St Luke’s, Newcastle Annual Report 2020
St Luke’s Church is situated on Claremont Road, Newcastle upon Tyne. It is a Parish Church in the Diocese of Newcastle.
The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a registered charity with the Charities Commission (Charity number: 1174238).
PCC members who have served as trustees during 2020 are: Rev Dr Robert Ward Vicar and Chairman until retired on 5th June 2020 Rev Alice Ward Curate, then Interim Minister and Chair from 14[th] June 2020 Mr David McRae Church Warden Dr Philip Keates Church Warden Mr Peter Morris Treasurer and Lay PCC member Mrs Anne McRae Lay PCC member Mr Robert Douglas Lay PCC member Mrs Cassie Orme Lay PCC member Dr Lynsey Threlfall Lay PCC member Mr Thomas Orme Lay PCC member elected October 2020 Mrs Jane Dawson Deanery Synod Representative elected October 2020 Miss Jenni Sparkes Deanery Synod Representative until October 2020, PCC Secretary
The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All Church members of six months standing or more are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll. The Electoral Roll was updated in October 2020, resulting in 68 persons being registered, of whom 4 live in the parish.
The average Sunday attendance during 2020 was significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic which meant services could not be held as normal. It is therefore not useful to compare 2020 attendance with previous years. Services continued, being broadcast onto the St Luke’s Facebook page live, each Sunday morning at 11am. These services were held in Church when restrictions allowed and from people’s homes when the Church building was closed.
Interim Minister's Foreword
2020 is a year we will never forget! I am so proud of everyone and the way you have supported one another through the difficulties and challenges of the pandemic.
As you read the report that follows you will see how much has been going on despite the circumstances, as we have continued our three areas of focus – Up: giving glory to God and developing our relationship with him. In: encouraging and supporting each other. Out: seeking to serve those around us and make God known in the world. Not to mention worshipping God, enjoying his presence and sharing his love, which has been our strapline since 2005!
I’m hugely grateful to everyone who has contributed to the life of St Luke’s this year.
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Thanks to those taking part in the services - a particular joy has been hearing from someone each week about their life, and how they see God at work. Thanks to the worship leaders, those who have preached, led prayers, managed the tech, hosted the prayer space, packed faith packs, delivered Easter and Christmas cards, given to the Advent food collection & led groups - to pray, to support one another & love the people around you.
Thanks to the roofing company for coming back again and again until they got to the bottom of the leaks. Thanks to Chris Blackburn for his work as our architect and Richard Taylor, who’s a retired structural engineer, for offering to be a ‘critical friend’ for the building project. Thanks to Peter and Michael Harrison for all their creative and skilful work, turning our plans into reality. Thanks to John Hayes for making two beautiful benches for the carpenter’s workshop – it's virtually ready to open!
Thanks to Alison for her presence and work around the Spitler, with so many connections with people. She’s built a strong foundation & we wish her well as she moves to Sunderland.
Thanks to all those who have quietly got on with looking out for one another. Thanks to David and Jenny for all their love and care for me, and their continuing encouragement to all our leaders.
Thanks to David and Phil as churchwardens, for their support, wisdom and massive practical help which they have given sacrificially. I really appreciate them & they have been a great encouragement to me.
Many thanks to the PCC, we’ve had some good discussions and I look forward to seeing what God has for St Luke’s as we seek him for the next season.
Thanks to Jenni for all she has done to keep things running smoothly and for her unstinting support. All the very best to her and Robert for their marriage, we will really miss her!
Thanks to Jimmy who has never failed to turn up whenever needed, including at very inconvenient times, for all the redecoration & gardening and for keeping an eagle eye on the building. And thanks to Lynn who’s come in to clean whenever needed.
Finally, a huge thanks to everyone for carrying on giving generously. And thanks to every single one of you for being part of our family – you are much loved! Alice
Churchwardens Report
As Church Wardens our main role is to support our Vicar, first with Robert and now with Alice. We are so thankful to God for them both!
A major change for St Luke’s was the retirement of Robert as Vicar. He was the Pioneer leader of the St Luke’s Fresh Expressions Initiative which was launched in 2003. He was inducted as Vicar in 2007. He retired on 5[th] June, his 72[nd] birthday.
Due to the pandemic all activities to mark this momentous occasion had to take place online. For his last Sunday service on 31[st] May, which fittingly was Pentecost Sunday, Robert preached and then was surprised by a video rendition of ‘I love you Lord’ recorded by many members of St Luke’s, past and present and put together skilfully by Josh. Thanks to some covert recording of a zoom meeting by Alice, the song began and ended with Robert himself singing.
