, the staffing profile was as follows: - The Office Manager role continued to be partly subsidised by SDF money to compensate for the additional workload created by the church planting activity. - The Operations Manager role continued to be partially subsidised by the SDF Fundraiser role (1 day per week to focus on Fundraising). Claire Burton left the role of Operations Manager in September 2022 and this role was captured by the Office Manager, the Vicar and Church Warden Richard Lambert (at no cost) - The Caretaker role continued to be ⅓ subsidised by a recharge made to Croft Street Community Centre for his time spent there. - The Worship Pastor role became vacant in March 2022. The role was subsequently captured by 5 volunteers stepping up into leading worship and overseen by the Associate Vicar. - The Leadership Development Manager role continued to be 50% subsidised by the SDF and in October 2022 we secured funding from the Henry Smith Charitable Trust for running Alpha for 3 years (£17,600 per year). Amongst other things this will help subsidise the other 50% of this role for the next 3 years. - The Love Your Neighbour Manager role was partly funded by restricted raised income and through restricted income from the ACTS Trust linked to the running of the Night Light Cafe. - The 18-25s role was fully funded by the SDF to support the building of a student community across St. Faith’s Church & St. Swithin’s Church until September 2022, at which point it became partly funded by St. Swithin’s. 2 - The Parish Administrator role to help facilitate the work at St. Faith's Church was fully funded by the SDF until September 2022, at which time it became partially funded by St. Swithin’s. - The Youth Pastor role became vacant in September 2022 and was subsequently captured by Rev. Juliette Willis and a core team of volunteers. During 2022 - the PCC made the following appointments: - The Diocese appointed Rev. Juliette Willis and Rev. Ben Willis as Church Planting Curates at St. Swithin’s and St. Faith’s (job share). - We said goodbye to the 2021/22 cohort of Leadership Development Year students: Leah Crowder, Becca Tailby, Lauren Pipe, Hannah Peacock and Kathryn Marsden, as they completed their year with us and moved on to employment and further education. - We welcomed a new 2022/23 cohort of Leadership Development Year students: Alice Teuten (Community Bridge Builder), Cameron Ross (Rising Gens Youth), Dan Lee (Storyteller), Harry Tyrrell (Community Bridge Builder) and Katie Foy (Events). ## **THE SALTHOUSE** In 2022 we raised further grant funding towards the refurbishment of the Salthouse as follows: - £16,000 from the Laing Trust towards Capital costs. - £4,547 from the Hobson Trust for the purposes of buying an oven. This was purchased in October 2022. - We also received a donation of £1000 from Branston Potatoes towards the purchase of a freezer for the Love Your Neighbor depot. ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** Total income during 2022 was £476,168 (2021: £473,224). Total expenditure during 2022 was £408,127 (2021: £476,957). At the end of 2022 total funds (represented by cash and other assets) was £207,540 (2021: £139,499). Within these funds we had general total unrestricted funds of £101,863 (2021: £64,822) and restricted funds of £105,677 (2021: £74,677). We received a grant from Henry Smith Charitable Trust of £17,600 to be used for Alpha. We have to bear in mind that £11,995 of restricted funds year end balance relates to the church plant at St Mark’s in Grimsby and will be passed on to them in due course. Within restricted funds we have £61,094 available for Phase 2 of the Salthouse. ## **RESERVES POLICY** The PCC recognises the importance of holding in reserve the equivalent of three months operating costs (being salaries and building utilities) along with enough to meet our policy of each year giving away a 10% tithe of our unrestricted giving to support the work of other mission agencies with aims in-keeping with our own. This is deemed sufficient to cover the core activities of the charity should there be a shortfall in anticipated income. The figure for this is currently £60,000. The PCC also acknowledges in their reserves policy that they have a duty to expend any surplus income on activities that further the objectives of St. Swithin’s within the year and not to build up reserves beyond the operating needs of the charity. ## **VICAR/CHAIR OF TRUSTEES REPORT - Rev. Jim Prestwood** 2022 was the year that some sense of the ‘new normal’ began to take shape following the lockdowns and uncertainties of the pandemic. The first part of the year was very much about regathering as a community, reviewing where we had been and how it might shape the future and refocusing on the mission and vision that we believe God has given us as a church playing our part in seeing lives and communities transformed in Lincoln, Lincolnshire and beyond. We started the year with a sermon series ‘fan into flame’ based on Paul’s words to Timothy and held a mini 3 church day in March called ‘Refocus’ which as well as eating together included a number of small TED style talks aimed at helping us take stock of the last 2 years and discerning where God was leading us in the year ahead. This was a really positive event and so good to gather many together and meet in person. Regather and refocus have continued to be good words to sum up 2022, a year with some significant challenges as well as significant movement. The following reports give a small insight into many of these but to just highlight some of the headlines from the year. ## **Ministry and Mission:** 2022 has marked a change in our approach to how we gather together on a Sunday and during the week and in particular what it means to be a family on mission together. We began a journey of exploring what intergenerational worship might look like and this ‘Worship For Everyone’ theology, model and practice has been working its way out across all our services in different ways. This model of course needs to go beyond Sunday services and so things like the Big church lunch as well as Sunday connect, midweek groups, regular kids and family gatherings, youth on Wednesdays, The 18-25s gatherings, courses and of course Kingdom Come (the engine room of everything we do) have been vital in helping all ages and stage to Love>Live>Go. Love Your Neighbour and Alpha continue to be the main focus of what it means for us as a church to GO. Love Your Neighbour continues to seek to adapt to the needs of people in our city and the cafe in particular is becoming a real focus for many people each week. Alpha has continued to run here at St. Swithin’s but we have also supported other churches and worked closely with St. Faith’s and St. Mark’s Grimsby (our plant churches). ## **Finances:** We started the year with a forecast deficit of £70k in our finances between our vision and the projected budget. Through much prayer, generous giving, grant funding and cutting expenditure, it is with some relief and awareness yet again of God’s faithfulness that we finish the year in a good financial position. The work of those managing our finances is largely unseen but the work they have done this year represents a huge effort and many hours of voluntary time. It was also a real joy to end the year having received enough grant funding for the lift to be installed and for the kitchen to be fully fitted out and we look forward to this taking place in 2023. ## **Staffing:** There have been lots of changes in the staff team in 2022. In addition to the usual change in cohorts on the Leadership Development Year, we also said goodbye to Josh Rouse (Worship), Toby Harper-Lawrence (Youth) and Claire Burton (Ops). All three will continue to be missed and I particularly want to thank them for all their work during the pandemic to keep us worshipping, discipling our young people and functioning as a church. We also welcomed three new clergy to the team in 2022. Revds. Juliette and Ben Willis joined us as Planting Curates (job share) from HTB and it was a joy to see our own John Birkett ordained in July as one of the first cohorts of the Caleb Stream. ## **Focus:** After a couple of Summers of Focus online, it was brilliant (even if it involved camping) to take over 100 of the congregation to FOCUS - the HTB network Summer gathering. Even better, it had moved to Newark, which amongst other things, allowed several more to come and visit for the day. From meatball subs on the community pitch to worship in the big top, to endless football games on the campsite to late night conversations in the marquee, it was so good to spend time together as a church family and as part of the wider network of which we are a part. 4 ## **Christmas:** We ended the year on a high and with a momentum that has been lacking the last couple of years. Several packed events and services - from the Love Christmas annual fundraising quiz to Jazz Carols to Youth ice skating trips as well as a number of carol services held at St. Faith’s - meant that we were able to gather, invite friends and neighbours and welcome many from the community into our churches. ## **Church Planting:** It has been great to see both St. Mark’s, Grimsby and St. Faith’s, Lincoln grow and develop over the last 12 months. Whether new Alpha courses and a thriving toddler group in Grimsby or the inaugural Beer Festival and a packed fireworks 4:15 service at St. Faith’s, we continue to seek to be generous with the resources God has given us to see lives and communities transformed beyond St. Swithin’s. ## **Looking forward to 2023:** We begin 2023 in what feels like a more stable position than in 2022! As we end 2022 we are seeing shoots of growth again in all our ministries and services. For example, Babyccinos is regularly seeing over 40 families