Report to the AGM of Trinity Church by Rev. Richard Pope, our Minister
Although restrictions have not been re-introduced this year, we are very much living with the effect of the pandemic- life has changed. In many ways nothing is the same even though it looks as if things have returned to as they were. We have still seen some people who have not returned to worship and even those who have, do not do the same as they did before. Habits have changed. Within the Circuit eight churches have not re-opened which tells us the scale of the issues we face.
The closure of churches has a knock-on effect - the bills do not reduce even when there are significantly less churches and therefore less people, as most do not transfer to other churches.
Although that sets a bleak picture, members and friends of Trinity have met the challenges we face - this includes the financial challenges. We have managed to meet our expenditure as well as give away a tithe on what we receive to those charities we have agreed. The Festival Appeals have also produced a generous response.
We have had some building problems which significantly affected our life together - a small part of the ceiling fell in the sanctuary and the boiler has ceased to work. The ceiling repair has taken place and the new boiler should be in place before Christmas.
Over the last year we have also experienced a greater desire to do some things together. We have seen an increasing number wanting to attend meals together and we have (re)introduced a walking group which saw up to twenty people explore the surrounding area.
Over the last year we have seen an increase in attendees at worship. We have marked all the festivals as well as celebrating the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the United Reformed Church with a special service and meal. We are grateful for the preacher, Rev Dr Robert Pope, acting Principal of Westminster College Cambridge, and the Phoenix Singers who came and aided our worship. Although there have been some opportunities to discuss our faith, there has not been a huge take up. We are looking to start some new house groups in the New Year and maybe we need to take up the challenge of going outside our building.
We were able to do this as we partnered with Moorlands Climate Action over the Harvest period. Some from our congregation as well as members of Moorlands Climate Action shared some information as well as ways to use less plastic with people who attended the Sunday Totally Locally Market.
Over the last twelve months we have had to face up to our aging profile - part of that has meant a significant number of deaths from among our membership and adherents.
Churches Linked Across Staffordshire and the Potteries (CLASP) have undertaken a review of Trinity LEP - the first review for twenty years. We are waiting for their report and hope that it will encourage us in our mission as a church.
We continue with on-line worship via Facebook and YouTube as well as sending out notices, and worship from within the Circuit. There continue to be differences of opinion over issues including the use of our building by another congregation.
Films shown at our Film Club continue to draw in different people and coffee mornings continue to provide a place for people to meet. We hope to engage with the ‘Warm Space’ agenda in the new year when the boiler is replaced.
We continue to do some work with children through our Children and Family worker, Abi, and although it has been slow to pick up following the pandemic, there now seems to be more to be encouraged by.
We look forward to what the future holds, where God leads us and how we can serve both God and our neighbour locally and internationally in these very challenging times. Richard Pope
Annual Report to the Church AGM for the year December 2021 to November 22 from the Elders by MW
We are pleased to report that, compared to the last couple of years, there is a good deal to celebrate in church life.
Continued vigilance has meant that we have been able to resume in-person worship, hold communion services and meetings as well as a variety of social events and activities both in the church and beyond. Over the months we have seen members gradually gain confidence to return and pick up roles and responsibilities for which we are extremely grateful. The installation of the state-of -the art ventilation system in the lower hall provided a safer environment for ourselves and our hirers. Amazingly, Trinity member’s generosity has ensured the work of the church continues in all its guises
We mourned the loss of several dear friends who served the church faithfully and are missed. Some of those deaths were Covid related so we must remind ourselves that it hasn’t gone away and we need to keep one another safe.
We welcomed Sylvia Bainbridge to the role of Church Administrator. Thanks to Carol Sheldon for staying on to hand over the reins.
Elders started the year with a relaxed business-free evening to get to know one another and explore how we might work most effectively as a team. While the remit of Elders is much broader than a Church Secretary can be expected to cover alone, it has been wonderful when individual Elders have stepped forward to take on specific tasks.
We have sometimes needed to remind ourselves that the role of Elders is primarily about leadership. This aspect includes feeding into our meetings the issues raised by pastoral, worship, and nurture groups and now the social justice group (more detail in reports to the Church Meeting to follow). We give thought to major issues as they arise and ensuring support for our minister is a key role.