To mark his retirement, we had a zoom party on 3[rd] June. A cake in the shape of his beloved Morris car, along with a mini ‘Run Life’s Race with Jesus’ banner, was delivered to his house along with gifts from
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the Church family. Both former and current members contributed to a photobook of his 14 years at St Luke’s, with photos and memories alongside messages of thanks.
We received approval from Bishop Christine for Alice to step in seamlessly to take over from Robert and she was installed as Interim Minister on Sunday 14[th] June during a zoom service, by then Archdeacon Mark Wroe. The circumstances have been very challenging and Alice has brought her own unique touch to proceedings. As wardens, we have helped her and support her as she has led us through these difficult times. As a church we have adapted to zoom meetings and have had some excellent online all church midweek meetings too.
Alice’s initial appointment is for a year, although this may be extended due to the unique challenges of 2020. Therefore, in the first half of 2021 we will be starting the process of appointing a new permanent Vicar, beginning with preparing a Parish Profile. This helps us as a church to define who we are and what qualities we are looking for in the next Vicar of St Luke’s.
As a Church we have needed to update a number of policies this year and added new ones too. Alice has taken the lead in this with the help of Jenni and the PCC. We have implemented new Safeguarding and Health & Safety measures, lone working policy and improved the agreement with the Junction 42 team.
As you will see in the Treasurer’s Report, our finances have been negatively impacted by the pandemic and associated lockdown and restrictions. This has mainly affected the income from hall hire, and offerings taken during services. We are grateful to have received grants from the Government both in business support grants for those forced to close with the restrictions, and through the furlough scheme, as the workload of all employees was reduced. We are very grateful to all the Church members who have continued to give generously. These two areas of income, along with reducing our expenditure have allowed our accounts to look significantly healthier than would be the case without either aspect.
Buildings - Church Restoration
The progress of the Restoration project has been significantly hindered by the Covid-19 pandemic, both through lockdown preventing work from happening, and illness within the building team. The Carpenter’s Workshop has been transformed from an empty, damp, shell to a wonderful space with basic amenities where Jimmy, our Maintenance Officer, can do his work, and people can come to pray. Early in 2021 the finishing touches will be applied, painting the walls, fitting the flooring and adding benches and facilities for making basic refreshments. We are looking forward to being able to open it in a Covid-Safe manner when restrictions have been sufficiently relaxed.
Within the Church building itself, the preparatory work surrounding the baptistry and Lady Chapel has been completed, and work has just begun on installing the toilet block in the former organ chamber.
As Robert was managing the project to a large extent, his retirement necessitated a change in the management strategy. A Buildings Working Group has been established to direct the project, and a local retired expert has offered to be an informal advisor to guide us through the process. Chris Blackburn, our architect, has been appointed as Principal Designer and is now taking a more significant role in overseeing the work. We remain very grateful to Chris, and to Peter Harrison and his son Michael from Ensign Services who are doing this restoration work to a very high standard.
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Fundraising has continued gradually throughout the year. We are very grateful to the Vardy Foundation for issuing the second half of the pledged £100,000 match funded grant. We are thrilled that applications to Allchurches Trust for the project as a whole, and to the National Churches Trust for the toilet block, have been successful, with grants of £14,000 and £15,000 respectively. We are also very grateful to the Lyndhurst Trust for their ongoing support.
An appeal by Robert shortly before he retired to family, friends, past St Luke’s members and those he has worked alongside during his ministry has raised more than £5000 so far. We greatly appreciate all these contributions, as well as the ongoing support of many current Church members.
As far as the building is concerned, we have had to spend a significant sum of money from our reserves to repair part of the church roof which was leaking into the hall and into Jenni’s office. Also, Jimmy has spent a lot of time re decorating the church hall and smartening things up. Lockdown and illness have severely hindered our building team in the renovation work for the main Church building.
Buildings – Hall
At the end of 2019 it was clear the flat portion of the hall roof was leaking and needed to be replaced. Several roofing companies were approached for quotes, and the work took place at the end of March. This used a significant sum of money from our reserves, however it was known about in advance and therefore budgeted for. Sadly, as the autumn set in, we discovered there were still problems with leaks in the roof in the hall and upstairs rooms. As the work was covered with a warranty, we are engaging with the roofer about further work to ensure the building is water tight.
The restrictions on in person gatherings meant the Hall was closed for several months, and the facilities couldn’t be hired out as would be normal. This gave an opportunity for Jimmy to repaint various parts of the building which needed redecoration. This work continued gradually throughout the rest of 2020, and will continue into 2021 as is necessary.
David & Phil
Growing as Community
There is no doubt that 2020 brought significant challenges to building community amongst a congregation scattered across the city and region. At the start of the year we met in person, including for monthly ‘All Together meals’, including for Ash Wednesday on 26th February, but this was not to last.
