## **GUISBOROUGH METHODIST CHURCH** 

**Part of the Cleveland and Danby Circuit of the Methodist Church of Great Britain** 

**Registered Charity – Charity Registration Number:** 

**1128499** 

## **Annual Report and Statement of Financial Activities** 

**For the Year Ended:** 

**31[st] August 2021** 


## **Table of Contents** 

## **Page** 

- **2 Accounts Title page** 

- **3 Receipts and Payments Account** 

- **4 Statement of Assets and Liabilities** 

- **5 Analysis of Restricted Funds** 

- **6 Notes to the Accounts – Receipts** 

- **7 Notes to the Accounts -Expenditure** 

- **8 Constitution of the Church Council and Trustees** 

- **9 Declaration of Approval of Accounts by the Church Council** 

- **10 Declaration of Approval by the Independent Examiner** 

- **11 - 16  Annual Report** 

Page **1** of **16** 



# **CHURCH RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS** 

## **THE METHODIST CHURCH STANDARD FORM OF ACCOUNTS** 

## **Guisborough Methodist** 

## **Church** 

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 

31 August 2021 

|**Circuit**<br>**Cleveland & Danby**|**Circuit no**|**13/07**|
|---|---|---|
|**Registered Charity - Charity Registration number**|||
|||**1128499**|



## If not a registered charity **Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs Gift Aid number** 

(The HMRC number is equivalent to a registered charity number in terms of evidence of charitable status and may be used to give to donors or grant funders wishing to see evidence of the organisation's charitable status.  Methodist charities in England and Wales that are not registered charities are excepted from registration under Statutory Instrument  2014  No.242) 

Minister: **Rev. John Henry** Church Stewards: **Pat Anderson Gillian McCleave Viv Bee Christine Smith Robert Hughes Sandra Hughes Sheila Crossman** Treasurer: **Peter Crabb** 

Page **2** of **16** 



## **Cleveland and Danby Circuit** 

## **13 / 07** 

## **Name of Church** 

## **Guisborough Methodist Church** 

## **Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) for the year ended 31 August 2021 (Receipts & Payments)** 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Notes to the  Restricted Funds<br>Endowment<br>accounts  General Fund  (inc Internal  Total      2020- Total        2019-<br>Funds @<br>(page 5 and  (Unrestricted)  Organisations &  21 20<br>TMCP<br>6) Charities) Note 1<br>£ £ £ £ £<br>Receipts and Endowments from:<br>1 Donations and Legacies  1 4,346.26 527.50 4,873.76 15,270.40<br>2 Offerings and Tax Recovered 2 71,942.61 1,369.22 73,311.83 84,790.23<br>3 Bank & CFB interest and Investments  9.75 1.54 - 11.29 73.98<br>4 Lettings 3 5,165.50 5,165.50 10,300.25<br>5 Grants from Circuit/District/Connexion 4 864.38 20,813.39 21,677.77 25,000.00<br>6 Funerals & Weddings - - - 283.00<br>7 Fund Raising 5 100.00 343.05 443.05 7,810.14<br>8 Other Receipts 6 60.00 796.64 856.64 7,621.92<br>9 Total 1-8 82,488.50 23,851.34 - 106,339.84 151,149.92<br>Payments on:<br>10 Circuit Assessment 54,913.00 54,913.00 61,405.00<br>11 Grants and Donations - - -<br>12 Repairs and Maintenance 7 12,985.64 - 12,985.64 13,317.82<br>13 Insurance and Utility Costs 8 6,365.44 6,365.44 9,268.28<br>14 Worship Expenses 9 905.78 905.78 662.08<br>15 Funds passed to other Charities 10 500.00 343.05 843.05 1,211.82<br>16 Other Outgoings 11 969.05 25,168.27 26,137.32 41,414.00<br>17 Total  10-16 76,638.91 25,511.32 - 102,150.23 127,279.00<br>18 Net income/(expenditure) (9-17) 5,849.59 (1,659.98) - 4,189.61 23,870.92<br>19 Transfers between funds 160.00 (160.00) -<br>20 Net movement in funds 18+19 6,009.59 (1,819.98) - 4,189.61 23,870.92<br>Reconciliation of funds:<br>21 Total funds brought forward  51,671.97 23,910.39 13.78 75,596.14 51,725.22<br>22 Total funds carried forward 20+21 57,681.56 22,090.41 13.78 79,785.75 75,596.14<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


