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## **Introduction**
Little could we have imagined as we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany with a party in the vicarage in January, that we would in just two months be plunged into a national lockdown never before experienced by anyone in living memory. As our PCC participated in an excellent Away Day facilitated by **Alan Gyle** , Vicar of St Paul’s Knightsbridge, who helped us to begin to think about a new Mission Action Plan to map out a vision for the next 10 years, we had no idea that our assumptions would be dramatically upended a few weeks later. Even those who recall the 2nd World War, and the tremendous loss and upheaval it caused, have shared how this past year of isolation and loss has been different, and yet also experienced the world over. It has impacted the entire planet and stilled a frenetic world used to being an intricate web of activity.
And yet, not only were we active and engaged in the few months before lockdown, we also responded to the unfolding crisis. We learned fast how to be creative in continuing to live and share our faith, witnessing to Christ’s presence and offering his message of hope and life in a hurting and anxious world. We moved our worship online, initially from the Vicarage dining room and, when permissible, from the church itself, growing in confidence and our technical understanding, moving when we could to a hybrid model, with participation both in person and online.
We maintained our Sunday service, including our monthly All Age Eucharist at which the children would participate, utilising both recorded and live music as regulations and our skills allowed. Our week day services of Morning Prayer on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday continued throughout the year, as did our Wednesday morning Eucharist. The refreshments following the Wednesday Eucharist were replaced with a time of reflection and discussion on a seasonal topic.
In the first lockdown, we lost all our rentals. But thanks to the magnificent generosity of the parish in responding to our appeals, we were able to take the opportunity to re-sand the floors, renew the lighting in the Lower Hall to make it more environmentally friendly and attractive; and create technology to allow for hybrid services.
The community – adults and young alike – rallied in caring for those who were alone, isolated or sick. They bought and delivered food, made and delivered Easter cards and baskets, checked in on one another and did their best to create a network to ensure no one was left behind. This included supporting those who did not have the
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technology or knowledge to join us online, by providing devices donated by parishioners to enable them to join in worship. St. Barnabas church invited us to participate in a weekly donation of fresh food boxes which were distributed by dedicated volunteers through the neighbourhood to the homebound and families in need.
Throughout the lockdowns and home schooling, we maintained a close involvement with our Church of England School, St Barnabas and St Philip’s Primary School. Worship videos were recorded in the park with **Andy Buckler** , vicar of St Barnabas; and, once we were allowed back in school, we led collective worship in each classroom bubble.
With determination, imagination and energy, we kept going as much of the life of the Parish as possible. And, as we publish this document, and the country is no longer under Covid restrictions, St Philip’s feels vibrant, with both an in-person and online offering, and ready to face whatever circumstances we meet.
## **Report of the Vicar**
## **Christian formation and worship**
In those few months before lockdown, St. Philips was busy as usual. I participated in January’s Unity service, hosted by St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox church and co-ordinated by Kensington Council of Churches (KCC) with Churches Together in Notting Hill (CTiNH). We celebrated Mardi Gras with a pancake party which concluded with burning palms for the Ash Wednesday services; our adult and youth Confirmation classes began; and one of the last activities in the vicarage was an evening for the stewards. We joined in the Ecumenical Lent course – also under the auspices of KCC and CTiNH – until it was halted due to the national lockdown in March.
When lockdown started, we quickly re-oriented ourselves to maintain our ministry. Children and other members of the congregation still made beautiful Easter cards and baskets to deliver to the homebound, elderly and isolated. The Holy Week services were held online from the vicarage, though the usual Three hours on Good Friday became a one hour liturgy and we were not able to hold the Easter Vigil at dawn.
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Perhaps because of the lockdown and state of the world, the events of Holy Week were felt particularly acutely, and when we reached Easter morning, our sense of celebration and joy was very real in spite of all the restrictions and our inability to meet in person. We were able to light our new Paschal Candle and celebrate the winners of the competition: **Willow Marks** , a parishioner, and **Alexa** , whose bright and joyful designs of the theme “New Life” decorated the candle.
Lockdown did not dampen our spirits as we celebrated our Patronal Festival online via Zoom with a greeting from Bishop Graham, and welcomed back **Lesley Perry** as our preacher. We are so grateful to her for continuing to be available to take services when the need arises. **Swenja Surminski** , our Eco Church and Christian Aid rep, gave the address at both the Eco Church and Christian Aid Sundays in the spring, challenging and inspiring us. She also produced a moving video with her family on the effects of climate change which was shown both to the school and the church, and with her support, we held our first Climate change service in the autumn.
**Margaret Ayo** celebrated her first anniversary with us by preaching at the Feast of Corpus Christi in June, our second Sunday presiding back in church, though sadly without a live congregation. That evening we tolled our church bell 72 times to remember those lost in the tragic Grenfell Tower fire three years earlier.
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Sea Sunday was celebrated in July, led by our former Curate **Ije Ajibade** , now Regional Director, Europe for the Mission to Seafarers. It was particularly joyful, being also the day we were able to open our doors once more to a congregation for public worship. We were delighted that, despite the challenges of the pandemic, Ije was able to continue to join us regularly, both in person and online, to preach.
We were delighted to welcome the Bishop of Kensington, **Graham Tomlin** , who joined us to preach at our Harvest Festival; and that same afternoon, being also the Feast of St Francis, we celebrated God’s gifts of creation with a Blessing of the Animals service in church. Whilst Pushkin was not as welcoming as we had hoped, particularly to the local canines, a joyful occasion was had by all. To cap off a celebratory day, in lieu of our usual Harvest lunch, we held a “Zoom Harvest Supper” where **Susannah Yarde** , Project Manager of the **Kensington & Chelsea Foodbank** gave an inspiring talk on the work of the Food bank and its present needs. We continue to support the Foodbank by inviting regular donations of non-perishable food and products.
In the autumn, we were delighted to welcome one of the interns from St Barnabas, **Evonne Baltrock-Nitzsche** , who played a key role in developing and helping lead “Monday4Sunday” – a new children’s worship and storytelling initiative on Monday afternoons, which filled the gap created by the mandatory cessation of Sunday School.
We were able to hold our All Hallows Eve service, after which the children were given goody bags to take home. On All Souls’ Day we offered both a morning and lunchtime Eucharist, having reached out to family members of those who had died the previous year. It was particularly moving as we also remembered so many who had died of the virus.
The second lockdown in November meant we had to return to worship via Zoom only, except for those leading the services. Remembrance Sunday was livestreamed from church in this format including the Two Minutes’ Silence. Our five silhouettes of soldiers (one for each year in which the Great War took place) were once more seated around the church to commemorate those who did not return. Similarly, we marked Advent Sunday with a special evening service of readings and music, with
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participants in church, and the congregation joining via Zoom.
Public worship resumed in church the following Sunday, including the Admission of Churchwardens. Our annual candlelit carol service took place, though without congregational singing, in a beautifully decorated church, filled to its Covidsecure capacity. The music from the choral quartet was sublime and although we
were sadly unable to host our usual mulled wine reception, the service did lift our hearts and sent us aglow into the night.
