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2023-12-31-accounts

Annual Report 2023

Priest-in-charge Rev James Harvey

Enquiries 01325 264 905 admin@holytrinity-darlington.org.uk

Find us online at www.holytrinity-darlington.org.uk

holytrinitydarlington

holytrinitychurchdarlington

Contents

Welcome ...................................................................
Review of the year ...................................................
Why are we here? ....................................................
Vision, values, structure & priorities .......................
Achievements & performance
Worship ...............................................................
Nurture ................................................................
Growing ..............................................................
Caring for God’s creation ................................
Buildings .....................................................................
Working together in Darlington ..............................		 3
4-5
6
7-10
11
12-13
14-15
16
17
18
Administration ........................................................... 19-20
Finance & reserves ................................................... 21-22
Governance & Management ................................ 23

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Welcome to our Annual report!

2023 started with an adult Holy Trinity member getting baptised on 1st January and it ended with 10 young people on a youth Alpha course. These two facts characterise some of Holy Trinity in 2023, and certainly many of our aspirations.

A good handful of people joined Holy Trinity Church in 2023 which helped foster a sense of vibrancy whenever we meet. The music group grew in number and in repertoire as we seek to embrace worship across the ages. Nick and Katherine Barker started a new home group. We introduced prayer ministry in our services. We gained a bronze EcoChurch award. We worked in partnership with the Memorial Hospital to hold a baby loss service. We even started one of our services in our churchyard. These were alongside our regular activities and services. It was a year of gradual growth in number, in faith and in looking outwards.

A couple of people joined us in a more formal capacity – Steph Price (pioneer priest at St Cuthbert’s) and Mary Yasini (curate) started in July, and Dionne McCreedy (children and families worker) in October. Their energy, support and input has enhanced our worship and life as a church and I am grateful and indebted to them. Personally my life was somewhat turned upside down as St Cuthbert’s became a Resourcing Church, so I am especially indebted to the standing committee for all their support and guidance and to all three churchwardens who served in 2023 – John Whitham who retired at the APCM, Stan Renwick who stepped up at the APCM and to Eleanor Blackburn for her tireless work. Having such a team, alongside Rachel Lunney running the music group and the ‘tech’ team, has been a joy to work with and to see them all bring new life to Holy Trinity.

The biggest physical change came in the summer when we installed some permanent ‘visuals’ in Holy Trinity – this has significantly enhanced our worship and has now become second nature to us. We remain very grateful to all who made this installation possible – practically and financially. Many things within Holy Trinity bring me joy, allow me to mention three in particular:

  1. Monday morning prayer – as a church we have prayed almost every Monday morning for three years. We pray in simple and accessible ways, different people lead us and it has attracted a good number of committed and faithful pray-ers. I remain convinced this is pivotal to becoming a healthy church, and I am proud of our weekly commitment to this.

  2. The way we embrace new people. Regularly and consistently, new people comment on the importance of the welcome they receive at Holy Trinity. And often that welcome is extended to new people being embraced as part of the Holy Trinity family. We should never rest on our laurels, but this characteristic has such an impact on people, it brings me great joy! Please carry on and embrace more people!

  3. Children and Young People remain a priority. This year we started a new programme for 8- 12 year olds called S Club 5. It has met monthly since May and seeks to engage children in more discussion and game-based activities as opposed to craft. Also the PMC (Partnership for Missional Church) programme invited us as a church to take on a Missional Challenge for 2024 – this was defined as ‘developing opportunities to reach out to 11- to 16-year-olds and their families and how to make Jesus relevant to them’. This is an important piece of work, but is also symbolic of where our priorities and energies need to be devoted towards.

Finally, allow me to express my gratitude and appreciation for everyone who was part of Holy Trinity in 2023 – for their commitment and dedication, for the hard work dozens and dozens of people put in to enable Holy Trinity to function, for the gifts and donations made to support the church, for all the prayers prayed, and for the countless unseen hours put in behind the scenes that remain unknown.

Rev James Harvey (Priest-in-charge)

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Holy Trinity Darlington
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Holy Trinity Darlington
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Holy Trinity Church’s parochial church council (PCC) has the responsibility of cooperating with the priest-in-charge (or during a period of interregnum with the Bishop) in promoting the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also responsible for the maintenance of the church building in Woodland Road.

The PCC has legal ownership and direct management responsibilities for Walkington House, the church hall in Vane Terrace, DL3 7AT (which is vested in the Durham Diocese Board of Finance for and on behalf of Holy Trinity Darlington PCC).

The PCC also has legal ownership of Pierremont Hall, Pierremont Road, DL3 6DG (which is vested in the Durham Diocese Board of Finance for and on behalf of Darlington Holy Trinity PCC). Pierremont Hall is run by a separate charity, Holy Trinity Youth and Community Centre Management Committee, registered charity number 507430, which has full responsibility for the management, maintenance and operation of the building. This charity is constitutionally separate from Holy Trinity Church PCC although we keep up to date with the charity as several members of our church are trustees of HTYCCMC.

The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our church and to become part of our parish community at Holy Trinity. The PCC maintains an overview of worship throughout the parish and works on trying to provide services and events that suit the needs of our local parish. We also work with our sister church, St Cuthbert’s, to carry out joint services and some shared events. Our services and worship put faith into practice through prayer and scripture, music and sacrament.

Our vision for Holy Trinity is to be a flourishing, active and diverse congregation serving our community and rooted in God’s love and are now set to focus on our priorities of children, young people and families; building the involvement and leadership of the laity; events and festivals; God’s creation; differentiated ministry; and growing in prayer and faith.

We are excited to continue this chapter in the life of Holy Trinity as our Nurture, Worship, Growing and Partnership for Missional Church (PMC) teams take forward our priorities in 2024.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3 v5-6)

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Our Vision

As a church we discerned our vision over the course of 2022. During 2023 we started our journey working towards making our vision a reality.

Our vision paints a picture of what we want to become in the future and sets out how this vision might become a reality, both practically through a series of identified priorities and more conceptually through a set of values that we seek to live by.

Holy Trinity aims to be a flourishing, active and diverse congregation serving our community and rooted in God’s love.

This is our vision. It is not the vision of one person or a small group, it belongs to everyone who is part of Holy Trinity Church.

During 2023 we worked to develop a logo and colour scheme in order to give Holy Trinity a identifiable brand for our communications. You may notice the teal and light green colours and our trinity knot logo appearing in all our communications.

Our Values

What we do is of great importance, but more often than not the way we go about something is just as important. This is just as true for our work in the church and so defining a set of values that will influence the way we go about our work is essential. Our aspiration is that these values should influence every action and decision we take.

Relevant & Engaging

Our activity will link to our everyday lives and the challenges and opportunities we face. Our approach will connect with our congregation and wider community, inspiring and supporting them.