attending, our 10:15 service is pretty much at capacity and giving is on the increase. What gives me the most hope and anticipation for the year ahead where we see more of God at work is the momentum that has been building in our Kingdom Come evenings - a monthly evening of prayer and worship. This is a move that is truly being led by the younger generations in our church family and it’s humbling to see 15 year olds share words of knowledge and testimony which have helped inform our prayers and our vision as a church. If there’s one thing I would want to encourage people to do in 2023 (as indeed our Church Wardens do elsewhere in this report) it would be to come and pray for an evening once a month as a church family. ## **Final Thanks:** There are so many people who are each playing their unique part that result in all of what you read in these reports. I want to end by thanking each and every person who makes up the family here at St. Swithin’s. Putting a report together like this makes one pause and stand back for a moment and when you do, it’s truly mind-blowing to see all that God is doing in and through you. A report like this can run the risk of putting the emphasis on the church as an organisation. I hope though that what you begin to see and get a sense of in both reading this report and in being a part of the family here, is that the emphasis is on Jesus. That’s why we are here, that’s why we are a family; so that people would encounter the LOVE of the Father, learn to LIVE like Jesus and GO in the power of the Holy Spirit to see lives and communities transformed. ## **MINISTRY REPORTS** Through 2022 we have been continuing to adapt and change as a church as we continue to respond to the aftermath of the pandemic and its many effects and implications. Namely to try and meet the ever changing shape of the needs in our city (GO), the ways we help resource and nurture people in their discipleship (LIVE) and the way we gather and engage together as a worshipping community (LOVE). Key parts of this have involved hybrid Alpha and Love Your Neighbour as well as other ministries in support of our regular worshipping community that has grown to 400 over the past eight years. ## **ALPHA - Beth Harris** It’s been great to run Alpha in person each term this year. As always, we ran our central course in January, May and October. This enables us to build momentum as the guests often either come back on the next course to find out a bit more, join a team and become a group helper on the next course or invite someone along. We’ve continued to experiment with Live-streaming Alpha to see what opportunities it opens up. We’ve worked with St Mark’s, Grimsby and St Faith’s, Lincoln, taking it in turns to live-stream from each location. This has enabled us to share resources, taking the pressure off the worship team for example, but also to trial it as a model for other churches across the diocese as an easy way to get Alpha going in their location. Scampton church did just that, meeting in someone’s living room, they connected into the livestream so all they needed to do was gather guests, provide hospitality and lead the group discussion. 5 As part of each course, all the locations joined together for an away day, we alternated between gathering at The Salthouse and St Mark’s Grimsby. The day gave the guests time and space to think about and encounter the Holy Spirit. It was great to have the opportunity to pray for the guests. We ran a taster evening in January on a Saturday event, an event with live music, a quiz and a bar, something that was an easy invite and then we invited the guests to Alpha during the evening. Here is one of our guests experience of Alpha (who has gone on to join the Alpha team): _“I initially came to Alpha through a taster evening with a friend and decided to see what it was about because I’d had a history of going to church but not really feeling like it was necessarily the right place for me. I would say the journey I’ve been on through alpha I’ve seen a really big transformation in myself in every sense of the word. My faith feels renewed and my connection to God is so prevalent in my life. I know that whatever the world has to throw my way I can handle it because I have my faith.”_ During the year we’ve run 5 courses which have included 48 sign ups for the Salthouse, 10 online and 30 at St. Faith’s. We’ve seen 11 guests regularly attending services, getting stuck into midweek groups and team. We asked the guests how they heard about Alpha, this was their response: We continue to see that person to person invites, either through word of mouth or inviting friends, family or colleagues brings in the most guests to Alpha, closely followed by church services, so as we seek to grow Alpha one of the challenges is to encourage and equip us as a congregation and the guests just finishing alpha to invite others. We have the capacity in terms of space for a bigger Alpha, but in order to grow we also need to increase the size of the team and include more hosts and helpers outside of 18-25’s, and a kitchen to be able to provide enough food! ## **COLLEGE ALPHA - Rev. Ben Brady** We continue to provide the Chaplaincy at Lincoln College. As part of this service, we run Youth Alpha sessions weekly on Wednesdays, each term. We spend the first few weeks introducing ourselves and chatting to students in the common room. The group size allows an opportunity for students to reflect and share their thoughts on faith and Christianity. We facilitate Youth Alpha in the Common room, known as the ‘Well-being Hub” so even those who are not sitting with us can still see the videos. There are questions during the video and we have overheard groups discussing the questions between them. Due to the impact of COVID and lockdown, many students and staff are finding it helpful to have a listening ear. The issues faced by the staff have intensified, from students suffering with social anxiety to suicidal attitudes and self-harming. A member of staff said that “this place needs prayers”. 6 We offer small services around special events. This year we led an act of Remembrance that was well attended. As a team, we continue to build links with the College staff team. They attended as a team to the quiz fundraiser for Love Your Neighbour and won! ## **CHURCH PLANTING AND RESOURCING THE URBAN CHURCH - Rev. Jim Prestwood** 2022 has been a year of supporting and embedding the two churches we planted into in 2021. St. Mark’s Grimsby continues to grow and develop under the leadership of Rev. Matt Rodgers and his team, and we work closely with them informally in a variety of ways ranging from joint staff days, training and prayer to organising joint youth residentials. St. Faith’s is a different model and is also our neighbouring parish and so St. Swithin’s work much more hands on with St. Faith’s, with many of the team and some of the congregations working and worshipping across both churches. We have used the term ‘one family, two churches’ to try and express this. In particular the partnership around the 4:15 service has been really fruitful with over an average of 100 school children, parents and others from the West End attending the monthly interactive service each month. We have also welcomed Rev Juliette Willis and Rev Ben WIllis as planting curates who will lead the next plant from St. Swithin’s as part of the Resourcing Urban Church project. ## **MIDWEEK GROUPS - Rev. Jim Prestwood** Our aim is for St. Swithin’s to be a church ‘of’ small groups as opposed to a church ‘with’ small groups and it has been good to see this develop over the last 12 months. At any one time there have been up to 12 midweek groups meeting at any point throughout 2022 with several other smaller groups of people meeting together for prayer and support and friendship. These groups have been geographically spread, some in person and some online. Some of these have been a bit more age or stage specific, but on the whole we have moved in 2022 to trying to encourage a real mix of ages and stages as we continue to develop a ‘worship for everyone’ model across the church. These groups meet anywhere between weekly to monthly with the content varying from group to group. Central resources following the Sunday sermon series were provided at certain times e.g. Lent, and at other times midweek groups have been encouraged to come and meet centrally with others. These groups have been a lifeline for some, and the support and pastoral care afforded by the leaders and the groups themselves should not be underestimated. As we look to the future, we recognise we need to do some more work to strengthen the groups we have, multiply new groups and help those who find it tricky to connect midweek to be pastored and discipled **.** ## **LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT - Beth Harris** We have continued to offer our Leadership Development Year, which runs from Sept - July. In July we said goodbye to our five LDY’ers who had been involved in Rising Gens, Storytelling, Love Your Neighbour and 18-25’s. Throughout the year they got stuck into these ministries, working alongside volunteer teams and making lots of things happen. They also took part in weekly training sessions in theology and leadership to equip them for the role but also for the future. They went on to do teaching training, nursing and a job in community theatre. In September, we accepted five new LDY’ers who are involved in Love Your Neighbour, Storytelling, Events and Rising Gens. They are learning about how the ministries run and gradually beginning to lead themselves. We continued to run the Leadership Stream with a cohort of 8, running monthly training sessions on leadership and encouraging them to put what they were learning into practice in their ministry areas. They finished in June. We also continued with the youth leadership stream, encouraging 4 of the youth to think about how they can lead others as they served in their different ministry areas. ## **LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR - Paul Epton** Love Your Neighbour has continued to expand throughout 2022 with a particular focus on meeting the challenges presented post pandemic. 