2021-12-31-accounts - The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of Holy Trinity, Littleborough

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

The Parish of Holy Trinity Littleborough

ANNUAL REPORT

AND

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2021

St Barnabas, Shore  Holy Trinity, Littleborough  St James, Calderbrook Sharing Christ with Littleborough

The Parochial Church Council of The Ecclesiastical Parish of Holy Trinity, Littleborough is a charity registered in England and Wales (1179711).

Bank

Yorkshire Bank Plc (Now known as Virgin Money) Rochdale

Independent Examiner

Mr D G Kershaw

Objectives

Holy Trinity P.C.C. has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent, The Reverend Ian Bullock in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has maintenance responsibilities for Holy Trinity Church.

Structure, governance and management

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.

The PCC held five meetings during the year, and Three meetings of the Standing Committee.

P.C.C. Membership

The Parochial Church Council (P.C.C.) is a body corporate (P.C.C. Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2020) and registered with the Charity Commission.

PCC members are elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in accordance with the Church representation Rules 2020 and during the year, in addition there are a number of officers who are Ex-Officio.

During 2021, the following served as members of the PCC

Incumbent	The Reverend Ian Bullock (Ex-officio) (Chair)
Readers	Mr David White (Term of Office Expires 2024)
Churchwardens	Mr Frank Kershaw (Ex-officio)
	Mr Ian Bailey (Ex-officio)
Deanery Synod	Frank Kershaw (Ex-officio)
	Mr Graham Windslow (Ex-officio)
Elected Members
	Christine Kershaw (Term of Office Expires 2022)
	Lynnette Windslow (Term of Office Expires 2022)
	Kathleen Fletcher (Term of Office Expires 2022)
	Sandra Backhouse (Term of Office Expires 2023)
	Elizabeth Jackson (Term of Office Expires 2023)

Page 2 of 12

Vacant (Term of Office Expires 2023) Marcus Pritchard (Term of Office Expires 2024) Val Lawrenson (Term of Office Expires 2024) David White (Term of Office Expires 2024)

*Names in italic denote members of the Standing Committee

Standing Committee

This the only committee required by law. It has power to transact the business of the P.C.C. between its meetings, subject to any directions given by the council. It also meets to discuss other matters to be put before the P.C.C. and prepare the agenda.

It consists of the Vicar, churchwardens, P.C.C. Secretary, and in the absence of a permanent P.C.C. Treasurer, up to two elected members of the P.C.C.

Benefice Church Council

In October 2021 the BCC re-commenced and began to think about the mission of the Benefice as we start to recover from COVID-19. The Benefice Council met in October and November with a number of new members, and began to learn about the functions of the council, so that in 2022 work can begin on the focus of recovery and revitalisation of the Benefice.

Electoral Roll

After the full refresh of the Electoral Roll there were 57 people on the electoral roll at the APCM in March 2021

Page 3 of 12

Review of the Year

COVID-19

2021 continued to be a year where we saw the Pandemic overshadow everything else that was happening.

Through the year we started to resume some of the operations of the Parish, with the P.C.C. and Standing Committee meeting and being updated on the changes that were happening, as well as discussing the matters of the Parish.

In August when the social distancing restrictions were lifted, we were able to resume services at St Barnabas and St James, and these have continued since that time, and whilst the services have continued to operate under our Risk Assessment, we were able to hold our annual Commemoration of the Faithful Departed Service, and our Christingle.

The Pastoral Response Team continued to be briefed on a regular basis, and as we came to the end of the year, they were able to meet less regularly as rules and restrictions were not changing as frequently.

We continued to keep in contact with everyone on the Electoral Roll, and other interested parties.

Additionally, we made full use of our Social Media platforms to inform the entire village of what was happening, and services continued to be created for a Sunday, and we also moved to a livestream service on a Sunday Morning, and resumed Midweek worship at 12.30 p.m. on a Wednesday.

Matters discussed by the P.C.C.

The full PCC and the Standing Committee has met during the year (Via Zoom). As always, the PCC and Standing Committee have discussed a range of issues, these have included:

APCM Preparations
Building Maintenance
COVID-19 and its consequences
Parish Finances in respect of COVID-19
The work of the Pastoral Response Team

Financial Activities

2021 was another challenging year for the Parish, with giving remaining at the 2020 level. Additionally, the continued loss of revenue from social events and the Youth Theatre on suspension impacted us.