Following the ‘stay at home’ order all of our midweek groups moved online, meeting via zoom, and our services to Facebook live. We had monthly ‘All Together zooms’ enabling the whole Church to come together virtually, chat and share with each other and receive teaching or consider a topic together. Our Community Groups remained a place of support for each other, as you will see from the following reports.
Although restricted on what we could do in our localities, we continued to try and have an external focus. Many within the Church got involved with packing ‘Faith packs’ for Junction 42 to send into prisons. This initiative grew over the year resulting in tens of thousands of packs being put together, and several folk continued to join with this regularly either in their own homes or within St Luke’s or Junction 42’s offices. At Christmas we did a ‘reverse advent calendar’, encouraging everyone to put a nonperishable food or toiletry item into a box every day during Advent. These were then taken to the People’s Kitchen after Christmas to distribute to those they worked with.
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Aroos
The year started out like many others – morning prayer before the workday, weekly worship evenings and local community building in all its various forms. We continued to celebrate monthly open-mic opportunities at our local pub as a chance to grow in creative expression of God’s love and we experienced a real openness to share our faith, intergenerationally. During the initial lockdown, many ‘activities’ were placed on-hold. However, we continued to grow up, in and out! A real gift during this time has been the connection with wider community members whose friendship has become increasingly meaningful – especially as gathering has been physically restricted. Other highlights include creative action such as goodie bags for local bus drivers (including a prayer and word of encouragement), communal street art (using pavement chalk to share hope), and monthly competitions (e.g. pumpkin carving, window decorating, Christmas carols, etc.) which have all provided a natural avenue for us to share the authentic expression of who we are in Christ.
Josh, Siona, Phil & Carmen
Fenham Family
Our group has remained small and close knit. Sharing our hopes, struggles, dreams and looking for opportunities together. We enjoyed supporting Rob as he carried mission and discipleship in United, and in similar ways encouraged each other in wherever prohibited or challenges were available to each of us. When we moved to virtual meetings, we initially had the opportunity to connect and include people who've been part of our community in the past who are now further afield. Similarly, we found that while local opportunities presented less frequently due to lockdowns etc, we were also connecting with other people in our lives that we wouldn't often connect with face to face. This bringing more chances to love and to share Jesus in some ways.
As the pandemic wore on and impacted us in various tricky ways, along with personal heartbreak and struggles, our community became focused on praying and caring for one another. We talked about how we can make it a safe space to really be able to be vulnerable in order to truly walk alongside and disciple one another, and share in each other’s journeys. We managed a BBQ and a walk during the summer, but largely stayed in touch using zoom and WhatsApp, occasionally having a time of worship and always sharing in prayer. We had one or two attempts at games over Zoom as well, which in the future may be an opportunity to invite others to connect with us and witness the love of God among us. Catie & Pete xx
The Spitler Group
Like all other groups we have had to respond to the coronavirus issue and implications on meeting. The year started with the Group enjoying a Chinese New Year Feast, courtesy of Juan and Hui. It provided an opportunity to invite others to what was a magnificent banquet. Our thanks to Juan and Hui for all their hard work.
With lockdown looming, we switched to fortnightly meetings via Zoom and a big thank you to Jenni for organising this. When restrictions eased, we did manage to meet occasionally outside and realised the benefits of face-to-face gatherings. Further restrictions meant a return to Zoom and an opportunity to refocus somewhat on the needs of the individuals within the Group. We have been working through the book of James which I would recommend to others.
Finally, 3 Group members have or are soon to move out of Spital Tongues. As our mission was to reach out to the Spital Tongues Community, it was really helpful to members with “feet on the ground” so as to speak. Those members who lived in the area could also provide us with needs for any of those in the
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Community. This link will be difficult to re-establish and the Group will need to have a rethink as to how we can continue to support our missional goal.
Thanks to all members of the Spitler Group for their loyalty and support over the past 12 months. Robin
United
United’s fledgling year as a St Luke’s community group has been exciting and challenging given the past and present circumstances of 2020 (Covid-19 and Lockdowns). We have had over 30 men engage with our group since inception. Some only engaging for a short while and others attending every week rain or shine. The group has allowed members to grow closer with one another which has led to a greater depth of fellowship within the male community of the Church as well as providing a positive outlet and exercise for all attendees. Pre-Covid we were able to gather after our game for a coffee and chat. PostCovid this has changed to a fortnightly zoom or a quick dispersion after our game (when we have been allowed to play). Our relationship and communication with J42 and the Connect community have developed over the course of the year and the numbers attending from those groups have increased as a result of this. This means we have a strong core group of attendees as well as a healthy rotation of new faces.
