2022-03-31-accounts - St Gregorios Indian (Malan Kara) Orthodox Church

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Trustees' Annual Report for the period

Period start date Period end date Day 01 April 2021 Day31 March 2022

From

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name[ST.GREGORIOS INDIAN (MALANKARA) ORTHODOX ] CHURCH. LONDON

Other names charity is known by

Registered charity number (if any) 1000423

Charity's principal address St. Gregorios Church,

Cranfield Road London Postcode SE4 1UF

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany)
Fr. Nithin Prasad Koshy	Chair	Diocesan Bishop
Mr.Jacob Parakkala Mathew	Trustee (Secretary)	General body
Mr.Roys philip	Trustee (treasurer)	General body
Mr.Praveen Mathew	Trustee	General body
Mr George Babykutty	Exofficio	General body
Mr Sisan Chacko	Trustee	General body
Mr.Varghese Joseph	Trustee	General body
Mr.Shiju Rajan	Trustee	General body
Mr Binu Ninan Chandy	Trustee	General body
Mr Santhosh K Abraham	Trustee	General body
Mr Joseph K Mathew	Exofficio	General body
Mr Sabu koshy	Exofficio	General Body









Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)

Name Dates acted if not for whole year

TAR

March 22

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Type of adviser Name Address

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document

Governing documents as Constitution passed by the church 2[nd] July 1989

(eg. trust deed, constitution)

Society

How the charity is constituted (eg. trust, association, company) Elected managing committee members are the trustees Trustee selection methods

(eg. appointed by, elected by)

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:

policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
relationship with any related parties;
trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.

Trustees are elected from the eligible members at the Annual General Body meeting in March each year, which is followed by a joint meeting between the outgoing trustees and the incoming trustees. The formal handover of the reports and accounts takes place in this joint meeting as well as a briefing is given to new trustees emphasising their duties and responsibilities.

The Indian Orthodox Church, also known as the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church is an Autocephalous Orthodox Church with its central office in the Indian state of Kerala. The IOC is autonomous church and headed by the Catholicose. Its present primate is Baselios Mar Thoma Paulose II, Catholicose of the East. The structure of St. Gregorios Church, London is also episcopal polity. Churches in UK, Europe and African Diocese is currently under pastoral care of diocesan bishop His Grace Abraham Mar Staphanos

The chairperson of the charity is the Vicar, who is normally appointed by the Diocesan Bishop for a period of three years.

Trustees are the managing committee members. Their term of office is one year. The managing committee is responsible for maintenance of the church and day to day administration. The trustees meet at least once a month.

Risks are mitigated by a careful evaluation and budgeting of the income and expenditure at the start of the financial year. Misuse of funds and church property are safeguarded by strict adherence to the rules and regulations by all the trustees and church members.

Section C Objectives and activities

TAR

March 22

The principal object of the charity is advancement of Christian religion and particularly Orthodox faith, enabling as many people as possible to worship in our church and become part of our parish community. The primary objective of the St. Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church is the Summary of the objects of the manifestation of faith in the Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) in charity set out in its accordance with the Apostolic and ancient traditions of the Malankara Orthodox governing document Church. Our services and worship put faith in to practice through prayer and scripture and sacraments. The church shall enter into any activity to provide for the religious, educational and cultural needs as proper to the life of a Parish Church with the approval of the appropriate authorities and also benefiting the wider community.

When planning our activities for the year, the trustees have considered the commission’s guidance on public benefit and in particular the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. We try to enable ordinary people to live out their faith as part of our parish, through the Holy Eucharist, learning about the Gospel and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus Christ. The church as followers of Christ, tries to carry out the mission given to us by caring for the marginalised, less fortunate in the society. The disabled, diseased deprived people are supported with humble efforts. Holy Eucharist is celebrated all Sundays and on every main Christian festival Summary of the main such as Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and activities undertaken for the Christmas, enabling people from all communities join these services. For the public benefit in relation to convenience of the worshipers, simultaneous services are held at St. Andrew – these objects (include within By-The –Wardrobe Church, London EC4 and St. Gregorios Church, London this section the statutory SE4. declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance Pastoral care is an integral part of the whole ministry of the Church. Having a issued by the Charity great variety of expressions, it focuses appropriately on the needs of individuals Commission on public and social groups within the Church and wider community, irrespective of benefit) religious and cultural barriers. The church is keen to offer a range of services during the week and over the course of the year that our community find both beneficial and spiritually uplifting. The Feast of our Patron was held from Sunday 31[st] October to Sunday 7[th] November at Brockley Church, comprising of devotional addresses and Holy Eucharist rejuvenate the Christian fellowship and oneness in Christ.

