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2024-12-31-accounts

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Contents:

Page(s)

3

Agenda for the Meeting of Parishioners (Vestry meeting)

Sunday 11 May 2025

  1. Opening Prayer

  2. Minutes of the previous Vestry Meeting held on Sunday 12 May 2024

  3. Matters arising

  4. Election of two Church Wardens

Agenda for the Annual Parochial Church Meeting

Sunday 11 May 2025

  1. Apologies for absence

  2. Minutes from the previous APCM held on Sunday 12 May 2024

  3. Matters arising from the minutes

  4. Receive report on electoral roll

  5. Receive annual report on the proceedings of the PCC

  6. Receive financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2024 & appointment of independent examiner for 2025

  7. Receive annual fabric report

  8. Receive report on the deanery synod

  9. Elections to the PCC

  10. Vicar’s Report

  11. Any other business

  12. Closing prayer

Agenda for PCC meeting

Sunday 11 May 2025 after the APCM

  1. Appointment of the following:

  2. Lay vice-chair

  3. PCC Secretary

  4. Treasurer

  5. Electoral Roll officer

  6. Standing committee

  7. Safeguarding Officer

  8. Children’s Champion

  9. Formal Adoption of Safeguarding Policy

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St Mellitus in 2024 – Vicar’s Report

Dear friends,

Welcome to our 2024 APCM and annual report. Contained within this booklet are our formal governance and financial reports, accounts for the year, reports on the church building, and a summary of the work of the PCC. Just as importantly though, is an insight into the various ministries that we are involved with as a church family. Contained within these pages is wonderful story of Jesus Christ at work in and through us, and of thousands of lives being impacted as a result, both here in Hanwell and wider afield. As you read through, I really do hope you’ll be inspired and encouraged by what is taking place at St Mellitus.

As ever, it’s been a full year - full of growth, change, and challenges. We began the work on the new welcome area – with the installation of new glass doors. The revitalisation of our back garden also began, with the creation of a new decking area and path. We had glorious celebrations at Christmas and Easter, including full immersion baptisms. The much beloved Janet Fletcher was ordained in September - part of an ever-growing staff team as the needs of church grow and develop. In fact, the PCC have had to begin to develop plans for the future of our building in response to the growth we’ve seen over the past few years!

Of course, given all that takes place in the life of our church, this booklet really only scratches the surface. There will also be so much that you won’t read about and that goes unseen. Underpinning it all, is the faithful prayer, worship, welcome, hospitality, and daily service that so epitomises our church.

So finally, as the leader of this church family, I want to say a huge thank you to you all for all that you contribute to the life of St Mellitus. You are the church! None of this would happen without you! You give so generously of your time, gifts and money to serve Jesus, his church and the wider community. Whether it’s seen or unseen, known or unknown, it is so appreciated and valued. It’s my privilege to serve you and I look forward to seeing all the Lord does in and through this church family over the next year.

With my love, and grateful thanks,

Rev’d Stu Plumb | Vicar

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Children’s Work

One of our key values and priorities as a church is to be a place where children and families feel welcome and can encounter Jesus.

Sundays:

We currently have over 30 children on our registers in children's groups. There are three groups for different ages which meet weekly on a Sunday:

In 2024 we merged Sparks and Explode groups together although they still meet in smaller groups in their age groups within this. This has helped have enough leaders present and to be able to support more effectively those with additional needs. Topics we've covered to name include how we can choose to Follow, Trust, Be forgiven, give our all, fruits of the spirit and grow with Jesus! We partner with St Paul’s Ealing in planning our weekly teaching content.

Outside our Sunday groups we also look to do regular activities. This year they have included a summer picnic in the vicarage garden and the fun of a circus skills outreach event in the February half term that was a big hit! We are continually creating opportunities for children to serve in church. This has included things such as litter picking, serving in the worship /AV sound team and helping with puppets.

It takes a huge team to make all this happen -thank you to everyone who volunteers and helps with these groups – it really couldn’t happen without you!

