Minute of the Stated Annual Meeting of Edinburgh Corstorphine

St Annes Parish Church held on Sunday 23rd March 2014

After Morning Worship in the Sanctuary.
The Stated Annual Meeting of St Annes Parish Church took place on Sunday 23rd March
2014 after Morning Worship in the Sanctuary.
The meeting was duly constituted with a prayer by the Moderator Rev Jamie Griggs
There were 64 members present, with apologies from 8 others.
1: Death of Members.
At the start of the meeting, the Moderator asked the meeting to remember those members
who had died during the last year. In particular he paid tribute to the work and commitment of
two long serving elders George Philip and Ian Wallace both of whom had died since the last
Stated Annual Meeting.
2. Minutes of Stated Annual Meeting of 31st March 2012.
The approval of the Minutes of the Stated Annual Meeting held on Sunday 23rd March 2013
was proposed by Mr C. Robertson and seconded by Dr D. Doyle.. They were duly approved.
3. Treasurers Report to 31st December 2013.
Mr N Hicks, Joint Treasurer presented the report on the Accounts which were set out in
summary form in the Annual Report. The full accounts were available for members on the
website.
Mr Hicks explained that the form of the accounts was prescribed by OSCR, the Scottish
Charities Regulator and required to show not just the financial position but also the structure
of the church and its charitable objects. It was noted that tax relief was also highlighted and
Mr Hicks indicated that it was necessary to highlight that the church was a charity and the
organisation associated with it such as the Guild, Fan Club and other groups helped to
demonstrate the charitable purposes.
He reminded the members that the Elders were the trustees of the funds. That was why the
accounts came to the meeting for noting and comment as opposed to approval.
Mr Hicks confirmed that the financial statements had been reviewed by an Independent
Examiner who was satisfied the accounts were in order and he remarked, in terms of an
overview that St Annes was in a similar financial position to many other churches.
Mr Hicks explained the current structure of the church funds and specifically the difference
between the General Fund and other funds some of which, such as the Endowment Fund left
by Mr Dey which had a specific purpose.
He highlighted the fact that in 2013 in general terms, the income of the church had been
126k and the expenditure had been 142k in other words a loss on the year of 16k. He
reminded the members that the trend of expenditure exceeding income was a trend that had
been going on for some years and could not continue.
He highlighted that the main income over the course of the year remained offerings and tax
recoveries. The income from hall letting had dropped in 2013 to 26k from 39k and would

drop further in 2014 given the decision to close the Belgrave Halls and sell the site on which
they were built.
He highlighted the fact that whilst the church seemed to have assets of 1 million the reality
was that the vast majority of that was tied up in the value of the Manse and Belgrave Halls.
He highlighted that the main expenditure remained the contribution to the Ministries and
Mission Funds.
In concluding he highlighted that the Legacy Fund had been used to make up the shortfall on
the General Fund for the year. He emphasised again that the year on year deficits could not
continue and he highlighted the fact that the proposed Stewardship campaign would in part be
aimed at closing the gap between income and expenditure.
Members questions were then invited.
Mr Gillon asked why a simple transfer of the necessary funds from the Legacy Fund to the
General Fund could not be carried out to wipe out the deficit acknowledging that the General
Fund was never likely to be in a position to return the funds to the Legacy Fund.
Mr Hicks indicated that whilst this issue had not been discussed by the Kirk Session, it had
been discussed by the Finance Team. Mr Hicks indicated that until the year on year annual
losses position was addressed the view had been taken that a formal transfer of funds was not
appropriate although in reality a transfer of funds did take place.
Mrs Scott asked whether there had been a noticeable increase in the members givings since
the annual letter had been issued to members in late 2013. Mr Hicks indicated that exact
figures were not known because different members paid in different ways but he indicated
that in terms of the Freewill Offerings he did know that around 30% of income received came
from just ten households.
Mrs Scott suggested this was worthy of further highlighting in the magazine.
Mr Hicks then gave a more detailed explanation of the Ministries and Mission calculation. He
explained that of the 60k or so which St Annes required to pay around 10% went to help
fund the activities of the church worldwide whilst the remainder supported the cost of
ministry in Scotland. He indicated that St Annes was one of about one third of all the
churches in Scotland who were able to pay their assessed contribution which meant in reality
that the smaller urban and rural churches were in effect being subsidised.
Mrs Hesketh asked whether any guidance could be given around what level of increased
offerings were needed to ensure a break even figure for the year. Mr Hicks indicated that was
very difficult to say but with around 200 live givers at the present time an increase of
around 10% of givings would be very helpful but it did depend on the circumstances of those
giving which varied hugely.
Miss Thomson suggested the biblical approach might be appropriate in terms of giving 10%
of income and it was acknowledged that this might be disposable rather than actual income
and could and would vary according to circumstances.
Mr G. Nimmo, seconded by Mr D. Whigham moved that the accounts be received. The
Meeting agreed.