However due to some generous donations, and through keeping a tight rein on the budget, we have made ends meet, and paid our full Parish Share. We give thanks for those who helped us and whilst we cannot rely on this happening again, it did aid us in a difficult year.

Page 4 of 12

We have made some modest gains in the Project 2020 fund, although fundraising is difficult at this time, and we continue to approach the funders who we may be eligible to gain grants from.

Through good financial management, the parish has remained viable again this year, and we will continue to work on the principle of a balanced budget whilst we work on recovery, and strive to meet our commitments at the highest level it is possible to achieve whilst preserving a reasonable operating budget.

Sadly we did not realise any of the lost giving from 2020, and that which has been lost from 2021, but we are grateful to all those who have increased their giving, and we also know that there is some residual Gift Aid to be returned to us from the end of 2021, which will also help in our financial management.

During 2020 Fr Ian was able to secure some COVID-19 recovery money, and this was put to good use to ensure that the parishes only had to pay for a small percentage of the items that we needed to allow each parish to re-open safely.

Despite the challenges that 2020 presented to us all, Holy Trinity has weathered the brunt of the pandemic quite well, but we now need to focus on recovery, and in 2022 we will begin to see the extent of the damage that has been caused, and look to restore as much as possible from what has been lost. Holy Trinity continues to depend on its members for support, both practical and monetary, for its continued existence and outreach to the community.

The Church can claim an extra 25p for every £1 given if donated by a tax payer who has signed a “Gift Aid” declaration or completes and signs a one-off gift aid envelope, available at in each pew.

This is paid by the Inland Revenue (at no extra cost to you); if you are a tax payer and would like to help boost the Church income, please have a word about gift aiding your donations.

Thank you to all who support the parish in all your various ways; your generous giving of time and money is greatly valued.

A copy of the Income and Expenditure, and Balance sheets are appended to the back of this report for inspection and have been independently examined by Mr D G Kershaw, to whom we are grateful for his continued support.

Fabric

During 2021 we continued to carry out work on the outside gutters and pipes due to a second emergency repair grant from English Heritage, and whilst some additional issues with guttering were found, we were granted an increase to the grant and are just awaiting the hardware to arrive so that it can be fitted.

This has meant that the church has stayed dry this year, and the previous influx of water would now appear to have been fixed. We will continue to work with Nick Lunn to have leaves cleared from the gutters in a timely manner to ensure that our preventative maintenance keeps the Status Quo.

Page 5 of 12

Sadly, we have had some additional damage to windows on the North side of church, and as we are aiming to have these replaced as part of our major works, we have made makeshift repairs until that time. We can also report that we expect this issue to subside early in 2022 after the erection of new high-level security fencing in the school playground.

Apart from that the church is currently in a good state of repair and we continue to be vigilant.

Study

In Lent 2021, the decision was made to run the abandoned Lent course from 2020. This was held each week on Zoom with approx. 30 members of the Benefice joining us, and we give thanks for the leaders who facilitated the small group work in the sessions.

In 2021 we were unable to take any candidates through Confirmation, and we hope that we can look to redress this in 2022

The weekly Tuesday study group continued through much of 2021 on Zoom on a Wednesday evening, before resuming Tuesday evening in person meetings later in the year.

Worship

Through 2021 Holy Trinity continued to provide service until mid-August when our sister parishes were able to re-open.

10.15 a.m. Holy Communion Holy Days and 5[th] Sundays - Benefice Services at 10.00 a.m. (rotating around the three parishes)

As yet we have been unable to re-establish the BCP service and alternatives are being considered to ensure we do not lose this ancient rite. Additionally as COVID remains with us, the resumption of Healing Services has not yet been agreed, although it is hoped that 2022 will see their return.

We have now resumed a midweek in-person schedule and have a Benefice Midweek service at St Barnabas on Wednesday at 12.30 p.m.

Baptisms now resumed in 2021, and we are currently working out the schedule to clear the backlog of requests.

Up to August funerals continued with limited attendance, and since the removal of restrictions, all three parishes are now open again for funerals. It was envisaged in 2020 that many would want to come back to us to have a memorial service for those who died in the times of major restriction. However, as time moved on, we spoke to the families, and offered them the choice, but felt that they would just like to complete the funeral with an Interment, which we were able to provide.

There are still a few outstanding, but this is now down to families who didn’t yet feel ready, and we will assist them once the time is right for them.

