2024-12-31-accounts - Christian Science Society, Scarborough

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SCARBOROUGH CHRISTIAN SCIENCE SOCIETY

Registered Charity Number 1068941

Trustees Annual Report & Financial Statement For the period 1st January 2024 – 31st December 2024

(incorporating the Financial Statement for the same time period) (to be attached after the AGM in March 2025)

Christian Science Society 60 Ramshill Road Scarborough YO11 2QG Website: scarboroughchristianscience.com

This report is the Trustees Annual Report and covers the activities of Scarborough Christian Science Society for the year 2024 and the financial statement covering the same period.

Reference & Administration Details Charity Details

Name: Scarborough Christian Science Society Registered Charity Number: 1068941 Address: 60 Ramshill Road, Scarborough, N. Yorks, YO11 2QG

Names of the Trustees who manage the Charity for the calendar year 2024

Name and Office: Marlene Scott Chair of the Executive Board Peter Daniel-Board member

Alex Mills- Board member

Note 1. There were no resignations in the period covered by this report

Name of Bookkeeper

Alan Moss

AJ Bookkeeping 4 Cromwell Road Scarborough YO11 2DR

Names of others with delegated responsibilities: Carol Daniel – Treasurer and Clerk; Safeguarding remit

Peter Daniel– President(Members Meetings); First Reader –Ilona McGivern Second Reader – Carol Daniel;

Librarian – Peter Daniel;

Sunday School Superintendent- Jane Dickinson Scott

Note 2. The Charity has no employees. All activities are carried out by volunteers or self-employed persons.

Structure, Government and Management Description of the Charity’s Objects

To maintain, practise and raise awareness of the Truth as set forth in the Bible and in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. This is done through church activities including, but not limited to, providing regular church services and testimony meetings, offering Sunday School classes, maintaining a public Reading Room and sponsoring Christian Science talks – all for the public benefit.

Type of Governing Document

The Society is governed by an official set of Bye-Laws. Originally adopted in 2005 and amended (according to the rules laid down at each amendment date) in 2015 and December 2020.

How the Charity is Constituted

Scarborough Christian Science Society is a non-incorporated charity under the advancement of religion designation.

Trustee Selection Method

The Executive Board is elected by the Society membership annually by ballot and may have 3-5 members. This Board constitutes the Charity Trustees. The rules are set out in the Bye-laws.

How New Trustees are inducted and Trained

New Trustees are given access to recent minutes of Trustee/Board meetings and all policies in place are available to them. A joint meeting of the retiring Board and the new Board is scheduled before the new Trustee period begins. All Trustees are given access to the Charity Commission document concerning expectations of Charity Trustees and on public benefit.

Statutory Declaration on Public Benefit

The Trustees declare that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers or duties.

Executive Summary and Reports of Activities, Achievements and Performance

The Executive Board/Charity Trustees have continued to meet most months of the year via Zoom as some Trustees are not locally resident to enable in person meetings. At all the Trustees meetings the Treasurer has provided an update on the Society’s finances. During this period, the following policies were reviewed and appropriately amended:- Financial Reserves where some amendments were needed to cover increased obligations of being landlords

to flats whose income is vital to the Society and increased maintenance for the church as new energy saving measures come online; Conflicts of Interest Policy and Declarations; Data Privacy where some amendments were needed to clarify what data is held; Health & Safety Policy and Financial Oversight Policy; Safeguarding and Disclosure and Barring associated policies need amendment due to requiring a new umbrella body to oversee DBS checks. Consideration was also given to a Social Media Policy but not instigated at this time of recording. The minutes of Trustee meetings do record the review schedule and any amendments.

The Trustees have also set the agendas for the bi-monthly Members’ Meetings and made various proposals for discussion at those meetings. Themes for prayer are also discussed and then implemented to support the needs of the community.

A significant donation received this year from a church of our denomination that had to close down wished Scarborough to carry on with the same charitable purposes they had. Thus, members of the Society decided to devote a good proportion of this money to the furtherance of outreach to the public by supporting a project to reinvigorate the York Reading Room along with other Yorkshire based Christian Science societies and churches. This project is ongoing and some members of this Society are on the organising committee. The donation can also assist with providing more lecture outreach.

Church Services

We were so happy to continue in-person Sunday services in church during the year and we have been able to livestream these services in order to reach those who cannot attend church in person. The livestream Sunday services can be easily accessed through our website where there is an immediate link available. We thank our member who regularly carries out this role that means the Sunday livestream is available every week. We have invested in upgrading the technology and are considering extra personnel to carry it out effectively. We have also been holding an in-person testimony meeting at lunchtime on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month and it is now available via Zoom to anyone who would prefer to access such a meeting at that time of day. Alongside this we have continued providing an online Zoom meeting in the evenings on the same Wednesdays and it is encouraging to report that these meetings generally attract a greater number from a wider region than are able to attend in person at the church premises. We are grateful to a former member who is the technical host for the evening meetings.This kind of provision has brought about a further application for supporting our work through membership of the Society.

