Docusign Envelope ID: 71B746AE-4A42-474A-B633-E8E6CFB68DB9
FRIENDS OF THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION
FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED
1[st] OCTOBER 2025
CHARITY NUMBER: 1205224
Docusign Envelope ID: 71B746AE-4A42-474A-B633-E8E6CFB68DB9
FRIENDS OF THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED
1[st] OCTOBER 2025
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Reference and Administratve Informaton | 1 |
| Trustees Report | 2 |
| Statement of Financial Actvites | 3 |
| Balance Sheet | 4 |
| Notes to the Financial Statement | 5 |
Docusign Envelope ID: 71B746AE-4A42-474A-B633-E8E6CFB68DB9
FRIENDS OF THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Trustees
Mr T W N Guinness (Chairman)
Mr K A Gilbert
Mr S C Haddock
Mr P N di C Willan
Address
The Church of the Ascension
4[th] Floor Gregs Building 1 Booth St Manchester Greater Manchester M2 4DU
Charity Number: 1205224
Bankers
C Hoare and Co. 37 Fleet Street London EC4P 4DQ
Independent Examiner
Reverend Alan A Clements MA, ACIB, FCIE. 15 Carleton Road Great Knowsley Chorley PR6 8TQ
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Docusign Envelope ID: 71B746AE-4A42-474A-B633-E8E6CFB68DB9
FRIENDS OF THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION
TRUSTEES REPORT
The Friends of the Church of Ascension was registered as a Charitable Trust on 16 October 2023.
The objects of the Trust are:
a) the preservation and conservation of the unique artistic heritage of the fabric of the Church of the Ascension, and
b) maintaining the Church of Ascension as a place of English-speaking Christian worship.
Provided Always That Nothing in this constitution shall authorise an application of the property of the CIO for the purposes which are not charitable in accordance with section 7 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and section 2 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008,
During this reporting period the principal activity of the Trust has comprised the sale of residual artworks from the initiative carried out in the previous period from which a significant portion of the proceeds have been donated to the charity. The net amount raised to date has exceeded £100,000.
During this financial reporting period a request has been received, on 6 July 2025, from the Church Council for financial support from the Trust in relation to 2 items:
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Financial support for the expenses of locum priests and purchase of hymn books.
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Urgent repairs to the church steeple and roof.
The Trust met on 22 July 2025 to discuss these requests and agreed that:
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Financial support for locum priests and the purchase of hymn books was not approved at this stage as this was felt to be within the ability of the Church to manage without support.
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The request for support in relation to the urgent repairs to the church steeple and roof was approved.
Copies of the Church Council meeting notes and the notes of the Trustees meeting are attached as an Appendix to this report. No payments in relation to this approval have been made during the financial reporting period, and at the time of writing this document.
During 2026 the focus will be on supporting essential repairs to the church fabric to prevent water damage, including to the Sgraffiti that are inherently very important to the artistic heritage of the church.
Approved by the trustees on [Date] and signed on their behalf by:
Mr T W N Guinness – Chair of trustees during the accounting period
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FRIENDS OF THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 1[st] OCTOBER 2024
| Note Income from: Charitable funding actvites 1 Gif Aid Interest/Investment income Total Income Expenditure on: Disbursements to the Church of the Ascension 2 Charitable funding actvites costs 1 Management Costs 3 Total Expenditure Net income/(expenditure) Net (loss)/gains on investments Net Movement in Funds Reconciliaton of Funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward |
2024 2023 £ £ Funds Funds 12,514 153,767 500 10,895 0.00 0 |
|---|---|
| 13,014 165,089 |
|
| 0 0 2,000 60,278 450 180 |
|
| 2,451 60,458 |
|
| 10,564 104,631 0 0 |
|
| 10,564 104,631 104,631 0.00 |
|
| 115,195 104,631 |
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Docusign Envelope ID: 71B746AE-4A42-474A-B633-E8E6CFB68DB9
FRIENDS OF THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION BALANCE SHEET AS AT 1[st] OCTOBER 2024
| Note Total Fixed Assets 4 Current Assets Debtors Cash at Bank and in Hand Total Current Assets Liabilites Creditors falling due within 1 year Net Current assets Net Assets Total Charity Funds |
2024 2023 £ £ Funds Funds |
|---|---|
| 0.00 0.00 |
|
| 0.00 0.00 115,195 104,631 |
|
| 114,195 104,631 |
|
| 0 0 |
|
| 114,195 104,631 |
|
| 114,195 104,631 |
|
| 114,195 104,631 |
The finan cial statements were approved by the trustees on [Date] and signed on their behalf by:
Mr S C Haddock - Trustee
Mr P N di C Willan - Trustee
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FRIENDS OF THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT
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Charitable funding activities in this reporting period exclusively residual proceeds of the sale of the artworks which were shared between the Trust and the artists.
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The purpose of the Charitable Trust is exclusively to raise fund for the use of the Church of the Ascension. In this financial reporting period no funds were disbursed to the Church.
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Management costs in this financial reporting period comprise only bank charges.
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The Trust does not own any fixed assets and has at this time no intention to do so.