Prayerful & Joyful

Our work will be rooted in God, we will pray together, and we will have fun and celebrate together.

Inclusive & Creative

We will be open to our entire community, offering experiences and ways of worshiping God that support the myriad of ways people learn, pray and live with God.

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How we work

Holy Trinity Church structures the life of the church under 5 areas: Worship, Nurture, Growing, Buildings and Administration. Around each of these areas and seeking to influence all of them is our sixth area – Caring for God’s Creation circling around everything we do.

Each PCC member is part of one of these teams and our church business is conducted using these areas.

All of the 4 ‘ministry’ areas (Worship, Nurture, Growing, Caring for God’s Creation) will take forward the work of one or more priority area identified in our vision process.

Partnership for Missional Church

As a church, we signed up to a process called Partnership for Missional Church (PMC) which aims to help us to become more missional as a church.

It is a 3-year process in four phases – listening, experimenting, focusing and celebrating. A growing core team from our congregation have continued to attend the meetings which have been in some beautiful locations such as Brancepeth Castle. We are continuing on a journey of spiritual discovery, walking with God and one another. The ‘partnership’ part of PMC means that we will be aided and guided along the way by other churches, who have been through the process or are carrying out the process at the same time as us, and a team from the diocese. The ‘missional’ part of PMC is us trying to become more active within our community which allows us to spread God’s message. We want to live out our vision. We have reached the experimenting phase of our journey and are currently working on our missional adaptive challenge which is ‘to develop opportunities to reach out to 11-16 year-olds and their families with the relevance of Jesus’. This is being driven forward by the ‘Give it a Go Team’ working alongside Rev Mary, Rev Steph and our fledgling Youth Group.

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Our priorities—bringing our vision to life

From all our consultation and conversations, we have identified six areas that will bring our vision to life. These priorities will help to drive our activity and we will channel our resources accordingly. These are not however the only things we will do. Sunday services, for example, are not explicitly mentioned but will naturally continue to be a pivotal part of our work.

Our priorities are:

Developing a vision doesn’t mean we have got it all sorted – by no means! We are dependent on two things: firstly, God and the Holy Spirit working in and through us; and secondly, You – we need each member of Holy Trinity (however young or old or new you may be to Holy Trinity) to play their part to ensure we realise our vision and follow God’s plans for us. Pick up a copy of our Vision Document to learn more about our values and find what part you could play in the life of Holy Trinity.

Building the involvement of the laity

Children, young people and families

Aim: Enable more children, young people and families to discover God’s love, follow Jesus in their daily lives and be a full part of the Holy Trinity church family.

Aim: Enable all people to explore their strengths, gifts and talents in the life of Holy Trinity.

Overseen by the Nurture Team

Overseen by the Worship Team

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Events and Fes�vals

Theme aim: To build an inten�onal presence in our community

Overseen by the Growing Team

Theme aim: To understand the needs of each member of the whole and wider church family according to their stage of faith journey and tradi�on and develop relevant and engaging services and ac�vi�es. Overseen by the Worship Team

God’s Crea�on

Theme aim: To explore our God given responsibility to care for and nurture Crea�on and to increase our connec�on and contribu�on to nature. Overseen by the caring for God’s

Growing in Prayer and Faith

Theme aim: To develop a culture at Holy Trinity of prayer and learning about our faith so that it becomes a regular part of our lives and we feel confident sharing it with others.

Overseen by the Nurture Team

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Holy Trinity is perhaps best known at the moment for its 9.30am service – it is a service which seems to encourage and challenge, inspire and edify people, and one which people look forward to each week. Some things people like about this service include: variety of services, musical choices, relevance to me, uplifting feel, preaching quality.

The investment of a permanent audio visual system has significantly enhanced our services of worship and huge thanks go to the ‘tech team’ for making our services accessible and visually appealing.

We continued with our pattern of having All Age services on the second Sunday of the month – these remain engaging, creative and a highlight for many. Creativity has been expressed in outdoor worship, foot-washing, a water musical workshop, a weightlifting analogy that went wrong and discussing: Is God a capitalist or a lousy businessman?

Towards the end of the year, we introduced offering prayer ministry to people during communion on a monthly basis. This has been well received.

We have continued our pattern of fortnightly evening services with Evening Prayer on the 2nd Sunday and a bespoke services on the 4th Sunday. These have been largely lay led. We reviewed our evening services in June and found they were valued by those that come, but they lack a wide appeal.

The priority of children and families sits under the Worship Team. Here Messy Church continued monthly during the year largely attracting families who don’t otherwise come to church – many are baptism or wedding families. We started S Club 5 half way through the year to offer something more age appropriate for 8-12 year-olds – this meets at Pierremont Youth centre. Meanwhile JaM club has continued to be offered on the 3rd and 4th Sundays. Our engagement with families dropped during the year but towards the end of the year, this picked up. At a similar time Dionne McCreedy was appointed as a children’s & families worker as part of the St Cuthbert’s team, but based in Holy Trinity. Dionne started to lay some good foundations for the future.

Flower arranging. On the floral front, 2023 was a fulfilling and occasionally challenging year. The latter was especially the case after being asked to create an arrangement on the altar in full view during an all-age service! The chosen colours were linked to prayers on a Valentine theme. In May the Coronation provided an opportunity to make use of artificial blooms from the flower cupboard in patriotic shades of red, white and blue. In August a small team decorated the church for a wedding after a special request. In September, in line with a creativity theme at our Heritage Open Day event, a table was set up with flowers, foliage, scissors and saucers, inviting visitors to make a posy either to take home or leave by the altar or font. The number on the rota providing flowers in church from Easter to Advent was down to ten, plus two others helping at the Easter, harvest and Christmas festivals.

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Holy Trinity Darlington Achievements & performance — nurture
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Nurture is at the heart of any living Christian community. There are many ways we nurture each other directly – both informally and by maintaining formal activities and structures – and the ways we aim to developing and exploring our faith. To help make this more specific and rooted, we are focussed on two of our church priorities, building up the involvement of the laity and growing in prayer and faith.

Informal activities

We are very aware as a church that care and nurture continues to take place in a multitude of informal ways between members of the congregation. Our sincere appreciation goes out to all who take the time and make the commitment to serve and support each other and our wider community.

Formal activities and structures

Examples include the following:

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Developing faith

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Holy Trinity Darlington Achievements & performance — nurture
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Examples include the following:

Building up the involvement of the laity

Examples include the following:

Growing in Prayer

Prayer is a vital part of our journey in faith and as a church we have continued to nurture our prayer life as a church during 2023.

The Mothers’ Union meets monthly meetings with a varied programme of interesting speakers and activities. During the year they have attended services with other groups in the deanery and the diocese. They also enjoy each other's company at a monthly coffee morning which is a time of friendship, laughter and sharing. The group supports the home and overseas work of the worldwide Mothers’ Union charities and locally supports the Women’s Refuge in Darlington and the Salvation Army Christmas Toy Appeal. They extend a warm welcome to any who would like to join the group.

