The largest annual expenditure is the parish share, which is used to pay a full-time rector and contribute to other expenses, such as training and maintenance of church buildings. It also supports diocesan staff who provide legal, advisory and ministry support for us being part of the Church of England. Our other activities like Sunday Club and and Connect Groups also all have costs attached to them, and in total this amounts to over £50,000 per year.
The day-to-day running costs of the church include heating, lighting, insurance and supporting church services. We also care for our biggest physical resource, the Grade 1 listed church building, as a place of worship and prayer which people come to for events and activities, as well as for groups and organisations. This cost of this is close to £30,000 per year.
We work hard to keep our spending low, by annually reviewing our energy and maintenance costs, seeking competitive quotes for work undertaken, and challenging ourselves in our ways of working to avoid waste. Our costs are kept down substantially by all the work done by our congregation and others in the community free of charge.