## **Parish of St. Swithin, Lincoln** 


**Annual Report & Accounts 2024** 

**for presentation at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) Wednesday 14th May, 2025** 



## **ST SWITHIN’S CHURCH LINCOLN** 


## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2024 CONTENTS** 

1. Legal and Administrative Information 

2. Charitable Objects 

3. Resources and Financial Activities 

4. Vicar/ Chair of Trustees Report 

5. Ministry Reports 

6. Churchwardens Report 

7. Safeguarding 

8. Diocesan and Deanery Synod Reports 

9. St Swithin’s PCC 

10. Letter from the Independent Examiner 

11. Accounts 

12. Notes to the Accounts 

## **1. 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. 

The St. Swithin’s PCC Independent Examiner is Mr Zachary Ramsden FCA, 63 Deakin Leas, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 2JT. 

## **2. 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. 

2 



We are a community of people influenced by Jesus. A community for whom Acts 2:4247 and John 10:10 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 

- b. we will be good news to the parish, city and region by partnering with others to see social transformation 

- c. we will be able to resource other churches and plant other churches. 

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. 

## **3. FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES** 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 along with the FRS 102 SORP 2019. 

## **Financial Review** 

Total income during 2024 was £420,573 (2023: £496,466). 

Total expenditure during 2024 was £454,465 (2023: £483,865). 

At the end of 2024 total funds (represented by cash and other assets) was £186,249 (2023: £220,141). 

Within these funds we had general total unrestricted funds of £155,636 (2023: £101,904) and restricted funds of £30,613 (2023: £118,237). 

We received the following grants: 

- £187.50 from the Church Revitalisation Trust towards Transform - an annual 

   - senior leadership conference run out of HTB London. 

- £2,500 from City of Lincoln Council (Carholme Community Chest) for the Stay Toasty project at St. Faith's 

- £18,300 from The Henry Smith Charity Grant for Alpha (Year 3 of 3 year grant). 

- £2,250 from the Church Revitalisation Trust towards Love Christmas 

- £375 from Tesco Community Grant restricted to Phase 2 work on the Upstairs Ballroom at the Salthouse. 

3 



## **4. VICAR’S REPORT** 

There is far too much to cover in the life of St. Swithin’s over the 12 months of 2024 - a year we celebrated our 10th birthday (!) since planting. As well as being a year where we were able to take stock and celebrate the last 10 years, it is also a year where there has been a real sense of transition and re-shaping into a new season and stage of life for St. Swithin’s as we seek to live out our vision to see lives and communities transformed. 

This transition has been evident in a variety of ways, for example organisationally, buildings and staffing and is taking place in the wider transition of the deanery and diocesan context as the first phase of ‘Time To Change Together’ draws to an end and as we also near the end of the 5 year church planting project ‘Resourcing the Urban Church’ which has helped fund staffing and the planting of churches from St. Swithin’s (St. Faith’s and St. Mark’s Grimsby). 

But there have also been transitions in ministry and mission - both affecting and affected by the above. 

We ended the year with a packed out upper room of all ages - those who’ve been part of the church for the last 10 years, those who’d become Christians in the last 10 months and those who had never stepped foot inside the church before - for our Carols by Candlelight service which gave a really good picture both of where we have come over the last 10 years and a taste of what we pray is to come. 

I want to record my thanks to everyone who has joined, prayed, served and given financially over the last 12 months. It really is a case of the results being greater than the sum of its parts. I’m particularly thankful for those who have consistently prayed for the church and for the leadership team and taken the time to encourage and support in different ways as we have navigated and led through a challenging year of transition. 

## **TRANSFORMATION AND TRANSITION** 

## **10th Birthday** 

It was wonderful to celebrate together our 10th birthday since planting and we did so with a number of events and services. Particular highlights were the community party at the Salthouse and our morning worship with Nick and Becky Drake (Gas Street & Worship for Everyone). 

## **The Upper Room** 

At the start of this year, following generosity of grant making bodies, the Revitalisation Trust and our own congregation, we began work on renovating the Upper Room in the Salthouse ready for worship. Pentecost Sunday saw our first Sunday worship take 

4 



place in the space and it has been wonderful to have that dedicated space for worship which has increased capacity. 

## **The St. Swithin’s Church building and joining of parishes** 

During 2024 the PCCs of St. Swithin’s and St. Faith’s agreed to submit a faculty to become one parish and for St. Faith’s to become the parish church with the Salthouse remaining as a city centre hub. St. Swithin’s PCC have thus also submitted a faculty to effectively release the old St. Swithin’s church building with a view to another denomination taking it on (The Traditional Anglican church). We are waiting for confirmation of all of the above with both faculties having now proceeded through their consultation phases. In the interim, we have made arrangements to lease the St. Swithin’s building to the TAC who are now meeting in the chancel for Sunday worship (the rest of the building remains out of bounds). 

Although a lot of this may seem to be about buildings, it is actually more about resourcing mission and ministry effectively across the two churches and in the context of the deanery mission plan as part of the ‘Time To Change Together’ programme from Lincoln Diocese. St Faith’s and St. Swithin’s have been working in a partnership of plurality for the last 4-5 years, and so this is a great next step. 

## **Intergenerational Ethos** 

We have been growing and developing this through and since the pandemic - so 5 years now, and the last 12 months has continued to see this embedded and worked through the whole of church life in different ways. This isn't primarily about the style or content of individual congregations and services so much as an ethos that permeates everything we do. Some of the outworking of this and questions we have been looking at include: 

- **Midweek groups:** both providing intergenerational groups as well as providing resources for adult groups to take the content from a Sunday and develop it further. 

- **Prayer:** We have looked at different formats for how we pray together facilitating space for both all ages to come together but also time and space for narrower age groups to pray in different ways. The opening of a dedicated prayer room has afforded more opportunity for prayer through the week 

- **Spaces and resources for age and stage specific discipleship:** intergenerational doesn’t mean we need to do everything together (!) and so we have developed (for example - courses, midweek theology group, family breakfasts, Wednesday night youth, 18-25s collective ) and are continuing to look at ways we can do this. In particular, we have intentionally changed the language form ‘worship for everyone’ to intergenerational and are keen to develop ways that our millennials, Gen xers and boomers are as engaged and know where they fit as much as our Gen Z and Gen Alpha. 

5 



- **Worship:** We have continued to work with and encourage our young people to be involved in our worship teams and it’s been great to see some of our young people leading worship over the last year. 

- **Social spaces:** Things like the Big Church Lunch and of course FOCUS have been good times for the intergenerational sense of community develop naturally and we are keen to do more in this area as we go forwards. 

## **Staffing, Clergy and Lay ministry** 

There has been some significant transition in the staff team over the last 12 months. We sadly said goodbye to Paul Epton, our Love Your Neighbour manager, but were delighted to send him off to begin his ordination training. We also said farewell to Kath Marsden who had been our part time Youth Outreach pastor and part time Digital Media Assistant. Lastly, we said goodbye to Ruth Cook who over the last 7 years has had a number of roles in the OPs and admin team. All of these have left a gap and are missed. We also prepared to say goodbye to our Associate Vicar, Revd. Ben Brady and his family after him being appointed to the post of Rector in a church in York Diocese.  Again, I’d like to record a massive thanks to each one of them and for all they have given to the life of the church - much of which continues to outlast their time on staff here. A big thank you as well to the remaining staff members, PCC members and several of the congregation who have helped in picking up some of the responsibilities and leadership left by the vacancies. 

Although we would never have designed so many vacancies occurring at the same time, it did give us the opportunity to consider how, especially with several grant funding streams coming to an end, we may both develop a leaner and more sustainable staffing model and also look to develop the training, equipping and releasing of lay ministry in our congregation. 

During the second half of 2024, the PCC agreed to seek to recruit 3 new roles as follows, a Head of Operations, a Church Life Administrator and Facilitator and a Worship pastor with intergenerational focus.  It was also agreed with the Diocese to recruit for a new Associate Vicar. We also began to look at providing training and opportunities for authorised lay ministry and training staff to grow in releasing and growing leaders. This will be a significant focus on 2025. 

## **Ministry and Mission** 

Please do read the ministry and mission reports that follow which give a glimpse into all that has taken place during 2024. There are a few themes that emerge for me looking back over the last 12 months that will inform how we shape 2025 and beyond: 

1) Prayer and discipleship. Over 2024, we have tried to reflect on our sermon series that this is a moment to maybe intentionally attend more to our prayer life and discipleship as a church. We have over the last 10 years had a real focus on the ‘GO’ 

6 



of our ‘LOVE, LIVE and GO’ which has been great and seen us grow to where we are today from a handful of people 10 years ago, as well as seeing two churches planted and others resourced not least by the number of people we have sent for ordination training and are now leading churches in our diocese. However, we feel this has been a season to attend to the ‘LOVE’ and ‘LIVE’ aspects a bit more - trusting that the ‘GO’ will continue to flow from these naturally. 

2) We have a large fringe! Through all the different activities, programmes and services we run, we are engaging as a church with over 500 people each week. We would love to see these people become more connected to the life of the church and ultimately Jesus! 

3) A quiet ‘awakening’ amongst Gen Z and A. There is something happening that is new in these generations - a real openness and curiosity about Jesus, faith and church. Most weeks now there are people in the generations inviting friends or even people just turning up at church. This seems to be something of a national trend and its hugely encouraging and exciting. There is therefore an increasing need both to pray but also to have an intergenerational church that can help reach, nurture and disciple these young people. There is a huge need for spiritual parents and grandparents and to pray that what is happening amongst the generation would spread to all generations! 