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‘ I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’ (John 15: 5)

The Church of England has made a commitment that all churches will be carbon net zero by 2030. Our caring for God’s creation group will be at the centre of our response to this challenge.

During the past year our group has met to discuss what we can do, as a church, to reduce carbon emissions in our concern about the effects of climate change and its impact on the planet and the lives of others. Two practical ways in which we, as a church, can make small steps in the right direction are by planting trees and encouraging reduction of waste and careful recycling of items used in Church. Plans are afoot for both of these in 2023.

One significant area of energy use in the church building is the gas-powered heating system which whilst relatively new and efficient is still a consumer of fossil fuels. At a meeting in January 2023 a Diocesan Advisor explained the various options for future church heating. He suggested that, because greener technology for heating buildings is developing at a rapid rate, we should

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‘Growing’ is the aspect of the faith life of our church which looks outward to our community with the aim of touching more lives with the love of God. In practice this involves social media presence, social events, fundraising activities and engagement with schools and the local community.

Links to nurseries, schools and higher education are developing well. We now have links with George Dent nursery (who visited twice during the year), Upperthorpe Nursery, Reid Street. Links with Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College (QE) continue to grow with a weekly Monday drop-in session.

We maintain links with the 2nd Darlington (Holy Trinity) Rainbows, Brownies and Guides through the members of our church family who are involved in running the groups. We love to see them at our services and events and are grateful for the help they give in preparing flowers for mothering Sunday and making Christingles.

Our Facebook, Instagram and web pages are regularly updated with photos, news, music, uplifting quotes and much more. We hope that anyone looking for a church using social media will find what we are offering informative and filled with the life of our church.

As a church we have decided that it is important to reach every home in our parish with our Christmas cards. With almost 4,000 homes in our parish this is no small task and the weather is rarely kind in December. Our intrepid team of volunteers were up to the task with some even taking the opportunity to pray for the parish as they delivered cards through letterboxes.

In September we were delighted to welcome Dionne McCreedy to the team as our Children and Family Worker. Dionne has a wide remit across schools, church and community plus much more! She quickly made her mark with the Holy Trinity community with Messy Church, S Club 5 and JaM Club and continues to make links with schools and local nurseries.

In the run up to Christmas, our Silent Santa Appeal was a great success – we collected many gift bags full of Christmas gifts for children and care-leavers which were given to children and young people in our town who may not have received any Christmas gifts. Our thanks go to Councillor Gerald Lee for organising the distribution of the gifts to the children and to Tracy Dunn for organising the gifts to the care-leavers.

In December, our community carol singing event in Stanhope Park has gone from strength to strength with increasing numbers of singers coming along each year. This year a large crowd of merry makers gathered, sang, and shared mulled wine and festive nibbles in church afterwards. There was two opportunities to join in the festive fun – one in Stanhope Park and one starting in the park with stops at Ventress and Moorlands care homes.

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Our fundraising events have been well supported and successful during 2023.

In February we held a games night to cheer up the Winter months. This was lots of fun and had a merry atmosphere.

In August we held another tea dance with St Cuthberts. A great afternoon was spent with lovely company drinking tea, sipping sherry, eating cake, listening to live music and joining in with dancing.

Heritage open day this year had the theme of ‘creativity unwrapped’. The day was filled with events linked to different types of heritage such as ‘our faith heritage’ focused on the bible. ‘Our industrial heritage’ with a screening of short films from the Stockton & Darlington light railway. There was also music and a floral arrangement demonstration plus light lunches and refreshments, were provided throughout the day. We were a little disheartened by the number of people who attended this and will look to review our offering for next year.

In September we held a community quiz night to a packed out crowd, we hosted this in the Pierremont Youth and Community Centre. It was a brilliant night with much fun and fellowship and some new faces.

We were privileged to host a community screening of The Old Oak movie in November which included a panel discussion afterwards to consider the themes raised in the film. This was well attended.

To round off the year we held a Christmas themed extravaganza with a Christmas craft event followed by a church family Christmas meal the next day. These events were both well supported and started off Christmas with a wonderful festive feel.

Bags2church continues to be a quiet little fund raiser that ticks along nicely in the background. We are always so thankful to those who donate to this.

We have continued our support of local charities St Teresa’s Hospice and King’s Church Food Bank and one overseas charity Tear Fund. We were very inspired by the talk given by Cyndi Hughes about how Christians Against poverty are working within our local

community to support people and therefore adopted them as a fourth charity this year. We were able to give these four charities £500 each as one of donations to support the good works that they are doing.

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Holy Trinity Church was consecrated in 1838, having been built as a chapel of ease for St Cuthbert’s to accommodate Darlington’s expanding population in the 1830s. We currently have a capacity of around 400.

It is so easy to take for granted just what wonderful church buildings and grounds we are privileged to have at our disposal; and how diverse the activities they host, all directed towards serving God’s purpose. Our church is a place of great spirituality and sanctuary which not only serves us as its congregation, but also those from the wider community drawn through our doors or to walk (and sometimes sleep) in our churchyard. It fosters faith, fellowship and friendship, provides nurture and knowledge, hope and healing and cements the major milestones of our pilgrim’s journey.

The cost of this is not merely measured in coinage, we rely on many members of the congregation who work so tirelessly and quietly to support the maintenance of the structure and fabric of the buildings and their grounds. Profound appreciation goes out from all of us to those mentioned below and the so many others whose contributions are equally invaluable.

Following ratification at the PCC, it was agreed that our stewardship activities relating to Holy Trinity itself would be separated into three groups:

Walkington House . In the light of the continuing rental of the premises by ‘Bijoux Bits’, the maintenance support and requirements for the property remain limited. It is however recognised that the longer term aspiration is to promote its more active community useage. To this end, discussions are being progressed with the Tees Valley Community Asset Preservation Trust with the aim of compiling a viable business plan for the facility.

Holy Trinity Youth and Community Centre (Pierremont). Though continuing to be owned by Holy Trinity Church, responsibility or the management and maintenance of the site is delegated to the HTYCC Management Committee, under the chairmanship of Pru Farrier. In this regard, particular acknowledgement should be paid to Sue and Philip Park, for all the support they provide to the work of the Centre.

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As a church we are very aware that we do not exist in isolation – we are stronger by our connections both within the Anglican church and with the wider Christian church in our town.

Deanery synod

Our church is part of the Deanery of Darlington and sends two representatives to Synod meetings to represent our church. In 2023 the lay representatives were Robert Eden, Helen Morgan (retired 21 May 2023) and Caroline Stewart (appointed 21 May 2023).