Tinies & Tots

Tinies and Tots is our weekly toddler group and continues to be very popular with tickets selling out online sometimes in less than a minute the night before!! We cap the numbers to 30 families to enable us to run effectively and be able to engage in conversation and get to know all who attend. It continues to have a big community presence, and it is a joy to hear that people find it a welcoming and loving environment. The drip feed every week of sharing the gospel to the little ones through singing and puppets and watching them respond to ‘from my head to my toes God loves me!’ is such a joy to witness. We have seen many carers attend other church events, and some parents join our church on a Sunday. St Paul's Ealing have also blessed us with allowing their “New Wine Discipleship Year’ students Juliette and Mary to help weekly with Tinies and Tots and our children's social events throughout the year.

Baby & Me

This group has stopped since September 2024 with the plan to restart again on a different day, ideally the morning once a team has been established.

Messy Christingle

‘Messy Christingle 'was attended by over 50 families. This has given us some amazing opportunities to share the good news of Jesus with these families.

This year our church children were invited to join in with Easter holiday clubs at St Johns and St Pauls over the Easter break. It was lovely to see so many families come along to our ‘Good Friday for everyone’ service on Good Friday and a joy to celebrate with 3 of our regular children in getting baptised on Easter Day.

Schools Work:

We continue to have a relationship with teachers at St Mark’s school in Hanwell.

They have had various year groups visit the church to learn about Christmas and Easter. Stu has also been into the school to talk to the older year groups about Christianity and to answer their ‘Grill a Vicar’ questions!

Lucy Plumb is the St Mellitus Children’s & Families Pastor

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Youth-Work: Ignite

Ignite is our youth group for young people aged 11+ to find out for themselves what the adventure of following Jesus is all about.

During 2024 we continued this journey together with some familiar ingredients and some new faces.

This year we mixed toast, discussion, games, prayer, quizzes, looking at the bible and lots more in our quest.

The Ignite team welcomed several new leaders who have each brought something great to our times together and have looked to build relationships with those who come along. They are all valued very highly by the young people and by me!

This has allowed us to move from two to three meetings per month; a big win. Getting a new white board up to scribble on was another win!

We meet in the youth room (small vestry) during the service and have a look at a topic which can be a part of the bible, answering our young people’s big questions, or anything else useful. 2024’s programme featured amongst other things:

We often think about these by asking the questions - what is the invitation to follow Jesus in this? What is the challenge of following Jesus in this?

Our young people are amazing and continue to bring their life, brain power, and energy to the group.

Thanks to all the parents who continue to support the group and our young people. Special thanks to those who along with Jeremy have helped out when we have needed additional adults on the team rota. It’s much appreciated.

We continue to partner with St. John’s and St. Paul’s churches in joint events such as ‘Wednesday night live’. St. Mellitus continues to work with a wider network of youth leaders and young people across Ealing which is exciting, again many of our young people attended a fireworks event in November which was a lot of fun.

Overall, it feels like we are growing as a group together, grateful for what God has given us, and it’s exciting thinking what God might do over the next 12 months.

If you have a heart to spend time with or pray for young people in our church then please do come and find me for a chat.

Martin Williams leads the Ignite Group at St Mellitus

Life Groups

At St Mellitus we want to be a community that not only worship together on Sundays but shares life with all its ups and downs together through the week, seeking to grow in faith together. To that end we look to meet in smaller groups called ‘Life Groups’ where this can happen. There are currently three groups which meet during the evening to look at the bible and pray together. There are also ‘Encounter’ evenings - worship and prayer evenings which the groups come together for once every half term and to which anyone is welcome.

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Meet and Make

Meet and Make is a creative social group for adults from the church and community, providing a welcoming opportunity for people to get to know and support one another over an art or craft activity, cake and a hot drink. We meet weekly on Fridays from 2-4pm and increasingly also welcome people who walk into the open church to find out what’s going on, to look around, or to sit in private prayer.

The afternoon sessions attract between 15 and 20 people most weeks, and there is a pool of about 30 people who are active, with new people coming all the time, as others move on. Most are from the local community rather than St Mellitus members, though there are several Christians from churches of other denominations among the regular attenders, who help to maintain the Christian character of the group.

The one-off Christmas evening session was attended by over 50 people: a mixture of church members, their friends and members of our community. Reducing the number of activities offered seemed to make for a more relaxed evening than in previous years, with those who commented saying they had the opportunity for more indepth conversations.

