WELLFIELD CHURCH NORTHBROOK BARN, NORTHBROOK ROAD, LEYLAND, PR25 2XS WELLFIELDCHURCH@YAHOO.COM 01772 435650 WELLFIELDCHURCH.COM
Annual Report for Financial Year Ending 31[st] December, 2021
Aims and Purposes
The Trustees of Well eld Church have the responsibility of promoting the Charity’s objectives, namely: THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STATEMENT OF FAITH, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC ESPECIALLY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY WITHIN BROADFIELD ESTATE, LEYLAND, AND THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBOURHOOD.
There were particular challenges to ful lling this responsibility in 2021 from the legal restrictions imposed in the global panic surrounding Covid 19. Nevertheless, the Trustees sought to persevere in continuing the work of the Charity, as the following will outline.
Activities
It has always been the aim of Well eld Church to make Sunday meetings, and other activities, as accessible as possible for people who are not used to church. When numbers of people gathering was legally limited, we simply repeated meetings several times on Sundays and during the week in order to accommodate people within the law. When meetings were prohibited completely, we sought to make the most of online recordings in order to serve those who wished to partake, and make contact all the more simple for those wanting to tune in. However, we soon realised that there is no substitute for personal contact when it comes to the ‘advancement of the Christian faith’. The minister, Mark Simpson, met with individuals and individual families at Northbrook Barn when that was legal. As soon as we were able, the church met face to face. Many people within Broad eld Estate found ‘lockdowns’ and other restrictions very challenging, even damaging. We sought to connect with people to let them know we were still meeting, to provide a lifeline for those needing spiritual support.
Towards the end of 2021, the curate, Peter Harvey, together with his family, left in order for him to lead a church elsewhere in the country. This, together with the legal restrictions, meant we sadly closed a youth group for locals and a community lunch. But the minister and some other church members were able to volunteer at a local community centre providing a food scheme, so that strong links and relationships with the wider community could be maintained. The church distributed its bi-monthly ‘Broad eld Update’ around the local neighbourhood to keep people informed and engaged.
As well as maintaining pastoral support, prayer and teaching for people, the church continued to support the work further a eld by prayer, friendship and
modest donations to like-minded churches in New Zealand and South Africa, and also adopted a similar link with a church in Poland.
Highlights and Challenges
The pandemic restrictions saw quite a drop in regular Sunday attendance, sadly. By 2020, the church had developed quite a ‘fringe’ of people who liked coming, but naturally needed time to come to grips with the Christian faith and weigh it up. Thus, in the atmosphere of fear surrounding contact with other people, many ceased to return even after lockdown closures.
On the other hand, many of those who remained grew clearer-thinking and more committed. Some others joined, with the world crisis causing them to seek Truth. There were a number of baptisms during the year.
Financial Review
The total income for the year was £126,853. This was from donations from those within the church (35%), donations from individuals outside Well eld Church (43%, including a large one-oH donation that will be used for future building work), charitable trusts (5%), and other supporting churches (17%). The expenditure was £85,720. This was mostly towards staHing (76%, covering the stipends of Mark Simpson, the minister, and Peter Harvey, the curate). Other costs were for running Northbrook Barn (14%) and for mission giving (8%) and miscellaneous expenses (2%).
Structure and Governance
For the year 2021, Mark Simpson, assisted by Peter Harvey, was responsible for overseeing the preaching, teaching and pastoral ministry of the church. The Trustees met bi-monthly; on the months in between, the Leadership Team, a subset of the Trustees, met for accountability, planning, reviewing, and to check all legal, nancial and safeguarding issues.
The trustees were appointed at the AGM in October, approved unanamously by a show of hands from the congregation of regular attendees, according to the constitution, and recorded in the following Leadership Team/Trustees meeting. Trustees for the year:
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Mark Simpson (chair)
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Peter Harvey
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Andrew Nicholson (safeguarding oHicer)
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Doug Neville
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Helen Neville (secretary)
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Suzanne Cowburn (treasurer)
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David Cowburn
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Simon Nodder
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Edwina Craig
Other Information
Well eld Church meets at Northbrook Barn, Northbrook Road, Leyland PR25 2XS. The property is owned by the charity Friends of Well eld Church (charity number 1152709). The church is part of the Diocese of Blackburn within the Church of England.
| WELLFIELD CHURCH | WELLFIELD CHURCH | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary of Accounts for Period 1 Jan | 2021 to 31 Dec | 2021 | ||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| Income | £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Opening Balance B/F - Bank | £0 | - | ||||
| Donations | £0 | - | ||||
| £0 | - | |||||
| Expenditure | ||||||
| Payments | £0 | - | ||||
| Bank Balance at 31 August 2021 | £0.00 | - | ||||
| Closing Balance C/F - Bank | £0 | - |