These meetings not only provide us with a link to the wider church in Darlington but also allow us to contribute to the recommendations that the Deanery makes to Diocesan Synod and the Bishop’s Council for plans for the Deanery area.

The Deanery Synod met three times in 2023 under the guidance of the Area Dean, Rev Mark East. The topics covered during the year included:

Churches Together Darlington is a forum for all churches across Darlington to meet together for sharing and furthering the work of Christ in our town. There are open meetings 3 times a year for any church members to come, listen and contribute. Rev James is a member of the executive committee which is made up of representatives from the Anglican church, the Baptist church, the Methodist Church, Vineyard and Kings Church (this group also meets 3 times per year).

In 2023, 4 specific events were held under the banner of CTD: a gathering for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Break4Lent series of talks and fellowship on Monday mornings in Lent, a service at the Pease Monument on Good Friday, and a stall at the Community carnival in Stanhope Park.

The Break4Lent meetings were very successful both in terms of numbers of people, the spirit of the meetings and the level of teaching/interaction. Speakers were all different than 2022 reflecting the growth of new leaders in churches across our Town. The Good Friday service at the Pease Monument was re-vamped this year and drew at least 300 people, and all left having been inspired and having shared the good news of the gospel with passers by. As Holy Trinity was unable to have a stall at the Carnival this year, the presence of a Churches Together stall was appreciated and well received.

Under the banner of One Voice Darlington, churches and church leaders have met each month to pray for our Town and this remains vitally important and a source of joy and support.

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Electoral roll & worshipping community

Electoral roll & worshipping community

The electoral roll must be fully revised every 6 years – our last full revision took place in March 2019.

The electoral roll is the church’s register of electors. In the same way that being on the civic electoral roll gives the right to vote in parliamentary and local elections and referenda, joining the church electoral roll means that you can vote on church matters, attend the annual parochial church meeting (APCM) and stand for election to the PCC. You can, of course, be a full and active member of Holy Trinity Darlington without joining the electoral roll. Being on the electoral roll does not entail signing up to any additional commitments, however, it does help the church show its strength.

It has been encouraging to see our worshipping community continuing to grow during 2023. Our best estimates of our worshipping community over the past 6 years are as follows:

The numbers on our electoral roll are as follows:

follows:
APCM APCM
2023 2022
Resident in the parish 46 43
Not resident in the parish 48 44
Total on Electoral Roll 94 87

Health & safety

Health and safety is a stewardship responsibility that we take seriously at Holy Trinity. Our ‘environment’ is subject to the same force of such legislation as any other. We are therefore required to ensure that we undertake the necessary risk assessments for our buildings, group activities and public events, and keep abreast of and remain compliant with all aspects of relevant legislative developments. This responsibility lies not only with designated church officers, but all of us in the congregation. This was perhaps best evidenced this year, in relation to Fire Safety and Management, where developments in statutory requirements have coincided with us being re-established within the local Fire Service inspection regime. As we worked towards the inspection, new extinguishers appeared, different signage emerged, new practices enacted and required documentation prepared. All aspects of our activities that fall within such Health and Safety legislation will equally have to be subject to continuing evaluation, and where relevant, development. In this, we look to the congregation for support and encouragement in our on-going efforts to meet these obligations.

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Safeguarding

We are committed to looking after the wellbeing and dignity of absolutely everyone in contact with our church, whether part of our congregation, visitor, clergy or volunteer. Safeguarding is everyone’s business. Everybody working or volunteering with our church should understand it, even those who don’t work directly with children or adults at risk. We follow the House of Bishops guidance and policies and have our own Parish Safeguarding Officer, Helen Morgan.

Our website and Facebook pages have always followed safeguarding good practice, but particular careful consideration has been given to safeguarding online activities as more of our communication is now online. The PCC have agreed social media good practice guidelines to be used in conjunction with those of Durham Diocese.

The Parish Safeguarding check list has been reviewed and shared with the PCC and there are no outstanding items on the Parish Safeguarding Action Plan. We have adopted the parish dashboard monitoring scheme promoted by the Diocese and have completed all sections to a gold standard.

Our policies for working with Children and Vulnerable Adults have been agreed by the PCC and are displayed in Church and the bell tower – this includes following a ‘safer recruitment’ process for all new volunteers working in these areas. All members of the PCC and other members of the congregation, where applicable, have received appropriate safeguarding training and DBS checks are up to date. The PCC has agreed lists of those members of the congregation who are approved to work with children and vulnerable adults.

No safeguarding matters were raised during 2023 which required onward referral to the Diocesan safeguarding officer under the diocesan safeguarding process.

If you have any concerns about safeguarding please contact our safeguarding officer, Helen Morgan.

PCC membership 2023

Clergy as at 31st December 2023

Rev James Harvey Priest-in-charge & Chairman Mary Yasini Curate (from 23rd July 2023) Elected Lay Members as at 31st December 2023 Tracy Dunn re-elected to PCC 2023 for a three-year term Pru Farrier re-elected to PCC 2023 for a three-year term Mary Grimes re-elected to PCC 2023 for a three-year term Christopher Hawkes elected to PCC 2022 for a three-year term Pauline Huntley elected to PCC 2021 for a three-year term Vivien Whitham elected to PCC 2021 for a three-year term Kath Wood elected to PCC 2021 for a three-year term John Whitham churchwarden – retired 21st May 2023 Helen Morgan Deanery synod representative to 21st May 2023. elected to PCC 21st May 2023 Ex – officio as at 31st December 2023 Stan Renwick churchwarden – elected 21st May 2023 Eleanor Blackburn churchwarden (re-elected 21st May 2023) Robert Eden Deanery synod representative (re-elected 21st May 2023 for a 3 year term) Caroline Stewart co-opted (Treasurer) to 21st May 2023. elected Deanery synod representative 21st May 2023

PCC officers

Minutes Secretary Tracy Dunn Safeguarding Officer Helen Morgan

PCC Secretary Robert Eden Treasurer Caroline Stewart

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Holy Trinity Darlington Finance & reserves
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But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. (Chronicles 29:14)

We set our intention for the year to break even for the second year in a row. By doing so, our finances are sustainable and we are able to fund our future vision at Holy Trinity. The first step in achieving this was committing to a parish share amount that is affordable. The second step was to focus on regular giving and to make it an ongoing conversation. The third step was to focus on our other costs to ensure that we achieve the best pricing for our large expenditure items. We are on track with all of these aims.

The good news is that we achieved break even again in 2023 on our ‘normal’ operations (if we exclude depreciation costs, legacies and income associated with the audio-visual project). We are now in a great position to move forward with our vision for Holy Trinity in the fortunate position of secure finances.

Where does our income come from?