TAR

March 22

You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:

Ecumenical Relationships. The church is a member of the Churches together in Britain and Ireland and Oriental Orthodox Churches and Brockley local churches. The Church encourages all members to take part in the church activities in some form or the other. The large gathering of the faithful in these events imparts positive network of family and friends within a spiritual atmosphere enhances personal, socio-cultural and spiritual development. Charitable activities. In addition to advancing Christian religious faith, the church supports variety of charity work.

In the reporting year , the church was not celebrated the Parish Day due to COVID-19 Pandemic.

policy on grantmaking;
policy programme related investment;
contribution made by volunteers.

Food bank for local community needs were undertaken with the generous contribution of the members..

In addition to advancing Christian religious faith, the church supports variety of charity work. In the reporting year a total of nearly twelve Thousand pounds were dispersed to various charitable activities in India and U.K. Monetary grants to individuals in India with poor economic background to support their medical treatment and relief of sufferings. Food bank for local community needs were undertaken with the generous contribution of the members.. The policy on grants is very transparent. The application for grants are thoroughly vetted by the trustees and vicar and an appropriate amount is allocated based on the circumstances without any involvement of a third party agency and thus avoiding any overhead expenses.

Section D Achievements and performance

SENIOR CITIZENS FORUM

Two virtual meetings of senior members and young adults were held on 3rd November 2021 held under the leadership of our vicar Fr. Aby Philip Varghese and on 5th march 2022 , held under the leadership of our vicar Fr. Nithin prasad Koshy .

CHRISTMAS event

Our Parish Christmas service “Nuhro - 2022” was conducted on 18[th] December 2021, Saturday followed by the evening prayer.

SPORTS ACTIVITIES

No sports activities were conducted this year due to COVID-19 Pandemic.

YOUTH EVENT

The annual Harvest Festival took place on 31 October 2021. The Youth were involved with organizing various games sessions and fundraising activities in order to raise money for the church. The Youth also continued to host and participate in virtual events during this time.

FOOD BANK

As a service to our local community, instead of donating canned and non-perishable food donated by parish members, this year the Church has donated £1000 for the Lewisham council food bank as local charity.

TAR

March 22

Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

The church has membership of nearly 345 families, many of whom are residents in other part of U.K but our services are open to all, We enable our community to celebrate and thank God at the milestones of the journey through life. There were 2 baptisms, and through baptism we thank God for the gift of life.

The Church realizes that the children are the foundations of the future society and hence great emphasis is given to provide for the development of their character enabling them to achieve and contribute to the society.

Regular Sunday school classes were conducted virtually over zoom every Sunday for the children. The school follows the curriculum of the Orthodox Sunday school Association of the East. The curriculum focuses on lessons and thoughts from the Bible, history and traditions of the Church, prayers and offices of liturgy as well as activities including singing and drama, to promote selfdevelopment and social interaction. Through this, the Sunday School aims to provide a proper understanding of human values and how the Christian way of life can provide a caring and compassionate outlook to the society.

The church lays strong emphasis in the organizing of the Orthodox Vacation Bible School. This is an intensive programme aimed towards the children. Church members volunteer to organize the various activities as a part of the programme. OVBS was Two day online event this time with 4 sessions of classroom learning and multiple music sessions. Our children enjoyed the delightful songs, some intense learning sessions.

In addition, personality development sessions were held for the benefit of the young children. We have developed our Safeguarding Policy a mandatory requirement and the volunteers who deal with children are all vetted by CRB checks.