7 We continue to run our food depot, and have now produced over 6,000 food parcels for households in need across Lincoln since the start of the pandemic. Many of the people we support have been directly referred to us by schools, and we continue to have close relationships with St. Faith’s Infants School, St. Faith’s and St. Martin’s Junior School, Bishop King Primary School, St. Peter at Gowts Primary School and Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School. Several of the schools now regularly partner with us to collect food through donations from staff and parents, and we’re grateful in particular to Dunholme St. Chad’s Primary School and Nettleham Junior School for their regular donations. In addition, this year we have made an increased effort to encourage collections of parcels from the Salthouse and St. Faith’s Church, so that we can reduce the number of deliveries we have to do each week and build relationships with the recipients. A big success this year has been the launch of the Love Your Neighbour Cafe, taking place every Thursday morning at the Salthouse. It has proven to be a great way of getting to know a wide array of people in the local community, including some of the families to whom we were delivering food parcels, as well as a growing community of Ukrainians. Visitors now come in to collect their parcel, whilst enjoying coffee, cake , baked potato lunch and a bit of company in a relaxed atmosphere. We have found it a great way to get alongside people, to actually get to know them better, and to support them more thoroughly as we get to understand more about their individual needs. One of our participants said: _“I regularly go to the LYN cafe on a Thursday. As a newcomer to the city it has been invaluable in meeting local people. I occasionally receive a food parcel as things are tight, but the cake and coffee is always welcome. I have become very fond of the people who serve, and it is great to see familiar, friendly faces. Without the cafe life would be much harder and I love my Thursday mornings.”_ We are pleased to have seen cafe guests move onto being involved in other ministries and activities, such as Alpha and Sunday services, as well as themselves serving on the team. We have also aligned other courses alongside the cafe to increase the impact, with one such course being CAP Money, and it has proved to be a success. Over the course of the year, we have run several CAP Money courses and have seen 28 people complete the course, including 7 young adults from our specific 18-25’s course. In order to increase our provision of mental health support, in October we launched our first Kintsugi Hope wellbeing group. One of our participants said, _“Kintsugi was a real help and I miss it. It takes a lot to open up, but this group was so friendly, welcoming and like family. I hope the group continues."_ We continue to run the Night Light Cafe every Saturday night as part of a network of churches in the city supporting people who are finding life difficult (specifically regarding poor mental health). We have stopped making phone calls as per the directive of the central Night Light team, and have seen an increased number of guests in person, with 2 or 3 regulars each week on top of adhoc guests, and we are actively seeking to increase awareness of the service. As in previous years we participated in Love Christmas and stretched ourselves to produce 500 bags of kindness which were distributed to people in need across the city. We partnered with a number of clubs, churches, schools and businesses to create donation stations and had a hugely successful fundraising quiz at the end of November which helped ensure we were able to create some brilliant bags. We couldn’t do what we’ve done this year without an excellent team of volunteers giving their time and energy, which has not only been helpful for those who benefit from the various ministries of LYN, but also for our volunteers themselves. One volunteer commented, _“Helping at the depot has given me back some purpose in my life, a bit of routine, new friends and a sense that even though the LYN food parcels are a small contribution to the vast need in our country at the moment, I am actually helping to make a tiny bit of difference to the families LYN helps.”_ Finally, as a team we are particularly grateful to our LDYers, with Leah Crowder serving brilliantly in 2021/22 and Harry Tyrrell and Alice Teuten continuing her good work in 2022/23. 8 ## **2022 - Activity Stats (as at 27/11/22)** ||| |---|---| |Food parcels delivered/collected|1865| |Night Light Cafe Guests|126| |CAP Money Participants|28| |Kintsugi Hope Participants|5| |LYN Cafe Guests/Visits|632| |Love Christmas bags of kindness|500| |Regular volunteers (not inc. Love Christmas)|43| ## **18-25S - Mads Baker** Reaching students and young adults is key anywhere, but in University cities the mission is on our doorstep. With 16,000 students at the University of Lincoln and a further 2,000 at BGU, our work with 18-25s could not be more pertinent. Our current 18-25s are a core part of our community attracting upwards of 50 new students each year. Particularly with our students, we have the utter privilege of seeing them grow in their gifts and discipleship over the three years they are here and then we get to see them released to go out into the world and see lives and communities transformed in their new context. When speaking to our student leavers in the summer it was so encouraging to hear the different places God has called them. Some have been called to use their gifts in teaching the next generation, others in the fashion industry and others still to work in youth ministry and see the lives of young people set on fire in their faith. Two of our students have also gone on to be released into student ministry, one in Scotland and one in Hull. It is a privilege to see them capturing the vision to reach lost students and see them find hope in Jesus just as they did whilst at University. During their time at St. Swithin’s our 18-25s form an integral part of our Church, pollinating across ministry areas and seeking to use their gifts to serve and connect with others. They help serve our Love Your Neighbour ministry by packing and delivering food parcels, they help support the work we do at the night light mental health cafe, they are involved in the children and youth work and are a key part of supporting everything that happens on a Sunday. During the lockdown, we worked hard to pastorally support our 18-25s through the loneliness and isolation they experienced due to the pandemic. We continued to use our mentoring programme to give them 1-2-1 support and ensured all of them had spaces online to connect with one another. Since then our 18-25s have thrived by being able to connect again with one another. We saw the biggest Weekend Away attendance we have ever had with 55 people coming along to yet another new location, due to us growing out of the other one. This included two 18-25s with no prior background in Church as well as a handful who had begun to slip away during the pandemic. We also launched a fresh new Alpha Course at St. Faith’s in the West End run by 18-25 leaders in the most densely populated area of Lincoln for student housing. Fourteen people attended, the majority of whom were students. Just before summer, we ran an 18-25s paella evening at St. Faith’s and after a few local doorknocking invites, we ended up with one in four people coming along who had no previous church background but simply lived in the area. We have seen our evening service at the Salthouse grow in numbers over the last year, with upwards of 60 of those attending being 18-25s. My prayer is that as we reach students in the West End, we see the same growth at St. Faith’s as God moves in that area. 9 ## **RISING GENERATIONS** ## **BABYCCINOS - Vicky Prestwood** This year has seen a growth in the number of families attending Babyccinos in the Salthouse on a Monday morning. We regularly have between 25 and 35 babies and toddlers, along with parents or carers, attending. We have opened up extra space for babies in the small room off the main space to spread out the children a little and allow it to feel a bit calmer. This year we have recruited another three volunteers to the team, and so there are now around five people helping each week. This allows us to have enough team for some to be circulating and chatting, which is great for building relationships. We have seen some families try the 9:15 service, although the hope is to eventually build on this more. It has also been great to link people in with the 4:15 service at St. Faiths, and we had three families come to the fireworks service through Babyccinos. Again, over the coming year we would like to build on these links more and see more invitations to our church services. ## **CHILDREN’S MINISTRY: - Rev. Jim Prestwood** We made a conscious decision in 2022 to continue to explore and develop a ‘Worship For Everyone’ model on Sundays (as opposed to ‘going back to’ the Sunday school model that was in place before the pandemic). This is still a journey we are on and we are learning as we go and whilst the transition hasn’t always been smooth, it is now becoming more defined. As we have developed this model (without a kids worker in post and with only a small kids team post pandemic) we have worked hard to create regular and occasional points of connection for children. Each