## **Finances** 

It is worth just mentioning our finances as this time last year we had just been the victims of bank fraud to the tune of £42,000. I am thrilled that we have now recovered these funds and would like to thank our treasurer Dan Chard in particular, who made representation for us to the financial ombudsman.  We end the year in a reasonable financial position therefore with many of the funding streams we have relied on, especially for staffing drawing to a close, but with healthy reserves. There are some areas we would like to invest in over the coming 2 years, namely our work with students and young people and also to develop further the upstairs of the Salthouse (heating and cooling and toilets). To realise this, as well as stay financial sustainable, we will need to both grow in stewardship and explore grant funding. But after 10 years, I am still bowled over and humbled both by God’s provision and people’s sacrificial generosity as part of their worship and discipleship. 

## **5. MINISTRY REPORTS** 

## **ALPHA** – Beth Glenfield 

In 2024 Alpha continued to be a foundational ministry in our church life. Running it three times a year (in January, May and October) enables those who attend church or connect with us through one of our other ministry areas that are curious about the 

7 



Christian faith and what to know more can attend a course. This year a range of people attended the course from those who have no faith, to those who are new to faith through to people who have been Christians for years but perhaps want a reminder of the basics. 

All our courses this year were joint with St Faith’s and we used both locations for the courses. We ran three evening courses and one daytime in the summer in partnership with the LYN cafe. 

|||||
|---|---|---|---|
||No of sign ups|Average<br>no.<br>of<br>guests per week|<br>No. of team|
|Jan - Mar (evening)<br>The Salthouse|23|11|13|
|May - July (daytime)<br>The Salthouse|8|6|3|
|May - July (evening)<br>St Faith’s Church|9|4|9|
|Oct - Dec (evening)<br>The Salthouse|29|11|8|



We had a dedicated team which were a real mix of ages and from both churches, some who are long term Alpha team members and others serving for the first time, they did a great job of welcoming the guests, creating space for open discussion and providing a range of food. 

The Alpha day is a key part of the course where we focus on the Holy Spirit through talks and discussion and allow time and space to offer prayer for the guests to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We joined with St Mark’s for this day in March and November. 

## **Feedback from guests** : 

“I've always thought church might be a place for me, even in some very dark times before I started going to church. Now, I know it is and that God is there for me. For many years I've had a feeling I should step into church. I wish I had done it years ago!” 

“Thank you [team member] for lots of laughs & positive conversation. We are now attending St Swithin's as a family. We feel safe here. Thank you.” 

“Welcoming, friendly, inviting, prayer was great. The Holy Spirit day was amazing” 

Significant moments: “Being prayed for at church and Alpha away day, Holy Spirit. 

8 



“Very welcoming, I felt comfortable and welcomed every week, thank you for providing this, it helps many!” 

We’ve had Alpha guests this year who did not previously attend church that have become regular members of our congregation, and some have joined teams in other ministries such as LYN cafe and Stay Toasty. 

This year Alpha UK have designated us as an Alpha ‘Hub church’, recognising that we run Alpha regularly and in line with their ‘best practises ’and encouraging us to be advocates for Alpha among other churches and encouraging them to run it, we have had two other Lincoln churches join with our termly team training this year and continue to work in partnership with St Mark’s, Grimsby and provide support to other churches where welcomed. 

## **LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR** – Victoria Lawrence 

Our Love Your Neighbour ministry has continued to develop over the past 12 months, with new people attending our different outreach programmes. 

The Love Your Neighbour café continues to be well attended on Thursday mornings. We often welcome between 40-50 guests each week and we love witnessing strengthening relationships among the guests and volunteers. 

Food donations from Aldi and Sainsbury’s (in partnership with Neighbourly, a food redistribution platform), as well as donations from our two schools in St. Faith’s parish and our church congregations are gratefully received - thank you!. We were especially grateful for the Harvest Service where hundreds of items were donated - these donations built-up our stock levels at the Salthouse for many months and enabled us to distribute many more food parcels than would have been possible otherwise. Each fortnight we host a team from Voluntary Centre Services who use the café as a meeting place for social prescribers and their clients. In addition, we’ve also partnered with Citizens Advice in Lincoln who attend on a fortnightly basis to give our guest advice with energy costs plus any government benefits to which they may be entitled. Our café team has continued to grow and we’ve had great delight in welcoming 3 new volunteers to the team following their participation on our Alpha course. They also come along to our Sunday services in both churches. 

Once again, we ran Love Christmas and were grateful for the support from both St Swithin’s and St Faith’s congregation and our local schools in the West End to raise money and bring in donations. In 2024 we were able to make up 435 bags of kindness which we distributed to individuals and families that were in need across Lincoln via LYN café and partnering with other churches and charities. In a similar way earlier in 

9 



the year we were grateful for the support given to our Love Easter campaign, in which 555 Easter eggs were generously donated and distributed across the city. 

We also hosted our second LYN Christmas meal and catered for 60 guests for a Christmas dinner, where we were entertained by the choir from St Faith’s and St Martin’s Junior schools who came to sing some carols for everyone. A Christmas quiz completed the entrainment and was very much enjoyed by all! 

We ran our Kintsugi Hope course in the autumn term and whilst attendance from our guests was slightly sporadic, those who attended the sessions found them to be very encouraging and affirming. Our next Kintsugi Hope course will be open to the whole deanery as we seek to resource and support our fellow churches across Lincoln. We are also hoping to offer some training sessions to people from other churches in order to help enable other Kintsugi Hope courses to run from other locations across the city. 

At the beginning of 2024, we launched Stay Toasty at St. Faith’s Church, an afterschool club and warm space for children and their parents/carers. We’re grateful for the support of volunteers from both St Swithin’s and St Faith’s churches, plus the financial giving which has enabled us to buy toasters (an essential item!) and other equipment we need in order to be able to run each week. When we launched in January 2024 we welcomed about 12-15 children each week, but as a result of faithful prayer and being visible in our community and friends inviting their friends, we’ve seen Stay Toasty grow and we now welcome between 30-40 children each week. One parent who hadn’t been into a church space since she went to school commented ‘I had no idea church could be like this!’. Stay Toasty has been a great platform to welcome families into our other ministries including the 4:15, Alpha and Babyccinos. 

## **Night Light Café** – Emma Bell 

I stepped into the role of team leader some weeks after Paul Epton’s departure last year having run and now concurrently, the Arise Church Night Light Cafe on Birchwood since 2022. 

I met a small but dedicated team who knew their guests well. Through the Autumn numbers remained around 7-10 guests per evening. We have become much busier since the New Year, peaking at 19 guests in February before settling down in March to between 10 and 15 guests with much guest interaction within a safe, loving and supportive environment. 

The number of those presenting in crisis (suicidal) has also increased putting a strain on volunteer numbers.  Happily, working with the oversight of Night Light Café at Acts Trust, we have gained 3 more volunteers, drawn from the wider community, who are keen and well trained, allowing us more time to love and care for our guests. 

We have signposted guests to the services that can best help them practically and psychologically and have handled some difficult and at times distressing situations, including 2 young women who had attempted suicide prior to arrival but were persuaded to attend hospital for emergency care, supporting them in the weeks that 

10 



followed; some of the many instances of interventions that have made a big difference in the lives of people in Lincoln’s centre. 

## **CHURCH PLANTING AND RESOURCING THE URBAN CHURCH** – Revd. Jim Prestwood 

The resourcing the Urban Church project - funded by the Church of England Strategic Development Fund- was extended by a year due to the Covid pandemic but is now drawing to a close. Through this project, St. Swithin’s has planted twice. Firstly, to St. Mark’s Grimsby led by Rev. Matt Rogers (part of the plant team to St. Swithin’s in 2014). St. Mark’s has grown to around 100 each Sunday and is beginning to make plans to plant itself. Secondly, we planted to St. Faith’s and are now looking to join as one parish. The SDF board are considering how we might continue to help plant and revitalise going forwards and this in the context of a wider diocese strategy review. Locally we have been reliant on significant amounts of funding to cover salary costs and whilst these have been tapering off and will continue to do so for the next 12 months, it does necessitate us moving to a more streamlined and sustainable staffing model than we have perhaps been used to! We continue to grow in what it means to be a resource church in the deanery and wider diocese. 

## **MIDWEEK GROUPS** – Revd. Juliette Willis 

For much of 2023 Midweek Groups had taken a pause to allow us space to gather the Church centrally for things like Simply Us and a big push on Alpha, both of which were very well attended. As we looked to relaunch Midweek Groups in 2024 we wanted to make sure a range of options were available with each group looking a little different in their style, location, timings and group-makeup. Alongside the more traditional weekly or fortnightly gathering of adults to discuss sermon-series content, 2024 saw us establish monthly family midweek groups continuing our “Worship Together” ethos within a small group setting, as well as establishing a regular midweek group based at St Faith’s in the West End. 

We re-launch midweek groups at the beginning of each term to give people the opportunity to change groups if they felt they wanted to whilst maintaining the option to continue on together if they’d prefer. The range of groups available has created a greater breadth of engagement across our congregations with many finding a home and experiencing opportunities to build a greater depth of relationship with one another. 

At the start of 2024 it’s fair to say that we recognised there was a real appetite for Midweek Groups to be re-established. This resulted in a particularly high engagement during the first half of the year. The stats from 2024 can be seen in the table below: 

11 



||||
|---|---|---|
|Term|Number<br>of<br>groups|<br>Average Total Attendance (inc children attending<br>family groups)|
|JAN<br>-<br>APRIL|17|145|
|MAY<br>-<br>JULY|15|149|
|SEP<br>-<br>DEC|13|122|



Our prayer as we head into 2025 is for new leaders & helpers of midweek groups to emerge, creating space for deeper relationships and opportunities for discipleship across the city, our towns and our villages. 