TAR

March 22

Section E Financial review

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

Total receipts of funds were £ 150,373 and total expenses were £ 145,391 The policy of the church is to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds which equates to at least three months unrestricted payments, equivalent to £25,000 to cover emergency situations that may arise from time to time.

Details of any funds materially in deficit

Further financial review details (Optional information)

Principal source of the funds of the church is from voluntary contributions You may choose to include of membership and donations. additional information, where relevant about:

The expenditure is budgeted ,spread in proportion to the needs of the various activities

the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);
how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;
investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.

Section F Other optional information

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s)

Full name(s) Mr. Jacob Parakkala Mathew Position (eg Secretary, Chair, Authorised person etc)

Date 28/12/2022

TAR

March 22

ST.GREGORIOS INDIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH ,LONDON No (if any) 1000423

Receipts and payments accounts

For the period Period start date Period end date To from 01/04/2021 31/03/2022

CC16a

Section A Receipts and payments	Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 55,839 39,483 22,214 20,666 - - 170 138,372 - - - 138,372	Restricted funds to the nearest £ 12,000 12,000 - - - 12,000	Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - -	Total funds to the nearest £ 55,839 39,483 34,214 20,666 - - 170 - 150,372 - - - 150,372	Last year to the nearest £
VoluntarySubscription	55,839				50,574
VoluntaryDonations	39,483				25,930
Activities forgeneration of funds	22,214				14,765
Gift Aid HMRC	20,666				37,860
Cultural events	-
Sundry (Property)	-
SundaySchool	170				1,000
Church Repair Insurance Claim					-
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	138,372				130,129

A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
	-
	-				-
*Sub total*	-				-
*Total receipts* A3 Payments
					130,129

Wges(NI,Taxes)	17,569			17,569	15,047
Grants and donations				-	-
Mission of Congregation	22,115			22,115	22,115
PropertyMaintenance	6,390			6,390	22,990
Runningcosts	38,032			38,032	6,637
Statonery ,Printing,Utilities	801			801	625
Cost of fund rasing	-			-	-
Cultural events	-			-	-
Ecumenical &Organisational	5,000			5,000	5,000
Travel reimbursement	1,627			1,627	585
St.Andrws Church	3,750			3,750	3,750
Diocese Clergy,visitingdignatories	11,150			11,150	7,450
Sundyschool activities	389			389	1,510
Vicars exgratia,solicitors fees,visa,	6,000			6,000	-
Parsonage mortgage,expenses,bills	32,567			32,567	28,254
**Sub total **	145,390	-	-	145,390	113,963

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
Parsonage Purchase
	-
**Sub total **	-				-
*Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*
					113,963

	- 7,018			4,982	16,166
	-			-	-
	90,636			126,062	102,280
	83,618			131,044	118,446

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B3 Investment assets B2 Other monetary assets B1 Cash funds	Signature Details Details St. Gregorios Church Building Parsonage Furniture and Fixtures Other assets for church services Details Details Cash Funds Reserve Fund Icons, Puthuran etc *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 49,649 20,702 49,254 746 15,426 98,903 36,874 Agreement Error Agreement Error Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) 1,000,000 395,000 35,000 10,000 - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - Print Name Roys Philip Jacob Mathew	Endowment funds to nearest £
			-
			-
			-
			-
			OK
			Endowment funds to nearest £
			-
			-
			-
			Current value (optional)
			-
			-
			Current value (optional)
			1,250,000
			420,000
			20,000
			900
			-
			-
			When due (optional)




			Date of approval
		Roys Philip	28/12/2022
		Jacob Mathew	28/12/2022

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ ST,GREGORIOS’ INDIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH, LONDON members of


On accounts for the year ended Set out on pages	31/03/2022	Charity no (if any)	1000423

	2 3(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the examiner’s statement Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention (other than examiner's statement that disclosed below *)

which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act
have not been met; or
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.

Signed: Name: Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:		`30/12/2022`

	`Sunil Joseph`



	`198 Tamworth Lane`
	`Mitcham, Surrey, CR4 1DE`

IER

March 2022

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material problems.

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

IER

March 2022

IER March 2022