As a parish, we do not receive any state funding and rely on the generous giving of our church family and visitors. We are very grateful to all those who contribute financially to our church. Regular giving by standing order and the Parish Giving Scheme and the Gift Aid recovery on these donations continue to be backbone of our income. We have a card reader in church to enable donations by card. We now receive similar amounts by card and by cash in the collection plate on a Sunday. Donations and giving by any means are always gratefully received, but we would encourage anyone who has not already done so to take the opportunity to start giving via the Parish Giving Scheme as it really eases our administration (and is really easy to use by the person giving too!).

We received a £1,000 bequest from the late Maryan Boxell who was a churchwarden at Holy Trinity.

During 2023 four weddings, one renewal of vows and five funerals were held in church – the PCC fees for these services are included in our income for the year.

In the year we received £15,000 in donations, grants and gift-aid to fund the purchase of our AV equipment. We also received a £10,000 grant towards refurbishment of Walkington House.

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What does it cost to run our church?

The majority of our costs relate to our Parish Share and looking after our buildings. ‘Parish Share’ is the money that we pay to the Diocese of Durham which pays for our minister’s stipend, training for lay people and clergy and supports all aspects of the mission of the Diocese. It enables us to continue to offer regular worship, in addition to baptisms, weddings and funerals, and those services which bring the community together at Christmas, Easter and Remembrance.

Our largest annual cost continues to be our Parish Share to the Diocese. This year we honoured our guided pledge commitment of £33,600 and made an additional one-off contribution of £1,500 to the diocese following our November 2023 PCC meeting as we reviewed our expected outturn for the year.

The church building costs are our next largest expense — utilities and insurance being the majority of the costs. We are part of the national Parish Buying Energy Basket which gives us the bulk buying power of thousands of churches to obtain competitive prices for our gas and electricity. Gas and electricity costs have had a rollercoaster ride over the past 2 years. Our costs tripled in the October 2022-23 contract year compared to the previous year, then they reduced by 42% in the 2023-24 contract year—this does mean that they are still almost 50% higher before the utilities crisis, but are more manageable compared to the prior year contract. This year we re-tested our insurance by receiving alternative quotes for our insurance cover. This confirmed that our current provider, Trinitas Church Insurance Services continue to be the lowest cost.

As a PCC we decided to contribute £3,000 to St Cuthbert’s PCC towards the cost of our children & families worker post as part of our commitment to children, young people & families.

We purchased our new audio-visual system during 2023. This cost is a fixed asset which we will depreciate over future years and does not form part of our expenses in this year. The total cost of the project was £36,000 which was funded by donations from our church family, grants from the Benefact Trust & Durham Diocese and our reserves.

Reserves & reserves policy

At the end of the year the PCC held total cash funds of £103,192 (2022: £105,043). Our funds are held for a variety of purposes: to ensure that we can operate as a going concern in the future; to fulfil our charitable objectives; and, to fulfil the requests made by donors of funds.

Within our PCC we have two types of funds – restricted and unrestricted funds, summarised as follows:

Restricted funds (£11,061) – these are held under trust law and so can only be used for specific purposes, as agreed with the donor. For example, money donated for the flowers in church, will be held until we purchase flowers to decorate the church. At the end of the year, we had restricted funds for flowers £101, for Walkington House £9,960 and organ repairs £1,000.

Unrestricted funds – the remainder of the PCC’s funds are general, unrestricted funds which are sums that are freely available for general use towards the work of our church and our charitable mission. Of these unrestricted funds the PCC has designated money to withstand any short-term financial requirements.

Our reserves policy is to hold a minimum of 6 months operating costs (approximately £35,000) and £20,000 to pay for emergency repairs to the fabric of the buildings. These funds are held in our cash accounts and are available immediately should the need arise. Our total unrestricted cash funds at the year end of £92,057 are in excess of our minimum reserves policy requirement.

You can read more about the detail of our finances in our financial statements which are available on request.

22

Holy Trinity Church is situated on Woodland Road, Darlington, DL3 7BQ. It is part of the Diocese of Durham within the Church of England. The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Holy Trinity, Darlington is registered charity number 1162481 with the Charities Commission for England and Wales.

Good governance is fundamental to our sustained success as a church. With it, we are best placed to deliver on our mission and achieve our objectives. It enables all our people to use their skills, along with our resources, to best effect. It helps us to ensure that we are compliant with relevant legislation and Church of England guidelines, have managed the risks we are facing, overseen our standard of operations and supported a positive culture. We review our charity governance, adhering to the Charity Governance Codes and regulations for England and Wales and Church of England guidelines.

Management of our church

The PCC, as trustees, set and agree the overall direction, strategy and culture of our church. They lead by example and support the priest-in-charge in the daily delivery of our activities. The PCC also evaluates the risks we face and ensures that we have appropriate policies and procedures in place to minimise those risks and by doing so, ensure that we meet our legal and compliance requirements as a charity.

PCC members are appointed under the rules set out in the current church governance guidelines, the Church Representation Rules. All who attend church are encouraged to register on the electoral roll and once on the electoral roll are entitled to stand for election to the PCC. With the exception of the priest-in-charge, all PCC members are volunteers. Our current PCC members are displayed on a noticeboard at the back of church and are listed on page 20.

The two churchwardens are important lay leadership roles in our church. They are elected at the APCM and serve a term of 12 months (but often stay for longer). The official rights and responsibilities of churchwardens are laid down in Church Law. The role is extremely varied and, aside from working closely with the incumbent, covers management, maintenance, and ministry. Our churchwardens are the people who look after our buildings and are the smiley people making sure that all our services run smoothly. We are very grateful for the commitment and service that our churchwardens provide. Our thanks go to Stan and Eleanor for committing to their roles and ensuring the smooth running of our church.

The standing committee of the PCC consists of 5 members of the PCC (the priest-in-charge, secretary, 2 churchwardens and treasurer). This group meets in between PCC meetings to plan the agenda for the PCC and to deal with any day-to-day concerns, emergencies or urgent business that may arise in between PCC meetings.

The PCC is supported by many other church members who volunteer their time to support our work, either individually or as part of a larger team. We would like to acknowledge and thank every one of them – their hard work makes our church the vibrant and welcoming community that it is.

23

24

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF HOLY TRINITY, DARLINGTON

Financial Statements

for the year ending 31 December 2023

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF HOLY TRINITY, DARLINGTON YEAR ENDING 31[st] DECEMBER 2023

Page 2 of 10

Independent Examiner’s report To the Parochial Church Council of Holy Trinity, Darlington

This report is on the accounts of the PCC for the year ended 31[st] December 2023 which are set out on pages 3 - 10 following in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 (‘the Regulations’), and section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

Respective responsibilities of the trustees and examiner

As members of the PCC you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements, and you consider the audit requirement of the Regulations and section 144(2) of the Act does not apply. It is my responsibility to issue a report on these accounts in accordance with the terms of the Church Accounting Regulations 2006.