## **LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT** – Beth Glenfield 

We continued with our Leadership Development Year programme offering training in theology and leadership. Alongside this the Leadership Development Year students served within a ministry to gain experience and put their learning in practice. The areas our 23/24 cohort focused on were kids, youth and events as well as getting stuck in with whole church events. We continued to open the LDY training wider to those who couldn't commit to the full LDY programme because of other responsibilities and two joined us who engaged with the training and we saw them grow in their discipleship as well as in the ministry area they were serving in. We also had two LDYer’s from St Mark’s, Grimsby join in with the training. Together they went to the HTB leadership conference to broaden their understanding of leadership and church and finished the year serving on teams at Focus. 

We welcomed a new cohort of two beginning in September, they are serving on worship and storytelling. We have partnered again with St Mark’s Grimsby as well as St Michael’s, Waddington for 24/25 and together the four of them are engaging with the weekly training sessions. Our two LDY’ers have slotted into the staff team, and have been keen to get involved in the life of the church, including working together to get the ‘prayer room ’open in the Salthouse. 

This year we began to offer ‘pop up ’leadership training sessions, starting with prayer ministry training to equip more of our congregation with the tools and confidence to other prayer ministry, this session was well attended by both St Faiths & St Swithin’s. We hope to continue to offer more of these next year. 

12 



## **18-25s** - Mads Brown 

## **Growing, building and reshaping** 

At the beginning of 2024 we had a period of 3 months where new 18-25s would rock up to Church either out of the blue or through invitation. After what had been a difficult Autumn term at the end of 2023, when we persevered, prayed and remained faithful in investing and discipling students - by putting energy into reaching the students who didn’t yet know Jesus and seeking to equip our students really well in invitation - we were beginning to see God do something new. 

At the 18-25s Weekend Away in February we saw 3 18-25s book on who hadn’t yet given their life to Jesus, by the end of the weekend they chose to make the decision to follow Him! 

From September we reshaped and rebranded our 18-25s ‘Gathering ’evenings and now have a core team of 10 that help to lead our weekly 18-25s ‘Collective ’nights on a Thursday. We have seen this steadily grow since September and have seen many new 18-25s join us and grow hungry in their faith. 

In September I was released to shift my role from 18-25s Pastor to 18-25s Outreach Pastor. This allows me more time on campus to reach the 99% of students that don’t yet know Jesus. Juliette has stepped up to help run some of the things I used to hold in order for me to have enough time and capacity to invest in mission and evangelism. 

## **Growing and releasing confidence in mission** 

Research done by Fusion Movement has found that 76% of unchurched students would go to Church if invited. This time last year we were praying and strategising around what mission could look in order to reach the 76%-  little did we know how far things would progress by the end of 2024! 

Ben Willis and I both began heading onto campus weekly at the start of 2024 with the vision of creating a missional small group that would chat with students about Jesus and share the gospel with them. Despite going onto campus every week for 3 months and sharing the vision with the students at St Swithin’s, no one else joined. 

After Easter, we began heading onto campus again but this time we worked in partnership with the Evangelism Secretary at the University of Lincoln Christian Union. As Jack (Evangelism Secretary) and I began working together on creating a greater missional presence on campus, we started to see more and more students want to get involved. We began with a few students but saw this increase over the weeks so that by summer over 30 students had said yes to being involved in regular weekly evangelism on campus. The great thing about this evangelism group is that all the students are from different Churches in Lincoln and are united in the drive to see students saved by Jesus! 

13 



Come September we were fired up and ready to go! We spoke to students about Jesus: during most of freshers' week on campus, during events at the freshers fayre and in the queues outside the Students Union. Between September and December we had over 300 conversations with students on campus- all who were offered the opportunity to find out more about Church. 

The students are beginning to lead the campus evangelism without me and are also coming up with their own missional ideas for 2025. We are expectant about all that God will do as we head out onto campus and share Jesus with a generation. 

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:37-38 New International Version (NIV) 

## **COLLEGE** – Revd. Victoria Lawrence 

On Tuesday lunchtime a small team of us provide chaplaincy at Lincoln college. We meet and chat with students in their common room (known at college as the Wellbeing hub). During the summer term we ran some Youth Alpha sessions which providing some discussions surrounding the nature of forgiveness, belief in Jesus and the purpose of scripture.  Through frequent visits to the well-being hub, strong relationships have been built, and we’ve had opportunities to pray for some students in their exams and certain family situations.  As a team we seek to continue to build links with the college staff and are passionate for establishing good working relationships to student supports in their wellbeing and ongoing questions of faith. 

## **SCHOOLS** – Revd. Victoria Lawrence 

We are continuing to provide Collective Worship on a fortnightly basis in both St. Faiths Infants and St. Faith’s and St. Martin’s Junior Schools. Collective Worship follows a yearly pattern where each school value is explored alongside times and season of the church calendar, biblical themes and inspirational stories. We also work with both schools to support them with elements of the RE curriculum, these visits have included: 

Reception: What do Christians do in worship? 

Year 1: Baptism Year 2 Easter workshops Year 3: How do Christians celebrate Easter 

Year 4 Parables workshops Year 5: Jesus as Messiah Year 6: Science and faith 

In July 2024 we also provided moving on workshops for Year 6 children as they made the transition into Year 7. It was a delight to be able to hear their own reflections about 

14 



how they are feeling and approaching going into Year 7, plus it was a good opportunity to reflect biblical values on God presence and peace in the midst of change Each term we welcome both schools for their end of term services which has been a great platform for us to provide further invitations for example our 4:15 services. Over the summer holiday we ran a holiday club called ‘Run the Race ’for children from both schools which was held at St. Faith’s Infant School. As 2024 was a summer of sport, we linked it to the Olympic Games and had some great discussions surrounding the themes of perseverance and keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. One child (aged 6) who had recently moved to Lincoln reflected: 

‘Before I moved to Lincoln I was nervous, but I am happy I have made some friends at my new school and at church and I’m pleased God was there.’ 

The summer holiday club gave us a further chance to build on the connections and relationships we’ve established through our schools ’ministry, youth ministry, 4:15 services and Stay Toasty. 

## **RISING GENERATIONS** 

## **Babyccinos** – Vicky Prestwood 

Babyccinos has continued to thrive over the last year; we have around 30 - 40 babies and toddlers, along with their parents or carers, regularly attending.  Each week there are 1 or 2 new people, and the feedback is always that it’s a really friendly group in a really lovely and welcoming space.  Many new people come along because of recommendations from other parents.  We continue to have no need to advertise because the group is so popular by word of mouth. 

Babyccinos has a really strong team of leaders, and it is a ministry which would be able to run without a member of staff in there every week.   Over the next year it would be great to develop this team of leaders further and have some additional help in the kitchen. 

We have seen a number of families from babyccinos come along to other things at St Swithins and St Faith’s.  This has been so encouraging.  We have seen people attending 9 15 and 10 15 services at the salthouse, 4 15 services at st faiths, family breakfasts, Stay Toasty and Alpha.  As a team we have tried to be bold in our conversations with people, offering to pray for people and speaking about our mission as a church.  It feels very much like our values of ‘home,‘ ’real ’and ‘courage ’are reflected in Babyccinos. 

## **Youth** – Revd. Juliette Willis 

There are three main spaces that our young people connect in with us over the course of the week. Our Wednesday night Youth sessions hosted at the Salthouse, our fortnightly Friday drop-in hosted at St Faith’s Church Hall and Sunday Connect which takes place between our morning services at the Salthouse. As a youth team we are 

15 



seeking to create spaces across the week where young people can encounter the LOVE of God, learn to LIVE more like Jesus and GO in the power of the Spirit to see their lives, their friends lives and their schools and colleges transformed. 

Throughout 2024 we’ve met regularly during term time on a Wednesday evening seeking to create space for community and peer-to-peer discipleship alongside some teaching input from the Youth team or wider staff team at St Swithin’s. We found that discipleship conversations have evolved best when we’ve created separate spaces for Older Youth and Younger Youth to engage in discussion after some central teaching input. This has given space for some of our sixth formers to really take a lead in this space and we’ve seen a number of young people grow in confidence in their own faith through opportunities to discuss things with one another. On average we’ve seen between 17-20 young people connect with us every week on Wednesday evenings. 

West End Youth has continued to meet twice a month at St Faith’s Church Hall throughout most of 2024. The group is aimed at school years 6 - 9, seeking to create a safe space for young people to have fun, invite their friends and build relationships with one another. Over the course of the year, the average attendance at the group was 15 young people but with around 25-30 different young people that connected with us over that time. 

September 2024 saw us introduce a new format to the night, creating a youth club drop-in environment. With games, crafts, sports activities and tuck shop available throughout the evening, where leaders are intentional about building relationships with the young people in a relaxed environment. We have been encouraged by the invitational opportunities this has created, particularly amongst our year 6’s and 7’s. 

Sunday Connect continues to create space for our youth who regularly attend Church to build relationships with one another on a Sunday morning. There are a number of young people we have the opportunity to connect with in this space and it has become a vital touch point between our young people and the youth team to support, equip and encourage our youth. 

Some of our highlights from 2024 have been taking a number of young people away on the Weekend Away in February and to Focus in July. Both of these events have created real momentum in the faith journeys of the young people attending. It’s also been really encouraging to see a number of young people involved in our worship teams across our services both at the Salthouse and at the4:15 at St Faiths. 

In November 2024 we said goodbye to Kath, our Youth Outreach Pastor, after a couple of years in the role. As we head into 2025 our prayer is for a core team of volunteer Youth Leaders to be established across Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays laying the 

16 



foundation for momentum to build across these three spaces, with regular attendance increasing as young people invite friends to come along. 

## **WORSHIP** – Revd. Jim Prestwood 

Our worshipping life as a church during 2024 has been supported by Revd. Ben Brady and led by a growing team from within our congregations. Towards the end of 2024, four of our worship leaders either moved away or stepped back and whilst they have been missed, others on the team have begun to step into these positions, and the team as a whole has grown and developed. 

