Having taken up the post of Treasurer in May it has been an interesting and challenging time for the church and myself in reviewing just where we are and more importantly where we are going.

Looking back to Trevor’s report last year he made it clear that the church could not sustain the same level of expenditure without a reasonable increase in our income (giving).  Whilst our expenditure reduced after the retirement of our Minister in April, a number of one-off expenses incurred by either the church or the manse have meant that our funds have been significantly reduced and at one stage during the financial year we were borrowing money from the Special Fund until the church agreed for some money to be released to help cover repairs to the church.

Without a Minister or paid Youth Worker we shall see a rebuilding of the general fund going forward and this should be useful given that work will need to be done on the church manse in the coming year.

Gift Aid has been one of our most important sources of income second only to the giving that people make.  If you pay income tax at any level and have not registered for the Gift Aid scheme or are not sure then please have a word with Dorothy Wilkinson or myself.

In respect of Home Mission and BMS direct giving to these causes has been good.  Even though targets are set at the AGM and the church agrees to make up any difference from general funds it has been encouraging that our Home Mission direct giving was within £200 of the target amount.  Additional profile raising through events and activities have helped achieve this so thank you.  It would be great if I could report a similar situation with BMS next year.

In preparing the year end accounts we have taken advice from a local professional experienced in preparing statements that require submission to the Charities Commission.  Whilst we do not yet need to submit our accounts in this way we thought it wise to begin to consider any gaps that would otherwise appear.

My thanks to the Finance Team and especially Dorothy Wilkinson who takes the (often heavy) burden of counting and carrying the cash to the bank each week.  Having Dorothy and Denise keep a handle on the day to day book keeping has helped me to concentrate on making sure bills get paid, funds are in the correct place and be able to look at the ‘bigger picture’ of our financial situation.

Thank you to all for your generosity and may God continue to use our gifts wisely for the furtherance of His Kingdom.

Dean Thorpe