Fran Percival is the Meet & Make Co-Ordinator

Mother’s Union @ St Mellitus

Mothers’ Union is a Christian organisation that has been

supporting families worldwide for over 140 years. Started by our founder Mary Sumner in 1876 in her local parish, we have grown into an international charity with over 4 million members in 84 countries.

In March last year it was decided to try meeting at lunch time instead of our usual evening meetings. We hoped this would mean members would be able to attend more regularly, and it was also decided to meet every other month, but this could be flexible and may be changed if speakers were otherwise unavailable.

We have had two speakers, a Bring and Share Lunch and Afternoon Tea. We also provided Tombola prizes for the Willesden Area Summer of Hope fundraising event in the grounds of Christ the Saviour Church in Ealing, following a service. We must not forget our ‘Angel Tree’ cake sale in our church, and we thank all who supported us to raise funds for this project.

We have attended Diocesan and Area services including the Annual Festival Service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in June and the commissioning of Pauline McCalla as Diocesan President at St. Andrew by the Wardrobe Church in London in September. Pauline was previously Willesden Area Vice President. We also attended the Willesden Area Lady Day service this April at the Church of the Ascension, Tokyngton. Closer to home there was a Lady Day service held at St. Thomas’ Church, Hanwell on the 25th of March which we also attended.

We are having evening meetings in May and June and we have organised an interesting speaker at each. We have twelve members at the moment, but look forward to welcoming new members and accommodating midday or evening meetings.

Hazel Prentice is the St Mellitus Mother’s Union Branch Co-Ordinator

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Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter (ECWNS)

St Mellitus hosted the nightshelter for 4 Monday nights in January 2024. This is part of Ealing Churches Winter Nightshelter (ECWNS), which provides shelter from December through to March to up to 14 guests who would otherwise be sleeping rough. Support is given to the guests by the shelter worker, to help them towards finding permanent accommodation.

Around 35 people were involved in helping with the nightshelter at St Mellitus. Most of these volunteers were part of our church family but there were also a few others already connected with us through being foodbank volunteers. It was a wonderful team effort with people helping in different ways including setting up, evening hosting, overnight hosting, serving breakfast and packing away, cooking meals, washing bedding and transporting beds. We hosted 14 guests including one female, and it was great to be able to use the flexibility of our church space by moving chairs to create separate spaces for each guest. The guests appreciated having a warm, safe space to sleep and a friendly welcome.

Anna Weaver was the ECWNS leader for St Mellitus in 2024

Eco Church Report 2024

The rear garden decking & path installation has taken up much of our time this year, being completed in September. Tinies &Tots were able to use it a few times in the autumn. We are continuing to try to find funding to buy plants & more seating for the area. If you would like to donate a plant or seating, please speak to us about this. Work parties are planned for the coming year. We attempted to rewild the raised beds at the side of the church, sowing with flowers seeds to attract bees, butterflies & birds. It was not a great success & we are reconsidering what to do in the coming year.

In January we encouraged people to participate in the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch. February, we shared ideas of “carbon fasting” for Lent. March saw the “Big Plastic Count”, when some of us monitored how much plastic wrapping we generated in our homes. May was our ‘Clothes Swap’ which attracted as many people from outside the church as church members. This was followed by ECO Sunday, when a panel of church members were asked questions about different areas of sustainability, in place of a sermon. In “Plastic free July”, a national event, which we dubbed “Reduce” Plastic July we encouraged people to reducing single use plastic. This meant that we tried to use only sweets in church with ecofriendly wrappings. September saw a cake making competition for Fairtrade fortnight which caused discussion about how difficult it was to find Fairtrade products. Occasional litter picks, walks & bike rides have also been held.

We have tried to keep the church informed about campaigns & events that may be of interest in the field of the environment. There is now a collection point at the back of church for recycling spent ink cartridges & raise money for TEAR fund via Recycle4charity.

We continue to review what products we use as a church, with environmentally friendly “loo blocks” now being used. The kitchen was reviewed as it to how it can be both hygienic & ecofriendly. It is encouraged to wash T cloths & dishcloths after each session use in there. Non-plastic, pan friendly dish scrubs are in place. The church gas supplier has been changed to one that is carbon neutral, but more expensive. As the cost of the gas will be more, the heating settings have been reduced by a degree to help with costs.