A big thank you to the team who give of themselves and their giftings so freely, most of which is away from the ‘stage’ of a Sunday service. There is a great sense of team and a desire and passion to see us grow in our freedom and depth of worship – it’s truly exciting and inspiring. 

It has been great to see more of our children and young people become regularly involved in our worship team and some of them leading songs or whole services. 

We are looking forward to the appointment of a Worship pastor who will be able to grow and further develop this team. We have a particular need at the moment for more people to be trained up on the AV side of things, and this will need to be a focus in 2025. 

## **INTERGENERATIONAL MINISTRY** – Vicky Prestwood 

We continue to build on our Children’s and families work within the wider context of our Worship for Everyone services.  Within this we provide a number of opportunities for children and their families to engage in a number of ways. 

The9:15 - Our 9:15 service was renamed from “The Young Families” to just the 9:15. This has been well received as we have a number of people attending by choice who are not families with preschool children.  The9:15 has continued to grow as a community and remains the natural place to feed people in from Babyccinos.  Some families have begun to cross over into The10:15, but similarly some people have had children and started coming to The9:15 or begun to come along from groups. Therefore, the numbers remain fairly consistent. 

The10:15 - Our 10:15 service has grown in identity over the past year, as we try and push into prayer ministry, worship, and allowing space for the Holy Spirit to move. Naturally, some families with older children have transitioned into this service, so we continue to try to work hard at engaging a large variety of ages.  Over the past year 

17 



we have begun to explore what it means to be a ‘spiritual grandparent’ and work out how we can be using and encouraging those in the older generations more. 

Connect time - Connect time is a chance to do just that - for our kids and youth to connect with each other in the time between the services.  We have introduced having toast and the children love to sit round the tables and eat and chat.  We use it as a time to solidify the theme from the 9 15 or introduce the theme for the 10 15; in a fun and informal way.  We continue to struggle for leaders in connect, the team are fantastic but a little overstretched. 

Family Breakfasts - As part of our intergenerational ministry and midweek hubs we have introduced family breakfasts twice a term.  We have seen a small core group of church families coming along to these, and also found its a great next step to invite people from Babyccinos and Stay Toasty. 

Date Nights - To enhance family life we have been running some ‘date night ’socials where people are able to drop their children at the salt house and have an evening to themselves.  Some of the evenings during the holidays have been less well attended, but the last social, which was just before the half term, was really well received.  Again, we have seen cross-over from Stay Toasty with children attending these socials because they know the team and feel at home.  We will continue to build on these socials as we develop other ministries and see links between ministries growing. 

## **6. CHURCHWARDEN’S REPORT** – Richard Lambert & Rachel Tyrrell 

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 - we can confirm that all articles cited in the 2023 inventory have been accounted for in 2024. 

Terrier - Maintain a full register of all land owned by the church - we can confirm that no land or property has been sold. Building insurance continues in place and routine lightning protection assessments are maintained. 

Log-book - Towards the end of 2023, another denomination, the Traditional Anglican Church approached the diocese concerning potential interest in long term use of the St. Swithin’s Church building as their place of worship. Following consultations between St. Swithin’s clergy and PCC, the Archdeacon and Registrar through 2024, draft terms of reference for a lease agreement were established and are under review between all parties. 

A faculty was submitted on behalf of Lincoln City Council for the temporary use of the Church’s curtilage as a construction compound to facilitate works to refurbish 

18 



Greyfriars. Fees were covered by the Council and crown-reduction of the Plane tree overhanging the Angel Café and Salthouse south side were agreed in exchange.  The tree works are expected in early 2025. The Council also provided 4 parking permits to compensate for the loss of the parking bays on the south side of the Church, for the duration of the works. 

Supporting Jim & Vicky, Ben & Bekah – in a year of progress for St Swithin’s and St Faith’s, the work and prayer that has gone into being able to ‘move upstairs’ in the Salthouse as well as celebrating 10 years since the planting team came, has all required great leadership from our clergy team.  It has once again been a privilege to support them, prayerfully and practically, as we continue to, ‘go out where it is deeper’ (Luke 5:4) 

## **7. SAFEGUARDING** – Rosemary Brooks 

We comply with all regulations and duties and have due regard to House of Bishops ’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. Safeguarding is very important to us and is at the heart of all our activities. Safeguarding is a standing item on the PCC agenda for both churches and is reviewed at every PCC meeting. The PSO is an elected member of the PCC at St Swithin’s, and in her capacity as PSO is invited to attend St Faith’s PCC meetings and speak to and report on safeguarding matters. 

## **Current Team** 

Following Ros Garrod-Mason stepping down as PSO at St Faith’s after the last APCM, Rosemary Brooks is now the Parish Safeguarding Officer for both churches. Ros and Rosemary worked closely together prior to Ros stepping down and this has facilitated a seamless transition. Our thanks to Ros for her years of faithful service as PSO at St Faith’s and a personal thanks from Rosemary for being able to draw on Ros’s experience when she was new to the role. 

The other members of the Safeguarding team are Revd. Jim Prestwood (Safeguarding Lead) and Revd. Juliette Willis, with Sue Watt being responsible for DBS checks and safeguarding training administration. 

We continue to work closely with the Diocesan team, seeking their advice and guidance where appropriate.  The Diocese Safeguarding Advisor is Jack Redeyoff and the Case Worker that has supported us with regard to any concerns is Jonny Fluck. 

## **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 

19 



enables us to identify areas for improvement.  Our current status for St Swithin’s is green in all areas. 

## **Safeguarding Hub** 

This is a resource from the same providers as the Dashboard which supports the administration of the DBS process and required training. It was agreed that we would trial its use for PCC members only to compare it with our own monitoring and tracking process. The Hub involves a significant amount of data to be inputted for each individual which is to be found in Sue’s own records already. Using the Hub for the number of volunteers involved at St Swithin’s and St Faith’s seems to be an unnecessary duplication of data we already have recorded. As the PCC members have a legal status of trustees, in the interests of transparency and accountability, we will continue to use the Hub for their records 

## **DBS Guidance** 

In accordance with current guidance (Jan 2022), DBS checks now have to be renewed every 3 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 and St Faith’s we currently have 126 people with DBS checks serving in a variety of teams and roles. There were 48 new DBS checks in the year being reported. 

## **Training** 

All online training is now provided via the Church of England bespoke training portal. The new courses are specifically tailored to the needs of the Church and address the spiritual dimension that the previous courses via the local authority were unable to address. The cycle is three years and trainees are only required to refresh training at the highest level previously completed. In the year being reported 68 courses were completed. 

All members of the PCC are required to complete safeguarding training.  The module on Domestic Abuse is no longer a required course for PCC members but the PCCs at both St Swithin’s and St. Faith’s have taken the decision that this training will still be a required course for their members.  It was felt that 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 Sue Watt sue.watt@stswithins.org.uk 

## **Safeguarding Processes & Practice** 

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. Our report form was amended in 2024 to align more closely with the recommended format. 

20 



The Parish Safeguarding Officer maintains a central log of concerns. This is particularly important where you have several people responding to safeguarding concerns. It contains headline information with regard to the nature of the safeguarding concern and the outcome status and is only accessible to the safeguarding team. The log enables 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 needs addressing. All concerns, including those where no further action was deemed appropriate, are logged. All safeguarding records are maintained in accordance with the guidance and in a secure storage area online that only the safeguarding team can access. 

## **Safeguarding Enquiries** 

Safeguarding enquiries relate to policy and how this is implemented in practice.  Such enquiries are now formally recorded and shared with PCC. Enquiries this last year have focused on the use of mobile phones at youth sessions, minors attending for worship without a parent, minors attending Stay Toasty without a parent, a former youth member joining the youth team and transport arrangements for 18-25s. Safeguarding enquiries are typically reviewed and responded to by the safeguarding team. 

## **Safeguarding Team Review Meetings** 

The core safeguarding team meet quarterly to review the central log and actions taken. This ensures that all team members are aware of current cases and any learning from those cases can be shared. 

## **Volunteer Reviews** 

The new guidance requires that all volunteers in activities that require a DBS check have an annual review. 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.  The form was adapted slightly to allow volunteers to scale their level of satisfaction with their role as this is more informative than a simple yes/no response. It also allows for comparison at subsequent reviews.   Whilst the reviews are linked primarily to the safeguarding process it was agreed that the process could be beneficial to all volunteer teams in terms of acknowledging the value of their contribution. The review form is now made available and completed via Churchsuite. This enables the PSO and ministry leads to review and respond to completed forms. The following teams have completed reviews thus far: Youth, Worship and AV. 

## **INEQE Independent Audit of Safeguarding in Lincoln Diocese** 

The PSO and other members of PCC contributed to the surveys conducted by INEQE. The PSO also contributed to an in person online forum with INEQE alongside other 

21 



parish volunteers involved with safeguarding. The final report was published in April and is available via the diocese website. It was largely positive about the safeguarding culture that existed in Lincoln and highlighted the significant contribution made by PSOs and other volunteers. Most recommendations related to enhancing lines of accountability and to expanding the diocesan advisory team. 

Reported Concerns 2024-2025 There have been 14 logged concerns or cases this year and we have worked closely with individuals concerned and the diocese team to best support all involved and continue to make the church a welcoming and safe place for everyone. 

We continue to hold safeguarding at the heart of all our activities. If anyone has any concerns with regards to safeguarding, they should alert Rosemary Brooks, Jim Prestwood or Juliette Willis in person or by emailing safeguarding@stswithins.org.uk 

## **8. DEANERY SYNOD REPORT** – Sue Watt 

The Church of England is governed synodically - by Deanery synods, Diocesan synods and the General Synod. Matters affecting the church are discussed and decisions made at the relevant synod. 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. 

