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ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT

For the year ended 31[st] December 2023

St Stephen’s Steeton Parochial Church Council

St Stephen's, Steeton Parochial Church Council

Page Number

Trustees Report

Independent Examiner’s Report Receipts and Payments Account Statement of Assets and Liabilities Notes to the Financial Statements

2023 Report and Accounts for the Parochial Church Council of St Stephen's Church, Steeton

Aims and Purposes

The aim of St Stephen’s Parochial Church Council (the PCC) is the promotion of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the doctrines and practices of the Church of England, and with the induction of our new incumbent the Revd. Sally Pickering, promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelical, social, and ecumenical. To facilitate this the PCC has responsibilities for the maintenance of St Stephens Church and church hall.

Objectives and Activities

The PCC have a commitment to increase awareness and to share the love of God with all people, in prayer, word, and action, through our special services and events planned to reach out to the wider community within and beyond this parish. Regular weekly worship is held on Sunday mornings mostly with e Communion Service from the book of Common Worship. The first Sunday in the month is a family ‘All Age’ service without communion. There is a family communion on the third Sunday and a Young People’s Sunday Club held in the church hall on the second and fourth Sundays in the month. Wednesday morning Communion Services use the Book of Common Prayer.

To uphold our commitment of promoting the gospel, we need to provide our yearly share of money for the diocese. Our share, together with the costs of running our church has come from regular giving by our congregation, supplemented by letting the hall to community groups, and by fund raising.

The PCC also believes it is important to support charities regularly throughout the year, both in donations of money and goods. Specific charities were chosen in January for the coming year, preference often given to small charities with low overheads that help the local community. Apart from the positions of incumbent, verger, cleaner and organist, all work in the church is carried out by committed volunteers, both from members of the PCC and the congregation.

We are a Fair-Trade church and do all we can to use fairly traded and local produce. From a diocesan initiative, we are an Eco church with an Eco Team, and have a silver award for our environmental projects.

We are a church which exists for the people of Steeton, Eastburn, and beyond and are conscious that there are needy of all ages, and reach out with initiatives for young families, the elderly, and the lonely.

Achievements and Performance

With our new incumbent Revd. Sally Pickering inducted in January and supported by the Revd. Michael C., Revd. Jenny S., and our Lay Reader Dr Tom C., there has been regular attendance at services throughout the year. Of the sixty six people on the Electoral roll, fifty five (55) live in Steeton, one (1) in Utley, one (1) in Haworth, one (1) in Cowling, one (1) in Eastburn, two (2) in Addingham, one (1) in Bradley, one (1) in Sutton, one (1) in Glusburn, and two (2) in Silsden.

There were four (4) baptisms, eight (8) funerals, four (4) weddings, and one (1) wedding blessing. At Easter six (6) children and sixty five (65) adults attended communion. At Christmas eleven (11) children and sixty eight (68) adults attended the service of Nine lessons and Carols, and on Christmas Eve four (4) children and seventy five (75) adults attended communion on Christmas Eve, with forty five (45) children and ninety five (95) adults attending the Christingle service. On Christmas day four (4) children and twenty nine (29) adults attended family communion.

Special services were arranged to evangelically reach out to our extended church family throughout the church’s year. Special services were held on Mothering Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Day, Ascension Day, Remembrance Sunday, Harvest, and at Christmas, a Carol Service, Christingle Service, and Midnight Communion. The Remembrance Day service was run jointly with members of the Methodist

Church, with St. Stephen’s open afterwards for a quiet place for personal remembrance. An all age ‘Coronation Service Churches Together’ with a shared lunch and children’s activities was hosted by St. Stephens. The first communion service for a group of people who are usually house bound ran in December, and a Lay ministry Team is taking communion into some Care homes. Sally visited both Steeton and Eastburn schools and held a very successful Advent trail attended by children and parents. Steeton school held two children’s services in church before Christmas. Carol Singing around Steeton and Eastburn involved members of Valley Church, the Methodists, and members of our congregation.

The congregation was introduced to the book ‘The Shack’ by William P. Young by Sally and encouraged to share their thoughts with herself and others.

Meanwhile, work on maintaining the fabric of the church and hall was stalled by lack of funds. Although our fees from letting the hall and fundraising contributed to our Parish Share quota of £45,374 for 2023, our outgoings for fuel, and commodities needed for the running of the church and hall meant were still unable to meet the full share request. However, the change of treasurer and the introduction of a Treasury Team suggests the need for new ways of managing our finances, and maintenance. Hopefully increased giving, and advice from the diocese may help overcome early difficulties with these new arrangements.

During the year this work has included installing a sound system donated from the closure of All Saints church, Keighley with the addition of new microphones and a hearing Loop; fitting a new lightening conductor to the church; clearing out debris brought by birds into the church tower; and fixing a new ladder for safer access. Phase two of the organ renovation had just been completed when water from a storm damaged it again. Most of the funds for these upgrades came from personal donations and grants secured by Tom C, for which we are grateful.