We held an All Age Christingle Eucharist on the Fourth Sunday of Advent. It also felt fitting to add a new “Longest Night” Service of prayer, music and reflection for those for whom the Christmas season is particularly difficult. We also had for the first time a “Prayer Tree” where people were invited to leave prayer requests on a card tied to our magnificent Christmas tree.
Our Crib Service, Christmas Eve Choral Midnight Mass and Christmas Day Eucharist brought great cheer and were a joyful welcome as we celebrated the hope filled story of God among us. We welcomed regulars and visitors alike, as we celebrated the presence of the Light of the World in our midst.
Throughout the year, we maintained activities for children, adapting our provision to the needs of the situation. **Kazumi Tsutsui** and **Jamie Mangan** played a key role in this.
Although we were not able to be in church for Easter, our creative and committed team of **Ros Hodson** on the flowers and **Anne Steele** and **Zoe Schieppati-Emery** on the decorations, were on board to decorate the church for Harvest, Remembrance and Christmas. Because of Covid restrictions, the preparation of decorations was done by children (and the young at heart) at home and a small team put them up in the church.
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We missed considerably the in-person fellowship and opportunities to enjoy weekly refreshments and seasonal meals, and very much looked forward to the time when we would be able to gather to enjoy them all again.
## **Pastoral Care**
Pastoral Care was never more important, and never harder, than this year. We had to be creative in supporting one another when gathering in person and entering the homes of others, hospitals or nursing homes was restricted. The parish came together for those in need by volunteering to shop and deliver necessities. Volunteers supported a weekly food box delivery provided by St Barnabas, to those finding it hard to shop or who were struggling financially. Meanwhile, many extended care to those around them online or via the phone, or via visits to doorways, helping to keep the community spirit in spite of all the challenges faced by so many.
We very sadly lost two long-term members of the parish in the autumn. **Oriel Robinson** was a faithful member of the choir for many years, even when it became increasingly difficult for her to travel, and she is much missed. Her funeral was held at St. Mary-the-Boltons at which Pippa participated and preached, and Rebecca was asked to provide the beautiful and moving music. Oriel had worshiped there with her late husband and had reconnected with that parish during lockdown, being closer to her home.
**Helma Leprich** , whose 90th birthday we had celebrated in the summer via Zoom, had hardly missed a Sunday before the pandemic put the nation into lockdown and would attend most week day services and events. Beloved by many, very sadly she had endured most of the year in isolation at home, yet contracted Covid in hospital. Her funeral was held in church and due to the restrictions on numbers, many more joined online via Zoom, both from the parish and more widely in England, Germany and farther afield. Her nephew came over from Germany for the service.
A small funeral was also held in church for Ben Jorgenson, the son of a parishioner. Eight other funerals of people from the parish and neighbourhood were taken in local crematoria, as well as the burial of ashes of David Charlesworth, the partner of a parishioner, in the Brompton Cemetery.
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## **Special occasions**
We began Confirmation preparation for our adult and youth candidates with St Mary Abbots Church in the spring though sadly this had to be suspended. Our numbers of candidates grew, however, and we were delighted to be able to begin preparations for resumed classes beginning in early 2021.
Sadly, several weddings had to be postponed due to the pandemic, including that of our Director of Music, **Rebecca Taylor** , and several couples whose banns were being read at St. Philips. We very much look forward to celebrating Rebecca’s wedding in due course.
In spite of the Covid restrictions, we were delighted to be able to celebrate the Baptism of **Maisie Newstead** and **Laurence Hall** in the brief window before we went into the November lockdown.
## **Publicity and communications**
Except for those unprecedented months when we were required to close our church doors for both public worship and private prayer, the church remained open daily for prayer, reflection and solace. We kept our noticeboards up to date with the latest information about public worship and prayer, thanks to the creative designs of one of our Church Managers, **Laura Sylvester** , who remained working hard to keep the parish connected throughout the year, not only with posters and signs, but also through the weekly email newsletter, sent to a growing number of people.
Publicity leaflets for major festivals were also distributed to residences and businesses in the parish when we could. Our website continued to be improved and kept up to date with the ever-changing situation. Our Twitter feed @StPhilipsW8 is regularly updated as is the one run by Pushkin, our church cat @CatSpecr, who remained unflappable throughout the tumultuous year.
## **Community engagement**
Until we were interrupted by the virus, our monthly community activity offered Bingo, Exercise and a tea dance in Holland Park; our monthly coffee morning at the local Scarsdale Tavern convened; our children and youth spent the night in church to raise funds for the Church Urban Fund to support the homeless; and our monthly Book Club and Film Club (run by **Roberto Schieppati** ) met.
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After that point, most events had to be cancelled or postponed, including our activities with the Beatrice Place Nursing Home, the Stratford Road Christmas Street Fair, our Christmas ornament making activity with the children and our new Carol Singing initiative with the Scarsdale Tavern.
We were however able to hold the Christmas card competition and all the designs were sold before Christmas.
Our garden continued to be lovingly cared for by **James Thayer Warne** , and created a place of beauty, peace and welcome for all who walked by even when our doors had to remain closed.
Our engagement with our Church School continued. Through our representation on the Governing body, we provided guidance to the School’s new leadership team as **Vera Vagic** stepped into the role of Head Teacher with **Nicola Challice** as Deputy Head, following the departure of the Executive Head, **Rebecca Harris** , who had steered the school through its first year of transition.
I continued on the Governing Body of the Pathfinder Fellowship, at Bickersteth House, also serving as their Chaplain. I also continued as Chaplain to the Kensington Ministry Experience Scheme for young people in the discernment process and assisted in their training and leadership with **Andy Buckler** , Vicar of St Barnabas.
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## **Resources and people**
Our Wardens, **Jamie Mangan** and **Mallindi Baldassarro** , along with the PCC, continued to support the parish through a time of great challenge and uncertainly. Our APCM was delayed until the Autumn because of Covid restrictions; at that meeting **Peter Burney** stood down from the PCC due to ill health. We are very grateful for his unstinting support of St Philips and all his wisdom over the years.
We were sad to say goodbye to **Shoko Seta** , who resigned from the PCC in the spring, when she and her daughter **Ryuka** relocated abroad. She gave much time and energy to St Philips as our Children’s Champion, including providing certificates to children at the end of the year for participating in worship and other activities, so connecting more closely the church and school.
The Fabric Team, benefitting from the expertise of **Jacquie Sands** and **Jo Eade** , made significant progress with our next major building project, involving changes at the West end to insulate the church from noise and the cold. We are very grateful to them both and are delighted that by the year end we were close to being able to submit a Faculty application.
We benefitted from the technical skills of **Rupert Steele** , who managed our technology, making the connection between church and Zoom as seamless as possible.
**Sally Bessada** and **Laura Sylvester** continue to job-share as Church Managers. Whilst they work together to cover the entire role, Sally’s focus is more with the oversight of the lettings and contracts; and Laura’s with the production of the orders of service as well as posters and all publicity, along with the weekly e-newsletter, which kept her particularly busy this past year. Although Sally was fully furloughed for some of the year when our rentals had to cease, she worked tirelessly to rebuild our rentals once we were able to reopen. Under their able management, our church ran smoothly in spite of the challenging times, and we are ever grateful to them both for the talent and experience they bring to the administration of the church.