Deanery synod met in February, June and October 2024 to discuss issues affecting our local churches, share news and give support and encouragement and to receive reports from the proceedings at Diocesan and General synod to share with PCCs. In April our Rural Dean, Father Paul Noble from All Saint’s church, Monks Road retired and Revd. Adam Watson from St. Georges church, Swallowbeck took on this role.  In June and October, we invited speakers to address synod. Jack Redeyoff, the Diocesan Safeguarding advisor came to our June meeting and gave a presentation highlighting the importance of maintaining good safeguarding practice and giving a reminder that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. At our October meeting we saw how drama could be used for mission when David Shenton showed how the bible could be made accessible to everyone, bringing scripture to life by giving characters from well-known bible stories a voice, in his one-man plays. Aside from our visiting speakers, we continue to encourage and support support parishes without their own parish priest by encouraging churches to work together in partnership, in the same way that we partner with St. Faith’s. 

22 



## **9. ELECTORAL ROLL REPORT** – Sue Watt 

The number of members on the Electoral Roll at the APCM held in April 2024 was 217. In 2025, the Electoral Roll will be renewed. This means that people wanting to remain on the Roll must reapply. The Electoral Roll Officer will present the number on the new 2025 Electoral Roll to the APCM during the meeting. 

## **10. PCC REPORT** – Sue Watt 

The PCC met six times during 2024 to discuss and conduct the business of the church. We were pleased that during 2024 we were able to open the upper room for worship, for the first time on Sunday 28[th] April, and then following the installation of new staging, to hold the official opening of the new space on our 10[th] Birthday weekend in early October. This was a great way to celebrate the anniversary of our launch. Nick and Becky Drake from Gas Street church, Birmingham led our worship at the official opening and gave us encouragement as we seek to develop intergenerational worship.  Although there is still much more to do in terms of developing the upstairs of The Salthouse, the opening of the worship space has made a huge difference to our Sunday worship and other church activities/events. During 2024 there has also been much work continuing in the background to recover the money taken in the bank fraud we fell victim to in late 2023 and are pleased that following representations to the bank and to the Finance Ombudsman, the money taken during the bank fraud has been reimbursed in full. The preparation of a lease for the use of the old church building by the Traditional Anglican church has been ongoing during the year. They began using the chancel of the old church building for worship during December and will take on some of the costs associated with that building, including the costs of some essential maintenance work, which will reduce pressure on our financial resources. There has also been much work on managing the budget in light of reducing funding from the central church and less income from venue hire than we had hoped, on discerning the way forward in terms of staffing and on developing our partnership and joint ministry with St. Faith’s church as we become ‘One family, two churches’. 

## **Risk Statement** 

In common with other churches and charities the PCC considers the major areas of risk to which it is exposed, be they operational, financial or reputational, and establishes systems to mitigate those risks. As part of a continual process we will continue over 2025 to audit and review our policies, procedures and wider governance. 

## **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. 

23 



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. 

## **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; 

- 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 applicable Accounting Standards and Statements of Recommended Practice and the regulations made under section 154 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. 

## **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. 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. 

24 



## **Trustees in 2024** 

Revd. Jim Prestwood (Vicar and Chair of PCC) Revd. Ben Brady (Associate Vicar) Revd. John Birkett (to 14.04.24) Revd. Victoria Lawrence Revd. Cameron Watt (from 31.01.24) Revd. Ben Willis Revd. Juliette Willis 

Mr Richard Lambert (Churchwarden, PCC Vice Chair) Mrs Rachel Tyrrell (Churchwarden) 

Mr Dan Chard (Deanery Synod representative, PCC Treasurer) Mr Mick Glenfield (Deanery Synod representative – elected APCM 2024) Mrs Susan Watt (Deanery and Diocesan Synod representative, PCC Secretary,) Dr Phil Williams (Deanery Synod representative) 

Mrs Rosemary Brooks (Parish Safeguarding Officer) Mrs Becky Bull (until APCM 2024) Mr John Crowder Mrs Linzi Crowder (until APCM 2024) Mrs Gail Fields (from APCM 2024) Mr Tom Herbert (co-opted 28.04.24) Mrs Jen Moat Mr Dale Newman (from APCM 2024 Mrs Hayley Palmer (until APCM 2024) Mr Mark Perry Miss Jane Pickersgill Mr Ryan Rawlinson (co-opted 28.04.24) Mr Callum Roper Mr Andrew Shepherd Mr David Stapleton (until APCM 2024) Mr Andrew Warnes (until APCM 2024) 

25 



## **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[st] December 2024. 

## **Responsibilities and basis 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 Act”). 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 examiner’s statement** 

The charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants 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 concerning 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 fair’ 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:   Zachary Ramsden 

Name: Zachary Ramsden FCA Chartered Accountant 63 Deakin Leas, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 2JT Date: 29th April 2025 



## **ST SWITHIN'S LINCOLN** 

## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES** 

## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024** 

|Note<br>**INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM:**<br>Donations and legacies<br>3<br>Charitable activities<br>4<br>Income from Investments<br>5<br>Other Income<br>6<br>**Total income and endowments**<br>**EXPENDITURE ON:**<br>Charitable activities:<br>7<br>**Total expenditure**<br>**Net income/(expenditure)**<br>**Transfers between funds**<br>13<br>**Net movement in funds**<br>**Reconciliation of funds:**<br>13<br>Total funds brought forward<br>**Total funds carried forward**|Unrestricted<br>Funds<br>£<br>211,061<br>25,488<br>-<br>44,280<br>280,829<br>238,427<br>238,427<br>42,402<br>11,331<br>53,733<br>101,903<br>155,636|Restricted<br>Funds<br>£<br>120,853<br>16,786<br>2,105<br>-<br>139,744<br>217,038<br>217,038<br>(77,294)<br>(11,331)<br>(88,625)<br>118,238<br>29,613|Total<br>Funds<br>2024<br>£<br>331,914<br>42,274<br>2,105<br>44,280<br>420,573<br>455,465<br>455,465<br>(34,892)<br>-<br>(34,892)<br>220,141<br>185,249|_Total_<br>_Funds_<br>_2023_<br>_£_<br>_433,697_<br>_62,769_<br>_-_|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||_496,466_|
|||||_483,865_|
|||||_483,865_|
||||||
|||||_12,601_<br>_-_|
|||||_12,601_<br>_207,540_|
|||||_220,141_|



The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. 

All income and expenditure derive from continuing operations. 

The notes on page 18 to 30 form part of these accounts. 

1 



## **ST SWITHIN'S LINCOLN** 

## **BALANCE SHEET** 

## **AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2024** 

|Note<br>**FIXED ASSETS**<br>Tangible assets<br>9<br>**CURRENT ASSETS**<br>Stock<br>10<br>Debtors<br>11<br>Cash at bank and in hand<br>10<br>**CREDITORS: Amounts falling**<br>**due within one year**<br>11<br>**Net current assets / (liabilities)**<br>**Total assets less current liabilities**<br>**CREDITORS: Amounts falling due**<br>12<br>**after more than one year**<br>**Provisions for liabilities**<br>**TOTAL NET ASSETS**<br>**FUND BALANCES**<br>13<br>Unrestricted Funds<br>General funds<br>Designated funds<br>Restricted Funds|Unrestricted<br>Funds<br>£<br>359<br>-<br>9,205<br>149,761<br>158,966<br>3,688<br>155,278<br>155,637<br>-<br>155,637<br>74,113<br>81,524<br>155,637<br>-<br>155,637|Restricted<br>Funds<br>£<br>-<br>380<br>-<br>30,232<br>30,612<br>-<br>30,612<br>30,612<br>30,612<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>30,612<br>30,612|Total<br>Funds<br>2024<br>£<br>359<br>380<br>9,205<br>179,993<br>189,578<br>3,688<br>185,890<br>186,249<br>-<br>-<br>186,249<br>74,113<br>81,524<br>155,637<br>30,612<br>186,249|_Total_<br>_Funds_<br>_2023_<br>_£_<br>_2,236_<br>_300_<br>_32,895_<br>_239,881_|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||_273,076_<br>_43,171_|
|||||_229,905_|
||||||
|||||_232,141_<br>_12,000_<br>_-_|
|||||_220,141_|
|||||_60,975_<br>_40,929_|
|||||_101,904_<br>_118,237_|
|||||_220,141_|



The financial statements were approved by the members of the Parochial Church Council and were signed on its behalf by: 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Jim Prestwood Vicar of St Swithin's Date 

The notes on page 18 to 30 form part of these accounts. 

1 



## **ST SWITHIN'S LINCOLN** 

## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS** 

## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024** 

## **1 Statutory Information** 

The Parochial Church Council of St Swithin's PCC Lincoln is a charity registered in England & Wales.  The charity's registered number and principal address can be found on the Charity Information page. 

## **2 Accounting Policies** 

These financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis, under the historical cost convention.  The financial statements include all activities for which the PCC is legally responsible; the activities of informal gatherings of church members and groups that owe their main affiliation to another body and are excluded. 

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with The Church Accounting Regulations 2006, the 'Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)' ("the Charities SORP"), with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland ("FRS 102") and with the Charities Act 2011.  The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity as set out in FRS 102. 

The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 (the '2008 Regulations') requires charities to prepare their accounts in accordance with 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005' but this accounting standard has since been withdrawn and has been replaced by the Charities SORP mentioned in the preceding paragraph.  The charity has prepared these financial statements in accordance with the new Charities SORP; this departure from the 2008 Regulations is believed to be necessary for these financial statements to give a 'true and fair view'. 

The principles adopted in the preparation of the financial statements are set out below. 

## a) Going concern 

The PCC have assessed whether the use of the going concern basis is appropriate and have considered possible events or conditions that might cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. The PCC have made this assessment for a period of at least one year from the date of approval of the financial statements.  In particular the PCC have considered the charity's forecasts and projections and the possible implications should projected income and / or expenditure vary unexpectedly.  The PCC have concluded that there is a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue to operate for the foreseeable future. The charity therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements. 

