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1. Assembly Assessment

Included with your mail this month is the first invoice for Assembly Assessment for Presbyterian parishes. A number of parishes responded to my 3 May letter, which detailed the calculation of the assessment for each parish. They sought changes to their assessment based on the revised definition of income. Where applicable those changes have been made to the data used to calculate the assessment and are reflected in the assessment being charged. Where a presbytery has advised a reallocation of the assessment we have adjusted the charge accordingly. If your assessment has been reallocated by presbytery you will need to contact presbytery to obtain details of how the reallocation was calculated.

Uniting congregations will continue to pay contributions to the joint mission fund. No invoice will be issued for these contributions. Uniting congregations liable to make a contribution to the Beneficiary Fund will receive a monthly invoice for this contribution.

Parishes paying their assessment by automatic payment will need to adjust their payment authority. Where settlement is by direct debit no action is required. Using direct debit saves the parish the bank fees associated with a change to an automatic payment. If you wish to move to payment by direct debit contact this office and we will provide the necessary instructions and bank forms.

2. Confirmation of Balances

A number of parishes have received information in response to their balance confirmation queries. If this information has not resolved your issues, promptly advise this office of your concerns. We would like to have all outstanding issues resolved before bringing this operation to a close. We have a small number of queries to clear mostly relating to payroll, Beneficiary Fund and seniority allowance. Margaret Fawcett who looks after these areas has been fully occupied with insurance matters for the last month and a half and as a consequence has not been able to deal with all the queries that required her specialised knowledge. These queries are now being addressed.

3. Amalgamated Investment Fund

The rate of interest paid on deposits with the Amalgamated Investment Fund remains at 6.25% for July. The Trustees will be reviewing this interest rate at their July meeting following the decision of the Reserve Bank on 11 June to increase its official cash rate to 5.75%.

4. Ministers’ Mortgages

The interest rate on ministers’ mortgages is increased to 7.5% from 1 July. The June increase in the official cash rate has lead to an increase in the BNZ floating rate, which is used as the benchmark for setting the interest rate for ministers’ mortgages.

5. Audit Confirmations

Our auditors started their audit on 12 July. As part of their audit they will be seeking confirmation of account balances. This will include both balances due to the Assembly Office and balances held on deposit with the Amalgamated Investment Fund. Please respond promptly to their requests. A quick response will help us ensure audited accounts are available for the General Assembly. Your assistance in this matter is appreciated.

6. Annuities and Stipends

All annuities and stipends paid from this office have been adjusted to reflect the rate of payment applicable from 1 July. Stipends have been increased by a little over 1.5% and annuities increased by 1%. Ministers will receive invoices from July for the revised rate of contribution to the Beneficiary Fund. The increase is due to the increase in the basic stipend.

7. Mission and Ministry Giving

Mission and ministry giving received in this office to Monday 5 July has been included in our 2004 income. Contributions received after that date will be included in 2005 income. As noted last month the need to prepare accounts for General Assembly has meant we have now closed the June month. There is also a demand from parishes for early receipt of their June statements so they can prepare their annual accounts.

8. Insurance Renewal

Our thanks to all those who have taken the time to update their insurance schedules and return them to this office. Your changes have been processed and an updated schedule of property assets to be insured is available to our broker. The broker uses this information to obtain prices in the market.

There is still time to make last minute adjustments to the insurance schedule should you have identified any assets that have been missed. If you wish to make further changes contact Margaret Fawcett promptly.

Our insurance broker tells us that premiums should not increase this year. This will be finally confirmed when he goes to the market seeking prices in the next few days. Losses so far this year have been small so we are well placed to seek the best rates available. It will be good to have a year of no increase.


Geoffrey Bell
Manager Financial Services