We’re always looking for new members of the Eco team!

Margaret Hyde is the Eco Group Team Leader

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Mission Giving:

Mission Committee Report 2024

What is happening to the 10% of our giving which goes to Mission?

As you may be aware, 10% of our giving at St Mellitus goes to Mission. A small sub-committee makes recommendations to the PCC who then decide how the money is to be allocated. In 2024, Verna Brackett, Jonathan Scannell, Peter Onap, Taryn Schutz and Jeremy Hyde were members.

Currently we support Tear Fund, Open Doors, Kigeme Diocese in Rwanda and Red Tribe with their work amongst the Maasai. Nationally, we support Homes for Good and A Rocha (UK) with eco church. More locally, we support Grove Community (for their Food pantry), Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter, Ealing Soup Kitchen, Ealing Foodbank and Oasis International Church Ministry.

As well as supporting Tearfund’s general work, we also contributed to their specific Middle East appeal last autumn. Last year we allocated over £18,000 to these organisations. There are many other organisations we could support as a church and the Mission sub-committee is always open to receiving new suggestions. We would be happy to have one or two more members. We tend to meet briefly after church every few months.

Jeremy Hyde is the Mission Committee Leader

Ealing Foodbank:

Although Ealing Foodbank is a separate charity, St Mellitus Church’s partnership with it, is key to the Foodbank being able to help so many people in the Borough. Two of our 8 sessions; on Wednesday (10am - 12noon) and Saturday morning (10 - 11.30am); are held in the church at no cost to the Foodbank. We rent the church hall as our warehouse.

In 2024 Ealing Foodbank processed 15,978 vouchers which provided food for 38,895 people. The Foodbank gave out around 17.5 tonnes of food each month. 36% of this was given out during our sessions at St Mellitus.

We continue our mission not only to give food, but also to make sure people get the help they need to resolve their crises. We set up a signposting team this year to make sure people get the right help and support. We continue to fund Crosslight Advice to give debt and benefit advice. We also started working with Ealing Law Centre to provide housing and specialist benefit advice. On Wednesdays during the foodbank sessions they are all present to help foodbank users. Ealing Council also has a hub at our foodbank so people can come and ask them questions.

We have free Bibles available for foodbank users if they are interested. We have also been looking at options to start a little cafe on a Saturday while the foodbank is open to create a welcoming space for our foodbank users.

Maria van Ommen - Ealing Foodbank Manager

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Minutes of Vestry & APCM Meetings

Meeting of Parishioners (Vestry meeting)

Held on Sunday 12 May 2024 at 11:30 am, at St Mellitus Church

1. Opening prayer

Stu Plumb welcomed everyone, introduced the two meetings and signposted the supporting reports and accounts. He opened the meeting in prayer.

2. Minutes of the previous Vestry Meeting

The minutes of the previous Vestry Meeting held on Sunday 30 April 2023 were adopted as a true and accurate record of the meeting. This was proposed by Stu Plumb and seconded by David Fletcher and voted unanimously.

3. Matters arising

There were no matters arising.

4. Election of Church Wardens

Janet Fletcher relinquished her role as church warden as she was in the process of discerning for ordination in September 2024. Stu thanked her for her service highlighting the significant impact she made in a short time in the role including in the kitchen design and implementation.

Steve Weaver stood again to serve as the remaining Church Warden. This was proposed by Edwina Williams and seconded by Fran Percival.

Annual Parochial Church Meeting Sunday 12 May 2024 at 11:30 am, at St Mellitus Church

1. Apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received and recorded from Verna Brackett, Debbie Lawler, Natalie Glasby, Katherine Aloo, Anna Weaver, Taryn Schutz and Karla Wade.

2. Minutes from the previous APCM held on Sunday 30 April 2023

The minutes of the previous APCM on Sunday 30 April 2023 were accepted. This was proposed by Stu Plumb and seconded by Werner Schutz and voted unanimously.

3. Matters arising from the minutes of the previous APCM

Matters arising from the previous meeting were covered during the meeting.

4. Receiving the report on new electoral roll

As reported in the 2023 APCM Annual Report & Accounts , the electoral roll stood at 89 although the wider church family is c.150-160 adults plus children.