## b) Income 

Income (which includes planned giving, collections and other donations) is recognised in the period in which the charity becomes entitled to receipt, the amount receivable can be measured with reasonable certainty, and receipt is probable.  For the most part income is generally recognised when it is received by, or on behalf of, the PCC.  Income is only deferred when the charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor has specified that the income is to be expended in a future period. 

Income from donations and legacies includes: 

- i) Recoverable gift aid.  This is recognised when the related donation is received.  Gift aid that has not been recovered by the balance sheet date is included as a debtor. 

- ii) Donated facilities, services and goods.  Goods donated for distribution to beneficiaries are recognised as income when receivable at fair value (being an estimate of the amount it would cost to purchase those items).  Facilities, services and goods donated for the charity's own use are recognised as income when receivable at their value to the charity. 

The charity relies on volunteers to carry out many of its activities.  However, in accordance with the SORP, the value of these services has not been included in these financial statements as they cannot be reliably measured. 

1 



## **2 Accounting Policies (continued)** 

When donated goods, services and facilities are distributed or consumed, an expense in respect of those items is included in the Statement of Financial Activities.  At the year end any goods that have not been distributed or consumed are recognised as stock; donated fixed assets are capitalised. 

Income from charitable activities represents income receivable from goods, services and facilities supplied in furtherance of the charity's charitable objects.  It includes income from church retreats and other events and courses. 

Income from other trading activities represents income receivable from activities undertaken to generate funds for the charity.  It includes income from reimbursement of staff time on secondment. 

## c) Expenditure 

Expenditure, including irrecoverable VAT, is recognised when it is incurred or, if earlier, when a legal or constructive obligation for a payment arises provided that it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. 

Contributions in respect of the diocesan parish share are included in the Statement of Financial Activities for all amounts agreed to being payable for the financial year.  Any contributions that have not been paid over by the year end are included as a creditor. 

The charity makes grants to other institutions and individuals to further its charitable objectives.  Grants payable are recognised as constructive obligations arise, which is generally when the charity expresses a commitment to the recipient that can be measured reliably and then only to the extent that any conditions associated with the grant are outside of the control of the charity. 

The cost of raising funds is not significant and has not been separately disclosed. 

Governance costs, which are included in expenditure on charitable activities but are identified separately in the notes to the accounts, includes costs associated with the independent examination of the financial statements, compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements and any other expenditure incurred on the strategic management of the charity. 

## d) Fund accounting 

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the PCC in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.  Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the PCC for particular purposes.  Restricted funds are donations which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors; they include donations received from appeals for specific activities or projects. 

## e) Tangible fixed assets 

Consecrated and beneficed property is not included in these financial statements by virtue of s.10(2) of the Charities Act 2011.  All expenditure on consecrated or beneficed buildings is written off in the year in which it is incurred. 

Movable church furnishings held by the incumbent and Churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal are capitalised in accordance with the policy set out below. These items are regarded as inalienable property and are listed in the church's inventory which can be inspected at any reasonable time. Inalienable property acquired prior to 2014 has not been capitalised as there is insufficient cost information available. 

Items purchased or donated for the charity's own use are capitalised when the cost of purchased items, or the fair value of donated items, is more than £1,000 and the item is expected to benefit the charity over more than one accounting period. Depreciation is charged on a straight line basis so as to write down the value of each asset to its estimated residual value (if any) over its expected useful economic life.  To achieve this objective the following rates of depreciation are charged: 

Equipment 3 years 

## **2 Accounting Policies (continued)** 

f) Stocks: 

Stocks of donated items held for distribution to beneficiaries are measured at fair value. 

2 



## g) Leased assets 

Leases which do not transfer substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to the charity are classified as operating leases. Operating lease payments are recognised as an expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term (unless another systematic basis is more representative of use). 

## h) Pension scheme arrangements 

The charity operates defined contribution pension schemes for its employees.  Obligations for contributions to these schemes are recognised as an expense when the liability arises.  The assets of these schemes are held separately from those of the charity in independently administered funds. 

i) Taxation The charity has taken advantage of the various reliefs from taxation available to charities and no tax is payable on the charity's income. 

j) Financial instruments The charity's financial assets and financial liabilities all qualify as basic financial instruments, as defined by FRS102.   Except for loans, creditors and debtors are measured at their expected settlement value (normally the amount of cash that the charity expects to pay or receive).  The charity recognises liabilities for the principal of those loans that remains outstanding at the year end (i.e. the liabilities exclude any interest chargeable on the loans in future years). 

## k) Exemption from preparing a cashflow statement 

The charity has taken advantage of an exemption conferred by the Charities SORP and has not prepared a cash flow statement. 

## l) Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement 

ln preparing financial statements certain judgements, estimates and assumptions have to be made that affect the amounts recognised in the financial statements.  The members of the PCC consider the following to be significant: 

i) The annual depreciation charge for property, plant and equipment is sensitive to changes in the estimates for useful economic life and residual value.  These estimates are reassessed annually and, when necessary, adjusted to reflect current circumstances. 

- ii) The constructive obligation for grants payable is based on an assessment of the likely duration of the supported activity. Again this estimate is re-assessed annually and the obligation is adjusted to reflect current expectations. 

|**3**|**Donations and legacies**||Unrestricted|Restricted||Total||_Total_|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||Funds|Funds||2024||_2023_|
||||£|£||£||_£_|
||Donations of cash and similar||170,067)|11,799)||181,866)||_219,065)_|
||Donations in kind|-|-|10,502)||10,502)||_9,610)_|
||Other grants receivable||188)|90,960)||91,148)||_167,894)_|
||Income tax recoverable||40,806)|7,592)||48,398)||_37,128)_|
||||211,061)|120,853)||331,914)||_433,697)_|
||Donations in kind comprise the following:||Unrestricted|Restricted||Total||_Total_|
||||Funds|Funds||2024||_2023_|
||Goods donated for:||£|£||£||_£_|
||Food for LYN received for distribution to beneficiaries|-|-|10,502)||10,502)||_9,610)_|
|||-|-|10,502)||10,502)||_9,610)_|
|**4**|**Income from charitable activities**||Unrestricted|Restricted||Total||_Total_|
||||Funds|Funds||2024||_2023_|
||||£|£||£||_£_|
||Church events||25,488)|16,786)||42,274)||_62,769)_|
||||25,488)|16,786)||42,274)||_62,769)_|
||||Unrestricted|Restricted||Total||_Total_|
||||Funds|Funds||2024||_2023_|
||||£|£||£||_£_|



3 



|**5**|**Dividends and Interest**|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Dividends Received|-|-|-|2,105-|2,105)||_-_|_-_|
|||-|-||2,105)|2,105)||_-_|_-_|
||||Unrestricted||Restricted|Total|||_Total_|
||||Funds||Funds|2024|||_2023_|
||||£||£|£|||_£_|
|**6**|**Other Income**|||||||||
||Insurance claim and bank refund||44,280)|-|-|44,280)||_-_|_-_|
||||44,280)|-|-|44,280)||_-_|_-_|
|**7**|**Charitable expenditure**||Unrestricted||Restricted|Total|||_Total_|
||||Funds||Funds|2024|||_2023_|
|**a**|**Costs incurred directly on specific activities**||£||£|£|||_£_|
||Ministry expenses:|||||||||
||Parish share||35,000)|||35,000)|||_32,750)_|
||Mission and evangelism||15,807)||15,206)|31,013)|||_25,720)_|
||Other ministry expenses||17,903)||4,001)|21,904)|||_18,050)_|
||Salaries, wages & pension costs||97,815)||67,535)|165,350)|||_183,943)_|
||Donated goods (note 5c)|-|-||10,502)|10,502)|||_9,610)_|
||Total Ministry expenses||166,525)||97,244)|263,769)|||_270,073)_|
||Property expenses:|||||||||
||Church running expenses||14,308)||16,233)|30,541)|||_79,651)_|
||Utilities and insurance||22,107)|||22,107)|||_23,752)_|
||Routine maintenance||3,980)||536)|4,516)|||_7,458)_|
||Major repairs & structural work|-|-||102,025)|102,025)|||_60,894)_|
||Total Property expenses||40,395)||118,794)|159,189)|||_171,755)_|
||Grants payable (note 5d)||12,120)||1,000)|13,120)|||_17,826)_|
||||219,040)||217,038)|436,078)|||_459,654)_|
|**b**|**Costs incurred on support & administration**|||||||||
||Governance costs|||||||||
||Cost of independent examination||925)|-|-|925)||_-_|_-_|
||Other||1,920)|-|-|1,920)|||_2,725)_|
||Total Governance costs||2,845)|-|-|2,845)|||_2,725)_|
||Other support costs||14,667)|-|-|14,667)|||_17,348)_|
||Property and equipment depreciation||1,875)|||1,875)|||_4,138)_|
||||19,387)|-|-|19,387)|-||_24,211)_|
||**Total expenditure**||238,427)||217,038)|455,465)|||_483,865)_|
|**7**|**Charitable expenditure (continued)**|||||||||
|**c**|**Donations in kind expensed in year**||Unrestricted||Restricted|Total|||_Total_|
||||Funds||Funds|2024|||_2023_|
||||£||£|£|||_£_|
||Food for LYN distributed to beneficiaries|-|-||10,502)|10,502)|||_9,610)_|
|||-|-||10,502)|10,502)|||_9,610)_|
|**d**|**Grants payable**||||Institutions|Individuals|||2024|
||||||£|£|||£|