However, agendas inevitably get crowded out with practical, day to day issues that can’t be avoided, so next year we plan to set aside specific times to look ahead at our mission and what it means in these new post Covid times. This year we have been challenged to catch up on issues that have been ‘on hold’ over the Covid years. These have included Safeguarding, DBS checks, GDPR, policy reviews and sorting out the mass of accumulated records. All these are legal requirements so it’s no use moaning -thanks to those who took on or helped get these completed.
Thanks also to the organisers and contributors to the URC 50[th] celebrations, which were very well attended, well received and proved enlightening in terms of URC history.
As an LEP, a formal review of church life is undertaken every 10 years. Various members met with the interview team in early autumn and several incognito visits were made by them. A report is expected before the end of the year. This report will hopefully kick start a fresh look at our mission in this place for the future.
Richard and I attended the URC Synod, where we were all challenged to reflect on whether the main focus of our churches was ‘maintenance ‘or ‘missional ‘. Some of the ideas that emerged will help us explore;
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i) How we nurture and build one another up to share our faith with one another and with others
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ii) ii) The centrality of prayer in both our personal and church life. iii) iii) How we might make our existing activities more missional iv) iv) A look at where God is leading us and where we put our energies
For ourselves and our Circuit we were delighted that Rev Julie Hassall’s appointment as Superintendent has been extended for a further next 5 years.
Finally, a big thank you to those Elders stepping down and whose wise counsel I have valued. Plus, a huge thankyou to everyone who plays a part (seen and unseen) in the life of the church and the community. Where would the church be without you?
Maureen Wiskin Church Secretary November 2022
A united congregation Trinity Church, (Methodist United Reformed) Russell Street, Leek, Staffs., ST13 5JF thurth and The Unlted Refomied Clwrch Telephone: 01538 398483 Emall: rlnl churchleek wcl .net Reglstered Charlty Number: 1171597 Trinity Church, Leek Accounts for the year September 1st 2021 to August 31st 2022 Pages 1-7
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TRINITY CHURCH. LEEK: YEAR ENDIIIG 315rAuGU2o22 Other Acrwnts and Funds Account c: CONTINGENCY FUND Icentral Fknano Board. CFBI { 8alan¢e brou ht forward Sept 1" 2021 £SIN64.21 Interest CFB IA061 £317.66 TFR for Assessmentslxo) Transfer from TMCP 31112121 Transfer from Nat West General 22IV22 Transfer from Nat West General 2312122 Assessment > CSrcuit ID/D Code IN021 £55,(110 £55,(KQ.( £1S.OCiI.Crf) £iO.LKX).LK) £413.13 £132.195. BalaTr clf3110812022 77,195.00 £132,1gS.00 Account I., CAPITAL RESERVE FUNO (Leek ilnlted Bulldlnl Balance brou ht forward £28.466.23 Interest Added IA071 £28.47 No TFRS to NATwE 2021-22 Balance tlf at 3110812022 £28N94.70 £28.494. 70 Account m: CHURCHES MuniAL E[T UIIION Balance Brou ht Forward Divldend Credited .02425 £5.02 No wlthdrawais 2021-22 £0.00 B•lance £5029.27 £5,029.27 £5.029.27 Fund$ wfthln Natwt bank account= n lTr)wal). t Ilax). b (benevokn) y Ivwth), r (ref8e$l Fund t TAX TO HMRC {0•$18nat•d) Start balance 11912021 Tax on Funeral Fees VA18 Tax + NEST Ènslon+NIIStaff Wa 7.25 £453.60 £705.72 £1196.57 entsto HMRC AX 6alanc• df at 311812022 + NESTfrom VTAX £1,141.60 £54.97 El,196.57 esl ItlS031 Fund b BENEVOLENT FUND Start balance 11912021 Interest from TMCP bl904 £92103 £49.46 £971.49 Wlthdr3wals 2021-2022 blB05 B•lance clf at 3110812022 £68.98 £902.51 £971.49 Fund YoirrH EVENTS FUND IDESI ated Start balance 119 2021 £142J.61 Sund + Easter M05 Balano elf at 3110812022 £189.91 £IR33.70 £1,423.61 £1.423.61 Fund r Refv B•ne¥ol•nl Fund start balance 11912021 1914122 Donatlons 2614122 Donatlons 1115122 Donation5 1315122 Donations 1815122 Donations 2715122 Donations 3015122 Donatlons om Wrthdrawals 2021-22 rlGIO alanct f at 31lIW2022 £1,072.40 £467.60 £950.(L) £20.OJ £10. £20.IJ) EFA).CXI £1.540.00
l ) Our assessment to the Methodist Circuit and URC Synod is transferred from our general account la/c n) to the Methodist Central Finance Board {CFBI {a/cl during the course of the year, from where it is debited by the 5taffordshire Moorlands Circuit1£55,1XJOI.