The Social and Fundraising team organized events to raise funds, support charities, and reach out into our local community.

A regular event, the Luncheon Club provided soup, bread, and Bingo for anyone living in the Parish, later became a ‘warm place’. There was no charge, but people kindly made donations, with two teams of volunteers alternately making soup and cake. A children’s Under 5 group has been started on a Monday morning, run by Sally and volunteers from church.

Other Social and Fundraising events during the year included the 200 Club, the Easter raffle, a May Day Fun Day with a duck race, stalls and an Art and Craft display in church, a quiz night with supper, a beetle drive, and the Advent Fayre with Father Christmas and the Hamper Raffle, all events open to the population of Steeton, Eastburn and beyond.

Our mission to support local and international charities continued. Proceeds from the church Christmas card were sent to 500 Miles which provides prosthetic devices for disabled people in Africa, we helped to provide ‘Socks and Chocs’ for the homeless at Christmas through the Bradford Soup Run, and donated books for the children in the Women’s Refuge in Keighley at Christmas. We sent food donations from Harvest to the Good Food Shop Keighley for people struggling with the rising cost of living, We supported the Inn Church (Keighley based Homeless but not Hopeless) with food items monthly. We supported appeals for the Sudan, the Earthquake Disaster in Turkey and Syria, Christian Aid with an evening of ‘Murder Mystery’, the Children’s Society through the Christingle Service and Christmas Luncheon Club and the British Royal Legion Poppy Appeal. We collected stamps initially to support the Leprosy Mission overseas and later Martin House and supported a coffee morning to raise money for Martin House children’s hospice.

The church has a web page, an internet address, and a Facebook page. Web address: https://ststephenschurchsteeton.com

Plans for Future Periods

With the Induction of our new Incumbent Revd. Dr. Sally Pickering in January 2023, her leadership is already fostering spiritual and numerical growth.

Together we are making the following plans for 2024:

Continuation of reaching out to the wider community with the initiatives which have been running during 2023: Sunday club, Trails, Weekly toddler group.
Catastrophic water damage to the organ from a storm has set back the restoration of the organ with a repair estimate of £19,150. We believe we have a duty of care for preserving this instrument and are hoping the repairs will be covered by insurance.
To continue maintenance of the church and hall will involve setting up a restricted fund for the renovation of the church roof, and a separate restricted fund for the renovation of the church hall.
The Finance Team will seek advice from the diocese to develop skills and improve management of St. Stephens finances.
The continuation of fundraising, led by the Social and Fundraising Group.
The church will continue to uphold Health and Safety policies, Fire protection, Safeguarding and Child Protection policies, and consider Disability Issues. All policies are reviewed and updated annually.

Financial Review for the year ended 2023.

Total receipts on unrestricted funds were £67,924 of which £32,421 were unrestricted voluntary donations and a further £6,681 was Gift Aid. Restricted donations of £3,972 were also received, out of which grants accounted for £504. Further information is provided in the notes to the financial statements.

Planning giving through envelopes and banker’s orders reduced by £1,224 compared with 2022 and was finalised at £22,501. Collections at services increased by £1,086 but from a relatively low base of £3,911 in 2022. The fundraising activities decreased slightly in 2023 with a reduction of £10. In 2022 we raised £6,491 and 2023 ended at £6,481. Church activity income was up by £4,966 and was due to an improvement in hall letting revenue and an insurance claim of £2,500. The hall lettings contributed £16,576 over the year compared with £15,409 in 2022. Total income increased by £3,427 or 5.0% on 2022.

The contributio ~~n o~~ f £29,000 to the Diocesan Parish Share. The request for 2023 was not met in full.

During 2023, the sound system in the church was upgraded at a cost of £650 and the lightening conductor was repaired at a cost of £450. The grant money mentioned in last year’s accounts was received and the audio visual fund was used on the afore mentioned sound system upgrade.

The net result for the year was an excess of receipts over payments of £7,152 on unrestricted funds and £1,472 in the restricted funds. Adding bank and deposit balances brought forward at the beginning of the year, the balances carried forward on the 31 December 2023 on unrestricted funds totalled £22,441, with a balance of restricted funds of £14,367. Total receipts for the year exceeded total payments by £8,625.

Reserves Policy

It is the PCC’s policy to try to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds that equates to at least three months unrestricted payments. This is equivalent to £16,670 and includes an allowance for the full diocesan parish share request. The purpose of such a contingency fund is to smooth out fluctuations in cash flow and meet emergencies. A separate contingency account is in operation and the balance at the year-end was £10,124 and hence £6,546 short of the target. Nevertheless, it will result in a shortfall of £4,046 against the stated objective. The PCC remains committed to increase the contingency fund over time.

