2025-08-31-accounts

ANNUAL REPORT 2024 – 2025

Durham City Methodists

at Elvet and North Road

Registered Charity Number 1126844

Church Business Address : Elvet Methodist Church Old Elvet Durham DH1 3HL Correspondence Address: Mr. Paul Harrison 28 Kira Drive Rosemount Durham DH1 5GU (Church Council Secretary)

Church Council (Managing Trustees) as of 1[st] September 2025 Alison Ainslie Paul Harrison Hilary Phillips Margaret Best Sue Harrison Matthew Phillips Penny Bissell Marion Hart Joan Portrey Steve Bissell Christine Higham Alan Purvis Ann Bradbrook Melvyn Higham Gwyn Purvis John Chamberlayne Mary Hogg Anne Scott Trevor Coburn Pat Johnson John Scott Sandra Cooper Doreen Lawson Margaret Thompson Terri Davidson Stuart Lawson Angel Tsang Janelle Dundee Sue Mein Kath Turner Jackie Fielding John Niven Lynda Underwood John Gibson Alastair Phillips* Rob Warne

Ministers: Deacon R. Lackenby, Rev J. Squares, Rev John Jebaseelan, Rev F. Weir

*not a Managing Trustee as under age

Aims and Organisation

The aims of Durham City Methodists are to:

• Inform people about the love of God manifested in the giving of his Son, Jesus Christ

• Bear witness to that love by showing care to those in need

• Provide opportunities to worship God, through Jesus Christ

• Explore and demonstrate ways to follow Christ and promote God’s love in contemporary society by the power of the Holy Spirit

The Church attempts to fulfil these aims by:

• Having well organised and meaningful services of worship each Sunday and on other special dates in the Christian calendar

• Providing services of baptism, marriage and funeral

• Helping those in need, by providing a Foodbank and fundraising for charitable purposes

• Maintaining an orderly and welcoming building which can be used by other organisations

• Giving young people the opportunity to learn about the Christian faith in a safe and supportive environment, through Junior Church, and by giving adults the chance to explore their faith through house groups and meetings on church premises e.g. midweek prayer group, café-style/ discussion/reflective worship.

Organisation

The managing trustees of the church are the members of the Church Council, who are responsible for the activities of the church and the up-keep of the premises. They appoint the following committees to ensure the efficient running of the Church:

• Property and Finance Committee

• Pastoral Committee

• Open Doors (Mission Team)

Activities in 2024 – 2025

During the year 2024 – 2025, Durham City Methodists have maintained their life of worship and of service in the community and beyond, both virtually and face to face. Most of the church’s activities are of an on-going nature. In its remit of worship, these consist of

• Sunday worship services

• The celebration of Holy Communion

• Junior Church, meeting each Sunday during school term times

• House group meets face to face

• Baptism, wedding ceremonies and funerals.

All these activities are open to the public.

Its service to the community is manifested in many ways.

• The church is both a collection and distribution point for Foodbank.

• Each month, a charity is chosen to be supported by our monthly coffee mornings. We also regularly support Global Care projects and Suubi Africa UK

• It supports several charities (e.g. special collections in aid of Action for Children, Methodist Homes for the Aged and in response to world disasters and areas of developing humanitarian need). In addition, when possible, offerings at communion services are donated to nominated charities each month.

• Marriage Preparation classes are run as necessary.

• Funerals are conducted in church, at the crematorium and cemeteries.

• A creche is provided during Sunday morning services, when possible, for baptismal services

• The church has Uniformed Organisation Groups

• Its members visit the sick and elderly. Birthday cards are sent to those over 80 years of age.

• Every Wednesday (except for the holiday periods) a lunch is prepared and provided by our Lunch Stop team and attended by people from the local community.

• It is one of the focal church venues for the Inclusive Christian Student Movement (Durham) and welcomes students (and other visitors) from many countries.

• We are a Fair-Trade church.

• We belong to the Inclusive Church network.

• We are working towards a gold Eco Award

• It is a popular venue for concerts and other public events.

• We have a presence at Durham Pride.