Rob & Tom
Connect
After the first few months meeting as normal, Connect was forced to stop in person meetings when the risk became too high. Connect immediately started meetings on Facebook live on a Tuesday evening, and over the year have developed a new Facebook Connect Newcastle group. They continue to stream a meeting every week, including worship, preaching and live breakout rooms to build community and pray together.
Connect Newcastle has linked with several other Connect groups in the region for these meetings, so the Facebook group now has nearly 800 people with about 300-400 watching each week either live or after the event. Over the summer, those who wanted to met in small clusters of six people outside to support each other, before rising case numbers meant outdoor meetings weren’t allowed again.
In December, Connect started twice daily zoom prayer meetings, between 6-7am and 7-8pm. Usually around 15 people attend each of these meetings.
As serving food, enthusiastic worship and praying for each other are key elements of a Connect meeting it is likely Connect will remain online for some time. This makes genuine discipleship of those who come more challenging, but allows for a wider reach of the work than can happen in person. John & Jenni
Loving the Parish
Finding practical ways of loving our parish proved an even bigger challenge than normal in 2020! With very few Church members living within the parish, most of what we did was from a distance. The first national lockdown came just before Easter, so as we couldn’t deliver cards door to door, we posted them instead to every house in the parish whose address we could work out! About 650 cards were posted with an Easter message of hope.
We signed up with the Love Your Neighbour network so if anyone got in touch with them from our parish, we could see what practical support we could provide. We also set up a prayer group for prayer requests
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from the parish and a team of folk willing to phone people to chat with them and pray if they wanted. These initiatives were not significantly used, but it was good to have them.
Each week our Morning Prayer meetings prayed for two streets or businesses in the parish by name, asking God to bless all wholesome activities and the residents of that street.
As restrictions eased in the summer and Churches were allowed to open for private prayer, we held and ‘Open Prayer Space’ in the Hall, opening from 11am – 1pm every weekday in July. There were different prayer stations for folk to engage with in a Covid secure way. We had a banner on the outside of the Church publicising it, and posters in the local shops. It was good to have the Church doors open, and although there weren’t many visitors, just being open felt like an important step.
At Christmas we decided to include a small gift of two chocolate coins with the Christmas cards. They were hand delivered on the Saturday before Christmas by a team of folk from the Church and were accompanied by Josh, Phil and Cassie performing Christmas Carols in three locations round the parish. These cards were well received. On the Church we had a Christmas banner which matched the cards, and we put solar powered fairy lights in the cypress trees as a symbol of Jesus, the light in the darkness.
On Christmas Day Kim and Catherine prepared Christmas meals in the church kitchen, which were delivered as a gift to a number of households in Mill House as well as others who were contacted through Connect.
As we move into 2021, we are continuing to seek God for more ways of engaging with the parish that he has entrusted to us.
Worship team
At the start of the year, we were working as a team of musicians facilitating the leading of church worship services, morning and evening on Sundays. Our team numbers around about 12 people who fulfil roles of worship leader, backing singer or backing instrumentalist. Before lockdown we tried to meet together once a month for training, feedback and fellowship. Since lockdown we have not met as a team and only worship leaders have been involved individually on zoom meetings each week. We remain supportive of each other even though only half of the worship team is currently involved.
Our vision is always to be led by the Spirit, to encourage the members of the church in their own worship and to glorify Jesus to the best of our ability. David M
Prayer
Morning prayer
Although for most of the year we have not been able to meet in person Morning Prayer has continued on Zoom. We’ve met on Tuesday at 8am to 9am and Wednesday at 9am to 10am. At each meeting we pray specifically for two members of St Luke’s and an area of the Parish. These meetings are valued by those that attend and provide a focus for our spiritual and devotional life at St Luke's. David & Jenny
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Let’s Pray
The monthly intercession meeting has been held on the first Monday evening of the month from 7.30pm to 8.30pm via Zoom. These meetings provide an opportunity to listen to God and hear what he is saying to us as a church and to be able to intercede for St Luke's and the nation.
David & Jenny
Urgent Prayer team
Over the year, we have supported members of St Luke's and their friends & family as we responded to calls for prayer in difficult situations. These have been mainly health related: two people making a good recovery following really bad accidents; several people being supported through varying severities of Covid, including at least one amazing recovery.
Anne & Una
Family’s/Children’s Work
2020 started with high hopes for increasing families work following the successful Christmas events of 2019. In January there was a family get together in the Linden Room to allow parents and children to meet together and start discussions about what would be helpful. There were plans for a family friendly Palm Sunday service, but these had to be cancelled with lockdown.