5. Receiving the annual report on the proceedings of the PCC

The Annual Report on the proceedings of the PCC were covered in the 2023 APCM Annual Report & Accounts and received with no amendments.

6. Receive financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2023 & appointment of independent examiner for 2024

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7. Receive annual fabric report

The meeting received the annual fabric report set out in detail in the 2023 APCM Annual Report & Accounts booklet . There was good progress on the back garden and new (gift day funded) church doors and welcome area. Stu thanked the individuals who help generously with the maintenance of the building.

8. Receive report on the Deanery Synod

Ian Wilson represents St Mellitus on the Ealing Deanery Synod and a report on the proceedings of Deanery Synod in 2023 is in the 2023 APCM Annual Report & Accounts .

9. Elections to the PCC

Stu thanked the PCC members who relinquished their roles this year: Helen Wilson, Conrad Franklin and Tim Bowdler (who resigned earlier in the year). Stu formally thanked Helen for her work as PCC Secretary over the last 3 years. Helen acknowledged the support in the role from Mena, Marije & Conrad. The following people were newly elected to the PCC uncontested:

PCC Roles & Adoption of Safeguarding Policy

As part of PCC meeting held on 12[th] May 2024

1. Appointment of the following:

2. Adoption of Safeguarding Policy

The St Mellitus / Church of England safeguarding policy and statement were acknowledged and accepted by the PCC

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the St Mellitus with St Mark Parochial Church Council

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Incumbent

Rev Stu Plumb

St Mellitus Church

Hanwell London W7 3BA

Bankers: Charities Aid Foundation CAF Bank Limited 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ

Independent Examiner: Mr David Conacher London W13

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Electoral Roll Report to end of December 2024

Church attendance:

This year the electoral roll stands at 88 (17 in parish, 70 outside) .

Annual Report 2024

Background:

St Mellitus PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the Incumbent, Rev Stu Plumb, in promoting in the ecclesiastical Parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It has the maintenance responsibilities for the parish church of St Mellitus, which is a grade II listed building, and the church hall. It is sited on the corner of the Uxbridge Road and Church Road, Hanwell, London W7 3BA.

PCC Membership:

PCC members are either ex officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church meeting in accordance with the church representation rules, currently a three-year term.

The following have served during the year: Chair: Rev Stu Plumb (Incumbent) Lay Vice-chair: Steve Weaver Church warden: Steve Weaver Treasurer: Dawn Daniel Secretary: Conrad Franklin

Rev Stu Plumb (Incumbent from Sept 2022 onwards– Ex Officio) Steve Weaver (Church Warden – First Elected 2021) Conrad Franklin (PCC Secretary - Ex Officio) Dawn Daniel (Treasurer - Ex Officio)

Verna Brackett (Elected 2022, retires APCM 2025) Yvette Flower (Elected 2022, retires APCM 2025) David Fletcher (Elected 2023, retires APCM 2026) Maria Van Ommen (Elected 2023, retires APCM 2026) Sharon Prendergast (Elected 2023, retires APCM 2026) Hellen Kiconco (Elected 2024, retires APCM 2027 Marc Lawler (Elected 2024, retires APCM 2027) Martin Percival (Elected 2024, retires APCM 2027

Deanery Synod: Ian Wilson (APCM 2023 onwards)

Officers of PCC, elected at the first PCC meeting after the APCM in May 2024:

Lay Vice-chair – Steve Weaver PCC Secretary – Conrad Franklin PCC Treasurer – Dawn Daniel Electoral roll officer – Simon Richardson Safeguarding Officer – Anna Weaver

The following will have served three years on PCC and retire at the 2025 APCM:

Verna Brackett (Elected 2022, retires APCM 2025) Helen Wilson (Elected 2022, retires APCM 2025)

PCC Attendance: 1 January to 31 December 2024

The PCC met 6 times with an attendance level of 74%.