Huge thanks are also due to our Director of Music, **Rebecca Taylor** . Although she was fully furloughed when live music was not possible, she and the **Choir** returned with great energy and provided brilliant music in the latter part of the year despite the ban on congregational singing.
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**Sean Collins** , our caretaker, was fully furloughed for much of the year. He ensures the building is clean, tidy and prepared for the numerous services and events held throughout the week. In his absence, evening and weekend cleaning services were provided by the **Cleaning Ansah** to prepare the Church and halls for the Sunday Services, and to ensure we remained Covid secure when we were open. We are very grateful to the additional night caretaking which has been supported by volunteers **Rupert Steele** and **Simon Cox** .
I am in debt to all who give of their time, talent and treasure to St Philip’s in so many ways, many of them invisible.
Thanks in particular go to our Wardens and all the PCC for their commitment to St Philip’s. Among PCC members, I would like to mention our Voluntary Income Coordinator, **Simon Cox** , who managed our Gift Aid and took over as PCC Secretary from **Antonio Aidah** at the APCM, and for Antonio for his role of secretary for most of the year, and
Electoral Roll Officer, **Chris Luxton** , who tirelessly keeps track of the comings and goings of our members.
More widely, a faithful and dedicated group of volunteers continue to serve in a variety of ways. The year was different and difficult, not being able to gather and celebrate in the usual ways, but for those who were able to be involved, thank you, whether you sing in our choir, prepare the church for services, act as stewards, read the lessons, lead intercessions, help with Zoom, care for our garden, represent us on our School’s Governing Body, serve on the Deanery Synod, help with our children and youth, or volunteer in supporting those in need. Thank you for all you do. It is invaluable.
**Philippa A Turner** _Vicar_
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## **Report from Director of Music**
The year 2020 was rather different musically at St Philips. Due to the Covid restrictions, we had to rely on recorded music for the majority of the year.
We were fortunate that a brief break in lockdown allowed us to welcome a professional quartet for the Carol Service in December. In the brief periods of lighter restrictions up to four members of our regular choir valiantly led the music. We looked forward to a time of congregational singing and the ability to have larger choirs.
## **Rebecca Taylor**
_Director of Music_
## **Report from Children’s Champion**
The children of St Philip’s remain a central part of the life of the church. There were fifty-six children listed as attending at some point in the year and new members continue to join. Sunday school was suspended when the national lockdown came into force in March 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic and remained suspended into the first part of 2021.
In October 2020 a new initiative ‘Monday4Sunday’ was started in order to deliver Sunday school teaching to children in the format of an informal service in church and/or over Zoom. This continued on Mondays at 16.45 with consistent and dedicated support from our intern, **Evonne Baltrock-Nitzsche** . Children were given a notebook to keep their personal Faith Journal.
Each month, normally on the third Sunday, we hold an All-Age Service in which the children actively participate. Readings and prayers are led by the children.
Despite the Covid-19 measures, the children nevertheless enjoyed seasonal events at the church and/or over Zoom. Our fourth participatory All Hallows’ Eve service was well attended and the children indulged in a dress-up competition. At Christmas, children participated in Crib Service on Christmas Eve by offering a nativity play.
The children also help to decorate the church for major festivals, including Christmas, Easter and Harvest, under the guidance of
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**Zoe Schieppati-Emery** and **Anne Steele** . St Philip’s Christmas Card Competition ran for the second year, on a smaller scale, for which Children designed their own interpretation of “Christmas at St Philip’s”. All the designed cards were sold in the church during Advent.
Our church has an important relationship with St Barnabas & St Philip’s Church of England Primary School. The clergy were involved with worship at the school, as regulations allowed, and we looked forward to welcoming the children once again at St Philip’s for Eucharists and other services. There are also joint activities, such as the annual Paschal Candle design competition where the winning design is put onto our Paschal candle for Easter. Several members of the church also serve on the Board of Governors for the school.
## **Kazumi Tsutsui**
_Children’s Champion_
## **Report from the Wardens**
Faced with the unprecedented shutdown of church buildings from March 2020, the PCC decided – despite the financial pressures – to go forward in faith with a number of maintenance projects that would normally be too intrusive upon our daily activity.
The wooden floors throughout the church and halls were refinished & sealed, repairing the accumulated damage since they were installed in 2003. We specified the strongest possible sealant in order to help ensure resistance to damage going forward.
The lower hall lighting system was fully replaced with a dimmable LED installation that uses about a quarter of the amount of electricity of the previous system. As an added benefit, the effect in the room has produced a more, modern eye-catching effect.
Modifications were made to the lower hall windows to increase the amount of ventilation available to three times the previous level.
Audio visual equipment was installed to provide a full hybrid capability – allowing the church to be used in the normal way while people can both watch and actively participate over Zoom. The equipment included a high specification remote controlled camera, monitors which provide better sight lines for socially distanced seating in the Lower Hall and
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North Aisle, and various computers etc to process the audio and visual communication. This improvement has been an immense help in maintaining a sense of community, despite the need to maintain a physical distance and will be a benefit for future use in services as well as community events.
Beyond these major projects, a significant number of minor maintenance tasks were undertaken to keep the building in good condition. These included repairs to the heating system, installation of hand sanitisers and paper towel dispensers, replacing broken windows (including a large double glazed panel in the upper hall), extending the garden lighting system, replacing failed emergency lighting units, reconfiguring the chair storage bay in the lower hall, improvements to the disabled toilet, improved storage for cleaning materials, repairing the upper hall sound system and general works in the garden.
There are a small number of works remaining to be done from the Quinquennial inspection carried out in 2019. These include completing
the LED lighting in the main church and improving the sound in church for those who are hard of hearing. Zoom participants have however reported significantly improved sound clarity and we intend to use this as an inspiration for improving what is available in church for those needing extra help.
The Quinquennial Architect also suggested installation of internal glass structures to decrease the noise from the Earls Court Road and the narthex. This is a long standing project on which work has been under way for some years. Good progress was made during the year in developing and specifying the project ready for the PCC to consider early in 2021. Tasks for early 2021 will include grant applications and submission of a Faculty request to the Church of England.
## **Mallindi Baldassarro and Jamie Mangan** _Churchwardens_
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## **Report on the proceedings of the PCC**
The Parochial Church Council (PCC) met on seven occasions during 2020. The first meeting was in person and the second was a strategy away-day at Bickersteth House. Subsequent meetings were held over Zoom, except for the meeting on Sunday 18 October immediately following the APCM, which was partly in person.
The PCC is supported by a Standing Committee, which is empowered to transact the business of the PCC between the PCC’s meetings.
The PCC, in collaboration with the Vicar, has a wide-ranging role in the areas of mission, with primary responsibilities relating to the finances of the parish and the care and maintenance of all church buildings and their contents. The PCC’s main focus during the year was supporting the Vicar in the continuation of the church’s ministry through the pandemic.
The PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have due regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults).
The PCC’s meetings were all attended by the Secretary who prepared and circulated minutes recording the discussions.
## **Simon Cox**
_PCC Secretary_
## **Treasurer’s Report**
## **General comments – unrestricted funds**
The financial position is summarised in the Accounts for 2020, which form part of this report.