Page 6 of 12

Clergy

The Reverend Ian Bullock has continued the work of bringing unity to the Benefice, working on formalising and in places centralising methods of working in the parishes and Benefice. Additionally, he has continued to build relationships with organisations within the Benefice, and continues to serve as vice-chair of LEAF (Littleborough Events and Associations Forum)

In addition to his duties inside the Benefice, Fr Ian also serves as the Clergy Chaplain to the Lay Readers in the Archdeaconry of Rochdale, Member of the Diocesan Synod, Member of Diocesan Giving Steering Group and as a member of other Diocesan Pastoral Groups.

Throughout 2021 Fr Ian’s work has concentrated on the Pastoral needs of the Parishes and the wider village. This work will continue into 2022 until such a time as the current emergency has passed.

Lay Readers

In 2020 we were unable to utilise David’s ministry due to the guidelines that were provided, and we were delighted that in 2021, these restrictions were eased and David was able to resume his ministry within the Benefice.

Web Site

Web address: http://www.cofe-littleborough.co.uk

The site continues to be popular, we have increased the throughput of the website, with there being over 260,000 hits during 2021.

The greater control over our Benefice e-mail addresses continues to be a great benefit to us, with them being utilised both internally for a variety of purposes, and externally for people who want to contact us with queries regarding a variety of items such as baptisms, wedding and other general queries which are also received and answered.

Additionally, the Benefice Facebook page has continued to gather momentum, and at the beginning of the 2022, 658 people liked the page (This is an increase from January 2021 where we had 630), and is continuing to receiving a daily prayer update as well and other regular updates from us.

The Benefice has also continued to increase its use of Twitter, and can be followed @cofelittleborough .

In 2021 The Benefice continued to use YouTube for all of its recorded services, and a variety of other videos and announcements.

We also began using Instagram: cofelittleborough

Page 7 of 12

Outreach and Activities

Children and Schools

Junior Church continues to be suspended and we are continuing to utilise our Virtual Junior Church as a secure group on our Facebook page. As a minimum a video and worksheets are posted each Sunday to allow the children and their parents to engage with worship on a weekly basis.

This group is strictly monitored, and for a parent to access the resources, they are required to identify themselves, agree to adhere to the rules, and the overall group policies.

Fr Ian has continued to work with our two church schools, and up to the end of the 2021 academic year, this was accomplished through Zoom. We were delighted that we hosted the first ever Zoom Year 4 Banner Service, where all the Anglican Churches joined Bishop Mark Davies and Fr Ian online from Holy Trinity Church.

At the end of the academic Year, Fr Ian was able to spend some time with the Year 6 Leavers, and since the start of the new academic year is now back with the children in school, and we are also spending time with them in lessons and in church to continue to grow their knowledge of the Christian Faith.

We also took the opportunity to overhaul our Children and Young Peoples policy, to remove any old vestiges of risk that had been there historically, and this policy was approved by the three PCC’s in November.

Social Events

Due to COVID-19 there were no social events in 2021

Project 2020

Work continued on the Project until COVID-19, and the money secured currently stands at £85,000. The reduction is due to some professional fees that have been paid and there will be some VAT to reclaim against these monies in 2022

Fundraising has begun again this year, but progress has been slow due to many funders focussing on COVID recovery, and work will continue on this in 2022.

Holy Trinity Youth Theatre Workshop

Sadly COVID-19 has prevented us continuing with the workshop activities, and we will resume as soon as it is safe to do so.

Page 8 of 12

Other Activities

As restrictions eased, to allow support groups to meet again, we were delighted to be able to offer the new Alcoholic Anonymous group a base to begin.

Between April and November this year, they used Holy Trinity as their home to become established, and while they have left us for now due to the building not being able to meet their growing needs, we hope that they will return to us once the re-order has been completed.

Good Causes

During 2021 the Benefice were able to support the following organisations:

The Sanctuary trust at Harvest (along with Stansfield Hall School and Holy Trinity School)
Children’s Society through the Christingle service

Safeguarding

The Parish continues to take safeguarding of Children and Vulnerable Adults seriously and during 2021 has continued to operate in the Benefice in line with the guidelines and practices as set down by Manchester Diocese.

This has included DBS Checks and training, as well as the completion of the annual selfdeclaration forms. This information is now held confidentially and centrally, and the Parish and Benefice are committed to ensuring our churches are safe places for all people.

The Website continues to be updated to reflect best practices, and describes the ways that anyone who is concerned about a matter can get in touch, as well as offering links to other groups who can provide assistance.

We additionally commit to working together as a Benefice in ensuring that we meet our obligations.