Of special note in the 2024 – 2025 year were the following :

We have combined the two Methodist churches in the City Centre, North Road and Elvet, and are now Durham City Methodists, one church on two sites. We are now prayerfully seeking to work out which of our two sites we can retain as we do not have the capacity and resources to maintain two sites. We formed our one church council in November 2021. We are an Inclusive Church and as such we are on the membership map of inclusive churches in the UK. We have been granted our Silver Eco Award by A Rocha UK and are actively seeking to cut our carbon emissions and be more energy efficient.

• We agreed to work to raise much needed funds for one main project St Cuthbert’s Hospice, Durham. Meanwhile we continue holding fundraising events at our 10 monthly coffee mornings where we raise funds for local and national charities. We hold other fundraising and social events for charities such as ‘Suubi Africa UK’ and ‘Global Care’. We were open from the morning till early afternoon to offer refreshments to members of the public during the Miners’ Gala in July.

• Over the past year several charities have received donations from our communion and other special collections.

• Several members holding identified relevant positions within the church (staff, preachers, stewards, worship leaders, pastoral visitors and anyone working with or having contact with young people or vulnerable adults) have refreshed their safeguarding training with an updated module, in accordance with guidelines from The Methodist Church.

• Several members holding identified relevant positions within the church (staff, preachers, stewards, worship leaders, pastoral visitors) have undertaken EDI training and this is ongoing.

• Outreach is being made with families and their very young children via our Monday Messy Mornings.

• The Chinese church, under the pastoral charge Rev John Squares and TC Luk, continues to meet and grow with the influx of Hong Kongers. This is still a class of Durham City Methodists.

• We have a small prayer area available for private prayer in the church when the church is open.

• Our Open Doors team are working through our missional and business plan for future growth and events, under the district heading of ‘every church growing’.

• We are looking to increase our community engagement and have actively sought ways to become more involved in the local community.

Objectives for 2025 – 2026;

• The Durham City Methodist Trustees will be working to see how we can grow God’s kingdom as we all face the challenges before us and continue as one church on two sites and eventually become one church on one site.

• We will continue our ongoing commitments, implement relevant aspects of the circuit plan and support areas of activity arising from our Open Doors hospitality group meetings, both virtual and face to face when possible.

• We intend to make Elvet and North Road sites more visible and welcoming to the community. We are an inclusive church welcoming all. We have a presence on social media.

• We hope to be working more in our local community eg during the year partnering other local people in the missional opportunities that arise with FREE provided by DAAC Charity (Durham Agency Against Crime) and the Asylum Seekers Drop-In run by the Church of England.

• Having one of the largest church buildings in our circuit we seek to offer alternatives for congregations of other churches, as well as students and visitors to the city.

• We continue to provide variety in worship, offering occasional café-style, Iona and Taizé style services, introducing new hymns and hosting joint services with other Methodists, Anglican and Chinese churches. We will explore expanding mid-week services and developing ‘Messy Church’ worship for young families.

• Our Methodist Students who amalgamated with students from the Church of England and other denominations and are now named the Inclusive Christian Movement Durham (ICMD) meet regularly at the Elvet site and at St Oswald’s C of E, as well as virtually. The group is open to those with or without any faith to come and explore.

• The Chinese Church congregation continue to meet on Sundays and during the week – worship being offered in Mandarin, Cantonese and English when appropriate. They are now looking to become a church with their own governance structure but will continue worshipping at DCM Elvet.

Elvet Methodist Church Old Elvet Durham DH1 3HL

North Road Methodist Church 28 North Road Durham DH1 4SG

CHURCH

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS

THE METHODIST CHURCH STANDARD FORM OF ACCOUNTS

Durham City Methodists (Elvet and North Road Methodist Churches) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 August 2025 Durham and Deerness Valley Circuit Circuit no: 13/11 Registered Charity - Registration number 1126844

Minister:

Rev John Squares

Church Stewards:

Penny Bissell Sue Mein Clare Coburn Joan Portrey Trevor Coburn David Ramsden Jackie Fielding Kath Turner Christine Higham Lynda Underwood

Treasurer:

Hilary Phillips

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ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUG 2025

Durham City Methodists (Elvet and North Road Methodist Churches)