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Governance & Finance:

The financial state of the church accounts is reviewed at each PCC meeting, with a budget set in November for the following year and carefully monitored throughout the year. All costs and budgets are carefully managed and monitored through the year. Our total income for 2024 is £192.4k. A decrease of £23.1k compared to last year mainly due to 2023 including a church gift day which raised £20.1k. Overall expenditure has increased from £153.9k last year to £191.8k in 2024, this is due to additional expenditure on church maintenance (£29.6k for the rear garden project and £14.6k for the church glass doors). 2024 resulted in a small surplus of £0.7k; with funds of £131.6k brought forward from 2023 this gives a total fund balance of £132.3k.

As a church, we make a contribution to the Diocese of London for the salary and housing costs of a vicar, for training and supporting curates in the Diocese, and to the national church. Our common fund contribution for 2024 was £53.5k, an increase of 7% on last year.

We tithe the income that we receive and so we give away 10% of our income to support mission partners each year. In 2024, we gave away £19k. Our mission giving benefitting the work of A Rocha UK (eco church gift), Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter, Ealing Foodbank, Ealing Soup Kitchen, Grove Community grocery campaign, Hennie and Becca Marais and RedTribe in Kenya, Home for Good, Kigeme Diocese in Rwanda, Oasis International Church, Open Doors and Tearfund. Our 2024 Christmas collection raised funds for Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter and RedTribe.

It is the policy of this church to hold three months essential running costs in reserve (£45k). This policy to be reviewed annually.

Achievements and Performance:

The Reverend Stu Plumb is the incumbent for the parish. The Reverend Janet Fletcher serves as an SSM Assistant Curate. The Reverend Jeremy Hyde has Permission to Officiate within the Willesden Area, Margaret Hyde serves as a Licensed Lay Minister. Philip Buck is an ordinand based at both St Melliitus, and St Paul’s Ealing. Lucy Plumb is employed as a part-time children’s and family pastor. We also employ a part-time cleaner, parttime bookkeeper, part-time communications consultant. We continue to benefit enormously from our partnership with St Paul’s, Ealing, and other local churches.

This year, the PCC oversaw a variety of ministries to help the church carry out his mission and ministry. This included Meet and Make-a weekly craft group for adults, and Mother’s Union meetings. The PCC continues to manage use of the building by external groups such as Ealing Foodbank, Ealing Council, , and Crosslight, working with them to serve those in need in our community.

We have continued to invest in our children’s & families work through the employment of a children’s and family pastor. Alongside our Sunday groups, this also involved ‘Tinies & Tots’ - our toddler group, ‘Baby and Me’ – a group for parent/carers and their babies, as well as one-off events, and parenting courses. With so much work amongst children and young people, safeguarding is a key consideration and responsibility for the PCC and is reviewed at each meeting.

Subgroups of the PCC include the buildings & fabric group which continued to oversee the maintenance of the building and develop a building maintenance plan, and the missions group which oversee our mission giving.

Plans were developed and implemented for work on a new welcome area to the church including new glass doors. The PCC took the decision to halt plans for the opening of the front garden due to changes in the needs of the local community. The PCC oversaw the first stage of work on the revitalisation of the church back garden with the installation of a new decking area and path. The PCC also oversaw various other repairs to the church building including the repairs of electrics, plumbing, and flooring.

The PCC continues to manage and seek to maximise our resources to release finance for mission and ministry, setting an annual budget, and monitoring it at each meeting.

The St Mellitus church hall continues to be leased to Ealing Foodbank acting as their central storage facility. The church building has continued to act as an extension storage area for the Foodbank, with the church continuing to be used two mornings a week for an Ealing Foodbank café.

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Safeguarding:

The PCC considers the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults to be of utmost importance and safeguarding features on the agenda of every PCC meeting. PCC members undergo safeguarding training and we use the Diocesan safeguarding dashboard to monitor our work and responsibilities, with the Parish Safeguarding officer invited to two meetings a year. The Council has complied with the duty to have due regard to House of Bishops' guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016

Fabric and Goods Report 2024

Front Garden:

After much deliberation and in response to changes within the local community, the PCC decided to shelve the plan for a joint project with Ealing Council to open the front garden on a permanent basis for use by the local community. It was felt this was no longer a desirable or appropriate option. It agreed to revisit in the future, how this area might be better utilised, and in the meantime, to work on tidying it up.

Back garden:

As part of plans to revitalise the church back garden and make it suitable for use for the church and community a new decking area was installed, new path laid, a shed moved, and multiple gardening days were held to clear the area. This work will continue in 2025.