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b)of the Act and to be found in the Church guidance, 2011 edition. The examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and the comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent Examiner’s Statement

In connection with the examination no matter has come to my attention:

(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:

(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

David Park 38 Swaledale Avenue Darlington DL3 9AL

28 April 2024

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF HOLY TRINITY, DARLINGTON YEAR ENDING 31[st] DECEMBER 2023

Page 3 of 10

Statement of Financial Activities

Note 2023
2023
2023
2023
2022
Unrestricted
funds
Designated
funds
Restricted
funds
Total funds
Total funds
£
£
£
£
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
2(a)
Income from charitable activities
2(b)
Other trading activities
2(c)
Investments
2(d)
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
2(e)
Expenditure on charitable activities
2(f)
Total expenditure
Net income / (expenditure)
resources before transfers
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward 1 Jan
Total funds carried forward 31 Dec		 61,899
-
26,821
88,720
66,506
3,866
-
-
3,866
3,940
3,813
-
-
3,813
4,489
471
1,656
-
2,127
871
70,049
1,656
26,821
98,526
75,806
402
-
-
402
705
74,608
77
453
75,138
65,971
75,010
77
453
75,540
66,676
(4,961)
1,579
26,368
22,986
9,130
27,037
(1,500)
(25,537)
-
-
22,076
79
831
22,986
9,130
196,590
58,157
10,230
264,977
255,847
218,666
58,236
11,061
287,963
264,977

Balance sheet

Balance sheet
Note 2023
Total funds
£
2022
Total funds
£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
3
Current assets
Debtors
4
Cash at bank and in hand
5
Liabilities
Creditors: Amounts falling due in one year
6
Net current assets less current liabilities
Total net assets less liabilities
Represented by:
7
Unrestricted
General fund
Designated
Audio Visual fund
Building fund
General expenses fund
Piano fund
Tower fund
Restricted
Audio Visual fund
Charity collections
Flower fund
Organ fund
Walkington House fund
Funds of the church		 183,329
156,595
183,329
156,595
2,472
4,704
103,192
105,043
105,664
109,747
1,030
1,365
1,030
1,365
104,634
108,382
287,963
264,977
218,666
196,590
-
2,500
21,332
20,669
34,994
34,000
1,000
-
910
988
-
10,000
-
-
101
230
1,000
-
9,960
-
287,963
264,977

Approved by the Parochial Church Council on Tuesday 19[th] March 2024 and signed on its behalf by: Rev James Harvey

PCC Chairman

The notes on pages 4 - 10 form part of these accounts.

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF HOLY TRINITY, DARLINGTON YEAR ENDING 31[st] DECEMBER 2023

Page 4 of 10

Notes to the Financial Statements

Note 1 - Accounting Policies

The financial statements have been prepared under the Charities Act 2011 and in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 governing the individual accounts of PCCs together with the applicable accounting standards, FRS102 (2016) and the 2016 version of the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP(FRS102)).

The financial statements have been prepared on an accruals basis under the historical cost convention. The financial statements include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. They do not include the accounts of church groups that owe their main affiliation to another body, nor those that are informal gatherings of church members. The activities of Holy Trinity Youth Centre are not included in the accounts of the PCC as it is a separately registered charity.

Funds

Restricted funds represent donations or grants received for a specific object or invited by the PCC for a specific object. The funds may only be expended on the specific object for which they were given. Any balance remaining unspent at the end of each year must be carried forward as a balance on that fund. The PCC does not usually invest separately for each fund. Where there is no separate investment, interest is apportioned to the individual funds on an average balances basis.

Unrestricted funds are general funds which can be used for PCC ordinary purposes.

Designated funds are general funds set aside by the PCC for use in the future. Designated funds remain unrestricted and can be moved to other general funds if the PCC so decides. The PCC has designated general funds for the purpose of building repairs, funds to cover approximately 6 months church running expenses, funds for the audio-visual project (completed in 2023), and funds to purchase a new electric piano for the music group.

Incoming resources

Planned giving, collections and donations are recognised when received. Tax refunds are recognised when the incoming resource to which they relate is received. Grants and legacies are accounted for when the PCC is legally entitled to the amounts due. All other income is recognised when it is receivable. All incoming resources are accounted for gross.

Resources expended

Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding or constructive obligation on the PCC. The diocesan parish share is accounted for when due. Amounts received specifically for mission are dealt with as restricted funds. All other expenditure is generally recognised when it is incurred and is accounted for gross.

Fixed assets

Consecrated and benefice property is not included in the accounts in accordance with sections 10(2)(a) of the Charities Act 2011.

Movable church furnishings held by the vicar and churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal are inalienable property, listed in the church's inventory. For anything acquired prior to 2000 there is insufficient cost information available and therefore such assets are not valued in the financial statements. Subsequently no individual item has cost more than £1,000 so all such expenditure has been written off when incurred.

Freehold land and buildings comprise of the hall at Walkington House, Vane Terrace and the Youth Centre on Pierremont Road.

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF HOLY TRINITY, DARLINGTON YEAR ENDING 31[st] DECEMBER 2023

Page 5 of 10

Note 1 – Accounting Policies (continued)

Walkington House was constructed by the PCC in the garden of 12 Vane Terrace (the house at 12 Vane Terrace was gifted to the parish in the 1960s and sold in 2013). No cost information was available for the property and the brought forward carrying value is the PCC's estimate of current market value of similar property in the local area. No depreciation is provided on Walkington House as the currently estimated residual value of Walkington House derives mainly from the value of the freehold land which would not depreciate. Any resulting depreciation from an estimate of the building value is viewed to be immaterial.

The Youth Centre on Pierremont Road was constructed in 1974. The land and building are property of the PCC. The centre is operated by the Holy Trinity Youth Centre Management Committee (charity number 507430). No cost information is available for the property and no value is attributed to it in the accounts.

Fixtures, fittings and equipment used within the church & hall premises are depreciated on a straight-line basis over the useful economic life of the assets (ranging from 4 - 20 years). Individual items of equipment with a purchase price of £1,000 or less are written of when the asset is acquired.