It has been challenging trying to connect with our families and children during this year as many are fed up with computer screens by the weekend and don’t particularly engage with activities over zoom. During the Church Weekend Away at Home Naomi, the Children’s Worker at St Thomas’ Church put together a morning of activities for the children. For the Thy Kingdom Come prayer initiative leading up to Pentecost Family Activity packs were delivered to each family household and we encouraged families to look at the children’s activities on offer at the various online festivals that happened during the year, including Spring Harvest Home and New Wine Online.
In December we were excited to be able to hold a socially distanced Christingle service for families, with 7 families including 10 children attending. Everyone made their own Christingle and learned about the significance of each element of it. As families left, home activity packs were handed out. These were also delivered to the houses of families who couldn’t make the service.
Although challenging, we are encouraged by the number of families now involved with St Luke’s. Ceri is expanding a WhatsApp group to connect the parents so they can encourage each other, and we look forward to hearing how we can support them more in the future.
Visiting Speakers and Events
In the first few months of 2020 we had several visiting speakers, including Terry and Anne Young, the NE Eden Representatives; Esther Swaffield-Bray from IJM and Paul Merton. We had a wonderful farewell evening for Christian who was moving to Birmingham to work for Sports Chaplaincy UK, and they came to speak and commission him for his new work.
The 15[th] of March was our last in person service before lockdown began, then services moved online onto Facebook. Occasional guest speakers continued with them contributing at a distance, including David Campbell in May, and John & Anne Coles during our Church Weekend Away at home. We were delighted to welcome Paul Merton back to speak at our Christmas Carol service.
Several planned or usual events had to be cancelled, including sadly a visit from Riding Lights. The Great North Run was also cancelled so we were unable to do our usual outreach to the runners. We hope very much these events will be possible again in 2021. St Luke’s Annual Report 2020 Page 8 of 11
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Church Weekend Away at Home
We had planned our Church Weekend Away for the first weekend in May at Minsteracres as usual. As it became clear this wouldn’t be possible, we moved to holding the weekend at home, on zoom! John and Anne Coles from New Wine were our speakers and joined from their home in the south of England.
About 35 households took part in the weekend. As well as times of worship led by our wonderful worship team, and teaching from John and Anne, there were times when we were able to get together in breakout rooms to chat and socialise, as would normally happen at the Weekend Away. As mentioned earlier, Naomi, the Children’s Worker from St Thomas’ Church led a session on Saturday morning for the children so they could also take part in the weekend.
John and Anne taught on our spiritual lives being an integral part of our day-to-day life and encouraged us to practice praying for healing and asking God for prophecies and encouraging words for each other. As it was Robert’s last Church Weekend before he retired, they also helped the Church family to reflect on Robert’s leadership and send in our memories and messages of thanks for him.
On Saturday afternoon we encouraged everyone to be creative and go for a walk or bike ride, or do a craft or activity at home and then send in photos of what they got up to. It was lovely to see everyone’s leisure activities and it gave a real sense of fun to the weekend. Saturday evening saw our traditional ‘Weekend Away Quiz’ again hosted by Quizmaster Phil. It was obviously different to previous years, but just as enjoyable and crazy.
Financial Review
The past year has been a less than typical year in the life of the church's finances and as such any detailed comparison with past years would not be a true comparison. When we compare the overall picture with 2019, we see both income and expenditure have both fallen slightly, with total income still greater than total expenditure. However, looking at our unrestricted fund in isolation, expenditure has exceeded income by around £12,400 which is slightly less than the cost of the hall roof repair.
I would like to thank all those who have generously given throughout this past year. Our reduced income comes from a slight reduction in planned giving of around 10% compared to 2019 and significant loss of hall hire income. As this was due to Covid restrictions, it has been largely offset by local and national Covid grants the church has received, for which we thank God.
Across the latter part of the year especially, great diligence has been put into ensuring that the church's expenditure has not been greater than necessary to prevent the significant reduction in reserves that have been built up over previous years. This has been successfully achieved, with only the roof repair causing the reduction in reserves through this testing season. While this season has been one of prudency, we still felt it right to continue giving externally where possible. To this end the church has supported Junction 42, Kairos Connexion, our Compassion sponsored child, Fusion, The Message Trust, International Justice Mission, Newcastle and Northumbria Universities Christian Unions, The Children's Society and various visiting speakers. The Kingdom Equality Fund still exists, although with minimal income it hasn't supported as many people as in previous years.
During 2020 we have continued to receive restricted income for the Sanctuary Restoration Project which has again operated within its means across the year. We have also received the following very generous grants towards the Sanctuary Restoration Project: Northumbria Historic Churches Trust (£5000), Allchurches Trust (£14,000), Lyndhurst Trust (£5000 for building) and money from the Listed Places of
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Worship VAT reclaim scheme. These are all in addition to the second instalment of a £50,000 match funded grant towards the restoration project.