Welcome Area & Glass Doors

New glass entrance doors at the main entrance were installed as part of the creation of a new welcome area. This work will continue in 2025.

External work:

Gutters have been cleaned, and some repair work to the roof has been carried out to stop leaks.

Electrical Work:

Repairs to the electrical system in church were carried out.

Plumbing

Repairs to the church plumb system were carried out.

Flooring

The wooden floor is showing signs of aging. Repairs have been undertaken to repair loose tiles.

External Paving

Repairs were undertaken to paving by the bus stop on Church Road which is Church land.

Ongoing inspections:

Regular inspections were made on our fire extinguishers, boilers, lightning conductor and pest control measures.

Insurance:

Appropriate Buildings and contents insurance has been taken out for the church.

Future Work:

As part of its work on a 5-year strategy and vision, the PCC have identified several potential projects it plans to do in the future in addition to those already in progress.

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Annual Financial Report:

St Mellitus Church

End of Year Financial Statements

Year ending 31 December 2024

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Financial review

The income and expenditure for the year is presented on the following pages and is shown for the calendar year 2024. The accounts are prepared on a receipts and payments basis.

The continued generosity of church members enabled the PCC to meet its normal commitments for running and maintaining the Church and its activities. Our total income for 2024 is £192.4k. A decrease of £23.1k compared to last year mainly due to 2023 including a church gift day which raised £20.1k.

The majority of income comes from planned giving, a total of £102.2k. And we were able to claim a further £23.3k of gift aid on donations received in the financial year. It is encouraging to see the overall increasing trend in planned giving. A 2% increase on last year, £2.2k of additional gifts. Income from collections and other giving of £10.6k includes £8.8k of donations towards church building projects. In comparison, last year's collections and other giving is inflated by income received from the church gift day.

Other voluntary receipts income of £18.8k includes: £13.3k DCMS listed place of worship grant (VAT rebate related to church maintenance), a £4k grant from St Paul's Church Ealing and £1.5k card donations through the giving station in church. Activities for generating funds of £31.3k includes: £14.1k church hire and £17.2k hall hire. Receipts from church activities of £4.7k includes income from children's groups, meet & make and fees.

Overall expenditure has increased from £153.9k last year to £191.8k in 2024, this is due to additional expenditure on church maintenance (£29.6k for the rear garden project and £14.6k for the church glass doors).

As a church, we make a contribution to the Diocese of London for the salary and housing costs of a vicar, for training and supporting curates in the Diocese, and to the national church. Our common fund contribution for 2024 was £53.5k, an increase of 7% on last year.

We tithe the income that we receive and so we give away 10% of our income to support mission partners each year. In 2024, we gave away £19k. Our mission giving benefitting the work of A Rocha UK (eco church gift), Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter, Ealing Foodbank, Ealing Soup Kitchen, Grove Community grocery campaign, Hennie and Becca Marais and RedTribe in Kenya, Home for Good, Kigeme Diocese in Rwanda, Oasis International Church, Open Doors and Tearfund. Our 2024 Christmas collection raised funds for Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter and RedTribe.

All costs and budgets are carefully managed and monitored through the year. 2024 resulted in a small surplus of £0.7k; with funds of £131.6k brought forward from 2023 this gives a total fund balance of £132.3k.

Reserves Policy

It is the policy of this Church to hold three months essential running costs in reserve (£45k). This policy to be reviewed annually.

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CHARITY (OMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Indèpendent Examiner's Report Roport to tho tru8ta081 momhrn of St Mellitus with St Mark, Hanwell Parochial Church Council On accounts for the year ended 311t December 2024 Charity no {If any) 1180084 Sot out on pago Balance Sheet (Detailed) page 1 & Statement of Financial Activities page 1 I report to the trustees on my examinatw)n of the accounts of the atrK)ve charity fthe Trusf) for the year ended 3111212024. Ro8pon#lbiltl•s and ba818 of report As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {'the Act.). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination. I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under sectK)n 145{51{bl of the Act. Independont I have completed my examination. I confim that no material matters have examlnorfs statemont come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. the accounting records were not kept in aco)rdance with section 130 of the Charities Act., or the accounts did not a￿rd with the accounting records., or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements con￿mIng the fomi and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) RegLtlations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair. view which is nol a mattef considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concems and have come 8Cll)ss no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order lo enable a proper understsnding of the aecounls to be reached. Signgd: Dale: 17th March 2025 Nam•: Dav￿ Conacher Rolwant profe88ional quallficallonl81 or body (if any): Addr￿8. 77 Loveday Road. London W13 9JU IER Oct 2018 19