The year started off in the normal way, with a balanced budget, before £14,300 of income expected from a licence under faculty in respect of the telecommunication base station. However, in March, everything changed with the pandemic and lock-down. An emergency budget prepared on 15 April 2020 projected a deficit of £90,000.
In the event, we received stupendous support from the congregation, with voluntary income rising from around £48,500 in 2019 to about £78,300 in 2020 (plus £14,820 of furlough grants from the Government). In addition, the partial opening up in the latter half of the year allowed us
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to claw back a lot of our rental income to reach a total of over £101,000 compared with a prediction of £45,000 in the emergency budget.
Taken together with a general clamp down on expenditure, this enabled us to take advantage of the empty building to undertake a significant maintenance programme (that would have been very difficult in normal times), as described in the churchwardens’ report, while limiting the overall deficit to £29,759.
To put that deficit into context, the combined unrestricted surplus across 2018 and 2019 was nearly £9,400 more than the 2020 deficit, so with the generosity of the congregation and the partial return of rentals we were able to ride a one in a 100 year event with a deficit that was less than two years’ surplus in normal times.
We are continuing to be affected by the emergency in 2021; however, the ability to keep some of our rentals going through the January lockdown and the rapid return of rentals during the Spring opening up gives some hope that a balanced outcome will be possible in 2021, net of the effect of the West End project.
That project (to reduce noise levels in the church during services) is projected to cost £105,000 but some £50,000 of grants have already been pledged to support it. There will be fundraising aimed at covering the balance of the costs but the extent of any residual call on the budget cannot yet be predicted.
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## **General comments – restricted funds**
On the restricted side, there were no transactions in 2020. The Community Fund and the Choral Scholars Fund, having been fully spent in 2019, are expected to be removed in 2021.
The Piano & Organ Fund balance remained at just over £3,000. The balance of £1,365 in the Improving Philip’s Fund remained unchanged in 2020.
## **Note on rounding**
The accounts are internally calculated to the penny, but shown in whole pounds for printing. This means that some columns may not appear to add precisely because of rounding differences, but the underlying data are fully accurate.
## **Principal funding sources and review of the performance of fund-raising activities**
Total unrestricted income in the year was just over £209,760, a fall of nearly £33,500 from 2019. As noted above, donations and legacies performed very strongly in 2020. Planned bank giving rose from about £27,340 in 2019 to £30,630, an increase of 12%, We invited people to give to fund both the new lights on the lower hall and the audio visual installation; both appeals were fully funded and this is reflected in the increase in unplanned donations from £4,155 to over £30,570 – a sevenfold increase. We also saw a £4,000 increase in income tax recoverable through Gift Aid and GASDS.
These gains were partly offset by a fall in collections at services which more or less halved to about £3,900, reflecting the periods of closure and the proportion of the congregation who attended online.
Rentals were severely hit by the pandemic, falling by more than 42% compared to the previous year.
Having taken the decision to furlough most of the staff, and then only bring them back part time under the flexible furlough scheme, we received grants under the Job Retention Scheme of £14,820. We maintained staff pay in full throughout the year.
During 2020, income of £14,300 was received by virtue of a licence under faculty, granted to NET Coverage Solutions Ltd (and assigned to Shared Access Limited, with the PCC’s agreement, in early 2018) for the right to install a telecommunications base station in the spire of St
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Philip’s. Payments are expected to continue at this level for a further period of 14 years.
## **Use of expenditure to support key objectives**
Total unrestricted expenditure in the year was about £239,520, an increase of nearly £11,100 on the previous year. This was the result of increases of nearly £17,400 in maintenance costs, £3,000 in Diocesan Ministry costs and nearly £2,300 in cleaning costs, together with significant reductions in most other costs. Depreciation also rose by some £1,700 as a result of new capital expenditure, especially on audio visual equipment and new metalwork. The chief expenditure categories have been:
- Ministry costs, including payments to the Diocese in respect of clergy, and clergy expenses.
• Maintenance, including the significant projects for renewal of the Lower Hall lighting, repolishing of the floors, installing new audio visual equipment and Lower Hall window improvements.
- Running expenses of the church including insurance, utilities, cleaning and caretaking etc.
- Publicity and other mission costs, upkeep of services and music.
- Governance costs, including administration, independent examination fees and depreciation.
All of these expenditures have directly supported the objective of maintaining the worship and fabric of St Philip’s. A further sum of around £1,560 (largely covered by matching donations and tax reclaim) was spent on mission giving and donations.
## **Organisation and role of volunteers**
The PCC is responsible for the finances of St Philip’s. Most day to day work is delegated to the Treasurer assisted by the Gift Aid Coordinator (both volunteers) and the Church Managers (both employees), working under the supervision of the Standing Committee. The Treasurer, Rupert Steele, prepares the budget and accounts, manages the bank accounts and all expenditure, and looks after certain aspects of income (open collections, legacies and gifts, fundraising income and statutory fees). For donations made in 2020, the Gift Aid Coordinator, Simon Cox, managed the income from giving envelopes and prepares the HMRC Gift Aid tax reclaim applications.
The two Church Managers, Sally Bessada and Laura Sylvester, are employed on a job share basis. Among their other tasks, they deal with all aspects of hall lettings and recording the income from them.
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Arrangements for fundraising for specific projects will be made once the projects in question are ready to proceed.
More widely, all the activities of the church are undertaken by volunteers with the exception of the Vicar, Church Managers and other staff or contractors engaged for specific roles or tasks including caretaking, cleaning, mission and outreach work, and the provision of music at services. Our independent examiner, a partner of Harmer Slater Limited, is engaged on a commercial basis.
## **Policy for making grants or donations**
The PCC makes some charitable donations and grants for purposes connected with its objects. In 2020
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these included purchasing leavers’ books for our church school and membership of two local residents’ associations. Payments were made to the Mission to Seafarers, the Church Urban Fund, the Diocese of London Lent Appeal, Christian Aid and the Maggie’s Cancer Care, supported wholly or mainly by collections taken for the purpose. Other donations (beyond those falling within Clergy expenses) are normally supported wholly or mainly by fundraising events or by special collections undertaken (and associated tax reclaim) or are made following gifts received for the purpose. Any specific requests outside this policy will be considered by the PCC or Standing Committee on their merits.
St Philip’s makes payments to the Diocesan Common Fund significantly in excess of the Diocesan costs attributed to it, thus supporting parishes elsewhere in the deanery.
## **Investment policy/objectives and performance against investment objectives set**
The PCC’s investment funds are invested in the Church of England Central Board of Finance fund, managed by CCLA. Accordingly, St Philip’s follows the CBF’s policy on taking into account social, environmental and ethical considerations in investments. The funds in the PCC’s bank account are managed to maximise the amounts held with CBF, taking advantage of the online facilities available to the Treasurer, but interest income continued to be adversely affected by wider economic conditions.
## **PCC policy on the reserves that are held**
The PCC holds reserves against the possibility of unexpected maintenance requirements or falls in income and also to cover the cost of anticipated works on the church. The PCC reviews the target minimum reserves level from time to time and the current level is £100,000. The 2020 level of the unrestricted fund, less fixed assets, amounts to £180,365. It exceeds the set minimum as part of our planning to fund the next phase of work on the building and to strengthen the church’s long term financial position.