While it has not been possible to fully utilise our budget this past year it will serve as a useful guide to build future budgets from. We are once again very grateful to Lynn Armstrong, our accountant, for all the work she had done collating and approving our finances and it is again my recommendation that we continue working with her into the future.
Peter (Treasurer)
Safeguarding
There have been two safeguarding issues during the year. In each case, assistance and advice was received from the diocese. Both the incidents have been around potential attendance of people at St. Luke’s who could pose a risk. Our safeguarding procedures led to agreements being reached with the people concerned and measures put in place to avoid the risk of safeguarding incidents.
As St. Luke’s has been in lockdown for most of the past year, safeguarding activity has been minimal. The procedures and policies agreed for St. Luke’s are regularly reviewed, to ensure compliance with national and local Church of England guidelines. During the coming year it will be necessary to update safeguarding training for those who undertake roles with a safeguarding element. Andrew
Deanery Synod
A new Deanery Synod is elected every three years, and 2020 was an election year with the new Synod due to start in June. As with so many other things, the Covid-19 pandemic delayed this transition. As such, Jenni attended her last Synod meeting in February before her and David stepped down as Deanery Synod Representatives at the APCM in October. Jane was elected as our new Deanery Synod Representative; the other position is vacant.
In February the Synod discussed what we had done well over the past three years, and then had ideas for future ways Synod could enable the Churches in our Deanery to work together more productively. Groups came up with various ideas for multi-church outreach projects and ways of sharing ideas and resources to learn from each other’s experiences. The June and September meetings were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In November the new Deanery Synod met via zoom for an introductory meeting to start to get to know each other and appoint people to various roles within the Synod. Jenni
PCC News
The PCC met regularly throughout the year, initially in person then, from March, on zoom. The planned APCM in April was postponed until October, and so the PCC elected in 2019 continued until then. Due to continuing restrictions, the APCM was conducted via zoom, with the Church open to allow those who couldn’t attend online to join in in person.
During the year we welcomed Tom as a co-opted PCC member, and he was then elected at the October meeting. As Jenni stood down as Deanery Synod Representative, she also stopped being a PCC member and trustee of the St Luke’s Charity. She remains on the PCC as Secretary, but without a vote. There remain three vacancies for PCC members and one for a Deanery Synod Representative.
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The PCC continues to employ Jenni and Jimmy. As Jimmy was unable to work from home during the lockdown he was put on furlough. He has remained on flexible furlough for the rest of 2020, doing the decorating work gradually as much of his normal work assisting hall hirers has not been possible. In November it was decided that Jenni should be put onto flexible furlough as well due to a reduction in work load. These arrangements are likely to continue well into 2021.
Reuben was also employed for much of the year as Connect Kitchen Worker as his 6-month fixed term contract was renewed at the start of April in anticipation of Connect meetings restarting. He was put onto furlough, and then his contract ended at the end of September. We were glad to be able to continue supporting him through the early days of lockdown by using the furlough scheme. When Connect is able to resume providing meals for their meetings we will look to employ another Kitchen Worker.
David and Phil continue to serve as Church Wardens, and were re-elected in October. We remain very grateful to them and to the whole PCC for their work and dedication to the running of St Luke’s. Jenni (PCC Secretary)
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ST. LUKE'S CHURCH SPITAL TONGUES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020 stLukes EWCASTLE Wor.sliii iijii.K Cwllii fiiji?!iiJi.g Hi ' Pr¢'%('iiri. .Slinrin.g Hi% Loi¥e
CONTENTS Page Church information Independent Examinerfs Report Statement of Financial Adivities Balance sheet Notes to the accounts Movement in funds
Page 1 of8 ST. LUKE'S CHURCH SPITAL TONGUES CHURCH INFORMATION Charity Commlsslon Roglstratlon Number 1174238 Interim Minister Rev'd Alice Ward Church Address Sl Luke's Church Claremont Street Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AH Bank CAF Bank Ltd. 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Malling Kent. ME194JQ Indopendènt Examlnor Mrs L Amistrong 68 Leander Drive Henley Grange Boldon Colliery NE35 9LS