Sunday there is a kids connect time between the 9:15 and the 10:15 which has been steadily growing and is a space for kids to come and connect together, have fun together and pray together. Alongside this we have also run a midweek cell group, one off social events and holiday clubs. Many thanks should go to the small, but brilliant team who have invested and developed our children’s work over this time. ## **YOUTH MINISTRY - Rev. Juliette Willis** The Youth at St. Swithin’s have two core points of connection: Wednesday Night Youth and Sunday Connect. There has been some momentum building at both these, particularly over the past couple of months, which we hope continues to accelerate into 2023. We have shifted our Sunday Connect focus towards building deep community with one another and have ensured it’s made accessible to all youth who attend the morning services. A particular highlight was at last month's Big Church Lunch where the Youth created and served puddings for the wider church. Whilst they might not have looked the most appetising, real fun and connection was had in the room and it was great to see 16 of them come along. Our hope for 2023 is to create monthly opportunities for engagement within this space with the aim of continuing to build deeper points of community and relationship. At our Wednesday evenings we have tried to introduce easy invitational socials into our term plan with the aim to make further invitations to our regular youth nights which include worship and teaching. A highlight from this year was taking 34 young people bowling, half of which were non-church related friends who all received invitations to our Christmas services and socials. For me it’s not really about the number who came but about the invitations that went out. I know a number of our young people have had invitations to events declined and yet they still persist in inviting them. At that particular event, seven of our regular young people had invitations accepted, many of whom brought whole friendship groups. God really seems to be stirring their hearts for their friends. The Youth group has undergone some change in 2022 with Toby Harper-Lawrence stepping down in the summer of 2022. Despite this transition the youth have continued to thrive and develop in the most part thanks to a dedicated core team of youth leaders. We’re looking forward to our weekend away in early 2023 where we will be joining with youth and youth leaders from West End Youth at St. Faith’s and St. Mark’s Grimsby. 10 ## **WORSHIP - Rev. Ben Brady** The musical element of our worship has simply gone from strength to strength. There were some challenges with our Worship Pastor moving on, but I believe our worship leaders have all risen to the challenge. The attitude has been positive in pursuing Worship for Everyone in our services and all of them have suggested new worship songs to add to the repertoire of our worship. We want to reflect what is going on in our country, city and church in our sung worship. This has led to broadening what we listen to and to continue prayerful selection of song choices. The model has four bands for each Sunday of the month. There’s a slight variation for the evening service, but we have found a consistent pattern of people playing can help avoid one person doing too much. We have had a lot of interest from new members of the church to join the worship team. We have implemented a ‘three audition’ process to allow new members to play with different musicians, for other worship leaders to share their views and to confirm their commitment to arriving early, being rehearsed and prepared for practice. The development of team for the Audio and Visuals is slowly developing. Although it can look overwhelming, we have committed a lot of time to try and streamline/simplify the process. It will always be ongoing as new people join and others leave with their expertise. We have found AV to be popular for members of our congregation completing the Duke of Edinburgh award. It has been encouraging to see that once they have completed the award, they still wish to stay on! Although it is heavily technical, I believe this is also a great ground to build up potential leaders and gain skills in working and leading groups. The growth of the 4:15 service at St. Faith’s will hopefully lead to new and younger members joining the band, reflecting the age of the people attending this service. Due to the organist playing at the Prison service once a month, we have some of the worship team playing at St. Faith’s for a 10:15 service once a month which has been well received. As we continue seeing growth across the services, so we will both maintain the traditional elements of the service and carry on setting a culture similar to St Swithin’s with our values of Home, Real and Courage. ## **SUNDAY SERVICES - Rev. Jim Prestwood** Over 2022 we have settled into a more defined pattern of services coming out of the experimentation and flexibility of the previous months due to the pandemic. It has been great to be able to try and grow some consistency and momentum and begin welcoming new people to our services as well as welcoming back familiar faces. Our regular pattern of services through 2022 became the 9:15, the 10:15 and the 6:15. The 9:15 has been steadily growing and is primarily aimed at families with preschool children. The 10:15 has been exploring and developing a ‘Worship For Everyone’ model which seeks to discover together how we can worship across the generations in such a way that everyone gives and receives from each other. This is a departure from our approach pre-pandemic which was based on the Sunday school model. As we continued to develop the theology, model and practise, it has, as any change does, had its positives as well as things to work through. It has raised some interesting questions about ecclesiology, discipleship and mission which we continue to work through as a collective and with individuals. On the whole though, there has been a developing consistency and a steady growth in the 10:15 congregation across the generations and things like the BIG church lunch have really helped develop connection and relationships. We moved from ‘church online’ to streaming our services which we have continued to do, but have seen quite a large drop off in numbers as people have returned to the building. Despite this, there are still a consistent number of people who tune in, and we do still know that some people thinking of coming along in person will check us out online first. The 6:15 has seen a consistent attendance in 2022 and is a mix of ages from older youth upwards and attracts a large number of students. There is more time and space in this service for longer blocks of sung worship and teaching. The introduction of a social space afterwards until 8:15pm has really helped the sense of community amongst the congregation. 11 In addition, as a result of our partnership with St. Faith’s, people also have the option of ● a morning Eucharist service at 10:15 at St. Faith’s ● a monthly 4:15pm service aimed at primary school aged children and their families. ## **SUNDAY SERVICES: STATS - Rev. Jim Prestwood** ||| |---|---| |**Service**|**Usual Sunday Attendance (incl. Adults, Youth & Children)**| |the9:15|52| |the10:15 in person|125| |the10:15 online|37| |the6:15|74| ## **CHURCH WARDENS REPORT - Rachel Tyrrell and Richard Lambert** The Church Wardens have a duty to represent the laity and co-operate with the incumbent. They are responsible for two main areas – maintain the Inventory, Terrier and Log-book, and support the incumbent in the orderly running of the church. **Inventory** - Maintain the inventory of the church treasure and other paraphernalia. We can confirm that all articles cited in the 2021 inventory have been accounted for in 2022. **Terrier** - Maintain a full register of all land owned by the church. We can confirm that no land or property has been sold. The Church building remains closed to all but staff, due to unresolved structural problems. As such, all Church life was conducted in and through the Salthouse. The Church plant - St. Faith’s Church - in the West End of Lincoln continues to have a separate PCC and church wardens. **Quinquennial** - The last Quinquennial Inspection of St. Swithin’s Church Building was held in 2015 and was supplemented by an earlier Roofs inspection in January the same year, also by the Diocesan Quinquennial architects, GMS. These reports confirmed that minimal repairs and maintenance had been performed since the 2009 QQI, and that major work is required to halt further deterioration and restore a watertight and structurally sound shell. A further survey was carried out by GMS in January 2017, following a significant failure of the lathe and plaster ceiling of the nave leading to the closure of the church on grounds of safety, pending essential repairs. In discussion with the Diocese about building use, it was agreed that the Quinquennial due in 2022 could be delayed to 2023. Although closed to the public and congregants, the church building insurance continues in place and routine lightning protection assessments are maintained. Discussions with the Diocese are ongoing as to the future of the church building. **Log-book** - The church wardens are also required to maintain a logbook to record all alterations, additions and repairs to, and other events affecting, the church, lands and articles recorded within the Inventory and Terrier. Essential repairs to the church building were not started, and the Diocesan FD advised that financial constraints within the diocese may delay further expenditure on the Church – they had promised to commit £175k in 2019 for essential repairs. In 2022 the Diocese advised that it no longer held sufficient funds to fulfil its earlier commitments