title="Baldons Parish Council in Oxfordshire">

Report Nov 2018

From the Churchwardens

Thank you to our Church Treasurer Graham Hobbins who has kindly put together the note you will find below on the finances of our two Churches.  Graham’s figures do not include the costs of repair or any much needed improvements to the two Churches.  The note also hides the fact that it is only a small number of people who provide this money to keep the churches going all year round. When you read this, we will have just celebrated Harvest Festival, and you will also read of the planned Armistice Day Concert on 11 November and our ever popular Carol Service on 16 December.  We have also been there for a number of weddings, baptisms and important village funerals.  I know that many of you give generously when you come to events, but please do think about helping us out throughout the year. We want to keep both Churches open and available for the villages to use and enjoy.     

 

DD

Our Church Finances

 

A number of villagers have asked about the financial position covering the day to day life of our two churches and the maintenance of the buildings.  In one word, they are precarious.

 

Here is a summary of the annual financial statements for the past 2 years:

 

 

2017

2016

 

£

£

For general purposes

 

 

Total income

22,728

21,780

Total expenditure

24,585

24,925

Loss for the year

1,857

3,145

 

Our church life and buildings have to be financed entirely by villagers.  We get no help from the central church authorities. 

 

In 2017, 66% of the income is from gift aided giving, plus income tax recovered thereon, and we are extremely appreciative of the support received.  The remainder of the income is derived from donations, fees and fund-raising activities.

82% of the expenditure covers clergy salaries, pensions, housing (otherwise known as the ‘Parish Share’) and expenses, together with insurance premiums for both churches.  So just 18% is spent on items such as electricity, services, music and a contribution towards the newsletter costs.

 

The losses on general purposes have been financed from past giving and the reserves at 31 December 2017, stood at £6,830.  The present forecast for 2018 is another loss of between £2,000 and £3,000.

 

As can be seen, there is nothing that can be done to reduce costs and the only way to eliminate these losses is to increase income and restore the reserves to a reasonable operational level.

 

Please help.  Regular giving (monthly, quarterly or annually), supported by a completed Gift Aid form, is the most beneficial, or a one-off donation would also help significantly.

 

Gift Aid forms are available from Graham Hobbins – 01865 343227.

For bank transfers, the account details are:  Barclays Bank, PCC Parish of Marsh and Toot Baldon with Nuneham Courtenay, account number 20692441 and sort code 20-65-21, with your surname as the reference.

 

The costs of repairs and maintenance to our 2 church buildings are covered under separate Fabric Funds – one for each church.  Details for each will follow shortly.

 

Treasurer and PCC