THE FRIENDS OF ST LAURENCE, CHORLEY
Binding Church and Community Together
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 22[nd] JANUARY 2023
Chairman’s Report for 2022
The year has been dominated by the first Phase of our Organ Project which involved extensive repairs to the organ chamber roof and was successfully completed early in October. The total cost including professional fees was £36,251 so somewhat less than our £40,000 budget - a very satisfactory result. We are most grateful to Walker Conservation Services who carried out the work, David Wells, Organ Builders, who installed the protective sheeting for the organ and Mike Darwell and his partners in John Coward, Architects.
We were fortunate to receive grants totaling £12,000 from the National Churches Trust and the Wolfson Foundation and a generous contribution of £20,000 towards the cost of materials from Chorley Borough Council’s CIL Fund of which £7,800 remains to be carried forward to the next phase of the project. I would like to acknowledge and thank our corporate donors, G A Petfoods, E H Booth and Co Ltd, Chorley Building Society and B Livesey and Co and the many individuals who contributed either directly or via our web site raising more than £2,000 in response to our appeal.
The result of all these efforts is that the organ is now secured against leaking rainwater and other structural risks enabling us to proceed to the next phase of the project, urgently needed repairs to the instruments itself. It is a considerable achievement for a small organization starting from scratch.
In addition, FOSL has published a second book, Chorley St Laurence, A Serving Church that describes the range of services, sacred and secular that St Laurence’s provides to the local community maintaining a centuries old tradition. We hope the book will introduce St Laurence’s to a wider audience as more and more families move into the area. Thanks are due to Paul Turner who wrote the text and Thomas Wray who designed the layout and oversaw production. Paul also provided the text for a series of 12 panels covering the life and times of Myles Standish in commemoration of the 400[th] anniversary of the voyage of the Mayflower which was celebrated in Chorley in 2021. Elizabeth Goodman supervised the artwork, the panels can be viewed in the space between the Lady Chapel and the Refectory entrance
Towards the end of the year, we started work on an ambitious project to produce a series of short videos illustrating the different activities undertaken by clergy and volunteers in supporting the more vulnerable people in our community in addition to the routine work of the Parish. Our ambition is to end up with a video library covering all aspects of the Church’s work, introducing the people who provide the services and illustrating the reality of our vision of a church that is open most of the time and available to everyone who needs it. The first four videos covering the Organ, the Debt Counselling Service, the Taste Café and the Food Parcels are posted on our website, we hope to add to them at a rate of 2/3 per month for the rest of the year. Jack Pemberton has displayed a remarkable talent in designing and producing the videos and we are most grateful to him and to Steffany Collette who has helped us expand the website and add new material. I hope more and more people will visit it.
Looking ahead our next major challenge is to raise the £40,000 required to carry out the next phase of the Organ Project – repairing and re-furbishing the bellows and the great under action – the bellows are in a particularly fragile state and in danger of collapse, if this were to happen the organ would be seriously compromised so it is extremely important that we get this work which was originally scheduled in 2006 done as soon as possible. We currently have £25,000, including the balance of the grant for materials from Chorley BC’s CIL Fund available, and are preparing submissions to three charities with a particular interest in maintaining traditional church organs to help us with the balance. We are planning to launch a public appeal in April and hope that you will all be able to help with that. If all goes according to plan we should be in a position to carry out the work in July/August.
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I would like to thank my fellow officers, Jane Morwood and Brian Clarke, for their contributions and support on the straight and narrow. throughout the year, along with Cllr Alistair Morwood, were instrumental in raising the funds required for the organ roof repairs.
Very sadly we have lost the services of Marion Rawnsley who died in October; despite her illness Marion was a constant source of encouragement and support and a leading contributor to pour book St Laurence Chorley, The Story of a Parish Church; she will be sorely missed.
Members of the Committee have been a constant source of ideas and practical suggestions as well as keeping FOSL on the straight and narrow, I thank them for their service. We will need more committee members if we are to expand our activities, volunteers who are prepared to lend a hand would be warmly welcomed.
Last but not least, I wish to thank all our members for their continued support and encouragement, particularly those who have already renewed their subscriptions. FOSL depends on the engagement of the membership and it is down to them that I am able to report on a successful year in which we have delivered our first major project. We need more members if we are to maintain our momentum, so please encourage your friends and neighbours to join the Friends and help deliver more successes for St Laurences Church in the future.