regarding essential repairs. A new timeframe for discussing the future of the Church, any repairs and re-ordering is yet to be agreed. **Supporting Jim & Vicky, Ben & Bekah** – It is always a privilege to support Jim and Vicky and now Ben and Bekah as they have led St. Swithin’s and St. Faith’s throughout another year of change, challenge but also a return to face-to-face gatherings once again. There have been many changes in the staff team, huge amounts of work done on things like finances and accounts – but ALL of it is underpinned by powerful and persistent prayer. This is 12 simply the best way we can support the leadership team and their families. We would particularly like to take this opportunity to encourage, if not urge, you to make attending Kingdom Come once a month a priority. Even if you can only make every other one, it is where we lay the foundations for God to move, hear from him and see him do all of the things we desperately want him to. As Pete Greig memorably says in his book, How to Pray, ‘ - _Our prayers light up landing strips for the invading forces of heaven’,_ and, oh how we’d love to see them on the streets of Lincoln and beyond! ## **SAFEGUARDING - Rosemary Brooks (PSO)** Safeguarding is very important to us and is at the heart of all our activities. We have maintained compliance with all regulations and duties, including those under Section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Disciplinary Measures 2016 (duty to have due regard to the House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults). Safeguarding is a standing item on the PCC agenda and is reviewed at every PCC meeting. ## **Current Team** Rosemary Brooks is the Parish Safeguarding Officer. The other members of the Safeguarding team are Revd. Jim Prestwood (Safeguarding Lead) and Revd. Ben Brady with Susan Watt being responsible for DBS checks and safeguarding training. We continue to work closely with the Diocesan team during 2022, seeking their advice and guidance where appropriate. The Diocese Safeguarding Advisor is Jack Redeyoff and as of 30 June 2023, the team being once again at full strength, the diocese stopped using the services of Thirty0ne:Eight to respond to concerns. ## **Dashboard** The Parish Safeguarding Dashboard helps us to monitor our practice and compliance with national Church of England guidance and generates an Action Plan which enables us to identify areas for improvement. Our current status is a healthy green with the review of activity Risk Assessments being the most recent compliance activity. ## **New Guidance** In accordance with the new guidance (Jan 2022), DBS checks now have to be renewed every three years rather than every 5 years. Please, therefore, be prepared for your renewal request to perhaps appear sooner than you might have expected. At St. Swithin’s we have 133 people with DBS checks serving in a variety of teams and roles. 43 new DBS checks were completed in 2022. and 131 safeguarding training courses were completed. ## **Safeguarding Training** Training courses are no longer provided by the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership. The Church of England has now created its own training platform and courses are now accessed via their online training portal. The new courses are specifically tailored to the needs of the Church and address the spiritual dimension that previous LSCP courses were unable to address. Another key change is that Safeguarding training now only needs to be renewed at the highest level a person has completed. In 2022, 131 safeguarding training courses were completed. All members of the PCC are required to complete safeguarding training, and this now includes the module on Domestic Abuse. This module is particularly pertinent to our commitment to safeguarding vulnerable adults. If you have any questions about DBS checks or Safeguarding training please contact Susan Watt sue.watt@stswithins.org.uk ## **Safeguarding Processes & Practice** Since the introduction of the new guidelines, we have continued to review the safeguarding process to ensure that not only are we compliant with the new guidance but that also our practice promotes and supports a safe environment for all. In safeguarding matters it is important that actions and progress can be accurately logged with a clear timeline. To this effect the paperwork has been reviewed and amended to ensure that it is clear to all team members who 13 the concern relates to and who is taking the lead on that case. Should a concern become a clear safeguarding case where further targeted support or intervention is needed then the safeguarding lead will maintain a chronological record of actions. With a view to maintaining a clear overview of safeguarding concerns we now maintain a central log of concerns. This is particularly important where you have several people responding to safeguarding concerns. The log is maintained by the Parish Safeguarding Officer and contains headline information with regard to the nature of the safeguarding concern and the outcome status. It is only accessible to the safeguarding team. This approach will enable any team member to quickly identify if there are any previous concerns relating to any individual and also if there are any trends that might indicate an area of concern that might need addressing. All safeguarding records are maintained in accordance with the guidance and in a secure storage area that only the safeguarding team can access. ## **Volunteer Reviews** The new guidance requires that all volunteers in activities that require a DBS check have an annual review. Currently, this impacts primarily on Rising Generations ministry teams. The PCC view this as not only an opportunity to reflect on best practice with regard to safeguarding but also one where we can celebrate and acknowledge the very valuable contribution that so many volunteers make. It also enables ministry leads to foster and develop leadership qualities within their teams and ensure that ministry teams remain resourced with committed volunteers who feel appreciated. We have amended the review forms to reflect these aspirations and make it as easy as possible for volunteers to respond with their own ideas and concerns. ## **Reported Concerns 2022-2023** In total there have been 11 concerns logged since the last APCM. The majority of concerns reported for adults and 18-25s have related to concerns around wellbeing and personal safety. The majority of reported concerns have been for under 18s and have related to inappropriate sexual language between peers, mental wellbeing, child welfare and safety planning. We continue to hold safeguarding at the heart of all of our activities. If anyone has any concerns with regards to safeguarding, they should alert Rosemary Brooks, Jim Prestwood or Ben Brady in person or by emailing safeguarding@stswithins.org.uk ## **REPORTS ON DIOCESAN AND DEANERY SYNOD - Sue Watt** The Church of England is governed synodically, by Deanery synods, Diocesan synods and the General Synod. At these synods matters affecting the church, at each of these levels, are discussed and decided upon. Christianity Deanery includes the Church of England churches within the city of Lincoln. Alongside the clergy, lay representatives from local churches are elected at their APCM’s to serve on their Deanery synod, for a three-year term. Our lay reps on Deanery Synod in 2022 were Moji Wadsworth, Susan Watt (the Deanery secretary) and Phil Williams. The Deanery synod met in May and October 2022. Business was dominated by Time to Change Together. This is the change programme which forms the basis of the vision for the future of the Anglican church in the Diocese, with churches working collaboratively, people giving more generously and parishes covering the cost of their clergy (set at a nominal cost of £55k per stipend), and with covenants replacing the old system of Parish Share. Going forwards it is inevitable that numbers of clergy will be reduced, particularly in our small rural communities. In September, the Revd. Canon Jim Prestwood was appointed by Bishop Stephen as Partnership Dean to lead TTCT in the Deanery alongside Dr Peter Elsmore (from St. Nicholas’ church, Newport) who was appointed as Lay Co-Lead. Going forwards into 2023, at the meeting of Deanery Synod held in January, Phil Williams was elected Lay Chair of the synod. At this meeting, synod ‘took note’ of the plans under TTCT for Christianity Deanery to comprise one Local Mission Partnership, where churches would work together in partnership with one or two other churches, like our partnership with St. Faith's church. 