Grace Church Thame
Registered Charity 1124788
Trustees’ Annual Report Period 01/04/2020 to 31/03/2021
Objectives and Activities
Grace Church Thame is committed to the advancement of the Christian Faith and, in accordance with the church’s doctrinal basis, to demonstrate the love of Christ in practical ways. The church is also committed to the relief of poverty, sickness, hardship and distress together with education based on Christian principles.
Grace Church Thame is passionate about enabling as many people as possible to worship at the church, and to become committed members of the family of God at Grace Church Thame. Our Sunday worship service is open to all and people are encouraged to put faith into practice and action through the exercising of spiritual gifts, prayer, scripture and music. As part of our Sunday meeting we have a separate children’s work, currently covering the ages 0 to 13, where the children are offered a safe environment in which to have fun, sing, hear stories from the bible and pray. We meet during the week in small group meetings, held in several different homes for bible study, prayer, worship and evangelism. Most months we meet together as a church mid-week for worship and prayer, where we pray for the church and the local community. We run courses explaining the Christian faith (Alpha courses) when there is demand, and discipleship courses for members and others who ask for help (Freedom in Christ, money management, marriage preparation and marriage courses). We join with other local churches to run community events and we are committed to supporting Christian missionaries and inter-denominational aid agencies.
In particular we try to enable ordinary people to live out extraordinary lives of faith as part of the local community in Thame and the surrounding area. This is achieved through:
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Worship and prayer, learning about the gospel and developing people’s knowledge of, and trust in, Jesus Christ.
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Provision of pastoral care, not just for the church family, but also for people living in the local community.
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Mission and outreach work.
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Achievements and performance
The charity is a Christian church seeking to extend the kingdom of God and demonstrate the love of Christ in practical ways. The church employs a full-time pastor and a part-time administrative assistant. All other roles are carried out by unpaid volunteers.
Midweek discipleship groups continue to run bi-weekly with the emphasis on growing in spiritual maturity. Also, we run bi-weekly prayer meeting all together to pray for our town and country.
Our children’s work continues to be focussed mainly on Sunday mornings and predominantly, though not exclusively, with children from families with links to the church.
Jigsaw Babies and Toddlers group continues to run weekly in term-time, and remains very popular. It provides opportunities to minister to and support parents of young children in the area.
All volunteers are required to follow the church’s Safeguarding Policy and also be subject to DBS (previously CRB) checks before they are allowed to work with the children. We do take our responsibilities in this respect very seriously, and have a coordinator who ensures that DBS checks are kept up to date.
In January of 2021 we launched a Local Debt Centre in partnership with Christians Against Poverty. One person is employed for 16 hours a week to be the debt centre manager and many others in the church volunteer as “befrienders” to come alongside and offer support to those struggling with unmanageable debt. We are very grateful to the support of other local churches in this new ministry.
We are also passionate about working in partnership with other churches and organisations. The groups we work with include:
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Newfrontiers - we are part of Newfrontiers, a family of around 1,000 churches in over 80 different nations: www.newfrontierstogether.org
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Catalyst - within Newfrontiers we are part of Catalyst, a network of churches aiming to make disciples in the nations of the world: www.catalystnetwork.org
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Evangelical Alliance - we are members of the Evangelical Alliance, the umbrella body representing the UK's two million evangelical Christians: www.eauk.org
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Lighthouse Thame and Villages - a holiday week for children and young people in Thame and the surrounding area that takes place in the summer holidays: www.lighthousethame.org.uk
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The church also continued to support financially a family who work for a faith organisation, Wycliffe Bible Translators.
Covid-19
It is worth noting the exceptional circumstances caused by this pandemic. During March 2020 the official lockdown began and Grace Church Thame immediately transitioned to offer an online church experience which include pre-recorded services and live meetings in Zoom. We also ran an online Alpha Course and CAP Money Course.
Structure, governance and management
The church is governed by a trust deed which was adopted by the membership on 29[th] August 2007.
Trustees are appointed as described in the Declaration of Trust which is by recommendation and by the existing Trustees.