Accounts

The Accounts were adopted by the PCC on 17[th] February 2022 and signed on their behalf by:

The Reverend Ian Bullock (P.C.C. Chair) Vicar of Littleborough

Page 9 of 12

Independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts

Report to the Trustees/Members of Holy Trinity, Littleborough on the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020

Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner

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 accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act

To follow procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act) and

To state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of Independent Examiner's statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charities Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity 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 the trustees 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.

Independent Examiner's Statement

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

(1) Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements:
to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 130 of the Charities Act;
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met: or
(2) To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed

Name Mr D G Kershaw

Date: 26[th] February 2022

Address 21 Sunset Hill Top, Meanwood, Leeds, LS6 4LP

Page 10 of 12

Holy Trinity

Balance sheet (Church of England) As at: 31 December 2021

	As at 31/12/2021 £	As at 31/12/2020 £
Current assets Investments at CCLA Cash at bank and in hand Net current assets less current liabilities Total assets less current liabilities Total net assets less liabilities Represented by Unrestricted Yorkshire Bank Restricted Restricted – Project 2020 awaiting trf to Inv. Restricted – Benefice Mission Fund Restricted - Benefice Shared Cost - Magazine Restricted - Benefice Shared Cost - Printer Restricted – Other Charity Donations Restricted – Specific Legacies Restricted – COVID-19 Restricted – PCC Investment Account Funds of the Church	75612.21 17831.01 93443.22 93443.22 93443.22 93443.22 5141.75 12170.14 176.15 14.53 228.44 0.00 100.00 0.00 75612.21 93443.22	97570.94 8094.31
		105665.25

		105665.25

		105665.25

		105665.25
		6236.10 640.47 309.17 155.98 282.20 0.00 100.00 370.39 97570.94
		105665.25

Page 11 of 12

Holy Trinity Income / Expenditure As at: 31 December 2021

Income Bank Paid Covenants Envelope Covenants One-Off Gift Aid Loose Plate Other Planned Giving - Not GA Donations - Non GA Donations - GA Eligible General Fundraising - Non GA Parochial Fees Magazine Income Flowers Refreshments Youth Theatre Workshop Project 2020 COVID-19 (‘19:Rental Income) Gift Aid Rebate Legacies CCLA Account Trf's \ Interest Other Charitable Collections Benefice Mission Income Benefice Shared Cost - Magazine Benefice Shared Cost - Printer Income totals	2021 10,545.00 3,346.82 5,841.68 1,702.67 87.65 1,865.15 0.00 657.13 364.00 0.00 45.32 0.00 0.00 52,232.93 0.00 3,341.58 0.00 -21,958.73 639.07 0.00 218.69 1,500.00 60,428.96	2020 Expenditure 10,485.00 Parish Share 3,737.00 Gas 208.50 Electricity 1,056.22 Water 0.00 Ecclesiastical Insurance 1,546.25 Church Maintenance \ Repairs 0.00 Fire \ Alarm Systems & Safety Check 44.00 Cleaning 576.00 Liturgical Supplies 87.15 Refreshments 0.00 Flowers 84.70 Vicarage 0.00 Vicars Working Expenses 32,882.08 Training and Development 1,000.00 Organ \ Music \ Licences 3,985.11 Youth Theatre Workshop 100.00 Outreach, Evangelism & Discipleship 20,881.18 Childrens Work 535.25 Printing \ Stationery 0.00 FWO Envelopes 0.00 Equipment Rental 1,738.23 Project 2020 78,940.67 General Fundraising Costs Professional \ Locum Fees 78,940.67 Deanery Costs -58,179.60 Littleborough Churches together 20,761.07 Charitable Donations Benefice Mission Expenditure 21,803.93 Benefice Shared Cost - Magazine -21,886.73 Benefice Shared Cost - Printer -82.80 COVID-19 Grant Expenditure totals	2020 8,200.00 2,824.88 81.66 275.87 5,325.59 1,351.29 0.00 0.00 309.45 0.00 68.00 821.91 745.24 0.00 447.42 587.12 0.00 0.00 105.90 41.80 525.00 32,790.09 125.60 0.00 0.00 50.00 535.25 71.92 279.73 1,806.27 629.61
Income Expenditure Surplus \ Deficit	60,428.96 -72,280.60 -11,851.64	78,940.67 -58,179.60
		20,761.07

Income Expenditure Surplus \ Deficit	27,797.00 -28,891.35 -1,094.35	21,803.93 -21,886.73
		-82.80
Actuals without restricted and charitable			58,179.60