4 



|Missionary support<br>12,120)<br>Church Planting<br>1,000)<br>Relief of poverty<br>-<br>-<br>13,120)<br>The comparatives for the previous year are as follows:<br>_Institutions_<br>_£_<br>_Missionary support_<br>_7,826)_<br>_Church Planting_<br>_10,000)_<br>_Relief of poverty_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_17,826)_<br>The charity's principal grants to institutions comprised:<br>St Mark's Grimsby<br>Charis Foundation<br>CP Africa<br>Fusion UK<br>Hope for Justice<br>Lincoln Active Faith Network<br>Tearfund<br>Baby's Basket<br>Lincoln Street Pastors<br>Unallocated<br>Grants for less than £100 each|Missionary support<br>12,120)<br>Church Planting<br>1,000)<br>Relief of poverty<br>-<br>-<br>13,120)<br>The comparatives for the previous year are as follows:<br>_Institutions_<br>_£_<br>_Missionary support_<br>_7,826)_<br>_Church Planting_<br>_10,000)_<br>_Relief of poverty_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_17,826)_<br>The charity's principal grants to institutions comprised:<br>St Mark's Grimsby<br>Charis Foundation<br>CP Africa<br>Fusion UK<br>Hope for Justice<br>Lincoln Active Faith Network<br>Tearfund<br>Baby's Basket<br>Lincoln Street Pastors<br>Unallocated<br>Grants for less than £100 each|Missionary support<br>12,120)<br>Church Planting<br>1,000)<br>Relief of poverty<br>-<br>-<br>13,120)<br>The comparatives for the previous year are as follows:<br>_Institutions_<br>_£_<br>_Missionary support_<br>_7,826)_<br>_Church Planting_<br>_10,000)_<br>_Relief of poverty_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_17,826)_<br>The charity's principal grants to institutions comprised:<br>St Mark's Grimsby<br>Charis Foundation<br>CP Africa<br>Fusion UK<br>Hope for Justice<br>Lincoln Active Faith Network<br>Tearfund<br>Baby's Basket<br>Lincoln Street Pastors<br>Unallocated<br>Grants for less than £100 each|-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-|12,120)<br>1,000)<br>-<br>-|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||13,120)<br>_Institutions_<br>_£_<br>_7,826)_<br>_10,000)_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_17,826)_|-<br>-<br>_Individuals_<br>_£_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>2024<br>£<br>1,000)<br>2,000)<br>-<br>-<br>2,000)<br>3,000)<br>-<br>-<br>2,500)<br>370)<br>1,250)<br>1,000)<br>-<br>-<br>13,120)|13,120)<br>_2023_<br>_£_<br>_7,826)_<br>_10,000)_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_17,826)_<br>_2023_<br>_£_<br>_10,000)_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_1,614)_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_6,212)_<br>_-_<br>_-_<br>_17,826)_|
|||**of members of the PCC**|||
||Gross wages, salaries and other direct employment costs<br>Social security<br>Pension and Life Insurance costs|2024<br>_2023_<br>£<br>_£_<br>150,926)<br>_159,229)_<br>8,884)<br>_10,481)_<br>5,540)<br>_5,742)_<br>165,350)<br>_175,452)_|||



## **8 Analysis of staff costs, the cost of key management personnel and remuneration of members of the PCC** 

||2024||_2023_|
|---|---|---|---|
||£||_£_|
|Gross wages, salaries and other direct employment costs|150,926)||_159,229)_|
|Social security|8,884)||_10,481)_|
|Pension and Life Insurance costs|5,540)||_5,742)_|
||165,350)||_175,452)_|
|||||



The average monthly number of employees during the year was 6 (2023: 7).  Most of the charity's activities are carried out by volunteers. 

No staff received salaries at a rate of more than £60,000 per annum. 

The charity's key management comprise the members of the PCC, including specifically the clergy members.  Total employment benefits payable to key management for the year were as follows: 

Jim Prestwood, Ben Brady, Juliette Willis, Ben Willis (now non-stipendiary) and Victoria Lawrence (who are clergy members of the PCC) receive a stipend from the Diocese and are not employees but office holders; some of the Parish Share paid to the Diocese is used to help meet the cost of these stipends.  Jim Prestwood, Ben Brady, Juliette Willis, Ben Willis and Victoria Lawrence are provided with accommodation (which is customary for clergy) and the cost of this accommodation to the PCC is disclosed in note 5 'Charitable Expenditure' and was not material during 2023 or 2022.  The charity also reimbursed expenses to Jim Prestwood, Ben Brady, Juliette Willis, Ben Willis and Victoria Lawrence; again these costs are disclosed in note 5 'Charitable Expenditure' and was not material during 2023 or 2022. 

No other member of the PCC received employment benefits in either the current or preceding year. 

**9 Tangible fixed assets** 

Fixtures, 

5 



|||fittings and||Total|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||equipment||2024|
|||£||£|
|Cost|||||
|At 1 January 2024||90,247)||90,247)|
|Additions|-|-|-|-|
|Disposals|-|-|-|-|
|At 31 December 2024||90,247)||90,247)|
|Accumulated depreciation|||||
|At 1 January 2024||88,013)||88,013)|
|Charge for the year||1,875)||1,875)|
|At 31 December 2024||89,888)||89,888)|
|Net book value|||||
|At 31 December 2024||359)||359)|
|_At 31 December 2023_||_2,236)_||_2,236)_|



The Salthouse was completed for occupation during 2020 and taken on by St Swithins PCC as a Functional Fixed Asset, but it is not included as an asset for the purpose of these accounts.  Ownership of the Salthouse remains with the Diocese of Lincoln and is included on their balance sheet as a Glebe Property.  However, for information the building is for the exclusive usage of St Swithins PCC, who are responsible for maintenance, upkeep and insurance.  The building is currently valued by the Diocese of Lincoln for insurance purposes at £2M. 

|**10**|**Stock**||2024||_2023_|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Donated goods||£||_£_|
||Food donated for distribution to beneficiaries for LYN||380)||_300)_|
||||380)||_300)_|
|**11**|**Debtors**||2024||_2023_|
||Falling due within one year:||£||_£_|
||Tax recoverable - St Swithin's||3,082)||_11,441)_|
||Other debtors||3,902)||_19,994)_|
||Prepayments and accrued income||2,221)||_1,460)_|
||**Total debtors**||9,205)||_32,895)_|
|**10**|**Cash at Bank and in Hand**||2024||_2023_|
||||£||_£_|
||Cash at bank with immediate access||179,993)||_239,881)_|
||Notice deposits (with a term of three months or less)|-|-|_-_|_-_|
||||179,993)||_239,881)_|
|**11**|**Creditors: liabilities falling due within one year**||2024||2023|
||||£||£|
||Trade creditors||3,688)||31,171)|
||Accruals|-|-|-|-|
||Methodist 5 year loan for Salthouse|-|-||12,000)|
||||3,688)||43,171)|
|||||||



6 



|**12**|**Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year**|2024|2023|
|---|---|---|---|
|||£|£|
||Methodist 5 year loan for Salthouse|0)|12,000)|
|||-<br>-|12,000)|
|||||



## **13 Funds** 

During the  year the movements in the charity's funds were as follows: 

|**12**<br>**Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year**<br>2024<br>2023<br>£<br>£<br>Methodist 5 year loan for Salthouse<br>0)<br>12,000)<br>-<br>-<br>12,000)|**12**<br>**Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year**<br>2024<br>2023<br>£<br>£<br>Methodist 5 year loan for Salthouse<br>0)<br>12,000)<br>-<br>-<br>12,000)|**12**<br>**Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year**<br>2024<br>2023<br>£<br>£<br>Methodist 5 year loan for Salthouse<br>0)<br>12,000)<br>-<br>-<br>12,000)|
|---|---|---|
|||-<br>-<br>12,000)|
|||funds were as follows:|
||_Designated Funds_<br>Hardship Fund<br>Emergency Fund<br>Church Planting<br>Buildings R&M Fund<br>Working Reserves<br>Mission Giving<br>_General Unrestricted Funds_<br>Total Unrestricted Funds<br>_Restricted Funds_<br>Salthouse<br>Lands Trust Grants<br>Diocese: SDF Salary Support<br>Love Your Neighbour/(LYN)<br>Leadership Development<br>7 Minute Fund<br>CRT Transform<br>Student Ministry Fund<br>Rising Gens<br>Church Planting - St Mark's<br>Church Planting - St Faith's<br>Henry Smith Charity<br>Heating Grant<br>Charity<br>Hobson<br>Aggregate of funds|Opening<br>Incoming<br>Outgoing<br>Transfers<br>Closing<br>balance<br>resources<br>resources<br>in the year<br>balance<br>2024<br>2024<br>2024<br>2024<br>2024<br>£<br>£<br>£<br>£<br>£<br>810)<br>-<br>-<br>(295)<br>-<br>-<br>515)<br>1,200)<br>-<br>-<br>692)<br>-<br>-<br>1,892)<br>12,500)<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>12,500)<br>7,642)<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>(2,025)<br>5,617)<br>18,777)<br>41,223)<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>60,000)<br>-<br>-<br>234)<br>(6,157)<br>6,923)<br>1,000)<br>40,929)<br>41,457)<br>(5,760)<br>4,898)<br>81,524)<br>60,975)<br>239,372)<br>(232,667)<br>6,433)<br>74,113)<br>101,904)<br>280,829)<br>(238,427)<br>11,331)<br>155,637)<br>95,942)<br>7,079)<br>(105,046)<br>2,025)<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>2,105)<br>(5,489)<br>3,384)<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>67,535)<br>(67,535)<br>-<br>-<br>10,328)<br>29,713)<br>(24,575)<br>(12,877)<br>2,589)<br>(2,104)<br>4,259)<br>(2,912)<br>5,000)<br>4,243)<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>6,000)<br>6,700)<br>-<br>-<br>(6,200)<br>6,500)<br>388)<br>-<br>-<br>(316)<br>72)<br>(873)<br>873)<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>7,024)<br>3,180)<br>(9,241)<br>-<br>-<br>963)<br>1,532)<br>18,300)<br>(924)<br>(2,663)<br>16,245)<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>118,237)<br>139,744)<br>(216,038)<br>(11,331)<br>30,612)<br>220,141)<br>420,573)<br>(454,465)<br>-<br>-<br>186,249)|
||||