## **Funds**
No fund is materially in deficit. The position on creditors is set out in the accounts. No funds are held as Custodian Trustee.
## **Rupert Steele**
_Treasurer_
St Philip’s Annual Report 2020 21
**Report of the Kensington Deanery Synod Representatives**
St Philip’s Representatives in the House of Laity are Chris Luxton and Lesley Raymond, both of whom were re-elected for the next three years at the APCM in October 2020. During 2020, James Heard, Vicar of the United Benefice of Holland Park, took over from Mark O’Donoghue as Area Dean.
The Synod’s post-Christmas reception in January was an opportunity to meet and network with members from the other 15 churches in the Kensington Deanery. This was followed by a meeting in February on the theme of Engaging people through sports.
The arrival of Covid-19 caused a hiatus in Synod events but we were able to meet via Zoom later in the year to continue to focus on being confident in speaking and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
• In September, the Kensington Area Director of Ministry, Canon Miles Baker, shared encouraging figures for the number of ordinands from the Kensington Area as part of his presentation on Investing in Leadership and Vocation.
• In November, the Synod was addressed by Graham Tomlin, Bishop of Kensington, who discussed the emerging Diocesan vision for the next ten years and sought feedback. This led to a lively debate on the role of the church and some quite challenging views were presented.
## **Chris Luxton and Lesley Raymond**
_Deanery Synod Representatives_
## **Safeguarding report**
At St Philip’s, the welfare and safety of all congregants is of paramount importance to the PCC and the entire community. Parishioners come to our church with the expectation that we provide a safe environment in which they will flourish in their faith and community. Therefore officers within the parish must ensure that this expectation becomes a reality, particularly for those who may be vulnerable to abuse. The Safeguarding Team’s role is to protect children, young people and any vulnerable adults in our community.
22 St Philip’s Annual Report 2020
The Safeguarding Officer and Children’s Champion are available to parents, children, vulnerable adults and carers, before and after services. The Safeguarding Officer is always available to listen to any queries or concerns they might have, offer advice and support which may involve steering them towards a range of services to access information and advisory groups. Once a year, the PCC considers and approves the safeguarding policy and copies of this are on display on the notice boards and around the building.
St Philip’s undertake a self audit of safeguarding procedures and the outcome of the assessment noted at the PCC Standing Committee on 14 July 2020. Of the fifteen criteria, ten were wholly met, two partially met and three not applicable. An action plan was adopted to improve the position on the two partially met criteria and maintain performance on the others.
**Peninah Kamatsiko** _Safeguarding Officer_
## **Electoral Roll Report**
The first Annual Revision of the completely new 2019 Electoral Roll (of 123 names) began in March, but was brought to an abrupt halt by Covid-19, and the ensuing postponement of the APCM. The revision was resumed in September, and I was pleased to report at the APCM on 18th October that numbers had risen to 135, an increase of twelve.
At the year end, there were 137 on the Roll: three additions, and one removal following the sad death of Helma Leprich in November. The percentage of those living outside the parish boundaries remained constant at 62%.
**Chris Luxton** _Electoral Roll Officer_
St Philip’s Annual Report 2020 23
## **Report of the Church Cat**
I am pleased to present my report for my third year with St Philip’s. The building was quieter than in previous years, but my role was even more important.
My primary role is, of course, to keep the church free from mice and rats and I am pleased to report that I have 100% success rate in this task. I patrol the whole building each day to make sure that the church remains rodent free, and if any rodents do try to break in, my justice is swift and sure.
I also keep an eye on what happens in church. You will often see me walking through the church at services, ensuring that all is running smoothly, and sometimes sitting down to listen. I take great interest in the new Zoom technology and frequently supervise the technical staff to ensure they get everything right. If you visit during the week to reflect and pray, I may come and join you and perhaps sit on your coat or bag next to you whilst you pray.
I post a daily report of my activities on my Twitter feed @CatSpecr which is followed by cats (and one cathedral) all over the world.
Having regard to which side my bread is buttered, I should also thank the various humans who serve me – **Pippa**
**Turner** , **Veronica Ansah** (cleaner) **Sean Collins** (caretaker), **Simon Cox** (PCC Secretary), **Rupert Steele** (Treasurer) and my various visitors.
**Pushkin** _Church Cat_
24 St Philip’s Annual Report 2020
## **Statement of the Parochial Church Council’s responsibilities for preparation of the Financial Statements**
The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Philip, Earl’s Court Road (charity number 1172886) is required to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the church as at the end of the financial year and of its financial activities for the year to that date. The financial statements must be prepared in compliance with applicable accounting standards. The Parochial Church Council is also responsible for maintaining adequate accounting records, for safeguarding the assets of the church and for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities.
In preparing these financial statements, the Parochial Church Council has ensured that suitable accounting policies have been selected and used, applied consistently and supported by reasonable and prudent judgements and estimates, have taken account of income and expenses relating to the period reported on whether or not they have been received or paid in that period, and they have prepared the financial statements on a going concern basis.
In deciding to apply a going concern basis, the Parochial Church Council considered the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the church’s finances. Although the steps taken to contain the virus are likely to have a negative impact on the church’s income in 2021, the success of the vaccine programme seems likely to mitigate those impacts and the church has sufficient financial resources to cover any credible shortfall for a period of at least a year from the date of signing these accounts. The PCC and its Standing Committee will consider any necessary measures to extend the period of financial endurance beyond the credible timeline of the emergency.
Philippa Turner Chair
Rupert Steele Hon Treasurer
_19 July 2021_
St Philip’s Annual Report 2020 25
**Independent Examiner’s Report To the members of the Parochial Church Council of St Philip Earl’s Court Road (Charity number 1172886)**
I report on the accounts of The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Philip, Earl’s Court Road, for the year ended 31st December 2020, which are set out on pages 28 to 39 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet and the related notes. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’.
## **Respective responsibilities and basis of report**
As the members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC), you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’). You are satisfied that your Church is not required by charity law to be audited and have chosen instead to have an independent examination.
I report in respect of my examination of the Church’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed the applicable directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
## **Scope of the independent examination**
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Church and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as members of the PCC concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a “true and fair” view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
26 St Philip’s Annual Report 2020
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Church as required by section 130 of the Act; or
2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
3. the accounts do 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.