Administrative information
Grace Church Thame is situated in Thame, Oxfordshire and is a part of the NewFrontiers family of churches. The correspondence address is c/o 72 Roundhead Drive, Thame, Oxfordshire OX9 3DJ. The Registered Charity number is 1124788.
The trustees who currently manage the charity are:-
Mr David-John Williams Ms Jane Jubb Mrs Aileen Stanley Mr Anthony Taylor (Chair)
These accounts were approved by the trustees on 19thSeptember 2021 and signed on their behalf by:
……………………………………………………. Mr Anthony Taylor
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| GRACE CHURCH THAME Registered Charity- 1124788 |
|||||
| Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2021 |
2020/21 Totals £'s |
2019/20 Totals £'s |
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| Summary of Balances General Funds Acts IV Fund New Frontiers TOTAL FUNDS |
33,260 1,985 36,693 71,938 |
38,362 2,001 29,341 |
|||
| 69,704 | |||||
| Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2021 CASH AT BANK HSBC Bank CAF Bank TOTAL FUNDS Manse Loan Accounts Receivable Accounts Payable TOTAL NET ASSETS |
2020/21 Totals £'s 21,575 49,391 70,966 5,000 - (4,028) 71,938 |
2019/20 Totals £'s 17,218 49,369 66,587 5,000 - (1,883) 69,704 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
GRACE CHURCH THAME
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Registered Charity 1124788
| Registered Charity 1124788 | Registered Charity 1124788 | Registered Charity 1124788 |
|---|---|---|
| General Funds Income Offerings 50,065 56,798 Gift Aid Tax Recovered 16,100 8,966 Other Income 3,080 4,102 Interest Received 22 0 Transfer from Restricted Funds 0 74 69,267 69,940 Expenditure Staff Costs 46,381 46,402 Working Expenses – lead elder 515 2,000 Manse - Council Tax/Rates etc. 2,607 2,519 Insurances 346 420 Premises Hire 1,759 7,460 Training/Conferences 850 853 Stationery 1,081 453 Sunday Mornings 1,579 3,088 Outreach/Publicity 979 769 Jigsaw 68 648 Mission Support 1,800 2,833 Christians Against Poverty 1,603 0 Catalyst gift & festival costs 11,200 9,774 Newday Costs 1,904 1,984 PA/Tape/Music 106 591 Fund Raising & Governance cost 1,591 1,883 74,369 81,677 Net Income/(Expenditure) (5,102) (11,737) Net Transfer to Restricted Funds 0 0 Balance B/fwd 38,362 50,099 Balance C/fwd 33,260 38,362 |
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| 50,065 16,100 3,080 22 0 69,267 46,381 515 2,607 346 1,759 850 1,081 1,579 979 68 1,800 1,603 11,200 1,904 106 1,591 74,369 (5,102) 0 38,362 33,260 |
56,798 8,966 4,102 0 74 |
|
| 69,940 | ||
| 46,402 2,000 2,519 420 7,460 853 453 3,088 769 648 2,833 0 9,774 1,984 591 1,883 |
||
| 81,677 | ||
| (11,737) 0 50,099 38,362 |
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| GRACE CHURCH THAME Registered Charity 1124788 Church Tithe Income – Offerings Transfer from General Fund Net Receipts/(Payments) Balance B/fwd Balance C/fwd |
7,352 0 7,352 29,341 36,693 |
7,236 0 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 7,236 | |||
| 22,105 29,341 |
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| Acts IV Fund Income – Offerings Payments – Church Running Transfer from General Fund Net Receipts/(Payments) Balance B/fwd Balance C/fwd |
0 (16) 0 0 2,001 1,985 |
240 (240) 0 |
|
| 0 | |||
| 2,001 2,001 |
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Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Grace Church Thame
I report on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31 March 2021, which are set out on pages 4 to 6.
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(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
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examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
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to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
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to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner's report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the 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 you as 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 examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
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to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and
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• to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act
have not been met; or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Name: Richard Lane
Relevant professional qualification or body: ACA., ICAEW
Address: 29 Ballyknockan Road, Ballygowan County Down, BT23 6NR
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Date: 2021