Risk Management

The trustees of the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St. Stephens, Steeton have considered major risks to which the charity is exposed, identified as in the general running of the church and its objectives for 2024, and satisfied themselves that systems or procedures are established in order to manage these risks (Charities Accounts and Reports Regulations 2008).

The management of the risks identified include:

To cover and reduce the deterioration of the fabric of the church and hall, insurance with Eccles iastical covers damage etc. to the buildings. The fabric is regularly reviewed in the light of the Insurance requirements, the Quinquennial reports, appropriate experts such as electricians, the day to day use of the buildings, and the needs of users. Remedial work is carried out according to funds available and level of risk. However more funding is needed now to carry on this work.
The recent increase in energy costs added to the funding risks of the church and were relieved by taking out a three-year contract with Positive Energy for gas provision, the most cost-effective green option available, following consultation with an independent broker.
To prevent risks to Health and Safety, the responsible officer devised a log to manage the risks identified by the insurers Ecclesiastical, in line with legal requirements and policies of the diocese.
Risks of climate change should be modified by the contributions of ECO teams in the diocese including the ECO team in our church.
Review of the risks identified from the pandemic means now we can share the cup of wine, or tincture, according to personal choice, one of the sacraments of our faith.

Structure, Governance and Management

The Parochial Church Council is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The PCC is a Registered Charity 1173989. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC .

Caring for the church family is important, with members of the PCC acting as Representing Officers for Child/ Vulnerable Adult protection, Health and Safety, Disability Issues, and First Aid and undertaking appropriate training usually from the Diocese. The PCC is committed to being a church where all people are safe, particularly the vulnerable. Child protection/Vulnerable adults, Health and safety, and Fire policies are updated yearly.

The full PCC meets six times a year. Members are responsible for decisions on all matters, including financial, related to St. Stephens Church. The Standing Committee, elected at the Annual Church Meeting, identifies issues for the Agenda of the PCC meetings. All working groups/ small committees (the Building Group, and the Social and Fundraising Group) and all officers report back regularly to the PCC. Minutes of the meetings are recorded and circulated two weeks before the next meeting, where they are voted on for approval.

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Independent Examinerfs Report to the Trustees of St Stephen. Steeton Parochial Church Council I reporton theaccounts of the thurch forthe year ended 31 Dernber 3)23 whKh a setouton pages 7t09. ResPeLte Responsibilrcies of Trustee and Examiner The church's trustees are responsible forthepreparatian of thè accounts.The thurth'stru5teesconsideT that an audit is not required lorthis year under section 144121 of the Charrtbes Act 3)11{the 2011AttI and that an independentexamination is needed It is my responslbiltyto-. Examine the accounts (under section 145of the 2011Actl To folk)w the prOdureSlald down in the GeneralDWeCtns 8ivenbythe Chwity Commi5S)W5 lunder5ertK)n 145151 Ibl of the 2011 Act). and To state whether partyular matters have come to myattent)n. Basis of Independent Examinerfs Report My exam6nat6on was Carried out In aecordance wththe 8erternl Dtrectx)ns bythe Charity Commiss)ners. An examlnatlon Indudes a ¥eVW of the atcountlng retords kept byth tharty and a Eompari50n of the accounts presented with those records. It a150 indudes cOnsKlernt of any unusual r(ems or disdosus in the attotsnts and seeklng explanath)ns from you as tmstees concerning any such matters.The procedures undertaken do not provh4e allthe evKlènte that wouh4 be required in an 3udtt and Consequent no opinion is gbven asto whetherthe accounts present'a true and faw v*vK and the report is limited tothose matters set In the ststement below. Independent examinerfs Statement In connertK)n with my exaMinatn, no matterhas come to my attentbn: l. whtl) glves me reasonabte tause tts bèlieve that In any material respecithe requkements - to keep accounting records In accordance with se¢tk)n 130of th¢ 2011AcL and - to Prepare accounts which accord with the accountin8 recoTd5 and compty with the acrounting requicements of the 2011 Art have not been rnet; or I to whlch, In my oplnlon shoukl be drawn In orderto enable a properunderstandkng of the %£ountst be reathed. Carol GreÈnwood FMAAT/MIAAP/FMIAB 2L Oaklelgh Mews. Oakworth. Kelghley, Wèstyorkshlre. BD22 7QP

