2022-01-01-accounts - Vine Church Wynyard

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Vine Church Wynyard Annual Report 2021

Aim and Purposes

Vine Church Board of Trustees (BOT) has the responsibility of co-operating with the church leaders, the Reverends Mark and Emily Hudghton, in promoting in the area of Wynyard the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.

Objectives and Activities

The BOT is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at Vine Church and to become part of the community.

Prior to the establishing of Vine Church, there was no church of any denomination present in Wynyard, and with the huge growth of population over the last 20 years a church was sorely needed. The church officially launched with in person services and meetings in September 2021.

The church leadership team maintains an overview of worship throughout the BMO area and makes suggestions on how our services can involve the many groups that live within our area. Our services and worship put faith into practice through prayer, scripture, and sacrament.

When planning our activities for the year, the church leaders and the BOT have considered the Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. In particular, we try to enable ordinary people to live out their faith as part of our parish community through:

Worship and prayer; learning about the Gospel; and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus
Provision of pastoral care for people living in the parish
Missionary and outreach work

Structure, Governance and Management

Vine Church Wynyard has existed legally since August 2020. Located within Stockton Country Parish, it is a Bishop’s Mission Order church, according to the House of Bishops' Code of Practice on Part 7 of the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011 dealing with BMOs (GS 2109). An official Bishop’s Visitor was appointed by the Bishop of Durham in accordance with this measure, to provide Diocesan oversight to the church.

In place of a PCC, the church has a Board of Trustees (BOT) which provides governance and is answerable to the Charity Commission. Much of the day-to-day running of the church and some decisions are delegated by the BOT to the church’s leadership team, including the church leaders Reverends Emily and Mark Hudghton. For the first year, the BOT met every other month, but now meets three times a year. Each new BOT member is invited to join by the church leaders, and is safely recruited.

The initial funding for Vine Church comes from the Church of England’s central Strategic Development Fund. They have provided funding for staff members for the first five years, plus some set up costs, although the staff funding decreases year on year as the church itself moves towards sustainability. This is restricted funding.

Achievements and Performance

Worship and Prayer

The church is keen to offer a range of services over the course of the year that our community find both beneficial and spiritually fulfilling.

Pre-September, due to COVID restrictions, the church gathered in a smaller way for a weekly event entitled Sunday Soul. This was initially online over zoom, but later moved to the Vicarage garden as restrictions allowed. This attracted roughly 10 people a week from Wynyard and was primarily aimed at adults.

From the participants of Sunday Soul, a team to organise the church launch celebration was formed. The launch marked the time when the church began publicly meeting at Wynyard Church of England Primary School and was open to the whole community. This team was developed through the planning process and facilitated a successful launch event at the school on 26th September 2021. Over 200 people attended the event (with a further 100 on a waiting list who could not be accommodated due to the building’s capacity). The Bishop of Durham was invited; he shared his journey with Jesus and blessed the launch of the church and those attending.

The area has a large population of young families, which is a demographic not often well served by the Church of England. For this reason, as well as considering that the church meets in the school, much of the church’s activity including Sunday Gatherings is centred around engaging the young families in Wynyard. However, all are welcome to attend our regular services and we do have a number of church members who represent other demographics.

Not being a parish, the church does not have an electoral roll. However, the church community now numbers around 50, with Sunday attendance approximately 30-40 each week, including a high proportion of children (typically one third of the congregation). This is a three-fold increase on prelaunch Sunday Soul attendance.

As well as our regular services, the church enables our community to celebrate and thank God at the milestones of the journey through life. Through baptism we thank God for the gift of life, in marriage public vows are exchanged with God’s blessing and through funeral services friends and family express their grief and give thanks for the life which is now complete in this world and to commend the person into God's keeping. As a new church which does not have a building, the clergy conduct only a few marriages and funerals, but have baptised the children of three new families this year.

Mission and Evangelism

Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and the love of God with others is a demonstration of our faith. Over the last year, the church has done this in a number of ways, and several new people and families have joined the church as a result.

We hold community events and services for the major Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter, as well as at other times, such as the beginning of the school year. Wynyard is a place where many people experience significant isolation - there are few ways to meet neighbours and friends due to lack of community meeting spaces. The church therefore aims to provide events where people and families can connect and make friends, in order to tackle some of the isolation people feel. These community events and services are very well attended, with 140 people attending Christmas services last year, despite the Omicron Covid-19 variant, and 116 attending at Easter.

Alpha, an ‘introduction to Christianity’ course, runs several times a year at the church with around 10 participants each time. This has been pivotal for a number of people in the church, as they have

either discovered or rediscovered their faith, and become more connected to the church community.

Engagement with Children & Young People

The church supports and engages with children and young people in a variety of ways. In 2021 we were advertising for a Children & Families Pastor to support this aspect of the church’s work. After three rounds of applications we finally identified and appointed a suitable candidate (Madison Whaley Wachepa) who took up her post in February 2022.

The church has an extremely strong link with the Church of England School in which its Sunday services are held - Wynyard Church of England Primary School. Revd Emily Hudghton is the Deputy Chair of Governors for the school, and the team lead Collective Worship each week, lead seasonal school services at the end of each term, contribute to the RE curriculum through leading lessons and get involved with various aspects of the school life such as fayres.

Throughout 2021 much of the school involvement (mainly collective worship and services) was online over Zoom. However in September this transitioned to in person with appropriate covid precautions.

Pastoral Care

Pastoral care is a significant aspect of church life, with both clergy and lay people caring for those in need of support, whether it be through mental ill health, big life events such as the birth of a baby or the death of a loved one, or other circumstances.

A monthly midweek service has recently been established in Wynyard Woods Care Home, to support the residents and staff there, which has been both well received and well attended.