14 The Diocese of Lincoln covers the historic county of Lincolnshire (Lincolnshire, North and North-East Lincolnshire) and the Diocesan synod comprises lay and clergy representatives from across the Diocese, elected by the Deanery synods for a three-year term. Susan Watt is currently a lay Diocesan synod representative and Revd. Jim Prestwood is a clergy Diocesan synod representative. The Diocesan synod met three times in 2022. Business included the following: - Resourcing Sustainable Church – A Time to Change Together - ‘Living in Love and Faith’ - Vacancy in See – update re. appointment of the new Bishop of Lincoln (expected Autumn 2023) - Finance – approval of Diocesan accounts - Environment policy update – progress towards net zero - SDF project update The final tier in the structure is the General Synod which deals with matters of significance for the national church. Representatives on the General Synod are elected by Deanery Synod members and serve for a period of five years. Jonny Palmer from St. Swithin’s was elected as a member for the RAF. Other people elected from Lincoln are Gavin Kirk (the Archdeacon of Lincoln) and Muriel Robinson. Topics that are discussed are often reported in the national press. If you would like to know more, please contact one of the reps named above. ## **ST SWITHIN’S PCC** ## **St. Swithin’s Electoral Roll** The number of members on the Electoral Roll at the APCM held in April 2022 was 192. The Electoral Roll Officer will present the number on the revised 2023 Electoral Roll to the APCM during the meeting. ## **St. Swithin’s PCC meetings** The PCC met seven times during the year mostly on line via zoom having passed a resolution enabling us to do so. The standing committee met twice during the year. Much of the year focussed on continuing ministry and mission coming out of the pandemic and on a stripped back staffing model. There was also a huge amount of regular review of our financial position as we emerged from the pandemic and had to negotiate the cost of living crisis which saw both an increase in bills for the church and a potential hit on giving from individuals. We started the year with a target of needing to find £70K through a mix of cutting expenditure and increasing income. We also laid out the framework for a full review and audit of our finance, governance, policies and procedures. This will form a good portion of our work in 2023. ## **Risk Statement** In common with other churches and charities the PCC rates risks be they operational, financial or reputational. The PCC will consider the major areas of risk to which it is exposed, measuring both the likelihood and impact of a particular event or action and will establish systems to mitigate those risks. This will involve regular reviews in identification, assessment and monitoring through a Risk Monitoring Matrix as developed using best practice from the Charity Commission. ## **PCC Statement of Responsibilities** The PCC has prepared the Annual Report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, which gives a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the church and of its financial activities for that year and adequately distinguishes any material special trust or other restricted fund of the church. In preparing those financial statements the PCC has: - Selected suitable accounting policies and then applied them consistently; complied with applicable accounting standards, including FRS 102, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; 15 - Stated whether a Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applies and has been followed, subject to any material departures which are explained in the financial statements; - Made judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; - Prepared the financial statements on a going concern basis; - The PCC has kept proper accounting records, which disclose, with reasonable accuracy at any time, the financial position of the church. Financial statements comply with applicableAccounting Standards and Statements of Recommended Practice and the regulations made under s154 of the Charities Act 2011; and - The PCC has taken reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. All the current members of the PCC have taken all the steps, which they ought to make themselves aware of any information needed by the independent examiner for the purposes of their independent examination and to establish that the independent examiner is aware of that information. The current members of the PCC are not aware of any relevant information of which the independent examiner is unaware. ## **Public Benefit** The PCC is aware of the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit in "The advancement of religion for the Public Benefit" and have had regard to it in its administration of the church. The PCC believes that by promoting the Christian faith it provides a benefit to the public by: Providing facilities for public worship, pastoral care and spiritual development, both for existing church members and for anyone who wishes to benefit from what the church offers; and Promoting Christian values, and service by members of the church in and to their communities, to the benefit of individuals and society as a whole. ## **Trustees in 2022** Rev Jim Prestwood (Vicar and Chair of PCC) Rev Ben Brady Rev John Birkett Rev Matt Rodgers Mr Richard Lambert (Church warden, vice chair and buildings lead) Mrs Rachel Tyrrell (Church Warden) Mrs Susan Watt (PCC Secretary, Deanery Synod representative) Dr Phil Williams (Deanery Synod representative) Mr Dan Chard (Treasurer) Mrs Rosemary Brooks (Safeguarding Officer) Mrs Becky Bull Mr John Crowder Mrs Linzi Crowder Mr Paul Finch Mrs Jo Epton Miss Kath Marsden Mrs Hayley Palmer Mr Mark Perry Miss Jane Pickersgill Mr Callum Roper Mr Dave Stapleton Mr Peter Sutton Mrs Moji Wadsworth Rev Ben Willis Rev Juliette Willis 16 Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of the Parochial Church Council of St Swithins Lincoln I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity for the year ended 31$¢ December 2022. R8sponslbllltlas and basls of report As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Acf). I report in respect of my examination of the charity's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination. I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent 8xamlner's stat8mant The charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 and l am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountsnts in England and Wales. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in. any material respect: the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act. or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records,. or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements conceming the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fairf view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and 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. Signed.. ZALfvy Name: Zachary Ramsden FCA Chartered Accountant 63 Deakin Leas, Tonbridge. Kent TN9 2JT Date.. 19th April 2023 17 ST SWITHIN'S LINCOLN STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACnVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022 Total Funds 2022 Total Funds 2021 Unrestricted Funds Restritted Funds Note INCOME ANO ENDOWMENTS FROM.. Donation5 and legacie5 Charfcable aLlivitie5 Other trading actiwties 181,334 43,547 232,097 19,190 413.431 62.737 439,651 33,573 Total income and endowments 224,881 251,287 476.168 473.224 EXPENDITURE ON.. Charfcable activities.. 178,896 229,231 408.127 476.957 Total expendltur* 178,896 229,231 408,127 476.957 Net I￿Orne/{expenditure> 45,985 22,056 68.041 13.7331 Transfers btheen fund5 13 18,9441 8,944 Net movement in funds 37,041 31,000 68,041 13,7331 Reconcillation of funds= Totsl fund5 brought forward 13 64,821 74,678 139,499 143,232 Total funds ¢4rried forwa 101,862 105,678 207,540 139.499 The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All incorne and expenditure derive from continuing operations. The notes on paEe 18 onwards form part of these a¢¢ounlS. 18 ST SWITHIN'5 LINCOLN &4LANCE SHEET ASAT 31 DECEMBER 2022 Totsl Fund5 Total Fund5 Unrestricted Furids Restricted Funds 2022 2021 Note FIXED A55Efs Tangible assets 3,505 1,790 5,295 8,871 CURPENT ASS￿5 Stock Debtor5 Cash at bank and in hand 500 6,287 97,100 500 16,662 232,190 736 17,975 184,494 10,375 135,090 io 145,465 103,887 249,352 203,205 CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year li 23,107 23,107 36,577 Net CUr￿nt assets I Illabllidesl 122,358 103,887 226,245 166,628 Total assets less current liabilities 125,863 105,677 231,540 175,499 CREDITORS: Amounts falling due after more than one year 12 24,OiK) 24,(X)O 36,000 Provis￿n$ for liabilities TOTAL ASSETS 101,863 105,677 207,540 139,499 FUND BALAN 13 Unrestrictod Funds General fund5 Designated funds 3,182 98,681 101,863 3,182 98,681 101,863 134,1881 99,010 64,822 Restricted Funds 105,677 105,677 74,677 101,863 105,677 207,540 139,499 The financial staternent5 were approved by the Members of the Parochial Church Council and were signed on it5 behalf by.. iith April 2023 Jim Presly400d Vicar of St Swithin's Date 19 sr SWlThlN'S LINCOLN NOTESTO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022 Statutory Information The Parochial Church Council of St Swithin's PCC Lincoln is a charity reEi5tered in England & Wales. The charity's registered number 3nd principal addres5 ran be found on the Charity Information page. Accourrtlng Pollcvès These financial statements are prepared on è going concern basis, under the historical cost convenron. The finèncial statements include all acrivitres for which the PCC Is leEally responsitle-, the activthes of informal gatherings of church mernbers and 8roup5that owe their main affi'liation to another bodyand a￿ excluded. These h"nancial statÈments have bÈÈn prepa￿d in accordante with The Church Accountin8 Regulabons 2006, the 'StatÈment of Recunmended Practice.. Accounllng and Reporrng by Ch8riries preparing their accounts In accordance with the Financial ReporknnE Standard ?pplicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS 1021, I'the Charities SORP"), with the Financial Reporhng Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland I'FRS 102 1 and with the Charities Act 2011. The charity meers the definition of a public benefit entity as set out In FR5 102. The charl￿t$ IActounts ènd RÈportsl RegUla￿on$ 2(K)8 IthÈ'2008 Regulations'l rÈquirÈs charities to prÈpèrÈ their accounts in èccordance with 'Accounrng and Reporring by Charities.. Statement of Recommended Pracrce effective from l April 2005. but this ?ccounnng standard ha5 since been withdrawn ?nd has been replaced by the ChariDes SORP mentioned in the preceding paragraph. The charity ha5 prepared these linancial statement5 in accordance with the new Charitie5 SORP. thi5 departure from the 2008 Regulations is believed to be necessary for rhese fi"nancièl statements to give a'true ènd kir