Income and expenditure statement for 2022
2022 has been a challenging year financially, with an overall excess expenditure over income of £2,470.00.
The larger expenses that stand out were:
The specialised lime plastering of part of the interior walls of the church costing £1,950.00
Repairs to the roof coming to £816.00
Repairs to the clock were £269.00
And work on the organ costing £105.00
Added to these expenses were the recurring energy costs which totalled £6,391 in 2022.
The payment to the Diocese, called the Common Fund, totalled £7,121 in 2022
Service fees to the diocese totalled £1,067.
The total expenditure for our Church in Cockshutt was £25,352.00 in 2022
It cannot be said strongly enough how dependent the Church is on donations from parishioners and how grateful the church has been for the much valued support given by the parishioners. Regular giving, mainly through the Direct Giving scheme run by the diocese, gave the church an income of £9,468.00. This scheme kept us afloat through the lockdown months and continues to be valuable as there isn’t a weekly service in Cockshutt to give a regular donation on the collection plate.
Cockshutt church must also acknowledge the fact that a bequest was received a few years ago of £5,000.00, enabling the finances to remain in positive balance up to this present time.
If you would like to know how to contribute financially to the Church, please contact the wardens or the treasurer, whose contact details are on the back of the monthly Parish Magazines.
General reflections on 2022.
2022 saw the end of Covid restrictions, with all the stresses and difficulties that Revd Maureen had to cope with, looking after the church administration, the weekly streaming of on line services, and looking after people in the community.
Added to that was Maureen’s retirement, aged 70years, causing all the administration of church matters to fall on the PCC, led by the 2 church wardens, Cathy Thorold and John Dickin.
A new vicar needed to be appointed and they had the task of liaising with the Diocese of Lichfield, updating the Parish profile and sorting out an advert for a new vicar; huge tasks in themselves for 2 working people!
On top of all that the PCC have been applying for permission (a faculty) to upgrade the sound system in the church and to redecorate the inside of the church. Because the church is a grade 2 listed building all sorts of checks needed to be made. These started before the lockdowns and, as a result, are still ongoing. Inspection of prospective work was finally carried out in March 2023 and when permission to proceed with the agreed work of replacing the old speakers and wiring is given, an application for a grant to do this will be applied for.
Also, the renovation of the war memorial is part of another grant application.
Hopefully, all this work might be accomplished before the next AGM update!
Work on the church grounds had been carried out by the probation service teams and they have improved the grounds immensely.
Volunteers are always sort after to help with the groundworks.
The 200 club is still ongoing, being administered by a PCC member, and bringing in valuable financial assets on a yearly basis. How to purchase numbers can be found in the parish magazine.
The PCC has diminished in number and new members would be very welcome, also Friends of the PCC, available for specialised tasks are being sought!
The website, meresandmeadows.com has been revived and has regular interesting updates and is really worth frequent visits, and inputs from parishioners are always welcome.