Important Update on Church Finance
Dear Church Members,
First of all, thank you for your responses following Steve Riddick's finance presentation at the APCM in May and Christopher Phillimore's subsequent stewardship presentation. Over the past two months, we have seen a significant increase in both regular giving and one-off donations.
Unfortunately, this increase is still not sufficient to close a projected gap between our unrestricted income and the major costs which this income has to support.
Last autumn, the church PCC agreed to a budget for this year which:
would use money from our reserves
kept most areas of spending for 2024 at or below 2023 levels
hoped for increased income from grants, legacies and giving.
So far this year the income from grants and legacies has not materialised as hoped, so although spending is broadly as planned, we have used more of our reserves than hoped. We now have to prepare a budget for 2025, and we do not expect to have sufficient unallocated reserves to use.
The PCC, as trustees of the church, needs to act so that a funded budget can be approved for 2025. It has appointed an expanded standing committee which has been considering what action needs to be taken to rectify the imbalance between income and expenditure and thus close the currently projected gap. We will continue to look for other ways to increase income as well as asking you to consider giving more to the church; but our primary focus now is every area of expenditure.
Two main areas for reducing spending to the level required have been identified:
Reducing our parish share contribution to an amount which the diocese considers to fully cover the cost of providing a vicar for our church.
Reducing overall staff costs by approximately 20%.
Consultation has therefore begun with our paid staff about options to achieve a reduction. We are at the beginning of this difficult process.
How can you help?
Prayer: Please keep our church, its staff, and leadership in your prayers as we navigate this challenging period. Do join our weekly prayer meetings on Zoom for 40 minutes on Thursdays at 7.30pm.
Financial Support: If you are able and have not already done so, we kindly ask that you consider increasing your giving. Thank you if you have already taken the time to do this.
Suggestions: If you feel that there is something else that we should be doing please let a PCC member know.
Andrew Smith, Churchwarden and Acting Treasurer
Celia Anderson, Churchwarden