## **13 Funds (continued)** 

In the previous year the movements in the charity's funds were as follows: 

7 



|||||Opening||Incoming||Outgoing||Transfers||Closing|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||balance||resources||resources||in the year||balance|
|||||2023||2023||2023||2023||2023|
|||||£||£||£||£||£|
|_Designated Funds_|||||||||||||
|Hardship Fund||||810)|-|-|-|-|-|-||810)|
|Emergency Fund||||1,200)|-|-|-|-|-|-||1,200)|
|Church Planting||||30,000)|-|-||(10,000)||(7,500)||12,500)|
|Building R&M Fund||||6,671)|-|-|-|-||971)||7,642)|
|Working Reserves||||60,000)|-|-|-|-||(41,223)||18,777)|
|||||98,681)|-|-||(10,000)||(47,752)||40,929)|
|_General Unrestricted Funds_||||3,182)||234,024)||(263,487)||87,256)||60,975)|
||||||||||||||
|Total Unrestricted|Funds|||101,863)||234,024)||(273,487)||39,504)||101,904)|
|_Restricted Funds_|||||||||||||
|Salthouse||||61,094)||80,367)||(59,148)||13,629)||95,942)|
|Lands Trust Grant||||5,272)||9,597)||(10,927)||(3,942)|-|-|
|Diocese: SDF Salary Support|||-|-||82,751)||(82,751)|-|-|-|-|
|Love Your Neighbour/(LYN)||||500)||34,951)||(17,187)||(7,936)||10,328)|
|Leadership Development||||56)||181)||(2,341)|-|-||(2,104)|
|7 Minute Fund||||487)|-|-||(487)|-|-|-|-|
|CRT Transform|||-|-||800)||(764)||(36)|-|-|
|Student Ministry Fund||||7,007)||8,750)||(8,288)||(1,469)||6,000)|
|Rising Gens|||-|-||750)||(362)|-|-||388)|
|Church Planting - St Mark's||||11,995)||1,148)||(14,016)|-|-||(873)|
|Church Planting - St Faith's||||(691)||20,700)||(11,503)||(1,482)||7,024)|
|Henry Smith|Charity|||17,378)||17,900)||(2,604)||(31,142)||1,532)|
|Heating Grant||||2,579)|-|-|-|-||(2,579)|-|-|
|Charity|||-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|
|Hobson|||-|-||4,547)|-|-||(4,547)|-|-|
|||||105,677)||262,442)||(210,378)||(39,504)||118,237)|
|Aggregate of funds||||207,540)||496,466)||(483,865)|-|-||220,141)|



## **13 Funds (continued)** 

## _Restricted Funds_ 

The Diocese missional building grant funding from 2015 is primarily to help develop buildings appropriate for mission in the community for the next decades. 

The Diocese salary payments fund is funding from the Diocese of Lincoln towards key church worker salaries in the initial stages of the development of the work of the church in the community. 

The Love Your Neighbour (LYN) fund was income provided for the establishment and running of food bank, crisis café, debt advice and other social ministries. 

Social Transformation and 7 Minute Fund was received in 2020 but due to the pandemic not spent until 2021.  Funds were given to enable a better welcome into the building. 

8 



Student Ministry is money received for and spent on the work of youth and students ministries, including weekly events and one off trips.  All funds were utilised in 2019. 

## _Designated Funds_ 

Hardship fund is money set aside by the trustees for the clergy to spend on relief of poverty / to meet specific needs, at their discretion. 

The Emergency Fund is money set aside by the trustees to cover any future unexpected one-off expenditure or to meet on going costs in the face of a fall in income. 

The Church planting fund is money set aside by trustees to cover any future costs incurred in the planting of new congregations. The decision was made to set this money aside as part of the churches commitment to tithing its income. 

## **Analysis of net assets by fund** 

The assets and liabilities of the various funds at the year end date were as follows: 

|||Unrestricted|Unrestricted|Funds||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||General||Designated|||Restricted|||
|||funds|||funds||funds||2024|
|||£|||£||£||£|
|Fixed assets||359)|-||-|-|-||359)|
|Stock and debtors||9,205)|-||-||380)||9,585)|
|Cash at bank and in hand||68,237)||81,524)|||30,232)||179,993)|
|Current liabilities||(3,688)|-||-|-|-||(3,688)|
|Non-current liabilities|-|-||||||-|-|
|||||||||-|-|
|||74,113)|-|81,524-|||30,612)||186,249)|



The assets and liabilities of the various funds at the previous year end date (31/12/23) were as follows: 

|||_Unrestricted_|_Unrestricted_|_Funds_|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||_General_||_Designated_|||_Restricted_||
|||_funds_|||_funds_||_funds_|_2023_|
|||_£_|||_£_||_£_|_£_|
|_Fixed assets_||_2,236)_|_-_||_-_|_-_|_-_|_2,236)_|
|_Stock and debtors_||_12,364)_|_-_||_-_||_20,831)_|_33,195)_|
|_Cash at bank and in hand_||_94,111)_||_40,929)_|||_96,825)_|_231,865)_|
|_Current liabilities_|_(43,170)_||_-_||_-_|_-_|_-_|_(43,170)_|
|_Non-current liabilities_|_(12,000)_||_-_||_-_|_-_|_-_|_(12,000)_|
|||_53,541)_||_40,929)_|||_117,656)_|_212,126)_|



## **14 Pension commitments** 

During the year employer’s pension contributions totalling £4,334 (2023: £4,468) were payable to defined contribution personal pension schemes. No pension contributions were owing at the balance sheet date (2023: £nil). 

## **15 Transactions with related parties** 

During the year the charity: 

- a) received donations totalling £62,698 (2023: £62,780) from related parties (which includes members of the PCC, anyone closely connected to them and any other member of key management). 

9 



- b) No expenses (2023: £nil) were paid to, or for, non-clergy members of the PCC (reimbursements for expenses incurred when acting as agent for the charity or incurred when undertaking employment duties not connected with serving as a PCC member are not included in this disclosure). 

- c) received funds from the St Swithin's Community Centre (Croft Street), charity number 521948, of £5,134 (2022: £3,120), being a contribution to the staff costs of St Swithin's PCC staff engaged there; some of the PCC are trustees of this charity. 

- During the year the charity also made the following payments to, or for, related parties: 

- a) Employed Ruth Cook as Head of Ops and Development, sister of Linzi Crowder who is a PCC member.  Ruth received remuneration of £18,655 (2023: £27,018) but left the post at end of August 2024 

- b) Employed Vicky Prestwood as Worship for Everyone Pastor, married to Rev Jim Prestwood, vicar and chair of the PCC.  Vicky received remuneration of £11,049 (2023: £9,550) in the year. 

- c) Employed Sue Watt as St Faith's Administrator, and is a PCC member.  Sue received remuneration of £12,480 (2023: £12,480) in the year. 

- d) Employed Rose Williams as Finance Assistant, married to Phil Williams who is a PCC member.  Rose received remuneration of £7,105 (2023: £2,132) in the year. 

Except as disclosed in note 6 'Analysis of staff costs', there have been no other transactions with related parties during the year. 

## **16 Material Fraud** 

As stated in the Trustees' Report in 2023 the charity was victim to a material bank fraud of £41,223. Representations are being made to the bank and financial ombudsman to recover the funds. 

10 



## **ST SWITHIN'S LINCOLN** 

## **DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES WITH COMPARATIVES** 

## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024** 

|Note<br>**INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM:**<br>Donations and legacies<br>3<br>Charitable activities<br>4<br>Income from Investments<br>Other income<br>**TOTAL INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS**<br>**EXPENDITURE ON:**<br>Charitable activities:<br>7<br>**TOTAL EXPENDITURE**<br>**Net income/(expenditure)**<br>**Transfers between funds**<br>13<br>**Net movement in funds**<br>**Reconciliation of funds:**<br>13<br>Total funds brought forward<br>**Total funds carried forward**|2024<br>2023<br>£<br>£<br>211,061<br>209,662<br>25,488<br>24,362<br>-<br>-<br>3,057<br>-<br>239,606<br>234,024<br>232,667<br>263,487<br>232,667<br>263,487<br>6,939<br>(29,463)<br>6,433<br>87,256<br>13,372<br>57,793<br>60,975<br>3,182<br>74,347<br>60,975<br>Unrestricted Funds<br>General|2024<br>2023<br>£<br>£<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>41,223<br>-<br>41,223<br>-<br>5,760<br>10,000<br>5,760<br>10,000<br>35,463<br>(10,000)<br>4,898<br>(47,752)<br>40,361<br>(57,752)<br>40,929<br>98,681<br>81,290<br>40,929<br>Unrestricted Funds<br>Designated|2024<br>2023<br>£<br>£<br>120,853<br>224,035<br>16,786<br>38,407<br>2,105<br>-<br>-<br>139,744<br>262,442<br>217,038<br>210,378<br>217,038<br>210,378<br>(77,294)<br>52,064<br>(11,331)<br>(39,504)<br>(88,625)<br>12,560<br>118,237<br>105,677<br>29,612<br>118,237<br>Restricted Funds|Total<br>Funds<br>2024<br>£<br>331,914<br>42,274<br>2,105<br>44,280<br>420,573<br>455,465<br>455,465<br>(34,892)<br>-<br>(34,892)<br>220,141<br>185,249|Total<br>Funds<br>2023<br>£<br>433,697<br>62,769<br>-<br>-|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||496,466|
||||||483,865|
||||||483,865|
||||||12,601<br>-|
||||||12,601|
||||||207,540|
|||||||
||||||220,141|



1