Note 2 - Analysis of income and expenditure

2023
2023
2023
2023
2022
Unrestricted
Designated
Restricted
Total
Total
£
£
£
£
£
2(a) Income from donations and legacies
Planned giving – Gift Aid
Planned giving - other
Loose plate collections
Donations appeals etc – Gift Aid
Donations appeals etc – other
Tax recoverable on Gift Aid
Legacies (see note 8)
Grants (see note 9)
Other funds generated
Total		 36,414
-
-
36,414
33,814
4,617
-
-
4,617
4,485
5,271
-
180
5,451
3,063
1,358
-
7,824
9,182
2,499
2,657
-
501
3,158
12,205
9,443
-
1,956
11,399
9,165
-
-
1,000
1,000
1,000
2,139
-
15,360
17,499
270
-
-
-
-
5
61,899
-
26,821
88,720
66,506
2(b) Income from charitable activities
PCC fees for weddings and funerals
Assigned fees for weddings and funerals
Parish magazine sales
Total		 2,545
-
-
2,545
2,342
1,321
-
-
1,321
1,598
-
-
-
-
-
3,866
-
-
3,866
3,940
2(c) Income from other trading activities
Walkington House lettings
Fundraising events
Other fundraising
Total		 2,400
-
-
2,400
2,400
1,400
-
-
1,400
2,087
13
-
-
13
2
3,813
-
-
3,813
4,489
2(d) Income from investments
Bank and building society interest
Total		 471
1,656
-
2,127
871
471
1,656
-
2,127
871
INCOME TOTAL 70,049
1,656
26,821
98,526
75,806

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF HOLY TRINITY, DARLINGTON YEAR ENDING 31[st] DECEMBER 2023

Page 6 of 10

Note 2 - Analysis of income and expenditure (continued)

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2023 2023 2023 2022
Unrestricted Designated Restricted Total Total
£ £ £ £ £
2(e) Expenditure on raising funds
Costs of stewardship campaign - - - - -
Costs of fundraising events 402 - - 402 705
Total 402 - - 402 705
2(f) Expenditure on charitable activities
(i) Parish share / Deanery share 35,235 - - 35,235 32,130
(ii) Clergy & staffing costs
Contribution towards children & family 3,000 - - 3,000 -
worker
Verger, organist & bell fees 953 - - 953 1,598
Clergy fees - - - - 33
Working expenses of incumbent 250 - - 250 246
Parsonage – water & phone 911 - - 911 677
Parish training and mission 1,477 - - 1,477 400
Youth & childrens activities 595 - - 595 421
7,186 - - 7,186 3,375
(iii) Church running costs
Insurance 4,533 - - 4,533 4,058
Depreciation 7,638 - - 7,638 5,898
Electricity, gas & water 8,366 - - 8,366 5,683
Church maintenance 1,020 77 - 1,097 3,024
Security 1,345 - - 1,345 1,209
Cleaning 63 - - 63 30
Upkeep of services 1,049 - 273 1,322 1,281
Church equipment 234 - - 234 1,445
Administration 1,302 - - 1,302 1,208
Printing & stationery 1,521 - - 1,521 1,699
Bank charges 90 - - 90 26
27,161 77 273 27,511 25,561
(iv) Church major repairs
- - - - -
Church major repairs
- - - - -
(v) Charitable giving (see note 10)
Home mission 1,200 - - 1,200 1,132
Secular charities 500 - - 500 500
Relief and development agencies 120 - 180 300 500
Missionary societies 262 - - 262 -
2,082 - 180 2,262 2,132
(vi) Walkington House running costs
Electricity, gas & water 783 - - 783 550
Insurance 210 - - 210 179
Repairs & maintenance - - - - 93
Cleaning - - - - -
- -
Depreciation 1,951 1,951 1,951
2,944 - - 2,944 2,773
Total 74,608 77 453 75,138 65,971
EXPENDITURE TOTAL 75,010 77 453 75,540 66,676
TOTAL NET INCOME / (EXPENDITURE) (4,961) 1,579 26,368 22,986 9,130
----- End of picture text -----

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF HOLY TRINITY, DARLINGTON YEAR ENDING 31[st] DECEMBER 2023

Page 7 of 10

Note 3 Fixed assets for use by the PCC

2023
2023
2023
2023
2022
Unrestricted
Designated
Restricted
Total
Total
£
£
£
£
£
Fixed assets - Tangible assets
(net book value)
Church servery
Church heating system
Church roof alarm
Church notice board
Church carpets
Church chairs
Church photocopier
Church AV system
Walkington House building
Walkington House windows
Walkington House kitchen
Holy Trinity Youth Centre
Total		 24,138
-
-
24,138
26,150
19,545
-
-
19,545
21,678
-
-
-
-
383
36
-
-
36
181
1,235
-
-
1,235
1,557
2,352
-
-
2,352
2,856
702
-
-
702
1,026
34,508
-
-
34,508
-
100,000
-
-
100,000
100,000
262
-
-
262
890
551
-
-
551
1,874
-
-
-
-
-
183,329
-
-
183,329
156,595

Changes in fixed asset values during the year are summarized as follows:

Holy Trinity Walkington Walkington Church Total
Youth House House fixtures,
Centre fixtures, fittings &
fittings & equipment
equipment
Gross book value 1 January 2023 - 100,000 22,832 103,422 226,254
Additions (see below) - - - 36,323 36,323
Disposals - - - - -
Gross book value 31 December 2023 - 100,000 22,832 139,745 262,577
Depreciation 1 January 2023 - - 20,068 49,591 69,659
Disposals - - - - -
Charge for the year - - 1,951 7,638 9,589
Depreciation 31 December 2023 - - 22,019 57,229 79,248
Net book value 1 January 2023 - 100,000 2,764 53,831 156,595
Net book value 31 December 2023 - 100,000 813 82,516 183,329

During the year we completed the installation of our Audio Visual System, installing a projector and screen in the nave, cameras, microphones, additional speakers, a new sound desk and equipment to enable us to project on the screen and stream services. The total cost of the project was £36,323, funded as follows:

Donations from church family
Gift Aid recovery on donations
Benefact Trust grant
DDBF grant
Funded from reserves
Total AV project cost		 2023
AV project funding
£
18,180
1,956
2,300
3,100
10,787
36,323

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF HOLY TRINITY, DARLINGTON YEAR ENDING 31[st] DECEMBER 2023

Page 8 of 10

Note 4 Current assets - Debtors

2023
2023
2023
2023
2022
Unrestricted
Designated
Restricted
Total
Total
£
£
£
£
£
Tax recoverable on Gift Aid donations
Other amounts receivable
Totals		 2,046
-
426
2,472
4,699
-
-
-
-
5
2,046
-
426
2,472
4,704

Note 5 Current assets – Cash at bank and in hand

2023 2023 2023 2023 2022
Unrestricted Designated Restricted Total Total
£ £ £ £ £
Current assets - Cash at bank and in hand
Barclays current account 3,881 4,899 11,034 19,814 22,676
Darlington Building Society – Tower fund - - - - 988
Darlington Credit Union deposit account 15,266 - - 15,266 15,250
CCLA (CBF) deposit accounts 14,673 53,338 - 68,011 65,899
Cash in hand - Flower funds - - 101 101 230
Total 33,820 58,237 11,135 103,192 105,043

Note 6 Current liabilities – creditors falling due in less than one year

2023
2023
2023
2023
2022
Unrestricted
Designated
Restricted
Total
Total
£
£
£
£
£
Current liabilities – creditors due < 1 year
Other invoices relating to the year
Wedding deposits
Total
530
-
-
530
65
-
-
500
500
1,300
530
-
500
1,030
1,365