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Docusign Envelope ID: 71B746AE-4A42-474A-B633-E8E6CFB68DB9
Church of the Ascension, Cadenabbia
Council Meeting, 2nd July, 2025, 7pm GMT/ 8pm CET
This summarises key points and decisions from this meeting held virtually. The meeting opened in prayer and was chaired by Revd James Hadley and attended by Pamela Ayres, Sheryl Fenn, Kate Gilbert, Julia and Simon Graemer, Elizabeth Haddock and Jeannie Willan. Apologies were received from Graham Stockill and Paul Willan. Fr. James opened the meeting with a prayer.
1. Matters Arising:
a) ACDI . Fr. James reported that he had recently signed off the changes to the Cadenabbia constitution (increasing the council membership to up to 11) and that the property registration of the buildings was close to being sorted. Clarity concerning the appropriate level of detail for the 3- year budget projections was still being sought.
b) Safeguarding. Since the last meeting Elisabeth Haddock had circulated details of how to access the online training (1 hour) in Basic Awareness that all Council members are urged to take and Fr. James had discussed the situation with the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer. It was agreed that, as we move to a more detailed documentation of our procedures to assist incoming locums, we could distinguish between the role of helper and council member (whereby there is always a council member among those welcoming). Essentially the message is that we should be vigilant in protecting the vulnerable rather than suspicious and if anyone notes a potential issue with a vulnerable person, they should refer this to Fr. James or Elizabeth. Next step: to build this into documentation and for all council members to take Basic Awareness training by end September.
c) Budget Status. SG reported that we are currently tracking to breaking even or potentially a small loss. Income from concerts will be nil and income from ‘Other donations’ (pledges,, one-off donations and Payaz) is unpredictable.
d) Live-streaming. JW reported that although the equipment has been installed and worked during the initial testing period, since then issues with internet speeds appear to be preventing this. Eolo have been informed but there are also different speeds being registered in different ways which adds to the problem.
2. 2025 Season: points raised during discussions included: the level of work involved with preparing for and supporting the series of locums; the contribution of Mary Ann Denney in both providing a basis for a comprehensive document for locums to Cadenabbia together with highlighting of areas to be addressed; and the high level of noise before the service and how a more prayerful atmosphere might be encouraged. Next steps: (a) to start structuring and drafting a handover document, drawing on existing information (JW with SF and JG) (b) Fr. James to speak with German about starting playing at 10.15, ringing the 10.20 bell, saying a few words to encourage quieter welcoming.
3. Financial support for locums. There was extensive discussion about a proposal to apply to the charity for funds to cover reasonable living expenses for locums to a maximum of £600/month (figure advised by Diocesan Locum Administrator) in order to attract candidates willing to provide leadership and a higher level of support. The application also included a small amount for liturgical resources. It was agreed that:
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(a) as 2025 locums had accepted house for duty and it was therefore not necessary to offer more (while making people aware that 2026 could be different); furthermore, finding an equitable solution for the various locums would be difficult;
(b) as ACDI funding for ministry is unlikely to flow until 2027, an application should be made to the charity for funds to cover expenses in 2026 to a level of £3600, stating that a
subsequent application might be made for 2027 should this be necessary. KG proposed and JG seconded this proposal, which was passed unanimously
(c) while currently Cadenabbia does not offer additional remuneration to the priest for conducting weddings, it has done in the past and it is common if not universal practice for couples to make a donation to the presiding minister. Views were mixed and it was agreed that Fr. James, the wedding coordinator and treasurer should discuss this and make a proposal.
(d) While some hymnbooks with melody lines are needed, there is a shortage of other liturgical resources (to be evaluated by Fr. James). This should be reflected in the wording of the application to the charity.
4. Fabric . Following a recent meeting the Fabric Group had circulated a proposal to make an application to the charity for funds to cover priority works to the steeple and roof, as well as for removal of trees and greenery from the retaining wall. While a comprehensive quotation has been received, this requires some fine tuning but can be accepted in principle; the final sum may vary if (a) the owner of Villa Norella agrees to pay or share works to the retaining wall, (b) we are successful in applying to a contribution from the Cariplo charity and (c) actual roof works are more extensive than estimated. The fabric team was thanked for their work. JW proposed and KG seconded that this application for be made to the charity and this was passed unanimously.
5. Any Other Business. EH reported that she had reviewed the website which is old and identified several shortcomings. She is seeking a cost estimate for a new design (using a platform which she would still be able to maintain) and will probably be making an application to the charity for this in due course.
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Friends of the Church of the Ascension
Notes of Meeting Held on 22 July 2025
Attendees
Tim Guiness, Chair
Stephen Haddock
Keith Gilbert
Paul Willan
Introduction
The meeting was convened to discuss and approve two requests from the Cadenabbia Church Council for financial support from the Trust for:
-
Financial support for the expenses of locum priests and purchase of hymn books.
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Urgent repairs to the church steeple and roof.
Discussion
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Financial support for the expenses of locum priests and purchase of hymn books.
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a. In relation to the financial support for the expenses for locum priests whilst the Trustees had some sympathy in principle it was not felt that there was a concrete requirement at this point. This request was therefore not approved
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b. In relation to the purchase of hymn books the Trustees considered that this was a modest routine expense that was well within the Church’s ability to fund without support from the Trust. This request was therefore not approved
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The requests for financial support for repairs to the church steeple and roof were agreed by the Trustees to be both urgent and justified and fell within the remit of the Trust. This request was therefore provisionally agreed.
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