T W Slater ACA, CTA
Harmer Slater Limited, Chartered Accountants, 79 High Street, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 8HG
## _19 July 2021_
St Philip’s Annual Report 2020 27
## **Statement of Financial Activities**
## For the Year Ended 31 December 2020
|||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|Unrestricted|Restricted|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**2020**|**2020**|2019|2019|
||Notes|**£**|**£**|£|£|
|**Incoming**||||||
|**Resources**||||||
|Donations and legacies|3a|**93,105**|**-**|48,523|620|
|Charitable activities|3b|**535**|**-**|1,330|-|
|Other trading activities|3c|**115,381**|**-**|192,107|-|
|Income from|3d|**740**|**-**|1,296|-|
|investments||||||
|**Total incoming**||**209,761**|**-**|243,256|620|
|**resources**||||||
|**Resources**||||||
|**Expended**||||||
|Expenditure on raising|4a|**184**|**-**|608|-|
|funds||||||
|Expenditure on|4b|**207,441**|**-**|198,058|3,124|
|charitable activities||||||
|Expenditure on other|4c|**22,340**|**-**|22,235|-|
|activities||||||
|Governance costs|4d|**9,554**|**-**|7,520|-|
|**Total Resources**||**239,519**|**-**|228,421|3,124|
|**Expended**||||||
|**Net Movement**||**-29,759**|**-**|14,835|-2,504|
|**in Funds**||||||
|Transfer between||||-|-|
|funds||||||
|**Net Movements**||**-29,759**|**-**|14,835|-2,504|
|**in Funds After**||||||
|**Transfers**||||||
|Balances Brought||**217,809**|**4,366**|202,974|6,871|
|Forward At||||||
|1January2020||||||
|**Balances Carried**||**188,050**|**4,366**|217,809|4,366|
|**Forward At**||||||
|**31 December 2020**||||||
28 St Philip’s Annual Report 2020
## **Balance Sheet**
As at 31 December 2020
|**Balance Sheet**
As at 31 December 2020||||
|---|---|---|---|
||Notes|**2020**|2019|
|||**£**|£|
|**Fixed Assets**||||
|Tangible assets|7|**7,685**|5,163|
|**Current Assets**||||
|Debtors|8|**11,916**|19,882|
|Short term deposits||**150,779**|190,040|
|Cash at bank and in hand||**39,603**|17,710|
|||**202,298**|227,632|
|**(Liabilities)**|9|**-17,566**|-10,619|
|**Net Current Assets**||**184,732**|217,012|
|||||
|**Total Assets Less Current**||**192,416**|222,175|
|**Liabilities**||||
|**Funds**||||
|Unrestricted – General|10|**188,050**|217,809|
|Restricted funds|10|**4,366**|4,366|
|||**192,416**|222,175|
This Financial Report for the year ended 31 December 2020, including the notes following, was approved by the PCC and signed on its behalf by:
**Philippa Turner** _Chair Hon Treasurer 19 July 2021_
## **Rupert Steele**
The notes on pages 30 to 39 form part of these accounts.
St Philip’s Annual Report 2020 29
## **Notes To The Accounts**
For the Year Ended 31 December 2020
## **1. Accounting Policies**
## **a. Accounting convention and accounts preparation**
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 together with the second edition of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) – (Charities SORP FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, and applicable regulations.
St Philip’s Church meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s). They include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC was responsible in law during 2020. They do not include the accounts of church groups that owe their affiliation to another body, nor those that are informal gatherings of church members.
The entity has taken advantage of the exemption from preparing a cash flow statement conferred by Charities SORP FRS 102 on small charities (with income of £500,000 or less).
30 St Philip’s Annual Report 2020
## **b. Funds**
_Unrestricted Funds_ are general funds and which can be used for PCC ordinary purposes, while Designated Funds are monies set aside by the PCC out of unrestricted funds for specific future purposes or projects.
## _Restricted Funds represent:_
(i) income from trusts or endowments which may be expended only on those restricted objects provided in the terms of the trust or bequest, and
(ii) donations or grants received for specific objects or invited by the PCC for specific objects.
The funds may only be expended on the objects provided or specified. Any balance remaining unspent at the end of the year is carried forward as a balance on that fund.
## **c. Incoming Resources**
All incoming resources are accounted for gross.
## Donations and legacies
_Planned Giving_ and _Collections_ are recognised when received. _Income tax recoverable_ on Gift Aid donations is recognised when the donation is made, or (if later) when the amount due is assessed. _Grants_ and _legacies_ are recognised when received or (if earlier and an amount can be estimated) a legal entitlement has arisen.
## Income from Investments
Interest entitlements are accounted for as and when they are credited.
All other income
All other income is recognised when it is receivable.
## **d. Resources Expended**
Resources expended are accounted for on an accruals basis and are accounted for gross.
## Charitable activities
The Diocesan Common Fund is accounted for when paid. Any amount unpaid at 31 December is provided for as an operational (though not a legal) liability and is shown as a creditor in the Balance Sheet.
St Philip’s Annual Report 2020 31
## **e. Cash**
Cash and cash equivalents comprise deposits in bank accounts or with the CBF Church of England Deposit fund, and cash held in hand on the reporting date. These are therefore subject to an insignificant risk in change in value.
## **f. Fixed Assets**
## Tangible fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets are included in the balance sheet at cost or if gifted at market value at the date of the gift.
Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets at rates calculated to write off the full cost or valuation less estimated residual value of each asset over its estimated useful life. The principal rate in use is:
Equipment: 25% on cost
## **g. Debtors**
Debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
## **h. Creditors and provisions**
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the church has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
## **i. Financial instruments**
The Church only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.
## **2. Legal status and address of the Church**
The Parish of Saint Philip, Earl’s Court Road was formed with effect from 1 January 2017 by a scheme made on 8 December 2016 by the Church Commissioners under the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011. The PCC was registered by the Charities Commission on 4 May 2017, Charity Number 1172886. The address of the Church is St Philip’s Church, Earl’s Court Road, London, W8 6QH.