Page2of8 INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT To the PCC of the St Luke's Church, Spital Tonguos This port on the financial statements of the PCC for the year ended 31 December 2020, which are sel oul on pages 3 10 7. is in respect of an examination carrd out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 and s.43 of the Charities Act 1993. Respective responsibilit188 of truste•s and examiner The charity's Iruslees are responsible fof the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 Ith8 Charities Acl) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to.. examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act, lo follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 14515){bl of the Charities Act, and to slate whether particular matters have come lo my attention. Basls of Independent examiner's statement My examination was carried out in accordan with general dlrections given by the Charrty Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with thosè reGords. 11 also includes consideration of any unusual itèms or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such Matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that vUld be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a Irue and fair, view and the report is limited to those matters sel out in the statement below. Ind8pend8nt 8xamln8r'8 statèment In Connection with my examination. no matter has come to my attention:. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in. any material respect, the requirements.. lo keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; and to prepare accoun1$ vthich accord with the accounting records and omply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met. Signed Mrs L Amistrong 68 Leander Drive Henley Grange Boldon Colliery NE35 9LS Independent Examiner 22nd April 2021
St. Luke's Church Spitsl Tongues Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31st December 2020 Page3of8 Income and expenditure account INCOMING RESOURCES Totsl Fund Fun Fund• 2.020 2.019 Voluntary recelpt8 Planned Giving Income Tax Recovery Open Plate collections Other voluntary recelpts Oonalions and Appeals Sundry donations Legacies 56,750 13.875 1,238 3,650 4.351 488 60,400 18,454 2,340 66,750 24,513 9,938 227 613 850 1.705 8,656 11,011 44,978 72.514 17,145 92,205 146,179 ActlvltS08 for gon&ratlng fvnd• Fetes Bazaars, olher fund raising events Church Hall lettings et¢ Bookstall sales Sundry income 480 25,515 so 6.118 75 6,193 15 6,133 15 6,208 75 26,045 Investment Income Interest 25 25 25 25 61 61 Income from church actlvllles Grants Gifts Fees Insurance claim Refunds Church weekend Sundry Receipts 14.359 78,524 90,883 48,204 188 3,381 308 3.381 1.314 4,265 147 54,238 210 76,734 210 94.662 17,927 Total Incomlng re8ourc88 96.575 2,S46 93,980 193,100 226,523 ExGes9 ol Incomfj over gxp8nditur• Transfers bgtr49gn funds Balances brought fOard 1 January 20 Balance carried forlvard at 310ecembgr 20 -12.410 455 7C 152 397 56,384 43,519 8,045 39,849 26.739 30,415 86.799 70,416 113,935 62,371 70,416
St. Luke's Spital Tongues Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31st December 2020 Income and expenditure account Page4of8 RESOURCES EXPENDED Unre5trlct8d 005ignat8d ReBtrfcted Fund Fund• Totsl Fund 2.020 Yotsl Fund8 2,019 Church activities Mission and charitable glvlng 1.824 1,824 120 120 1,100 1,100 3,044 5,415 5,415 Actlvities . rolated to church work Ministry '. Parish share Clarence tru81 Clarence trust- pension Clergy Cosls Clergy expense8 Visiting speakers Support staff expens88 Outreach Church nnning expen8es ¢hur¢h malntanAne¢ Cleaning Hall running cost Major repairs Upkeep ol ¢huTch services Copyri9ht Licence Connect costs and hospltsllty Hospitality Cildrtsn'$ $¢U{¢¥ Magazine and book8 Sa18riè5 Pension8 Relunds Gift Training and mr$8ion &vents Church weokènd costs Volunteer travel and expenses Sundry expenditure Quinquennial Depreciation Equipment purthased 4.500 25,810 11.095 4.179 18.841 1.442 750 220 716 8.824 3.814 11.095 4.179 18,841 1,442 3.716 3,974 515 3,934 8,248 3,477 6,020 339 90,879 403 302 2,989 2,203 21J) 220 1.927 6,824 3.654 1.950 138 46.845 126 339 802 477 1,011 2LhJ 138 14.220 126 339 32,825 477 22 29,493 1.473 119 27,572 1,324 28.244 1.473 1.249 1.141 1.049 2,678 479 1,536 1,018 5,251 479 583 694 28 2.032 1,394 104,371 2,032 1,673 143,407 2,933 2,730 209,806 140 2.875 139 36,161 Goneratlon of voluntary Incom• Costs of fund raising events 136 728 728 Govemance Co8t8 Aceountancy Advertising printing and stationery Websile and soare Subscriptions and licenses TephOne Bank 8nd egrd charges 5CX) 341 147 120 1,319 102 2,529 183 510 185 510 779 918 102 2.994 175 918 75 22 TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED 108.985 3.000 37.596 149,581 218,478