We continue to prayerfully support the idea of welcoming children more regularly into the refurbished Sunday School and nursery area. Sometimes we do have visiting young people of church members into the

Nursery/Sunday School and on what is termed Association Sunday we have welcomed a large number of students of a listed Christian Science Teacher to our church and Sunday School.

Reading Room

Our Reading Room is open on a regular basis on Wednesdays 10-12 and 2-4 and on Saturdays 10-12. Visitors come in to make enquiries about our denomination and during the year there have been 35 visitors who have engaged in deep and meaningful conversations. We have continued the regular Bible Reading activity in the Reading Room on a Wednesday afternoon and have made this available to join online via Zoom. In the recent readings of the Sermon on the Mount we have had people joining us online from other parts of Yorkshire, all over the UK, Italy, Germany, Canada, USA and Switzerland.

Outside, by our front door, we maintain a literature distribution box for all our church publications. The Christian Science Monitor is taken regularly and is very popular with passers-by. It is a weekly news magazine, which has won many accolades for its low-ego, high-curiosity journalism. Its mission is to injure no man and to bless all mankind. We also often feature quotations from the weekly Sentinel magazine in our public facing window. As it is written by hand on a flip chart, it attracts attention and many passers-by stop to read the messages they find there, providing uplifting ideas to the community. The Christian Science Journal is a monthly publication that is stocked. It includes a worldwide directory of Christian Science Practitioners who make themselves publicly available to respond to requests for prayer. They work with people of any location, background, culture or faith. We are happy to note that one of our members is listed in this directory.

Lecture

An important activity for our outreach is that of providing a lecture to the public on Christian Science. This year in April we held an in-person lecture entitled “ A Lasting, Healing Solution to Hopelessness” given by Alison Hughes CS alongside an Open Day for the Reading Room. We had an enthusiastic visitor, new to the ideas of Christian Science who travelled from West Yorkshire to attend the lecture who then spent much time in conversation with the lecturer aferwards.

We also were able to sponsor another lecture, given by Philip Hockley CS at HMP Lindholme to a number of men and staff there which was recorded and afterwards made available to all at the prison via their computer network. It was entitled “A Way out of Crime, Addiction and Disability.”

Prison Chaplaincy work

It is very pleasing to report that one of our members is now on the chaplaincy team that supports prisoners in various facilities in the Yorkshire region. She was a key link this year in facilitating the lecture in HMP Lindholme and the

lecturer was happy to report that her work has established excellent relations with the chaplaincy team there and the atmosphere was most welcoming. She keeps us regularly updated on the nature of the input she can provide and the members support this work by providing access to Christian Science publications that may help and uplift those she works with.

Thanks to volunteers

Some of our activities could not go ahead successfully without the support of members, non-members and relatives of members. We would like to thank those who have given their time and expertise in carrying out some maintenance work, in supporting the Reading Room work and conducting livestreaming. We also appreciate the dedication of our pianist who travels some distance to play for our Sunday Services.

The Financial Review for the period covered by this Trustees Annual Report will be prepared by our bookkeeper for presentation at the Members Annual Meeting in March 2025. It will be approved and signed off at that meeting by all members, including the Trustees and sent to the Charity Commission.

This Trustees Annual Report was agreed by the retiring Board of Trustees

Signed:

Date: 16/12/2024

Board Chair

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE SOCIETY SCARBOROUGH Financlal Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE SOCIETY SCARBOROUGH Ind•pend•nt Examln•r's R•port lo th• Trust••s of the Chrlsllln 8¢l•n¢• Soci•ly I rewrt on ',he accounls ol th8 cfjarlty fcy the ¥e8r endwj 31 December 2024. R•sp•cliv• R•sponsibilrtie$ ol Trnst••s and Examin•r Tho Ch8rity'S t11$ •r• fesponsible lor the weparabon ol Ihe accounts. The ch8ffly s trugtees consider that an aiKIrt 15 not le4LMfed IOT this y•ai undef Sec*'on 4) of th¢ Chathles Act 1993 and Ihat an indewndent ex8nin•tron rn n•eded. It is rny re8pon•ibhty lo.. Examin• the •ccounts (und•r Secbon 4313)<a) ol the 1993 Act) Follow the Pfocedufes laKI down in thè G•n•ffal DliecDons given by the Charty COMnOIS (MIer Se¢XOD 43ffllb) ol the 1993 Acl and Stale Yth•th•f palllcular motter9 have come to my att•nllon Basis of Ind•pendènt Examln•r's St•t•m•nt My exarrinats'on was rri•d out In accordance wth the Gernfal Dlr•cOons gN•n by lh• Chanty Commissionors An ex8fTYnption includes 8 r•w•w of th8 accounting records kepl by the chanty and a CQmD8Tison of the accounts y8s8ntÉd wlth tlose revo'ds It 8150 includes considerabon of any unusu81 lteff or ¢SoclopAJf8s In thé accounts and seeking explanalions tsom you as Tfuslees conc•fnifYJ any Such matters. The PfoClUreS uTrdertaken do not provide all th• n¢0 that YukI be rwuired in On audll and cormequentty I do nal expre6s an audil on the ¥1 occounts. Ind•p•nd•nt Examin•r's Sl•tom•nt In connecllon wlth my ex8nablY1. 110 matter to rry OttMllon' (1) Which pvej me iea8onable c8USÈ to 11•¥0 Ihat. in any rnaterfal rpd. the requireThnts'. To keep •ccountrr& r•cords In a¢¢¢yd8nce wilh secllon 41 ol lh• 1993 Act. and To wtP8r• Kcounts whlch •c¢ord with Ihe amnllr¥J focords and to c(¥npty wtth the •ccounD'IvJ rU11•M•nts of Ihe 1993 Act Have been ff•i: or {2) To byhich In opn40n. gttenbon •houkl bÉ dfawn Jn ord•f to onable a proper WXIetarK1lg ol the accounts be reathe Alan Mc A J B¢X)kkeep¥n9 4 crorell RoAd Searbofo Ljgh North YJrk4h,re Dat 16 February 225

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE SOCIETY SCARBOROUGH Rectlplj and P41'mriiiy .4rrvuni f¢ir ihe ier enthd 31 Defemr 21b24 I ¥¢rled I nreirktsd Fundj Toial Fundy 2U24 J123 1.330 61.263 1,131 12.120 1.423 1.978 1.198 8.201 DoMtwt• Blnk lrnV••t R•ti R•c•lv•a T•x R•lLftd• 12.150 1.449 lrnu•ro cilm X••Jry Roarn ?•¢•O• 144 1.250 2.031 4505 137 C¥ir4ng 24 3.497 534 3.050 249 Lqlfiiry S 4••llnq T•ohorn & lrnwfi•t In•urinr• Riièi & ¥V Trnv• E••n••• I4•n,"50s)l 2831 95 1.090 5.375 325 415 3726 1.836 1745 1.550 336 223 10049 1 041 2.65C 1.020 C•frr¢TM on pu•11n ExFrws R•F•lr• & M•.It•n•tK• TKhr¥ul 4o•t L•tllty Ap•nl F••• Lqg•l & AKrurtirq EJ)•r•• 150 3.571 1.838 1.750 1440 151 knfrJrrMih)n T•cnrn Dvr4 8 >Jb•criM 101 944 1.400 R••dry Rt)frt Exp•ftdrtw• E¥¢••• 01 R•r•W P•yrnw*• 37.393 8.539 BToug•rt For••ré Rétsin•d C•rn•O F¢)rn•rd 74.354 80.893

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE SOCIETY SCARBOROUGH Statènnl of Ass•ts and Li•bilrti•s as at 31 D•c•mb•r 2024 Unro5trict•d Total Funds 2024 Unrestricted Total Funds 2023 Mon•tsry A$t$ 8ank CuN•ftt Aecount SaviTrJs Accounl Undeposrted F urvjs Re8th' ng Room Account 44.159 68 133 £ 38804 35.cp 498 2S2 74 354 409 111.747 Non Mon•lary Ass•ts Fr••hold Prop•rty The Ir8ehoRI ¢Yoperty at 60 Rafrfjhill Road, Scrtr0Jh ig owned ty the ¢hanty w•$ purchased from unrpFlncted lundF• Fixtur•s Frtlings and Equlpment Th8 Chanty Warious fixtu."es. fft)'roJ •ThJ equIprynI ind4Khng t4ble8 ¢h•rn, •oft fuM1B.a1 and e4eL1ncal equipment al ol wknch were purchas from unfestrlcled funds ar are Ltsed fof lh• orwiNJ athvilies. Stock Th6 =haity mntyns • snwll stock of books and church Mtsrature for sale to publc Apyoved Board M 20 2oir ond 'gned on ts beh8W ty.. (Cith)

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE SOCIETY SCARBOROUGH Financlal Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024