Michael Welsh
January 2023
The Friends of St Laurence Chorley Statement of Accounts for Financial Year 1st January to 31st December 2022
| Income | Expenditure | |
|---|---|---|
| Income | £ | £ |
| Family Subscription (36 members) | 1,350.00 | |
| Individual Subscription (23 members) | 1,150.00 | |
| Donations (Corporate) | 5,000.00 | |
| Donation (Just Giving) | 1,442.47 | |
| Donations (Other) | 1,863.30 | |
| Book Sales | 7.00 | |
| Subscription by Installment (2 members) | 66.00 | |
| Credit from Chorley BC for PCC | £500.00 | |
| Loan from PCC | £10,000.00 | |
| VAT Refund | £5,669.72 | |
| Grant Aid - HMRC | £931.60 | |
| National Church Trust Grant | £12,000.00 | |
| Total | 39,980.09 | |
| Expenditure Steffany Collette (Web Consultant) PCC Fee Return Insurances Church Room Hire Architects' Fees Debit to PCC (Chorley BC) Construction Costs - Organ Roof Printing Costs - Serving Church Booklet David Wells Organ Builders (70%) PCC Myles Standish Boards Repay PCC Loan |
200.00 25.00 105.00 24.00 1,908.60 500.00 31,355.28 389.00 1,370.04 51.51 10,000.00 |
|
| Total | 45,928.43 | |
| Opening Balance Brought Forward Total Income |
£13,414.60 39,980.09 |
|
| Sub total Expenditure |
53,394.69 45,928.43 |
|
| Current Balance | 7,466.26 | |
| Expected Sources of Funding Chorley Council CIL Fund - Organ Roof (Expected Dec 22) Chorley Council CIL Fund - Organ Projects (Before end 2023) |
12,166.00 7,834.00 |
|
| Total Expected Invoice Balance of David Wells Cost (30%) Expected Balance going forward |
20,000.00 587.16 26,879.10 |
The Frfends of St Laurence ClrfeY Statement of Accounts for Flnancial Year 1st January to 31st December 2022 Income Expendltw• Family Subscrioion136 members) Irl¥ldUaI Substription123 mèmbèr51 Donatlons 1corpjfa) Donation (Just GNingl Donatlons Iotlwl Book Sales Substription by Installment12 members) Credit from Clvxley Bcfor PCC Loan from PCC VAT RefuThJ Grant Ald- HMRC National Ch¢Jrch Trust Grant I,350.) I,Iso.o) 1,442.47 1,863.30 £iO.(KQ.t £5.669.n £931.60 £12..) T(rtal 39.980.09 Expendltwe Steffany Collene (Web Conwltantl PCC Fee Return Insurances Churth Room Hire Archhects. Fees Deblt to PCC Ic111¢¥ 6Q Con5tructton Costs. Or8an RoDf Pnntthg Costs- Church Book OatAd Wells Orian 6uilder$170%1 PCC Myles Standlsh Bo•rds Repay PCC Loan 2).Th) 25.C 105.ts) 24. 1,908.60 31.355.28 389.C 1.370.04 51.51 iO,cw.? Total 45,928.43 £13,414.60 39.980.IY3 53.394.69 45,928.43 Totsl Income Sub tot•1 Eynditure 7.466.26 Ch¢xC(uncil CIL Fwid- Orw Roof CIMxley Council CIL FurKI. Orpi ProieLti {E¥pected tyec 221 (Oefore end 20231 12,166.fJ) 734.(1) Total 20.(XAI.tx) 8alaMe ol Dthal Wells Cost130XI 587.16 Expected Bal•Ke in8 fOard 26,879.10
Th• Fr101 St LaureKe. Chorfey. (14rltable FRIENDS OF sr. LAURE.5 Treasurerfs Report- Year EIed 31" Det•mber J)22 Dear Frien05 I have prepared the accwnts for discusslon at tNs yearf5 Annval General Meeting. These hav been independentty reviewed by Jame5 LaKller, Tasurel of St Lwjrence's parlhl Church Councll. cOd has had an effett the workaThl finances ofFOSL toa ksserexttrtthan the two years. Thlsiwease In actMty¢an be seenln the financknil statemeni befOYoU. Unlike prevlous years. the malorlty ol our incrffie ihis year hascomt fmm a nurnber ol %)UTcek' Membership Subscriptions Donatlons (Direct and via Just websilel CorPe Oonions Gift Aid f¢ecovery Iwith thank5 to Mark Btybuttl VAT Recovery Grants The accounts show a Joan from the PCC of £IOm) to enats us to make a tlrnety payment to the 8utldirt8 Contractor carryiry out the organ roof regair5. This k)an has n¢)w been repaid. This loan was necessary as the promi 8rants tr tth Clhxley Countil a1 the NCT were not proEe55ed as fast •s wt hoptd. The NCT grant ha5 now been recew •nd tht fint In5talmeni of the Chorlèy Council IlIng Is experted eartytlms Month. In tern)s of expenditure. ow majorovtlay has been for the work asso¢iated with the repair of the rool o¥r the oryn. This incIleS payin8 lor Buildi Contraclor. Architect and Oryn Protection Contrauor. We have also irKurred costs a550ciad wlth deveh)w'na the w•bsite1Sieflany Collette). inttnt tosts of the new-SeTring Church- bth)klet aTrl costs in the preparaiion ol the We5 Standish Boards. As a condition of our Chorley cou1 aL gran¢ we will have to increase the c05t of insurat ¥5 they requife us to increase our to¥er. So In SUMM started out this year with £13,414.60 and have ended up with £7,466.26, ha¥ln8 spent near £46.¢XJ on the itèms listed abry4e. We need your subscriptions and donatKJns as tly midt the fioat for to Snd nv)nry on the websiie. pay insurances arnl other day to d3V COSt& As Michael has pointed out. we have our next project on the fifst phase of refurbishing the orgarL The budget for ihis is £40,Th)O of which we have £27.CW available from present funds and 8fants pnxni5ed. Wo are already pLinning our applic*ions for further fundin8 Irom a numbef ol %)urces ¢irKI hOul we can Nll the w. Bul we Still need your help by introducin8 new members arKI getting involved where can. Th15 has been my first year as your Treasurer and it has been a privilege to art in this ¢apa¢ity. tt has been an extrting year as we have mana8ed to carry out ourfirst fflar proJe¢t. Brian Clarke Hon Treasurer. The Friendsof St LaurerKe. cl11