The Moderator and the meeting thanked the Finance team for all their hard and diligent work
throughout the year and particularly Mr and Mrs Hicks for their efforts as Joint Treasurers.
4: Sale of the Belgrave Halls Site.
Mr Yelland updated the meeting on progress since the decision of the members meeting to
sell the Belgrave site in October 2013.
Mr Yelland explained that there had been ongoing discussions between the Kirk Session, the
church solicitors and DM hall as to whether it was advantageous to sell the site with planning
permission or not.
It had been confirmed that planning permission should not be a problem if the proposed
development fitted with the local plan. Mr Yelland explained that whilst the view had
originally been expressed that selling with principle (previously outline planning permission)
had initially been a possibility, DM Hall had then suggested that getting detailed permission
might be more advantageous.
A meeting had taken place involving DM Hall, the church solicitor, Mr Ditchfield, Mr Shanks
and Mrs Hicks on 17th March and at the next meeting of Session there would be a decision
taken whether to sell the site with principle planning permission or with none at all.
It was note that further developments would be reported in the magazine.
Mr Yelland also made clear that the monies for the sale of the site could not be used to plug
the General Fund deficit and the Presbytery had only agreed to the sale on the basis that there
was a plan to use the sale proceeds to improve the Kaimes Road facilities.
5: Stewardship Campaign.
The Moderator indicated that it was proposed to hold a stewardship campaign commencing
later in the year. He explained that whilst the main focus might be on finance it was also
aimed at seeking to use the time and talents of the members in a positive way for the benefit
of the church.
He highlighted the fact that the campaign would be a rolling three year programme and
explained that together with Mrs Scott he had held an initial meeting with a representative
from the Church of Scotland to discuss how the campaign might be set up and progressed. A
further meeting was planned at which each of the teams would be invited to send a
representative to join in the discussions.
The Moderator encouraged members to take part in the campaign and emphasised that it was
for every member to play their part there would be a variety of events and he hoped there
would be a good mixture of fun and fellowship.
6: Concerts in the Sanctuary.
The Moderator indicated that as part of the discussions that had taken place around the
development of the Kaimes Hall facilities it had been agreed that there was a need to try to
use the Sanctuary more for suitable events.
The Moderator indicated that various groups seemed keen to use the Sanctuary and that
currently there was collaborative working with Mrs Hazel Kelly who organised concerts in
Corstorphine to help get a programme of events up and running.

In May there were already three events planned :

A concert by the Edinburgh Bach ensemble arranged by Hazel Kelly

An event organised to promote a CD which had been recorded in St Annes and
A charity concert by the Showcase musical group

In addition the Fellowship Team were promoting a concert by Kathryn Anderson in April.
The Moderator encouraged those present to support the concerts and there was a need to find
volunteer stewards those who might be interested should contact the office, Mrs Shanks or
Mr Zuckert.
The Moderator indicated that there was the possibility of the facilities being used in the
Festival Fringe as well and emphasised that nothing unsuitable would be promoted.
In concluding the meeting the Moderator thanked those attending for their interest and
questions and hoped that they would be able to play a full part on the life of St Annes as it
progressed.
The meeting concluded with the benediction at 1.15pm