St. Luke's Church Spitsl Tongues Statement of Financial Activities Page5of8 BALANCE SHEET as at 31 December 2020 Unmtri¢t•d ooslgnatsd Restrlct¢d Fund& fund• FundB Total Fund 2.020 Totsl Fund• 2,019 Flxed Assgts Tangible assets 11,304 11,304 13,336 Currnnt Assets Cash al bank and in hand 16,449 27.753 397 397 86.799 86,799 103.645 114,949 58,434 71,770 Llabllltles Creditors 1.013 1,013 1,353 NET CURRENT ASSETS 26,740 397 86,799 113,935 70,417 TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABLITIES Creditors fallen due after one year TOTAL NET ASSETS 26,740 397 86,799 113,935 70,417 PARISH FUNDS 26,740 397 86,799 113,935 70,417 Approved by the Parish of Sl Luke's Church. s.181 Tongue5, and signed on ils behalf by Rev A. Ward IPCC Chairperson) Rev'd A. Ward
St. Luke'8 Church Spital Tongues Not88 to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020 Page6of8 1 Accounting Policies The financial statements of the PCC have been prepared in accordance with the ChLtrch A¢counb'ng Regulations 2006 using the accruals basis. 2 Flxed A88•ts for u¥9 ty pcc Furnlshln9 FIAtsr•• •nd Flttln Muslcwl •qulpm•rt •qylpffl•nt T•nglbl• AM•t¥ Tot•1 2020 ar# book valu• al 1 January 2020 rèvaluation surplus Additions during y&ar at 31 Dècamber 2020 8,726 3.982 628 13,336 8.726 3.982 628 13,336 Dèpr•clotlon for year 597 126 2,032 N•t book v•lu• 8131 December 2020 7.417 3.385 502 11,304 3 Fixed assets under £5,000 are written off in the year of purchase. 2,020 Speakers and cables Laptop Guitsr equipment Kitchen equipment Security equipment Ligh15 Furniture Various equipment 600 155 287 156 158 210 41 1673 4 Major repairs 2,020 Sanctuary resloral¢on Roof repair Carpenterfs workshop 20,693 14.220 11,932 46,845 5 Grants received 2.020 Vardy foundation Listed places of worship Lyndhurst trust HMRC - Furlough grant Newcastle City Council- Covid 19 grant Northumberland Historic Churches Allchurches Trust 50.000 3.127 6.000 5,088 7,668 5,000 14,000 90,883
St. Luke's Church Spital Tongues Notes to the Financial Ststsments (Continued) For the year ended 31 December 2020 Page7of8 6 Movements in designated and restn.cted funds were'.- UnrnJtrlctsd De819natod Réstrfctod Total Fund¥ Funds fvndB Funds 2020 ExcessI-Deficil of receipts over payments Transfers been fund5 Balance al 1 January 20 Balance al 31 December 20 56.384 43.519 -7LK) 39.849 26.739 700 152 397 30,415 86,799 70,416 113.935
St. Luke's Church Spital Tongues ststement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31st December 2020 page8of8 Movement in Funds Opening Balance Closlng 8#l•n¢g Oeslgnatod Re$trl¢tsd Income Expendfjturn Transfern FUNDS Connect Newcastle fund Sanctuary restoration Kingdom eqUalty fund Children's ¢hurch Classic car club Sp¥ilic offerings Outreach funds Sl Luke's events Weekend away Relifement gift 3.961.62 25,583.73 11.81 178.86 247.52 181.50 156 76 245.13 0.00 3,970.33 3.729.80 88.999.57 32,761.15 1,OCl.(M) 1,074.00 56.05 4,202.15 81,822.15 212.81 122.81 247.52 191.50 -275.00 734.13 612.50 3.89 619.60 1,150.87 104.53 318.39 249.02 0.00 0.00 700.00 1.205.00 1,205.00 30566.93 96525 42 40596.47 7CM).00 396.94 86798.94
Page2of8 INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT To the PCC of the St Luke's ChUh, Spitsl Tongues This report on the financial statements of the PCC for the year ended 31 December 2020, which are set out on pages 3 to 7, is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 and s.43 of the Charities Act 1993. Respective responsibilities of trustees and examlner The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to: examine the ac¢ounts under section 145 of the Charities Act, to follow the prodUreS laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(51{b) of the Charities Act, and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basis of indèpèndent examiner's statement My examination was carried out in accordanc8 with general directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the 8c¢ounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees conceming any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audil, and consequently no opinion is given as lo whether the accounts psent a true and fair, view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. Indèpondent examinerfs statement In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:_ whi¢h gives m8 reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements.. lo keep accounting reGords in a¢¢ordance with section 130 of the Charities Act,. and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requiremenls of the Charities Act have not been mel. Signed Mrs L Amstrong 68 Leander Drive Henley Grange Boldon Colliery NE35 9LS Independent Examiner 22nd April 2021