					Durham City Methodists (Elvet and North Road Methodist Churches)	Durham City Methodists (Elvet and North Road Methodist Churches)	Durham City Methodists (Elvet and North Road Methodist Churches)	Durham City Methodists (Elvet and North Road Methodist Churches)	Durham City Methodists (Elvet and North Road Methodist Churches)
	SECTION A			Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds		£ 85,412 12,367 116,940 13,460 Totals this year		Totals last year
a1	RECEIPTS		Note	£	£	£		£
a2	Offerings and Tax recovered			85,412	0	85,412		84,645
a3	Bank and CFB interest and Investment income			12,236	131	12,367		9,495
a4	Lettings, Wayleave & Other Property			98,633	18,307	116,940		94,347
a5	Bequests, Donations & Other Receipts			13,280	180	13,460		674
a6
a7
a8	TOTAL RECEIPTS			209,561	18,618	**228,179 **	(a7)	189,160
	SECTION B					106,672 4,945 52,239 37,799 41,086
b1	PAYMENTS
b2	Circuit Assessment			106,672	0	106,672		104,320
b3	Donations			4,945	0	4,945		4,975
b4	Repairs, Maintenance & Improvements			52,239	0	52,239		81,268
b5	Utilities (Insurance, water, heating& lighting)			37,799	0	37,799		31,181
b7	Other items			24,086	17,000	41,086		26,806
b8
b9	TOTAL PAYMENTS			225,741	17,000	**242,741 **	(b9)	248,549
						-14,562
	SECTION C
c1	(a8-b9) NET RECEIPTS/ PAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR			-16,180	1,618	-14,562
c2	Total funds brought forward from lastyear			117,190	18,834	**136,024 **	(c6)	195,413
						121,462
c3	Sub total (c1+c2)			101,010	20,452	121,462
c4	Transfers and adjustments			202,601	0	**202,601 **	(c8)	0
c5	(c3+c4) TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF YEAR			303,611	20,452	**324,063 **	(c7)	136,024	(c6)
									4
	SECTION D
d	(these amounts are not included in total receipts/payments figures above) Balance brought forward from lastyear 0 985 10,892 4,956 10,892 5,942 0 0 FOR INFORMATION ONLY:MONEY RECEIVED AND PASSED ON TO EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS Offerings/Gifts -received for external organisations Offerings/Gifts -passed to external organisations BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID (d1+d2-d3)
d1	Balance brought forward from lastyear					0		985
d2	Offerings/Gifts -received for external organisations					10,892		4,956
d3	Offerings/Gifts -passed to external organisations					10,892		5,942
d4	BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID (d1+d2-d3)					0		0

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Durham City Methodists (Elvet and North Road Methodist Churches)

SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL

SECTION E Please follow the Guidance Notes to complete this page

Summary of the Church accounts for the year ended 31 August 2025 and internal organisations reporting to the Church Council. All internal organisation funds are unrestricted funds.

	INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS	Receipts		Payments		Net Receipts/ Payments		Adjustments		Openingbalances		Closingbalances
e1	Arts & Crafts	142		142		0		0		10		10
e2	Elvet Flower Fund	200		228		-28		0		904		876
e3	Lunch Stop	2,411		7,487		-5,076		0		6,560		1,484
e4	Messy Mornings	337		337		0		0		100		100
e5	Chinese Church	15,186		23,382		-8,196		0		46,869		38,673
e6
e7
e8	Sub total of Internal Organisations funds	18,276		31,577		-13,300		0		54,443	(e11)	41,143	(e12)
e9	Church accounts (totals brought forward from page 2 - totals column)	228,179	(a7)	**242,741 **	(b9)	-14,562		**202,601 **	(c8)	**136,024 **	(c6)	324,063	(c7)
e10	TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD BY CHURCH	246,455		274,318		-27,862		202,601		190,468	(x)	365,206	(y)
	Continue on a separate sheet if necessary and bring the totals forward	TOTAL RECEIPTS		TOTAL PAYMENTS