view,. The prlnclples adopted In the preparafon of the financlal statements are set out below. The PCC h8ve assessed whetherthe use of the going concern bèsis is èppropn8te and have considered possible events or conditrons that might cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as ? Eoing concern. The PCC have made thi5 assessment for a period of at least one year trom the date of approval of the linancial staternent5. In parkncular the PCC havÈ considered thÈ charity's forècasts and projethons and the possible implications should projected income and l or expenditure vary unexpectedly. The PCC have concluded thatthere 15 a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue to operate for the foresee3ble future. The charity therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in Prepari￿ rts finantial statements. bl ill£QmR Income Iwhich include5 planned 8niing, collections and other donation51 15 recognised in the period in which the charity becomes entitled to receipt, the amount ￿CeiVable can be measured with reasonable certainty, and ￿ceIpt is probable. For the most part Income Is Eenerally recoÈnised when it is received by, or on behalf of, the PCC. Income is onlydeferred when the charity has to fullil condition5 before becoming entitled to it or where the donor has specified that the income 15 to be Èxpended in a future period. Income from donarons and legacies includes.. Recoverable gift èid. This Is recognised when the related donètion is recewed. Gift aid that has not been recovered bv the balance sheet d3te is included a5 a debtor. ill Donated facilitie5. 5ervice5 and good5. Good5 donated for distribution to beneliciarie5 are reco8ni5ed as inioffle when receivable at fair value (being an estimate of the amount it would cost to purchase those itemsl. Facilities, services and Boods donated for the charity's own use are recoEnised as income when receivable at their value to the charity. The charity relies on volunteers to carry out many of its actrvities. However, In accordance with the SORP, the value of these 5ervice5 has rK)t been included in these linancial 5tateTnents as they cannot be reliably measured. 20 Acwunting Policies Icontinuedl When donated goods, services 3nd facilities are distributed or consumed, an expense in respert of those items is included in the Statement of Financial Activities. At the year end any goodsthat have not been distributed or consumed are recognised as stock,. donated fixed assets are capitalis@d. Income from charitable activities represents income receivable from goods, services and facilities supplied in furtheran£e of the charitV5 charitsble objects. It includes income from church retreats and other events and course5. Income frorn other trading activities represents in￿rne recewable frorn activities undertaken to generate funds for the charity. It includes incomÈ from rÈimbursem@nt of staff ttme on secondment. Expenditu￿, Including irrecoverable VAT, is re￿gnIsed when it is inCUr￿d or, if earlier, when a leEal or construclive obligafjon for a payment arises provided that it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can measured reliablv. Contributions in respect of the diocesan parish share are included in the St3tement of Financial Activibes for all amounts agreed to being payable for the fi'nancial year. Any contribution5 that have not been paid over by the year end are included a5 a creditor. The charity makes grants to other institutions and individua15 to further it5 charitable objectives. Grants payable are recognised ès construttivÈ obliEations arise, which is gÈnerally when thÈ chanty exprÈssÈs a commitment to the recipient that can be measured reliably and then onty to the extent that any conditions a550ciated with the grant are outside of the control of tlE charity. The c05t of raising funds 15 not significant and ha5 not been separately di5c105ed. GOVerna￿e costs, which are included in expenditure on charitable actrvities but are identiilied separately in the notes to the accounts, includes costs associated with the independent examination ol the financial statements, compliance with constitutional and statutory requrements and any other expenditure incurred on the strategic management of the charity. General funds are unrestrirted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the PCC in furtherance of the general objectives ol the charity. Designated lund5 cornprise unrestricted fund5that have been set aside by the PCC for particular purposes. Restricted funds are donatrons which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors,. they include donations received from appea15 for specific activitie5 or projects. ConsÈcrated and beneficed property is not in£lud@d in thes@financial statements by virtue of s.l(X21 of the CharitiÈS Art 2011. All expenditure on ￿nSecrated or beneficed buildings is WTitten off in the year in which it is incurred. Mov3ble church furnishings held by the incumbent and Churchwarden5 on Special trust forthe PCC and which require faculty for disposal are c3Pltalised In accordance with the policy set out below. These items are re￿rded as inalienable property and are listed in the church'5 inventory which can be inspected at any reasonable time. Inalienable property acquired prior to 2014 has not been c3Pltalised as there is insufficient cost informaron 3vai13ble. Items purchased or donated for the charity's own use are capitalised when the cost of purchased r(ems, or the fair value ol donated Items, is more than £1,000 and the item Is expected to benefi.t the charity over more than one accounting period. Depreciation is charged on a straight line basis 50 a5 to write down the value of each asset to its estimated residual value lif anyl over its expected ugeful economic life. To athieve this objecttve the following rates of depreciatton are £harged.. Equikynent 3 year5 21 Accounting Policies Icontinuedl fl Slo£k&' Stocks of donated item5 held for distribution to beneliciaries are rneasured at fèirvalue. Leases which do not transfer substantially all the risks and rewar(È of ownership to the charity are classified as operating leases. Operating lease payments are recognised as an expense on 3 Straight-line b3sis over the lease term lunless another systernatic basis is more representative of usel. hl The charity operates defined contribution pension scheme5 for its employees. Obligation5 for contributions to these schemes are recognised as an expense when the liability ari5e5. The assets of these 5cheme5 are held Separately from those of the charity in independently administered fund il laxatso The charlty has taken advantsge of the varlous reliefs from taxation available io charities and no ta% is payable on the charitrfs income. The charity's h'nancial a55et5 and financial liabilities all qualify a5 basic financial instrument5, as defined by FRS102. Except lor loan5, creditor5 and debtor5 are measured at their expected settlement value Inormallythe amount of cash that the charity expectsto pay or retÈivÈl. The charity recognises liabilities for the printipal of those loans that remains outstandin8 at the year end li.e. the liabilities exclude any interest chargeable on th@103ns in future years). kl The charity has taken advantage of an exemption conferred by the Charities SORP and has not prepared a cash flow Statement. ountin timat and asof ud In preparing financial 5tatement5 certain judgernents, estimates and a55umption5 have to be made that affect the amounts recognised in the linancial statement5. The member5 of the PCC consider the following to be signilicant.. il The annual depreciation charge for property, plant and equipment is sensitive to changes in the estimatesfor useful economic life and residual value. These estimates are reasse55ed annually and, when nece55ary. adjusted to reflect current circumstance5. em ill The constructive obligation for grants Payable is based on an assessment of the likely duration of the suprA)rted actiwtv. Again this estimate is re-assessed annually and the obligation is adjusted to reflect current expectations. Donations and legaties Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total 2022 Total 2021 Donatior15 of cash and similar Donattons In kind Other grant5 receivable Income tax recoverable Is3,￿9 47,307 8,273 176,517 201,216 8,273 176,517 27,425 413,431 If￿,468 14,256 232,790 32,137 439,65L 27,425 181,334 232,097 Donations in kind comprise the following.. Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total 2022 Total 2021 Goods donated for.. Food for LYN received for distribution to beneficiaries 8,273 8,273 8,273 8,273 14,256 14,256 22 Income from charitable activthe5 Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total 2022 Total 2021 Church events 43,547 43,547 19,1 19.1 61737 62,737 33,573 33,573 Charitable expenditu Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total 2022 Total 2021 Costs incurred direct￿ on speothc activities Ministry e¥pense5'. Parish share Mission and evangelism Other ministry expenses Salaries, wages & pension costs Donated goods Inote 5cl Total Ministry expenses 27,500 8,612 8,888 74,854 27,500 27,687 13,263 233,589 8,273 310.312 24,7SO 39,543 14,756 246,623 14,546 340,218 19.075 4,375 158,735 8,273 190,458 119,854 PropÈrty ÈxpensÈs'. Church running expense5 utilitie5 and insurance Routine rnaintenance Major repairs & structural work Total Property expense5 276 22,160 10,411 1,357 34,204 20,754 21,030 22,160 10,411 4,376 57,977 61,387 23,653 3,019 23,773 22,613 107,653 Grants payable (note 5d> 7,373 161,431 15,0(K) 229,231 21373 390,662 8,484 456,355 Costs incurred on $upport & admini#rntlon Governance costs Cost of independent examination Other Total Governance cost5 9)0 1,796 2,696 9)0 1,796 2,696 2,050 1,800 3,850 Other 5UPPOrt Costs Propertyand equipment depreciation 6,646 8,123 17,465 6,646 8,123 17,465 10,144 6,608 20,602 Total expenditure 178,896 229,231 408,127 476,957 23 Charitable expendtéurE lcontinuedl Donation5 in kind expensed in year Unrestricted Fund5 Restricted Funds Total 2022 Total 2Q21 Food for LYN dlstrlbuted to benefi-ciaries 8,273 8,273 8.273 8,273 14,546 14,546 Grants pa￿b Institutions Individuals 2022 MI￿10narY support Church Planting Relief of poverty 7,373 15,OLNJ 7,373 Is,￿0 22,373 22.373 The comparativesfor the previous year are asfollvws.. Institutions Irdividuals 2021 Missionary support Relief of poverty 8,484 8.484 8,484 8.484 The charity's principal Erants to institunons comprised.. 