ST STEPHEN'S, STEETON PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL

Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

Receipts and Payments Accounts

Note
RECEIPTS
Voluntary Receipts:
Planned Giving
Collections at services
All other giving/voluntary receipts 3a
Gift Aid Recovered
Activities for Generating Funds
3b
Investment Income
3c
Church Activities
3d
Total Receipts
PAYMENTS
Church Activities:
Diocesan parish contribution
Clergy and staffing costs
Church running expenses
3e
Hall running costs
Mission giving and donations 3f
Church refurbishment costs
Costs of generating funds
Total Payments
Deficit/Surplus
Transfer from Savings Accounts
2
Transfer to Savings Accounts
2
Cash at bank and in hand at 1 January
Cash at bank and in hand at 31 December

Unrestricted
Restricted
TOTAL
TOTAL
Funds
Funds
2023
2022
£
£
£
£
22,381
120
22,501
23,725
1,224
4,997
4,997
3,911
1,086
5,043
3,000
8,043
9,945
6,681
0
6,681
6,572
39,102
3,120
42,222
44,153
5,977
504
6,481
6,491
181
348
529
126
22,665
0
22,665
17,699
4,966
67,924
3,972
71,896
68,469
3,427
-0.05
29,000
0
29,000
42,393
0
0
0
1,535
16,847
0
16,847
9,962
10,655
0
10,655
8,230
0
2,500
2,500
2,115
4,270
0
4,270
5,326
0
0
0
1,579
60,772
2,500
63,271
71,140
7,152
1,472
8,624
-2,671
2,500
1,490
3,990
7,850
2,317
2,317
8,118
9,652
646
10,298
-2,939
12,142
16,041
28,183
30,854
22,441
14,367
36,808
28,183
10,299
1,674
8,625
2,671
-3,146
3,146
-0
0

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

Cash Funds HSBC - Bank Current Account Cash in Hand HSBC - Contingency Account HSBC - Refurbishment Fund HSBC - Audio Visual Fund HSBC - Eco Fund CCLA Account - Consecrated Ground Fund CCLA Account - Refurbishment Fund	Cash Funds HSBC - Bank Current Account Cash in Hand HSBC - Contingency Account HSBC - Refurbishment Fund HSBC - Audio Visual Fund HSBC - Eco Fund CCLA Account - Consecrated Ground Fund CCLA Account - Refurbishment Fund	Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds TOTAL 2023 TOTAL 2022 £ £ £ £ 9,435 - 9,435 1,868 382 - 382 150 12,624 - 12,624 10,124 - 4,890 4,890 6,393 - 0 0 500 - 0 0 410 - 2,000 2,000 2,000 - 5,730 5,730 5,490
		22,441 14,367 36,808 28,183

Other monetary assets No other monetary assets outstanding

Liabilities No liabilities outstanding

Notes

1 The financial statements of the PCC have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 using the Receipts and Payments basis.
2 The movements in designated and restricted funds during the year were:

Designate Contingency Account Restricted Refurbishment Fund Organ Fund Audio Visual Fund Eco Fund Consecrated Ground Fund	Designate Contingency Account Restricted Refurbishment Fund Organ Fund Audio Visual Fund Eco Fund Consecrated Ground Fund	Bal b/fwd Receipts Transfer Out Transfer In Bal c/fwd 10,124 0 0 2,500 12,624 10,124 0 0 2500 12,624 11,883 0 1,850 587 10,619 1,248 0 0 500 1,748 1747. 5 500 0 910 410 0 410 0 1,230 820 0 2,000 0 0 0 2,000 16,040 0 3,990 2,317 14,367 3,990 4,817

Reconciliation to Funds = Current A/c plus Cash plus Designated plus Restricted

Current Cash 0 Designated Restricted Balance from above	9,435 382 12,624 14,367
	36,808
	36,808

3. Further Analysis of Receipts and Payments Accounts

Unrestricted Funds £ 2,300 2,744 0 0 5,043 504 405 658 177 815 430 1,069 332 1,045 0 0 137 5,977 181 3,139 16,576 - 2,950		Restricted Funds £ 3,000 0 0 0 3,000 504 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 504 348 - - - -	TOTAL TOTAL 2023 2022 £ £ 5,300 3,705 2,744 3,266 0 1,000 0 1,974 8,043 9,945 1,008 1,102 405 782 658 0 177 0 815 1,001 430 390 405 0 1,069 1,004 332 398 1,045 533 0 970 0 247 137 64 6,481 6,491 529 126 3,139 1,460 16,576 15,409 0 - 2,950 830 22,665 17,699 3,572 2,244 9,480 6,092 2,918 1,521 877 105 16,847 9,962 365 435 34 498 0 175 0 44 152 195 0 518 0 250 405 0 276 0 487 0 69 0 200 0 9 0 504 0 2,500 2,115
22,665		-	22,665
3,572 9,480 2,918 - 877 16,847 0	- - - - - - 365 34 152 405 276 487 69 200 9 504 2,500		3,572 9,480 2,918 877 16,847 365 34 0 0 152 0 0 405 276 487 69 200 9 504 2,500

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2023-12-31-accounts