Treasurerfs Reptt0 (hurth.Yw End Aii8ust 2022 This has been a year when we have seen thin8S 8radualty strrt to retum to some kind of nomality followlng the Covid lockdowns. Many th3nk5 to ¥one for Continui your generous offertories whlth total £57.679.59 thls year-the redurtlon of £2.165.30 from 202¢>21 due to the sad p3ssin8 ol a number of Church Members. Thants, a150.to the team of counters who do an excellent job of recordirbgthe collÈetions and payi into the bank The Job Retention kheme. Introduced by the Government durirwdCOVID ended on 30th September 2021 $0 only £231 Income this year (to here) Coffee rnornis were able to resume this year. taknr&s were quite low to start with but ha 8radually pi¢ked up and raisèd E3,602.95- many thanks to Liz and herteam of helpers. Lett1rS have recovered very well 5ifbce restarting with £8,458.75 received during the yèar. We recelved £3,558.36 from Funeral fees and d¢ationS. £1,021.33 Film Donations and £115 Sundry Income Also durlng the year we recelved £15,rJo from the RSC for Rentsl plus £884.97 from Humankind for Utility costs. An Ex Grat paymènt of £1.5CQ was agreed from Seddons In relatlon to the tssue5 expwienod wlth the canopy Durln8 the 2 Covid lockdown. you may re¢all. the Unlted Refor Chur¢h declded to redu thelr Mlsslon and Mlnlstry request and the Clrculi effectlvety had a rebate 01 £8,147.50. A further £2.(MKI has been recelved from the arcult. followlng last years £2.147.50. leavlng a balance of £4.(KQ outstandi We have malntalned our share ple(Ige for Assessment (to Method15t artsjli and the URCI at £55,000.00 and IO% of dlrect 81vin81É6,(j to our nominated tharitiès. Our special appeals giving -this year it was £5,094.06 with Gift Aid added of £739.58. maklng our total givlng to outside 8roup5 of £11033.64. Please note that some donors made 8lfts dlrectly to the charity, or via Trinity with a cheque payable to the tharlty. so the overall wa5 actualty hlgher than flqures Indicate. Salary: Many thanks to Carol for the hu8e commltment she made In keepln8 Trlnlty up to date wlth newsletters and arcult Notlces which was much appredated. Carol retlred at Chrlstrnas and was due a settlement for outstsndlng Holiday entitlement which Is Included. We welcomed our ne•J admlnlstrator. Sylvia Bainbrldge. arml thank herthe contlnuatlon of the excellent work and as the polnt of contact for outslde hirers. Paullne. our deaner. was granted a small pay Snclease from Aprll a5 part of the annual revlew The entry'mlnbtry under Cov1 contlnues. but was much reduced. It covers Wage of notlces to church members unable to reobve them by trmall, and Includes costs of CD5 and DVDS for those wantln8 to hear or see the sefvlces avallable tsn YouTube,- the dlstiibutlon via Steve ind Jean Is much appreoated by th05ewho recelved them. The costs also Include other COVID Telated materlals. The entry for"Minlstees Pastoral Support Fee. of £299 covers 5 sesslon and Is part of a requlrement by URC to support all mlnb5ters- Churche5 could clalrn back some of the cost If required but fortunately our financial posltlon enables us to cover 'SpÈcial Appeal< of £5.174.06 Includes two Organlst donatlons from Funera15 of £50 each to Chri5tlan Ald and Windmllls Charity whlch were paid dlrectly to the tharitbes. and therels an addltlonal £20 for the DECAf8hanlstan appeal due to be paid in September 2022 Utllltles blll have returned to Pre Covld as nornial actlvltles were able to resume. Watèr rates are redd as you may remember last yearfs accounts induded a cch up from the prou$ year. Going foTh¥ard the Church gas Contract wlth Re8ent Ga5, whlch renewed In Au8USt 2022 shows a swlficant in¢rease ftxed now untll July 2024 'Llcenses and Subscrlptlons, show an increase of arOuf É5CM) as some ftems weren't charged In 2021 so cover a 2 year period There were the usual payments for servlclng Iga51>)iler. lfft. fbre alarm sysiem. fire extlngu15her checks and the Ilkel. Other malntenance ¢osts