2022 2021 Gratrt Transfer of Funds to St Mark's Grimsbv Charis Foundation CP Africa Fusion UK Hope forJustice Lincoln Active Faith Network Tearfund/Ukraine Appeal Baby'5 Basket Fish Project Lincoln Street Pastors Grants for less th8n £100 each 15,ODD 1,5DD 1.500 I,(K)O L500 850 1.500 1.500 1,200 1,300 714 1,189 12D 120 800 500 64 22,373 8,484 Analysis of staff costs the costof key managementpersonnel and remuneration of members of the PCC 2022 2021 Gross wa8e5, 5alarie5 and other directernployrnent (x)sts Social Security Pension and Life Insurance costs 208,633 16,305 8,651 233,589 220,235 17.068 9.320 246,623 The average monthly number of employees during the veèr was 912021.. 91. Most of the charity's èctiviries are carried out bv volunteers. No staff received sal3ries at a rate of more than £60,000 per annum. The charity's key man3gernent cornpri5e the members of the PCC, including 5pecilicallythe clergy members. Total employment ￿nefi"l5 payable to key m8nèEement for the year were as follows.. Jim Pres￿l0C￿, Ben Brady and Matt Rodgers (who are clerEV members of the PCCI receive a stipend from the Diocese and are not ÈmployÈes but offite holders,. some of tho Pdrish Share paid to the Diocose is used to hÈlp mÈÈt the cost of these stipends Jim Prestwood. Ben Brady and Matt Rodger53re prowded with accommodation (which is customary for clergy) and the cost of this accommodaron to the PCC is disclosed In note 5'Charitable Expenditure. and was not material during 2012 or 2021 The charty a150 reimbursed expenses to Jim Pre5twood-. again these cost5 are disclosed in note S'charitable Expenditure. and was not material during 2022 or 2021. Matt Rodgers ceased to be a member of the PCC 31 AuEUSt 2022. No other member of the PCC received employment benefits in either thecurrent or preceding year. 24 TanglblelI￿d assets fithngs and equipment Totsl 2022 Cost At l January 2022 Additions Disposals At 31 December 2022 84.621 4,547 84.621 4,547 89.168 89.168 Accumulated depreci8Don At I January 2022 Charge fDr theyear At 31 December 2022 75.750 8.123 83.873 75.750 8.123 83.873 Net bDok ￿lue At 31 December 2022 5,295 5,295 At 31 December 2021 8.871 8.871 The Salthou5e wa5 tompleted for occupation during 2020 and taken on by St Swithins PCC as a Funchonal Fixed A55et. but it is ot Included as an 355et for the purpose of these accounts. Ownership of the Salthouse remain5 ¥Vlth the Diocese of Lincoln and is Included on their balance sheet as 3 Glebe Property. However, for information the building is forthe exclu51ve usage of St Swilhins PCC. whts are responsible for maintenance. upkeep and In￿Rnte. The building is currently valued by the Diocese of Lintoln fur insurance purpa*s at £2M. Stock Donated good5 Food donated for distribution to beneficiarie5 for LYN 2022 2021 500 500 736 736 Oebtors Falling due yrithin one year.. Tax recoverable Stswithin's Tax recoverable StMark'5 Other debtor5 Prepayments and accrued income Total debtors 2022 2021 3,128 245 4,682 986 7,892 5.397 16.662 11,417 890 17,975 10 Cash * Bankand In Hand 2022 2021 Cash at bank with immediate access Notice deposits (with 3 term of three months or less) 232,190 181,494 232.190 184.494 11 Credftors- llabil￿t$1alllth# due W￿*hon one ye 2022 2021 Trade Creditors Accruals Methodist 5 year loan for5althouse Deferred in¢Otne Grantobliganons 11.107 2.526 22.050 12.000 12.000 23.107 36.576 12 Creditots- amouThtsfalling due after morethan oneyear 2022 2021 Deferred incomt Methodist 5 year loan forSakhou5e 24,000 36,000 Grantobligation5 24,000 36,000 25 13 Funds During the year the movement5 in the charity's funds were a5 follow5.. OpÈnin8 balance 2022 Incomin8 resources Outgoing resources Transfers in the year 2022 Closing balance 2022 2022 2022 Hardship Fund Etnergency Fund Church Planting Buildings R&M Fund Working RÈserves 810 1,200 30,WO 7,WD 810 1,200 30,(X)O 6,671 i￿,(X)0 13291 99,010 13291 98,681 134,1881 224,881 1178,5671 18.9441 3,182 Total Unrestricted F￿d5 64,822 224.881 1178.8961 18,9441 101,863 Salthouse Chairs Lands Trust Grants Diocese.. SDF Salary Support Love Your Neighbour/lLYNI Leadership Develokynent Social Tran5formation/7 Minute Fund Student Ministry Fund Church Planting- St Mark's Church Planting- St Faith's Henry Smith Charity Hearng Grant Charitv 47,080 17,181 13,1671 61,094 3,165 2,107 82,9)6 32.395 3,CV36 S,272 182,9061 146.5811 13,1871 11.0861 16.5501 182,7531 12,7791 12221 3,682 147 1,573 3,752 17,210 11,9321 11,0)4 500 56 9.805 77,538 4,020 17,fA)O 2,579 I,(￿0 7,(A)7 11,995 16911 17,378 2.579 I2,{￿0) 74,677 251,287 1229,2311 8,944 105,677 AEgreg*e of fund5 139,499 476.168 1408.1271 207,540 26 13 Funds l¢ffitinuedl In the previousyear themowements in the charity¥ funds were as follows.. Opening balance Incorning re50urces Outgoing re50urie5 Tran5fLYs in the year 05ing balan 2021 2021 2021 2021 2021 Gt flFun Hardship Fund Emergency Fund Churth Planttng 8uilding R&M Fund Working Reserve5 810 1.200 30.000 L21K> 30.000 7.000 60,1)00 32.200 67,IX)O 99,010 88,983 187,732 1212,8541 198,0491 134,1881 Total un￿￿tricted Funds 121,183 187,732 1213,0441 131,0491 64,822 RestrtcteLIFunds Salthouse Chairs Lands Trust Grant Diocese.. SDF salary Support Love Your Nei£hbourllLYNI Leadership Development Social Transformation/7 Minute Fund Student Ministry Fvnd Church Pl3nttng- St Mark's Church Planrng- St Faith's 31,715 124,4011 39,766 14291 47,080 429 3.165 115,686 60,080 3,165 1115,6861 165,3331 13,1841 12,294 3,866 3,084 2.376 13,3591 170 11991 14.9001 3,682 147 L573 3.752 17.210 IL9321 200 6.298 64.848 4,205 147.6381 22.049 285.492 1263.9131 31.049 74.677 Ag8re8ate of fund5 143,232 473,224 1476,9571 139,499 13 Funds Icmtfjnuedl RestrittedFunds The Diocese mi55ional building grantfunding from 2015 is primarilyto hdp dewElop buildings appropriate for mi55ion in the comrnunity forthe next decades. The Diocese salary payments fund isfundin¥from the Diocese of Linioln toward5 key church workersalarie5 Ill the initial stages of the developrnent of the work of the thurth in the community. The Loveyour Neighbour ILYNI fund wa5 incorne providedforthe e5tabli5hment and running of food bank, cri515 cafe, debt advice and other swal fflini5trie5. Social Transformation and 7 Minute Fund was received in 2020 but due tothe pandefflic not Spent until 2021. Fund5 were given to enable a bettert welcome into the building.. Student Ministry 15 monry re￿iVed for and spent on the work of youth and 5tudent5 ministries including ¥veekly event5 and one off trips. All funds were utilised In 2019. Hardship fund is money set aside by the trustees forthe clergy to spend on rdief of pD*rty I to meet specific needs, at their discretion. The EmerdenLy Fund is ffloney set aside bythe tru5tee5 to cover 3nyfuture uneKpected one-off expenditure orto meet on going cosis in the face of 3 fall in income. The Church planting fund 15 money set aside by trustee5 to cover any futurecosts incurred in the planting of new congregati)ns. The decision was made to set this money 3%de as part of the churches commitment to tithing its intome. 27 14 Pension commitments During the year employer's pension contributions totalling ES,97612021.. £3,2811 were payable to defined contribution personal pension schemes. No pension contributions were owing at the balance sheet date12017.. £nill. 16 Transathons wtth relaied parfes During the year the charity.. al received donations totalling £64,39612020.. £64.0231 from related parties Iwhich includes members of the PCC. anyone closely connected to them and any other member of key management). bl No exper￿eS1202l.. £nill were paid to, or for, non-clergy Membe￿ of the PCC (reimbursements for @xwnses incurred whÈn acting as agent for the charity or incurred when undertaking employment duties not connoctod with serving as a PCC member a￿ not included in this disclosu￿1. received funds from the St Swithin's Community Centre (Croft St￿et1, charity number 521948, of £3,12012021.. £3,120), being a contribution to the staff cost5 of St Swithin'5 PCC 5tsff engaged there,. some of the PCC are tru5tee5 of this charity. During the year the charity also made the followinB payments to, or for, related parries.. al Employed Ruth Cook as Office Manager, sister of Linzi Crowder who 15 a PCC mernber. Ruth received rernunerdtiori of £25,91912021.. 24,5461 bl paid grants of El,5LKI12021.. £1,500) to Christian Partners in Africa in furtherance of the charities own objects. Rav Evan5 and Richard Larnbert, who are mernber5 of the PCC 15 are a150 director5 of C.P.A. cl has an ongoing agreement from September 2019 with Martyn Burt, father-in-law of Rev Matt Rodgers, for providing accountancy, management support 3nd adviceto the church staff and PCC at a cost of £150 per month. Except a5 disclosed in note 6'Ana￿S15 of staff Costs,, there have been no other tran5action5 Wlth related partie5 during the year. 17 Post Balantr sheet Event As a result of COVID during tIE year the tru5tee5 are aware of the irnpact that thi5 may have had. However, because of the strong 5UPW)rt base from donors and the continued levels of giving, the impact ha5 been far lessthan it rni8ht have been. The level of reserves held remain good. Further detsils are in the tru5tee5 annual report. 28 29