THE NATIONAL UNITARIAN FELLOWSHIP
The Unitarian Postal and On-Line Fellowship in the UK
77[th] Annual Report & Accounts
2021
Registered Charity Number 1040294
Affiliated to the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
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Secretary’s Report
It has been a good time to be Secretary and Treasurer for the National Unitarian Fellowship.
We have had a revamp of the web site to give a contemporary feel.
We have changed banks to NatWest and this has allowed for easy payment to the account and to pay bills electronically to printers and for web site upkeep.
We have appointed a company of book keepers to look after our accounts.
One new idea we had was to explore World Religions and to that effect we have has a speaker from the Zoroastrian Faith and Chinese religions and we are to have a speaker from the
New and Views has come out regularly although the editor had to step down due to health reasons and we have a temporary editor.
We received £150 pounds from the Norman Duncan Trust. We ran the Dorothy Archer Prize and had numerous entrants for different categories such as art work and poetry. And prize money was distributed to the winners.
The Secretary responded to an idea to set up a Unitarian – Hindu Connections and that group has been running monthly meeting bringing together Unitarians and Hindus.
We have donated some money to Send A Child To Hucklow and to the Inquirer.
We have a new member on the committee Roslyn Connelly and we are looking to expand the Committee further. Thanks
Indra
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News & Views Report
Sadly, the last editor, Nick Saunders, was diagnosed with Myeloma and had to step down from the role, one which he had been doing extremely well. His aim was to make the publication one which included articles from congregations, societies, individual Unitarians as well as NUF members. He brought his expertise to the job. Having stepped into the role of editor temporarily, until we can find a new and more permanent editor, I have attempted to follow the guidelines which Nick introduced. Nick keeps the membership updated on his progress through the pages of News & Views. We send him all our good wishes.
Each edition concentrates on addressing a theme. These have included: New Beginnings: Resolution and Perseverance: For the Healing of the Nations: ‘Celebration?’.
I would like to thank all our regular contributors, also those who have willingly responded to a request for a specific article.
It is a matter of concern that a more permanent editor comes forward soon and I would urge members to help in either volunteering themselves or helping to encourage someone they know to come forward. A full job description on contacting the editor will be available to anyone who is interested.
Joan Wilkinson
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Website report (www.nufonline.org.uk)
This has been a year of transition. John Wilkinson had built and developed the NUF website since we first went on line and he suggested that it had now become too dated and needed a new look. We agreed to use a professional website designer and our search ended when we appointed Jessica Russel who runs the Digiwow web design company. Digiwow built a new website but retained the address nufonline.org.uk for us. We also have a maintenance and updating contract with them. The NUF committee’s brief to her was to build a site that would connect Unitarians not only within the NUF but across the whole Unitarian Movement. The site now offers notice board and events pages which can be used by Unitarian congregations and Societies for publicity. Secondly the site should be attractive to internet surfers who are looking for a spiritual home or inspiration. The site includes worship material and a catalogue of Unitarian publications. Tony McNeile
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Membership Report
The membership through 2021/22 has remained stable at around 100 members, with most of them renewing at the first time of notification for which we are grateful.
As we have tidied up the membership list, we have had a very small number who decided not to renew and some who have died. However, there are always new people joining the Fellowship thus maintaining the membership numbers.
We are also grateful for those who have moved to on-line bank transfer or pay through a standing-order. However, payment by cheque is still welcome.
We thank all the members for responding kindly and promptly to the renewal slips and emails which we send to you, as it helps to make the role of membership secretary a very enjoyable one. Please know we are always here if you have any queries about your membership.
John & Joan Wilkinson
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Minister’s Report
This has been a year of transition. The committee meetings are now always on Zoom and we find the face to face contact both bonding and stimulating. We all feel involved in the process of running the NUF for the benefit of its members and the wider Unitarian Movement. It was good to hear from the headquarters staff at Essex Hall that the NUF is a valued part of the Unitarian Movement. Transition too that we have settled into a system with our finances and followed an ethical investment policy.
We were pleased with the response to the Dorothy Archer competition and will run it again.
I am grateful to everyone on our committee who give time to meet up every six weeks or so for an hour to keep the business of the NUF going and I would like to thank every one who is an NUF member for being part of this fellowship and supporting it. Ideally we would like you to be more involved. Perhaps you would enjoy the friendship of the committee and the feeling of ‘having a hand on the wheel’ or perhaps you would write something for the News and Views, sharing experiences about life, work or adventures. Your wisdom would be appreciated.
As the minister I continue to write my pages for the News and Views and I do hope you find them helpful sometimes. Please keep in touch. It is always good to hear from you and if you need some solace well, ring me or write.
Tony McNeile
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The NUF Accounts
Profit & Loss
National Unitarian Fellowship
Accounting Year 2020/21
| Debit | Credit | |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | 46,091 | |
| Subscription Income | 1,489 | |
| Donations | 55 | |
| Legacies | 44,547 | |
| Other Income add |
414 | |
| Interest Received | 214 | |
| Grant Income | 200 | |
| Administration Expenses less |
1,313 | |
| Web Hosting | 168 | |
| Printing | 439 | |
| Advertising and Promotion | 615 | |
| Postage | 7 | |
| Bank/Finance Charges | 84 | |
| Operating Profit | £45,192 | |
| less Drawings | £0 | |
| less Profit & Loss journal entries | £0 | |
| Retained Profit this period: | £45,192 | |
| Retained Profit brought forward: | £13,696 | |
| Distributable Reserves / Retained Profit carried forward: | £58,888 |
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Balance Sheet
National Unitarian Fellowship
As at 30 September 2021
| £ | £ | |
|---|---|---|
| Capital Assets | ||
| Net Book Value | £0 | |
| Current Assets | 58,888 | |
| Bank Account: Business Current Account | 6,254 | |
| Bank Account: CAF Fixed Interest Fund | 7,634 | |
| Bank Account: Newtons - Investment | 45,000 | |
| Net Current Assets | £58,888 | |
| Total Assets | £58,888 | |
| Owner's Equity: | ||
| Retained Profit | 58,888 | |
| Total Owner's Equity | £58,888 |
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Kenneth Smith NUF Treasurer and Membership Secretary January 2020
President - Howard Wilkins Minister - Rev Tony McNeile Treasurer - Indra Sikdar
Secretary - Indra Sikdar
Committee - Robert Saunders
Ian Martin
Monika Strell
News & Views Editor - Joan Wilkinson
Distributor - Derek Harvey
Books of Fellowship - Pat Caddick Website - Digiwow Membership Secretary - John and Joan Wilkinson Bookkeepers - Clearcut Accounts
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MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Post Code. . . . . . . . . . . . . Contact details. . . . . . . . . .
Subscription: £13.00 Students:£5.00
Return to: RJ Wilkinson, 10, Shirley Close, Castle Donington, Derby, DE74 2XB
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