Included £1,080 Lift work identrfied by Insurance Inspe¢bons. £1.058 replaMent window and wlndow pane, £750 palnting of Russell Street entrance ab)d £744 Toilet Floor repair5. Thanks are due to you, the churth membwshlp. for your cTh)lfjnued support with your faithful Bivin81standing orders, envelopes and cash on the platel, despite not always being able to attend live servi. Thanks to Steve and Jean Thompson, who have stored and collated the Gift Aid records. Huge thanks to Steve for the extremefy smooth transition and for his help with this. Thanks a150 to Sylwa who has been extremetry 5UPPOrtive. a source of vltal infomatlon and a150 kept me infornied of low stocks. NOTEIII.. Fuel prfces ha rock*ed recently and l(¥)k to rise erfen fvrther. The churth gas contrattwith Regent Gas Is on a fixed price till the end of July 2024. and the electrirjty with 55E tlll the end of October 2023. After these dates rtrcontractin8 will take Page 4a
a. Currently we have used Cost thice seThI who deal wlth a large number of URC churches. amongst others, and wlll dg their best to ensure a good deal. The ekctriiity is from renewable source5. but renewablegas is currently not available in bulk. NOTE121'. £IO,C((J Rent Receipt from the RSC atong with £413.13 recepml from the closure of the Mlnors and Minders account were transferred to our CFB account NOTEI31.. As last year the sub accounts In, b. t. y and rl are reported on one page. They are a150 broken down on Page 2 Robin McDuell 2011V22 Page 4a
Treasurerfs Report forTrith Chuvth. Laek Imethodlst and United Reformed) to th• Charlty Commtsslw Sept tst ZOZI-Aug 3tst 2022 (Charlty Number. 1171597) General: This year ha5 seen the turn of a k)t of rK)mial actlvities following the Covid Lockdown However, the Offertory has continued to remain stable although we have sadty noted the deaths of several long standing church members. The dedication of Church Members, who Still feel unable to attend worship. in ensuring their Offertory Ènvelopes re3ched Trinity has also helped. Bookings of our Lower Hall and Foyer space have also resumed and we are getting quite a number of or8anisations comin8 back with £8,458.75 receNed. Our own regular coffee mornings which provide a social environment as V1} as income, also returned from September 2021, atthough slow at first have picked up well and Taed £3.602.75 durin8 the year. Our nomal prdctice of making appeals at Festlval tlmes took place at Harvest. Christmas and E65ter and many people made donatlons dlrectly to our supported Charities as well as via Trlnity. (See Pa8e 7 for details) Receipts.. Our Offertory was sufficient for Trinity to pay its pledged Assessment to the Methodist Circuit. which, a5 Trlnlty Is an LEP (Local Ecumenical Partnership), transfers Ministerial costs to the United Reformed Church for our Misslon and Ministry. Giving for speclal appeals throughout the year was paid out directly to the recipient charities. The Glft Ald reclalmed from HMRC was Increased by about as fewer donations were made by cheque which enabled more GASDS to be reclalmed. A one off Ex Gratla payment of £1,5Q) was recelved from Seddons in settlement of the dalm on the Canopy Payments: Covid-19 continues to have an Impatt althou8h not to the same extent as In 20-21.our Mlnlstry contlnues to be enhanced by producing materbals for on-line worship and printed materials. along with an audlo CD or a vldeo DVD of service5 for those with the necessary equlpment, continue to be made av351able. These are all relenCed under the tab 'Mlnlstry under COVItr. We were able to malntsln our assessment to the Methodlst Clrcult of £55,000. 