SECTION F

	SECTION F
	STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES CHURCH - CASH FUNDS HELD Cash in hand Bank Current Account Bank Deposit Account Central Finance Board Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes Other funds SUB TOTAL - Church accounts TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD BY CHURCH Total funds held by Internal Organisations (the closingbalance total from above) (e12)		At 01/09/2024 0 1,721 693 107,647 25,964 136,024 (c6) 54,443 (e11) 190,468 (x) OPENING BALANCES	At 31/08/2025 CLOSING BALANCES
f1	Cash in hand			138
f2	Bank Current Account			1,474
f3	Bank Deposit Account			489
f4	Central Finance Board			93,386
f5	Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes			228,576
f6	Other funds
f7	SUB TOTAL - Church accounts			324,063	(c7)
f8	Total funds held by Internal Organisations (the closingbalance total from above) (e12)			41,143	(e12)
f9	TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD BY CHURCH			365,206	(y)
	SECTION G OTHER ASSETS and LIABILITIES Investments(include Endowments) Other Assets Loan(s)- show amount outstandingatyear end Other Liabilities Land & Buildings (see notes re Insurance value)		At 1 September 2024 8,792 15,808,068 0 46,141 0	At 31 August 2025 Note 8,808 16,313,774 5 0 29,477 0
g1	Investments(include Endowments)		8,792	8,808
g2	Land & Buildings (see notes re Insurance value)		15,808,068	16,313,774
g3	Other Assets		0	0
g4	Loan(s)- show amount outstandingatyear end		46,141	29,477
g5	Other Liabilities		0	0

f4 Include only Funds held at the Central Finance Board

f5 Include only Funds held at Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes

g1 Include any other investments

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Durham City Methodists (North Road and Elvet Methodist Churches)

Loans

At 31/08/2025 the church had outstanding loans as follows:

Lender	**Date of loan **	Interest rate	Capital remaining	Notes
Durham & Deerness Valley Circuit	2022	1.5% (fixed)	£17,177.36	These loans from the Circuit and from church members to pay for refurbishing the former caretaker’s house at No. 8, Old Elvet will be repaid through rent received for that property over the next few years. The Circuit is expected to be repaid within 5 years and the church members will be repaid as soon aspossible after that.
3 church members	2022	0%	£12,300.00

Endowment Funds

Endowment Funds
Endowment Name	How the capital is invested	Current Capital Value	Income 2024/25	What the income was used for
Trust 15370: Mrs Margaret Hopper	868 CFB Managed Mixed Fund Units	4,710.64	83.92	Income to General Church Fund
Trust 8312: Surplus Funds	755 CFB Managed Mixed Fund Units	4,097.39	73.01	Income to General Church Fund
	Totals	8,808.03	156.93

Payment to Trustees

Payment to Trustees
Number of trustees (i.e. members of the Church Council) who were paid expenses. Payments made to trustees for additional services provided to the Church by agreement with the Church Council.		This year £s Last year £s
		500.00	500.00
		1	1
Nature of the expenses: Payment in lieu of expenses to Mrs P Bissell in her capacity as Church Secretary.		500.00	500.00
	Totals	500.00	500.00

Paid employees

The Church has no paid employees.

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Notes Accompanying the Accounts

1 Basis of Accounting

With annual gross income falling below the £250,000 accounting threshold, the accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis in accordance with Charity Commission rules. There have been no changes in accounting conventions from the previous year.

2 Donations from Church Funds

The following donations were made from general funds:

To Methodist Funds The World Mission Fund The Mission in Britain Fund The Property Fund Action for Children All We Can Total	£s To Other Recipients 2,290.00 Durham Churches Together 1,490.00 Inclusive Church 345.00 Bible Society 115.00 St Cuthbert’s Hospice 230.00 St Margaret’s Centre 4,470.00 Total	£s 30.00 100.00 115.00 115.00 115.00
		475.00

3 Transfers and Adjustments

£202,600 has been added to the General Fund as the result of the bequest of Edith Pritchard which has been invested on our behalf by the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes in TMCP trust no. 14587. For receipts and payments accounting, endowments are excluded from gross income.

4 Money Received on Behalf of External Organisations

The following amounts were raised and passed onto other charities through special collections, coffee mornings etc.