Note 7 Fund movement by type

2023
Opening
£
2023
Incoming
£
2023
Outgoing
£
2023
Transfers
£
2023
Closing
£
Totaled by fund type
Audio Visual fund (Restricted)
Audio Visual fund (Designated)
Sub-total for Audio visual
Building fund (Designated)
Church running expense fund (Designated)
Charity collections (Restricted)
Flower fund (Restricted)
Organ fund (Restricted)
Piano purchase fund (Designated)
Tower Fund (Designated)
Walkington House Fund (Restricted)
General fund (Unrestricted)
Total funds
Totaled by fund status
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
Restricted funds
Total funds		 10,000
15,537
-
(25,537)
-
2,500
-
-
(2,500)
-
12,500
15,537
-
(28,037)
-
20,669
663
-
-
21,332
34,000
994
-
-
34,994
-
180
(180)
-
-
230
144
(273)
-
101
-
1,000
-
-
1,000
-
-
-
1,000
1,000
988
-
(78)
-
910
-
9,960
-
-
9,960
196,590
70,049
(75,010)
27,037
218,666
264,977
98,527
(75,541)
-
287,963
196,590
70,049
(75,010)
27,037
218,666
58,157
1,657
(78)
(1,500)
58,236
10,230
26,821
(453)
(25,537)
11,061
264,977
98,527
(75,541)
-
287,963

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF HOLY TRINITY, DARLINGTON YEAR ENDING 31[st] DECEMBER 2023

Page 9 of 10

Note 8 Legacies

During the year the PCC received legacies from the estates of the following persons:

2023
2023
2023
2023
2022
Unrestricted
Designated
Restricted
Total
Total
£
£
£
£
£
Legacies received
Maryan Boxell
Kenneth Coates
Total		 -
-
1,000
1,000
-
-
-
-
-
1,000
-
-
1,000
1,000
1,000

Legacy of £1,000 for the organ received from the estate of the late Mrs Maryan Boxell who served as a churchwarden.

Note 9 Grants received

2023
2023
2023
2023
2022
Unrestricted
Designated
Restricted
Total
Total
£
£
£
£
£
Grants received
National Lottery Community Fund
DDBF energy grant
Benefact Trust grant re AV project
DDBF grant re AV project
Thomas Metcalfe Barron Fund
Total		 -
-
9,960
9,960
-
2,139
-
-
2,139
-
-
-
2,300
2,300
-
-
-
3,100
3,100
-
-
-
-
-
270
2,139
-
15,360
17,499
270

During 2023 the PCC, working with the Tees Valley Community Asset Preservation Trust, was awarded £9,960 from the National Lottery Community Fund “Awards for All” grant scheme for capital funding to bring Walkington House hall back into use as a community centre. Work has not yet commenced on Walkington House. In the event that the works are not undertaken, the monies will be repayable to the National Lottery Community Fund.

As part of the National Church funding allocation, the PCC was awarded an Energy Support Grant of £2,139 from Durham Diocese to support parishes facing increased energy costs in the winter of 2022/23.

We sought grant funding to support our Audio Visual project and were successful in receiving awards from Durham Diocese Board of Finance £3,100 and Benefact Trust £2,300.

The PCC receives an annual grant allocation from the Thomas Metcalfe Barron Community First Fund. The grant conditions are that the funds are to be used to support activities linked to the festive season for the benefit of the elderly of the parish. There was no distribution from the fund in 2023 (2022: £270).

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF HOLY TRINITY, DARLINGTON YEAR ENDING 31[st] DECEMBER 2023

Page 10 of 10

Note 10 Charitable and other giving

The following charitable giving payments were made during the year:

2023
2023
2023
2022
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Total
£
£
£
£
A Rocha UK
CAP (Christians Against Poverty)
Christmas Journey (St Matthew & St Luke’s)
Churches Together
Holy Trinity Christmas meal (Metcalfe Barron grant 2022)
Holy Trinity afternoon tea (Metcalfe Barron grant 2022)
Kings Church Foodbank
St Teresa’s Hospice
Tearfund (including Tap & Toilet Twinning)
Total		 100
-
100
-
500
-
500
-
50
-
50
50
50
-
50
50
-
-
-
270
-
-
-
262
500
-
500
500
500
-
500
500
382
180
562
500
2,082
180
2,262
2,132

The PCC selected two local charities and one overseas charity to support over the coming year - Kings Church Foodbank, St Teresa’s Hospice and Tearfund. By championing these charities, we hope to increase our understanding of their work as well as increasing our support for them.

We continue to support for the Kings Church food bank by collecting food and cash donations in church on behalf of the food bank. All food and donations collected in the boxes in church are given directly to the foodbank and do not form part of the PCC accounts.

Note 11 Agency Payments

The PCC receives funds on behalf of other organisations (for example charity collections and diocesan statutory fees for weddings and funerals) which are then paid to the relevant organisations. These ‘agency’ receipts and payments are administered through the PCC bank account but do not form part of the activity of the PCC and are not included in the preceding accounts in this report.

During the year the PCC administered the following agency payments:

2023
2022
£
£
Durham Diocese statutory fees for weddings and funerals
Retired clergy fees for weddings and funerals
The Children's Society from the Christingle service collection
Royal British Legion from the Remembrance Day service collection
Tear Fund from harvest collection
UK-Med Earthquake appeal
Cancer research from funeral collections
Family Help Charity from funeral collection
Battersea Dogs Home from funeral collection
St Teresa’s Hospice from memorial service collection
British Heart Foundation from funeral collection
Total		 1,348
2,914
579
1,819
583
404
407
556
688
-
272
-
496
-
154
-
-
72
-
202
-
85
4,527
6,052

Page 2 of 10

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF HOLY TRINITY, DARLINGTON YEAR ENDING 31st DECEMBER 2023

Independent Examiner’s report

To the Parochial Church Council of Holy Trinity, Darlington

This report is on the accounts of the PCC for the year ended 31st December 2023 which are set out on pages 3 – 10 following in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 (‘the Regulations’), and section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

Respective responsibilities of the trustees and examiner

As members of the PCC you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements, and you consider the auditrequirement of the Regulations and section 144(2) of the Act does not apply. It is my responsibility to issue a report on these accounts in accordance with the terms of the Church Accounting Regulations 2006.

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b)of the Act and to be found in the Church guidance, 2011 edition. The examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and the comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent Examiner’s Statement

In connection with the examination no matter has come to my attention:

(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:

(a) to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Act; and

(b) to prepare accounts in accordance with the accounting records and to comply with the requirements of the Act, as also contained in the Church Accounting regulations 2006 have not been met; or

(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

David Park 38 Swaledale Avenue Darlington DL3 9AL

28 April 2024