Ordinands

From September onwards Mark and Emily Hudghton have supervised the placement of two ordinands (trainee Church of England clergy) from Cranmer Hall, attached to St John’s College, Durham University. These ordinands (husband and wife) both have an interest in church planting and are in their final year of training at Cranmer Hall. They report that the placement has been valuable to their training. Their placement has mainly been focussed on services on Sundays and they have been involved in the planning and delivery of several Sunday services. We hope our strong links with Cranmer Hall will continue and expect further ordinands to undertake placements with Vine Church.

Deanery Synod

Both clergy currently sit on both Deanery Synod and Diocesan Synod. This provides the BOT with an important link between the parish and the wider structures of the church. This year they have been part of conversations around the questions posed to parishes in the deanery about the most effective deployment of stipendiary and non-stipendiary clergy, in order to further the wider mission of the church in the local area.

Ecumenical Relationships

The church is committed to building positive ecumenical relationships in the area, and is part of the large ecumenical Transforming Teesside Together movement, with church members attending ecumenical worship services, and the clergy regularly meeting to collaborate and pray with other church leaders in the area.

Financial Review

The majority of the church’s running costs in 2021 were met by SDF grant funding, totalling £17,203. Due to the pandemic the official launch of the church was delayed until September 2021 leading to a significant underspend across the assigned SDF budgets. However this underspend will be rolled over into subsequent years and be accessible as the church’s costs increase in line with increased activity.

Over 2021 (particularly post the September launch) regular giving from regular church attenders has been encouraged and developed. Regular planned giving for 2021 totals £8,989. A wide range of methods have been employed to make it easy for those who want to, to give. This includes the Parish Giving Scheme, online Credit / Debit card payments via Stripe and standing order.

A small amount of clergy expenses not covered by SDF budgets were met from church funds.

Gift Aid up to 31.12.2021 was claimed in February 2022 and will be reflected in those accounts. Further gift aid claims have been made to bring the church’s gift aid claims up to date.

Reserves Policy

It is BOT policy to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds (if possible), which equates to at least three months unrestricted payments, (currently equivalent to £15,000), to cover running costs and emergency situations that may arise from time to time.

Administrative Information

Vine Church Wynyard is a Bishop’s Mission Order church in the Diocese of Durham, part of the Church of England. It meets in Wynyard Primary School. The correspondence address is The Vicarage, 14 Saville Close, Wynyard, TS22 5GL.

The Board of Trustees members who have served from 1st January 2021 until the date this report was approved are:

Revd Emily Hudghton (Chair) Revd Mark Hudghton (Vice Chair) Revd Frances Cooper (Treasurer - until March 2022) Revd Rick Simpson (Archdeacon of Auckland - Bishop’s Visitor) Mr Alistair Bianchi Mrs Beth Miller Mrs Lucy Falcus Mr Martin Waller (Since February 2022) Revd Stuart Bain (Until Oct 2021)

Approved by the Board of Trustees on 24.10.2022 and signed on their behalf by the Reverend Emily Hudghton (Chair of Board of Trustees).

Financial Statements for the year ending 31.12.2021

	2021	2021	2021
Notes	Unrestricted Receipts	Restricted Receipts	Total
1 2	8998.68	17203.07	8998.68 17203.07
	8998.68	17203.07	26201.75

	Unrestricted Payments	Restricted Payments	Total
3 4	0 1776.36	17330.07	17330.07 1776.36
	1776.36	17330.07	19106.43
	7095.32
	5576.78
	12672.1

Receipts

Planned giving SDF Claims

Payments

Misc expenses for missional activities etc funded through grant Church misc expenses and mileage/water rates

Notes	Unrestricted Receipts	Restricted Receipts	Total	2020
1 2	8998.68	17203.07	8998.68	2036 5500
	8998.68	17203.07	26201.75	7536

	Unrestricted Payments	Restricted Payments	Total	Total
3 4	1776.36	17330.07	17330.07 1776.36	1959.22 0
	1776.36	17330.07	19106.43	1959.22

Analysis from Cash Book

Restricted Giving SDF Funding 17203.07 Unrestricted Giving Regular giving Gift aided 6464 Donations Gift aided 699.7 Other receipts 1.06 Planned giving 1818.92 Loose plate 15 Total Receipts Unrestricted Expenditure Clergy & Staffing 1776.36 Restricted expenditure SDF Funding 17330.07 Total Expenditure Excess receipts over payments Balance b/f 01.01.2021 Excess receipts over payments Total Bank Statement as at 31.12.2021	17203.07 8998.68
	26201.75
	1776.36 17330.07
	19106.43
	*7095.32* 5576.78 7095.32 12672.1 12672.1

Treasurer's Notes

2020 had little movement on the account due to a delayed start in the project because of the COVID pandemic. Even though the project did not officially launch until September 2021 the ordained leads used this time to network, build relationships and put in place what was needed for the very succesful launch. There are now regular donations through either the Parish Giving Scheme, direct debits or stripe payments. The majority of the expenditure for 2021 was funded by the SDF (Strategic Development Fund) with a small amound for clergy expenses from church funds. The gift aid up to 31.12.2021 was claimed in February 2022

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Charity Name Vine Church, Wynyard	Charity Name Vine Church, Wynyard	Charity Name Vine Church, Wynyard

2021	Charity no (if any)	1193706

(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 /12 / 2021 . Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report 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 section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have
examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
• the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.

Signed: L K Davis Date: 02.02.2022 Name: Laura Davis Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: Saughtree Cottage, Rookhope, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham

Oct 2018

IER

DL5 6ZE

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

Oct 2018

IER