32 St Philip’s Annual Report 2020
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|Unrestricted|Restricted|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**2020**|**2020**|2019|2019|
|**3. Incoming Resources**|**£**|**£**|£|£|
|**3a. Donations and**|||||
|**legacies**|||||
|Tax-effcient planned giving|**30,630**|**-**|27,337|-|
|Other planned giving|**-**|**-**|-|-|
|Tax-effcient collections at|**3,902**|**-**|7,815|20|
|services|||||
|Other Collections at services|**-**|**-**|50|-|
|Other donations|**19,852**|**-**|3,710|500|
|(tax effcient, non-recurring)|||||
|Other donations|**10,722**|**-**|445|-|
|Income tax recoverable|**13,179**|**-**|9,166|100|
|Legacies|**-**|**-**|-|-|
|Grants|**14,820**|**-**|-|-|
||**93,105**|**-**|48,523|620|
|**3b. Charitable activities**|||||
|Statutory fees|**227**|**-**|582|-|
|Income from church|**308**|**-**|748|-|
|events & meals|||||
||**535**|**-**|1,330|-|
|**3c. Other trading**|||||
|**activities**|||||
|Fundraising events|**-**|**-**|3,069|-|
|Lettings (general)|**91,956**|**-**|151,155|-|
|Lettings for mission purposes|**9,125**|**-**|23,584|-|
|Diocesan admin/|**-**|**-**|-|-|
|sequestration payments|||||
|Income from licences|**14,300**|**-**|14,300|-|
|under faculty|||||
||**115,381**|**-**|192,107|-|
|**3d. Income from**|||||
|**investments**|||||
|Bank and CBF deposit interest|**740**|**-**|1,296|-|
|**Total Incoming**|||||
|**Resources**|**209,761**|**-**|243,256|620|
St Philip’s Annual Report 2020 33
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|Unrestricted|Restricted|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**2020**|**2020**|2019|2019|
|**Resources Expended**|**£**|**£**|£|£|
|**4a. Expenditure on**|||||
|**raising funds**|||||
|Stewardship, appeal costs,|**184**|**-**|608|-|
|refreshments for sale|||||
||**184**|**-**|608|-|
|**4b. Expenditure on**|||||
|**charitable activities**|||||
|Mission giving and donations|**1,557**|**-**|1,567|-|
|Diocesan parish share|||||
|contribution|||||
|_Diocesan Common Fund_|**100,000**|**-**|97,000|-|
|_Other Diocesan clergy_|**-**|**-**|-|-|
|_costs_|||||
|Salary costs for Church|**24,828**|**-**|25,543|1,884|
|Activities|||||
|Clergy expenses|**3,855**|**-**|5,957|-|
|Mission and evangelism costs|**1,204**|**-**|2,170|-|
|incl. publicity|||||
|Church running expenses|||||
|_Church Maintenance_|**56,424**|**-**|39,028|-|
|_Insurance_|**5,173**|**-**|5,152|-|
|_Upkeep of Services,_|**4,209**|**-**|5,670|-|
|_booklets, fowers_|||||
|_Music costs_|**883**|**-**|3,111|1,241|
|_Sunday School_|**184**|**-**|463|-|
|_Refreshments (not sold)_|**104**|-|1,954|-|
|_Cleaning expenses_|**3,376**|**-**|2,235|-|
|Church utilitybills|**5,644**|**-**|8,208|-|
||**207,441**|**-**|198,058|3,124|
34 St Philip’s Annual Report 2020
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|Unrestricted|Restricted|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**2020**|**2020**|2019|2019|
||**£**|**£**|£|£|
|**4c. Expenditure on**|||||
|**other activities**|||||
|Salary costs for|**18,342**|**-**|17,535|-|
|Hall lettings|||||
|Cleaning expenses for|**3,376**|**-**|2,235|-|
|hall lettings|||||
|Other caretaking costs|**602**|**-**|2,364|-|
|Other fundraising|**20**|**-**|101|-|
|trading costs|||||
|New building work and|**-**|**-**|-|-|
|alterations to church|||||
||**22,340**|**-**|22,235|-|
|**4d. Governance**|||||
|**costs**|||||
|Independent|**1,200**|**-**|1,200|-|
|examination fees|||||
|Bank charges|**683**|**-**|765|-|
|Support costs:|**3,196**|**-**|2,808|-|
|administration|||||
|Production of|**82**|**-**|82|-|
|annual report|||||
|Depreciation|**4,393**|**-**|2,664|-|
|Losses on disposals|**-**|**-**|-|-|
|of fxed assets|||||
||**9,554**|**-**|7,520|-|
||||||
|**Total Resources**|**239,519**|**-**|228,421|3,124|
|**Expended**|||||
St Philip’s Annual Report 2020 35
## **5. Staff Costs and PCC Member Payments and Donations**
## **5a. Wages**
In 2020 an Administrator, Director of Music, Caretaker and two job-share Church Managers were employed. The total pay was £43,171 (2019: £44,962) including pension costs of £530 (2019: £447). St Philip’s claimed Enterprise Allowance, which removes social security costs, in 2020 and 2019. None of the employees in 2020 or 2019 earned over the lower limit for individual disclosure of £60,000. In 2020, St Philip’s claimed furlough payments of £14,820 from HMRC (2019: £nil). These are shown as grants, with salaries reported gross.
## **5b. Payments to PCC members**
Payments totalling £20,349 (2019: £18,736) were paid to four (2019: five) PCC members during the year ended 31 December 2020. These comprised reimbursed expenses. All the underlying costs are accounted for according to the category in which they fell. None of the PCC members in 2020 or 2019 were paid any remuneration or received any other benefits from an employment with St Philip’s or a related entity.
## **5c. Donations by PCC members**
No donations were made in 2020 or 2019 from a PCC member or a related party with conditions which would, or might, require St Philip’s to alter significantly the nature of its existing activities if it were to accept the donation. Donations without such conditions totalled £18,461 during the year ended 31 December 2020 (£9,904 in 2019).
## **6. Analysis of Net Assets By Fund**
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|
||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds 2020**|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|
|Fixed Assets|7,685|-|7,685|
|Current Assets|197,932|4,366|202,298|
|Current Liabilities|-17,566|-|-17,566|
|**Fund balance**|**188,050**|**4,366**|**192,416**|
36 St Philip’s Annual Report 2020
|**7. Tangible Fixed Assets**
**Cost:**
At 1 January 2020
Additions
Disposals|**Equipment**
**Total**
**£**
**£**
29,282
29,282
6,915
6,915
-
-|
|---|---|
|At 31 December 2020|36,196
36,196|
|**Depreciation:**
At 1 January 2020
Provision for the year
Depreciation on disposals|24,119
24,119
4,393
4,393
-
-|
|At 31 December 2020|28,512
28,512|
|**Net book value:**||
|At 31 December 2020|**7,685**
**7,685**|
|At 31 December 2019
Income tax recoverable
Accrued income from hall lettings
Other debtors
**8. Debtors**|5,163
5,163|
|||
|||
||~~**2020**~~
**£**
2019
£
**8,816**
6,826
**571**
12,018
**2,529**
1,038|
|**Total**|**11,916**
19,882|
|Other creditors
Deferred income
Accruals
**9. Liabilities**|**2020**
2019
**£**
£
**10,792**
5,804
**5,574**
3,615
**1,200**
1,200|
|**Total**|**17,566**
10,619|
St Philip’s Annual Report 2020 37
## **10. Movement of Funds**
|**Current**|**Balance at**|**Balance at**|**Net**|**Transfer**|**Balance at**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**reporting period**||**01/01/20**|**income/**|**between**|**31/12/20**|
||||**(expenses)**|**funds**||
||||**in the year**|||
|**Unrestricted fund comprises**||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**General**||**217,809**|**-29,759**|**-**|**188,050**|
|**Restricted funds comprise**||||||
|The Community Fund||-|-|-|-|
|The Piano & Organ Fund||3,001|-|-|3,001|
|The Choral Scholars Fund||-|-|-|-|
|The ImprovingSt Philip’s Fund||1,365|-|-|1,365|
|||**4,366**|**-**|**-**|**4,366**|
|||||||
|**Totals**||**222,175**|**-29,759**|**-**|**192,416**|
|**Previous**|**Balance at**||**Net**|**Transfer**|**Balance at**|
|**reporting period**|**01/01/19**||**income/**|**between**|**31/12/19**|
||||**(expenses)**|**funds**||
||||**in the year**|||
|||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Unrestricted fund comprises**||||||
|**General**||**202,974**|**14,835**|**-**|**217,809**|
|The Community Fund
**Restricted funds comprise**||1,264|-1,264|-|-|
|The Piano & Organ Fund||4,182|-1,181|-|3,001|
|The Choral Scholars Fund||60|-60|-|-|
|The ImprovingSt Philip’s Fund||1,365|-|-|1,365|
|||**6,871**|**-2,504**|**-**|**4,366**|
|||||||
|**Totals**||**209,844**|**12,331**|**-**|**222,175**|
38 St Philip’s Annual Report 2020
The Church had four restricted funds (the Community Fund, the Piano & Organ Fund, the Choral Scholars Fund and the Improving St Philip’s Fund) in place during 2020.
