Trustees’ report for the AGM 2021
We sometimes think that being a church small in number is a disadvantage but over the last unusual year we can see that there are also advantages. For instance, we have been able to keep in contact with each other easily by phone, Zoom, e-mail etc to make sure that we were all supported through the lockdowns and restrictions. For some it has been an extremely tough time and we thank God for the love and care shown. Because we are small in number we were able to worship together safely after Christmas when many larger churches couldn’t because they weren’t able to accommodate their whole congregation whilst complying with social distancing requirements. Many churches have had to devise a system where members took it in turns to come, perhaps once every three weeks, or had to book a place in advance or rely solely on electronic devices for their worship. We haven’t had to do this and it has been a blessing to be able to meet and be joined on Zoom by those who weren’t able to come. And the Lord has blessed us since our last AGM with new friends, Liz and Paul, and now that restrictions are easing it’s a delight to welcome back other friends too.
We have said goodbye to some special people too. Mary Lagden was such a faithful member of this church, someone who loved the Lord and we miss her presence and her sense of humour. A few months before she died we gave her a large print Bible and it was such a joy for her to be able to read it. We have also said goodbye to Wilf who has been preaching here for many years. Apart from his eagerly anticipated and much-enjoyed magic tricks we all also appreciated his wonderful gift for intercessory prayer and his passion for preaching the Word of God faithfully and clearly.
Over the last year we have been especially grateful to Jim for his faithful ministry and regular preaching. In March he started his training with the Baptist Union to become a Nationally Recognised Pastor which gives him a qualification in preaching and pastoral ministry. He is finding the training stimulating, even if having to write essays again is a bit daunting, and we have already been blessed as he has tried out some of the ideas and suggestions that have arisen during these first modules.
We have followed two major teaching programmes over the autumn and spring, on the life of David and the Sermon on the Mount, both full of challenge and guidance as we seek to live in the way that God wants.
Jim has continued to lead the Homegroup on a Thursday evening and we haven’t shied away from grappling with God’s word, especially as we’ve studied the book of Revelation. By the wonders of Zoom we are often joined by Ravi, Janette and Jo from north west London so geography is no barrier to Bible study!
In November we held a day of prayer for Thaxted and the impact the virus was having on its people, businesses, schools and all aspects of life. The day was widely advertised and people were encouraged to tell us of prayer needs. Between us we covered the whole day in prayer and we believe that God is at work. In January we had a prayer morning specifically for TBC and how we could be a missional church. These two prayer events reflect our desire to be blessed as a church and in turn to be a blessing to our community.
In spite of the Covid restrictions we have continued to reach out to the local community. We have maintained our support for the UDC Foodbank and at Christmas our kitchen was used for the cooking of a superb Christmas lunch which was then distributed safely to people at home. Coffee & Company which has been such a vital support to those who have been bereaved continued to meet almost throughout on Zoom and is now back to meeting in person. The Friday coffee morning, open to all on market day, is back in action and we will
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resume the monthly men’s breakfasts in September. We hope that the UDC seated exercise class will also re-start soon.
An exciting new venture is the Make Lunch Club which will start during the October half term holiday, providing a hot lunch and activities for families in need. Thank you to James and Nina who are leading this and to all who have volunteered to help. Over the next few weeks we will be hearing more about the project and receiving training in the practicalities of running the Club. We are working with Thaxted Primary School and the Club will be a vital way of reaching out and making God’s love real in a very practical way. Please continue to pray for the Club and all the preparations that need to be done.
During the past months the deacons have continued to work together, not least on the actual building. The new arched windows are finally in place and other important maintenance such as re-decorating the kitchen, side entrance lobby and the toilets has been done. We have an ongoing programme of repairs and maintenance but the building is basically in good shape.
In spite of the fact that Covid restrictions have curtailed some of our activities there has still been work going on to maintain the life of the church. We are grateful to Helen for playing the organ before the service – such a joy to have live music – and also to Ann and Michael who do so much behind the scenes, not least putting on the heating early on winter Sunday mornings so that the church is warm, cleaning the church and providing a warm welcome to the services. Thank you too to Debbie and James for all their help with the technology on a Sunday morning.
As things begin to open up again after the restrictions and we look to the future we continue to seek what God wants us to do and be as a Christian presence and witness in Thaxted. Are we just wanting to go back to how it was before or are we open to new things that God may be wanting to do in us and through us? Our vision this year is to be a missional church. The Lunch Club is a prime outworking of that. We should also think about the evangelistic part of our mission. How can our existing ministries be used to share the good news of Jesus with others? How can we as individuals share the good news with friends and family or even neighbours? Who will we be praying for this year to come to faith? This is what a missional church is all about.