'Repairs & Renewals, included various maintenante work the biggest items of which were £750 for palntlng an exterlor entrance and £738 for repalrs to tollet knrlng The 'lnsurance' premlum Increased as a result of our clalm for the Front Canopy last year and there have been some addltional costs incurred for'Llcenses' as 9)me Stems were not bllled durfng 2021>21. Waterf costs have reduced as last year the second 19120 bill fell into the 2020121 accounts as it had not been received. Other items show alterations broadly due to the resumption of in-person worship We were able to transfer lust over £lO,IXKJ to our reserves durln8 the year Donations: Planned fithed ghvln8 of £6,(MX) {IO% of direct 8iVtIVdl to pre-agreed charities as well as our Festlval 8iving is summarised on page 7. Concluslon: Things continue to be difficult following COVID and we sadty lost some long Standln8 Church Members. We have managed, however, to malntain our Assessment and tithed gNin8 a5 usual. Regular maintenance of our building continues to be a cost with boiler due to be plaCed In the late part of 2022 at tost of around £27.c). We are hopeful of gettlng most of thi5 money covered by Grants bLrt may need to draw on our reserves. We a150 have potential roof paIrS in 2022123 whith may need some more transfers from reseryes. As w6th most other organisations. we are very rnindfvl of the spiralling ener8y COSt5 and the impact on people who hlre our building The new boiler should be a lot MO energy efficient and enable greater use of the buildin8 for outside organisations once completed Robin McDuell Ichurch Treasurer). November 14 2022 Page 4b
Indep•ndenteNamlnerfs r4xKt tothe trustses of Trfnlty Churd4 Leek l Teportto the trustees on my exarninatlon of the accourts ofTrfnlty Churth. Leel orb pages 14for the yearended 31°Au8115t 21712 Responslblbllle5 4nd b•#sol rliw As the charftytrustees of the are responslble forthe preparatlon ofthe acthunts In )GwrL14nce wlth the requlrements of Ch8rttlesArt 2011 (Trhe A&1. I report In re5pert of my examlnatlon of theTrusVs murrt5 carrted out undersectlon 145 ofthe 2011 A¢t and In carrylng out my examinotbon I hwe followed au the appl1¢ab Dlrertlons glven bv the Charlty Commisslon undersectton 14515llbl of theAcL Ind•pndwbt Ex•rnln•fs SlatWMrt I have completed my examtnatlon. I cryfflmi thot nomaterlal matters havecctheto my attentlon In connttuon with eX)mInOn 8lvin8 me Ule to belleve that In m¥t¢rl•l respe¢t'. ¥cCoUrrtl rxord5ThW¢ kept kn rw oftt Trust as requlred by sectton 130 0fthe{r the a(tOunts do N)t Clpty wlth the appllcable fe(NlrEmerrts concern1the form and ¢(tent of accounts set out In thè Charite5 (Actlnts and RepJrt31 RegUlaon5 2(8 otherthan any requlrementthatthe acoxmts a'tnR and f•lr vbewwhlth Is not a rnattercfjndered as Part ofan Indep examlnttlon,, I have rK concwns and ha come a(Yoss no Ottr m•tters In a>nne¢tlon*lththe examlnatlon to whlch attentlon shoukl be Ilrawn In th15 reportkn onlerto on•bie a woper urrflerstsnthngof the accounts to be reathed. Ollver NeweyACA Slgned., Date: .. /J..i./.%.L...-
DOI DOI D03 002 D02 )2 t)07 D07 Methodist Mission in Britain Fund Mhodist World Mi4ion Fund URC Commitment for Llfe Leaders of Worshi and Poathers Tnst ILWPT) MHA Actlon for Children A Rocha UK ASHA TOTAL £1500 £15 £550 £71K) £6,( Charftsblt MoAl•s In Tnnd¢ 21r&i-%b22 (Mo Event Income <hdtt FOI Harvest Glft Ald 511 s sent to Chrlstlan Ald d" F02 Chrlstmas AppeaL Deblt £4{.) £919AO Goi HaThe5t Chrlstlan Aldl G02 Tools with a Mlsslon" G02 Leek Gtizens Advke G03 MlssSon Aviatton. G03 Rethlnk Mentsl Illness. £406.50 £459.90 £459.90 £262.Cx) £262.00 F03 EasterA eal £52&C F05 Chrlstlan Ald IlndSvlduals also contributed onllne F06 MHA Appeal F07 Actth forchlldren IXmas/Afo énvs F08 Speclal Appeals Iukralne £12871A han15tan £482 FII ASHA I lus £155 dirert F12 Falrtrade Coffee Mornl É212.76 f4)5 Christlan A G06 MHA. £212.76 f460.00 £475.IKJ G07 *th)n for Chlldren. GOB Speclèl Appeals UkTrlne £L2671A nlstan £482• GII ASHA• G12 Traldcrdft Extha G12 Falrtrade TOTAL" tX)8 "Also donatlons equlvalent to Gfft Ald pald to Redplents marked. £475.CQ £1,769X £115.CK) £2 £1,749.00 £iis.00 £106.00 TOTAL: £5,07&06 £739.58 NOTE (#): GCA extra £20 to be pakl across10 DECSeptember2022- late recelpt after cheque wa5 Issued