The Community Fund is a restricted fund used for the purpose of funding community engagement work. It was fully spent in 2019. There was no activity on the fund in 2020.
The Piano & Organ Fund is a restricted fund used only to refurbish and maintain the church’s concert grand piano and organ. During the year 2019 there was some spending and income; it had net expenditure of £1,181. There was no activity on the fund in 2020.
The Choral Scholars Fund is a restricted fund to support the use of choral scholars to augment the music at some services. During the year 2019 it was fully spent. There was no acivity on the fund in 2020.
The Improving St Philip’s Fund is a fund that was created to fund improvements to the building and contents of the church. There were no changes to this fund in 2019 or 2020.
St Philip’s Annual Report 2020 39
## **Statutory Information**
The following (taken together with the Treasurer’s Report) comprises the information required by statute.
## **A Reference and administrative information**
Full name of PCC
The Parochial Church Council of Saint Philip, Earl’s Court Road.
Location of Church and PCC correspondence address
The Church is located at the junction of Earl’s Court Road and Stratford Road, London W8. Correspondence should be addressed to the PCC Secretary, St Philip’s Church, Earl’s Court Road, London, W8 6QH.
Names and addresses of bankers, legal and other advisers
Bankers:
NatWest Bank PLC, South Kensington Station (B) Branch, PO Box 592, 18 Cromwell Place, London, SW7 2LB
Independent Examiners:
Harmer Slater Limited, Chartered Accountants, 79 High Street, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 8HG
The person to whom day to day management is delegated The Reverend Philippa A Turner, Vicar.
40 St Philip’s Annual Report 2020
Names of members of the PCC who have served since the commencement of the Financial year until the approval of the financial statements
|**Ex Offcio (throughout**|**period)**||
|---|---|---|
|Philippa A Turner|(Vicar)||
|Margaret Ayo|(Assistant Priest)||
|Mallindi Baldessarro|(Churchwarden)||
|Jamie Mangan|(Churchwarden)||
|Chris Luxton|(Deanery Synod)|Electoral Roll|
|Lesley Raymond|(Deanery Synod)||
|**Elected (throughout period)**|||
|Antonio Aidah||PCC Secretary to October 2020|
|Marilyn Digby-Thomas|||
|Esther Leong|||
|Karen Loggey|||
|Rupert Steele||Treasurer|
|Chandra Tambimuttu|||
|**Elected (for part of the period)**|**Elected (for part of the period)**||
|---|---|---|
|Peter Burney||To October 2020|
|Shoko Seta||To March 2020|
|Simon Cox|PCC Secretary from|From October 2020|
||October 2020||
|Philippa Heimann||From October 2020|
|Peninah Kamatsiko|Safeguarding offcer|From October 2020|
|Matthew Livas||From October 2020|
|Caroline Miller||From October 2020|
|Diana von Preuschen||From October 2020|
|**Co-Opted (for part of the period)**|||
|Simon Cox||From January 2020 to October 2020|
|Peninah Kamatsiko|Safeguardingoffcer|From September to October 2020|
St Philip’s Annual Report 2020 41
## **B Risk assessment**
The PCC considers that it is exposed to various areas of risk, including:
- Financial risk;
- Reputation risk;
- Risks emanating from statutory and legal requirements;
- Operational risk.
Systems and procedures are in place to handle these risks.
## **Factors affecting achievement of objectives**
Worship and fabric of the church of St Philip
The worship is principally under the control of the Vicar, but the PCC is consulted about changes. The fabric is managed by the Churchwardens, assisted by a Fabric Team, and the PCC – the PCC has control of the responses to the issues which arise, but not of the maintenance requirements that may occur. The forthcoming West End Project will improve the quality of worship by reducing noise interruption.
## Strength of the church’s finances
This will depend on satisfactory progress in raising income, together with tight control of expenditure. The level of donations will depend partly on economic factors affecting those approached and partly on the success of the church in achieving growth and inspiring those approached to contribute. The former is not under the PCC’s control.
Income from lettings is normally broadly under the control of the PCC as it is governed by improvements in the marketing of the halls and the sound separation between them, but please see the Covid-19 and pandemic paragraph below. Other sources of income may need to be sought – these would be partly under the control of the PCC and partly under control of the bodies or people providing that income. Expenditure is under the control of the PCC.
## Financial risk
There is a risk that St Philip’s could have insufficient finance to pay the targeted Diocesan Common Fund contributions together with the operating costs of the church. The PCC, advised by the Treasurer, is responsible for monitoring and managing financial risk. Our major source of income is from lettings and the Treasurer and PCC closely monitor progress and any issues which might adversely affect lettings income, in conjunction with the Church Managers. In addition, we receive significant income from donations, mainly regular planned giving with Gift Aid.
The Treasurer and PCC Standing Committee monitor receipts from this source and periodically organise initiatives to increase this.
42 St Philip’s Annual Report 2020
There are a number of risks relating to damage to the building or disruption of activities from fire or other disasters. Adequate insurance is maintained and our insurance policy is regularly reviewed to ensure that it properly covers all areas of our operation.
## Covid-19 and pandemic risk
The events of March 2020 revealed that the PCC’s ability to continue its ministry and its finances are susceptible to risk from a major disease outbreak such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the likely social distancing measures arising from it. As 2020 unfolded, the PCC developed effective mitigations to deal with the impact on the church’s ministry with the development of online and hybrid worship. Technology was installed in the church to facilitate this.
Although the sources of rental income are well diversified, and the building insured, the pandemic revealed that there is a residual risk of hall rental income disappearing entirely for a period of months from these very rare events. In the event, the PCC was able to maintain rental income for the year at somewhat over 50% of pre-crisis levels and strong financial support was available from the congregation. The roll out of vaccines suggests that there will be a strong recovery in 2021. Once the recovery from the pandemic is completed, consideration will be given as to whether any changes can be made to increase the PCC’s financial resilience to such events (beyond holding adequate reserves), bearing in mind that public health events of this scale appear to happen very rarely and that insurers tend to be reluctant to cover them.
## Reputational risk
There is a risk that failure to maintain a good standard of worship could lead to a possible reduction in the congregation. The standard of worship has not to date been a problem, with congregation numbers broadly steady (taking account of online and inperson participants), but we are continually aiming for improvement. The clergy team meet regularly to review worship. Guest preachers are invited to attend services from time to time throughout the year.
## Risks emanating from statutory and legal requirements
There are risks relating to health and safety legislation, child and vulnerable adult protection and employment legislation. A comprehensive health and safety set of guidelines have been drawn up and are regularly reviewed. Training is provided to Stewards and others to ensure that proper procedures are carried out. A Children’s Champion and a Safeguarding Officer have been appointed. The Safeguarding Officer or the Churchwardens arrange for relevant staff to attend Diocesan safeguarding seminars. The PCC has adopted the Diocesan model safeguarding policy and appropriate procedures are in place.
St Philip’s Annual Report 2020 43
The ecclesiastical parish of St Philip, Earl’s Court Road Registered Charity number 1172886 Email info@specr.org 020 7938 1367 www.specr.org twitter.com/stphilipsw8 Images by: Chris Luxton, Revd. Philippa Turner, Laura Sylvester and other members of the congregation. Thank you!