Christian Aid Mary’s Meals Great North Air Ambulance Leprosy Mission Circuit trip to 3Generate All We Can Royal British Legion Durham City of Sanctuary Crisis Durham Winter Night Shelter Daft as a Brush St Cuthbert’s Hospice UNICEF Sudan appeal Durham Samaritans Water Aid Communities Together Durham Cancer Research UK Total

Brought forward Received Passed on Outstanding at 31/08/2025 0.00 7.00 7.00 0.00 0.00 9.00 9.00 0.00 0.00 2.87 2.87 0.00 0.00 10.38 10.38 0.00 0.00 1,119.10 1,119.10 0.00 0.00 250.35 250.35 0.00 0.00 24.08 24.08 0.00 0.00 227.55 227.55 0.00 0.00 1,335.00 1,335.00 0.00 0.00 694.27 694.27 0.00 0.00 1,115.20 1,115.20 0.00 0.00 3,630.52 3,630.52 0.00 0.00 302.00 302.00 0.00 0.00 511.50 511.50 0.00 0.00 1,175.18 1,175.18 0.00 0.00 381.52 381.52 0.00 0.00 96.75 96.75 0.00 0.00 10,892.27 10,892.27 0.00

5 Value of Buildings & Assets at 31/08/2025

Church Building (Elvet) Church Building (North Road) House at No. 27 North Road House at No. 8 Old Elvet	£s 11,071,093 4,261,278 705,774 275,629
	16,313,774

The churches and other buildings are in excess of 100 years old and are listed at their insurance value, in accordance with guidelines issued by the Methodist Connexion.

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DECLARATIONS Treasurer I confirm that I have prepared the accounts from Ihe records of the Church and that they include all funds under the Gontrol of the Church Council Signature of Treasurer Date iLtrlio 113 Name H M Phillips Address 35 Archery Rise. Durham, DH14LA Presentation to the Church Council for approval I confirm that the AccoLtnts have been presented to the Church Council on and were approved. i+-ID-2 Signature of the Chair of the meeting Name of the Chair of the mpeling Dale 14- 10-10 Indop•ndont Examinor's Roport to the Trustees of Durham City Methodists This Report is on the Church Accounts for the year ended 31108r2025 carried out under Section 43 of the charib.es Act 1993, or in Scotland Section 11 of the charikn'gs and Trustee Investment (Scotlandl Act 2005. Respective responslbllltles of Trustees and Examiner As Trustees, you are responsible for Ihe preparatson of the arxounts. The Charity's Trustees ￿nSIder that an audit is not required for this year under Section 43121 of the charib.es AGI 1993 {the 1993 Acll or under Regulation 1011 Ildl of The Charities Accounts {ScoUandl Regulatsons 20￿ (the 2006 Accounts Regulalionsl and that an independent examinatson is needed It is my responsibility lo". examine the accounts undar secb'on 43 of the 1g93 Act and section44{11 of the Charities and Trustee InVest￿nI ISwVandl Act 2005. lo follow the prO￿dureS laid d¢)wn in the general Directions 9Tven by the Charity Commission under Secbon 4317llb) of the 1993 act.. and to slate whelhei particular rnatter5 have curne lo my attentTron. 2024-25accDurrts.ods 6017

Ba$1$ of Ind•pgnd•nt Examin•rf$ Roport My examinab.on was carried out in ac￿{daTh￿ wrth the general Directions gNen by the Charity Commission and is in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Charities Ar￿unts IScotlan¢Jl Regulations 2006. An ex3minatson includes a review of the aceounling records kept by the charity and a comparison ol the aLuunts pie5ented with those records. It a150 includes con5iderats.on of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and soaking explanab'ons frorn you as Trustees Con￿rning any such Matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the eviden￿ 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 Ihe reporr is limrted 10 those matters sel out In the statement bel¢)w. Independent Examiner's Statement In connection with my examinab'on, no matter has CO￿ lo my attention" 11} which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material resFect the requirements.. * to keep accounting records in accordance with Sects'on 41 of the 1993 Act and SeCt￿n 4411 Ila) of the 2005 Act and Regulatson 4 of the 2006 ACC￿￿ntS.. and . to prepare accounts which accord wrth the accounting records and ¢J)mply with the attcnunbng ￿qUirementS of the 1993 Act and Section 441119bl of the 2005 Act and Regulatson l of the 20C6 Regulats"onsl have not teen met.. or {21 to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounls to be reached. Name PRLJ'kinJ A IErnIKI Signalure Relevant Professional qualification or body Address L"so bfrfrl +LA Dale Ig/¥l)oz 2024-25aceeunts.od5 7of7