St M•llitu$ wlth St Mark Hanw•ll Bal•ne• Sh••t d•tailod A¥•t 3111212024 A•t 3111Z12023 133m7.12 132,162.61 8503. LLoyd8CurMI 65C6." CBF 65W. Cath in 6691.. Cash flo•ts 120.00 120.00 1JJ.757.12 132,28161 Uabllltlos 6696". Ay GivFYJ 8699.. AgerKy 1.411.1 Tow U•WHU•¥ •tA$••t$wr4￿ Id•fi¢lt 132,34&1Z 131,66181 ExusildèWI to dath Z01.. Starbrva br 683.51 61.629.47 70.033.14 131.￿.61 132.34&12 131,66161 R•prn••nt•d by Fund¥ 124.￿.4 99.74B.49 R88bi(ed ?.883.10 31.847.50 T*1 t32J4fy.12 131,66161 10 MaKh2025 P4e1 20

St M?Ilitus with St Mark Han￿11 Stat•m•nt of Flnanclal Aetlvltl•s Forth• perfod from 01 January 2024 to 31 0oe¥mb•r 2024 Ihjr R￿1p nrAgMnU and othrgr￿ry 1O2.1B2 1.831 8.445 23.255 102.182 10.581 10645 tJI55 1.287 31.3V 297 gD.957 YJ.654 32.té2 21.ee9 fj0.4 31.332 297 32.523 171555 107 510 Pyrnvnts 1,Olt 19.OYJ 53. 27.5trJ 1.041 19,023 53.5LIJ 27.509 6S.151 228 ngry&r￿ Ch•rikb￿￿•V Pa￿h Sho Cl•rgyand StsffK¥jC￿ Chuth ftthhrvj RunnityQts ¢hut¢h Rwrs& Hail Rwirs& 2e.4$1 325 21.361 14. 21.845 147.410 f91.758 (X1041 01.8 IX1041 31N7 131.002 Ixooz 131346 131.662 10 MaKh2025 Page 1 21

London Diocese in 2024

St Mellitus is part of the Willesden Episcopal area within the Diocese of London

The Diocese of London

The Diocese of London is the largest and most diverse in the Church of England. We have over 500 churches and 750 licensed clergy. We are able to have a church in almost every community, supporting the vision for every Londoner to encounter the love of God in Christ. In 2024, 50 new deacons were ordained and early draft statistics indicate that Average Weekly Attendance in London grew by 7.5% to over 60,000. During 2024, we have continued working towards our priorities of becoming a younger, safer and more racially just Church. For example:

The breadth of parishes and Bishop’s Mission Orders in London nurtured confident disciples, compassionate communities and creative growth in an amazing variety of ways. They also contributed over £23m in Common Fund, an increase of almost £1m. Alongside £13.2m income raised by the London Diocesan Fund (LDF) and £3.6m from LDF reserves, this paid to provide ministry and support parishes across the Diocese.

Deanery Synod in 2024

Ealing Deanery comprises all the Church of England parishes and organisations in the London Borough of Ealing. This includes 33 churches, five Church of England schools and five chaplaincies seeking to demonstrate that Jesus Christ is relevant and impacting people’s lives in the Borough of Ealing.

Ealing Deanery Synod brings together representatives from all the churches in the deanery four times a year. The word ‘synod’ means ‘walking together’, and all meetings are open to any church member.

Synod meetings include talks by inspiring speakers, case studies of good practice from the deanery, and formal processes such as voting on issues related to the wider Church of England. The synod also distributes the Mission Fund in the summer each year and is responsible for electing school governors to a number of schools in the Deanery area.

Four meetings of the Ealing Deanery Synod took place in 2024 with the Revd David Neno acting as Area Dean.

Ian Wilson is the St Mellitus Deanery Synod Rep

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