Michael Berresford, Jim Ford & Fran Griffiths
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| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
Totalfunds | Last year | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| to the nearest e |
to the nearest | € | to the nearestf | to the nearestt | to the nearest € | ||||||
| A | |||||||||||
| Cfferings | |||||||||||
| Loose | 2,728 | 2,728 | 4.200 | ||||||||
| Envelopes | 3,585 | 3.585 | 7.249 | ||||||||
| Standing Order | 10,22A | 10,220 | 7.200 | ||||||||
| 3eneralDonations | 474 | 474 | 1.594 | ||||||||
| Alednesdav Fellowshio | 51 | 51 | 728 | ||||||||
| GiftAid | 4,512 | 4,512 | 4.603 | ||||||||
| Manse Rent | 10,875 | 10.875 | 10.740 | ||||||||
| Raised for other causes | 205 | 11 | 2',16 | 227 | |||||||
| total (Gross incomefor | |||||||||||
| AR) | 32,650 | 11 | 32,661 | 36,541 | |||||||
| A2Assetandinvestmentsales, | |||||||||||
| rotatreceiptsl-ffi | I--;?] | l--1 | 32,661 | ||||||||
| A3P | |||||||||||
| jpeaker'sExpenses | 1,775 | 1,775 | 1.360 | ||||||||
| Mission | 't,092 | 1,080 | 2.',172 | 'r,807 | |||||||
| 3iven to other causes | 205 | 170 | 375 | 57 | |||||||
| ]hurchCosts | 3,645 | 3,6,15 | 4.532 | ||||||||
| ManseCosts \dministration |
2,962 3,352 |
2,962 3,352 |
3,165 1,115 |
||||||||
| Outreach Evangelism | 86 | 86 | 556 | ||||||||
| Wednesday Fellowship | 20 | 20 | 155 | ||||||||
| Church Repairs & Maintenance | 6,618 | 6,618 | 1.563 | ||||||||
| Sub | total | 19,755 | 1,250 | 2r,005 | 14,310 | ||||||
| r---= r---- |
|||||||||||
| Totalpayments | l-?ffi"! | f--1posll-4,:il'l | |||||||||
| Netofreceipts/(payments) A5Transfersbetweenfunds AGCashfunds lastyear end |
12.89I 1,071 57.38C |
't,231 1.07t 17r |
;-."""'-i-t ,l' I s7.555ll |
1 -l |
|||||||
| Cashfunds | this year | end | 69,200 | 11 | I | esz,rtI I | tt iiil |
| Unrestrieted | Restrieted | Endoumrent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eatgries BiCashfunds |
li,#tall'e CunentA@unt Tatal cashfunds |
funds tonerest€ |
funds toBearest€ t----------;r ---.t t----_lJ ffi |
funds tonearestf rl t----- ffi |
|
| (agnee balances with receipts | andprymeflts | ||||
| acm!nt(s)) | |||||
| Unrestricted | Retricted | Endowment | |||
| funds | funds | funds | |||
| Details | tonearstf | to nearcste | ton€arcstt | ||
| 82Other monetary assets | |||||
| uEldul| | Fund towhich | Cost(optional) | |||
| Biilnvestment asseG | |||||
| etail | Fund to urhieh | Cost (optional) | Cumentvalue | ||
| 84Assebretainedfor the | Church Builbing | ||||
| charity's ownuse | $ilanse | ||||
| FixtuIe,Fittings &Equipmen* | |||||
| Fund towhich | Amount due | When due | |||
| **fEi!$ | |||||
| 85Liabilitie | BMS Birthday Fund | ||||
| HrMBoxes | |||||
| Signedbyoneor twotrusteeson behalfof allthetrustes |
Signature | Name | |||
| 7({s |
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of i Hflxrco s£Ap7iJr ChURei-I On accounts for the year ended 31sr OÉiiMO¥iZ ICIL Charity no (rfany) Set out on pages ' l port to the trustees on my examinats'on of the accounts of the above charity {llhe Trusf) for the year ended 3 1 1 l 101 Q Responsibilities and As the chanty trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordan wrth the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (tthe Acr). I reFQrt in respect of my examination of the Trust's awounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Chartty Commission under section 145{5)(b) of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confimi that no material matters have come to my attention (other than that disclosed below ') in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: accounting records were not kept in accordan with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examinerfs statement I have no conMS and have come across no other matters in Gonnection wrth the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Please delete the words in the brackets rf they do not apply. Signed: Date: Is l ic¥LI Name: J &osYf14 Relevant professional qualifi¢ation{s) or body (if any): Fcc.A Address: 114É C14ASc IER October 2018