Page **3** of **16** 



**13 / 07** 

## **Cleveland and Danby Circuit** 

## **Name of Church** 

## **Guisborough Methodist Church** 

## **STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES** 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
CLOSING<br>OPENING  BALANCES<br>CHURCH - CASH FUNDS HELD at 31 August 2019 BALANCES (1/9/20) (31/8/21)<br>f1 Cash in hand - 270.00<br>f2 Bank Current Account 66,923.65 77,196.80<br>f3 Bank Deposit Account - -<br>f4 Central Finance Board 7,099.65 808.35<br>f5 Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes 13.78 13.78<br>f6 Other funds -<br>f7 SUB TOTAL - Church accounts  74,037.08 78,288.93<br>Total funds held by Internal Organisations (the closing<br>f8 1,559.06 (it1) 1,496.82 (it1)<br>balance total see note 1) (it1)<br>f9 TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD BY CHURCH 75,596.14 25 79,785.75 26<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


||||At<br>1 September 2020|At<br>1 September 2020|At<br>31 August 2021|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|g1|Investments||-||-|
|g2|Land & Buildings (see notes re Insurance value)||2,774,328.00||2,774,328.00|
|g3|Other Assets||77,582.00||77,582.00|
|g4|Loan(s) - show amount outstanding at year end||-||-|
|g5|Other  Liabilities||-<br>||-|



Page **4** of **16** 



**13 / 07** 

## **Cleveland and Danby Circuit** 

## **Name of Church** 

## **Guisborough Methodist Church** 

## **Restricted Funds analysis** 

## **Notes** 

## **Note 1:-** 

||**INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS**|**Receipts**||**Payments**||**Net Receipts/**<br>**Payments**||**Adj/Transfers**||**Opening Balances**<br>**(1/9/20)**||**Closing Balances**<br>**(31/8/21)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|1|**Flower Fund**<br>**Tuesday Toddlers**<br>**Tuesday at 8**<br>**Womens Fellowship**|20.00<br>0.25<br>365.00<br>135.00||130.00<br>182.49||20.00<br>0.25<br>235.00<br>(47.49)<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-||(270.00)||69.67<br>475.28<br>344.27<br>669.84||89.67|
|2||||||||||||475.53|
|3||||||||||||579.27|
|4||||||||||||352.35<br>-<br>-<br>-|
|5|||||||||||||
|6|||||||||||||
|7|||||||||||||
|8|||||||||||||
|9||||||-||||||-|
||**Sub total of Internal Organisations**<br>**funds**|**520.25**||**312.49**||**207.76**||**(270.00)**||**1,559.06**|**io1**|**1,496.82**|
||||||||||||||
||**Restricted Funds**|**Receipts**||**Payments**||**Net Receipts/**<br>**Payments**||**Adjustments**||**Opening Balances**<br>**(1/9/20)**||**Closing Balances**<br>**(31/8/21)**|
|1|**Lay Worker Account**<br>**Benevolence fund in GA**<br>**Flower Fund in GA**<br>**Good Neighbours in GA**<br>**Sunday Club Bibles in GA**<br>**Youth & Childrens Fund in GA**<br>**Lay Worker Reserves in GA**|22,981.83<br>-<br>-<br>6.21<br>-||24,544.15<br>200.00<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>111.63<br>-||(1,562.32)<br>(200.00)<br>-<br>6.21<br>-<br>(111.63)<br>-||(19,274.93)<br>50.00<br>60.00<br>(94.78)<br>8,467.99<br>10,901.72||20,837.25<br>633.20<br>250.00<br>536.10<br>94.78<br>-<br>-||-<br>433.20<br>300.00<br>602.31<br>-<br>8,356.36<br>10,901.72|
|2|||||||||||||
|4|||||||||||||
|6|||||||||||||
|7|||||||||||||
|8|||||||||||||
|9|||||||||||||
||**Sub total of Restricted funds**|**22,988.04**||**24,855.78**||**(1,867.74)**||**110.00**||**22,351.33**||**20,593.59**|
||||||||||||||
||**Charities**|**Receipts**||**Payments**||**Net Receipts/**<br>**Payments**||**Adjustments**||**Opening Balances**<br>**(1/9/20)**||**Closing Balances**<br>**(31/8/21)**|
|1|**World Mission Fund**|343.05||343.05||-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-||||-<br>-<br>-<br>-||-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-|
|2|||||||||||||
|3|||||||||||||
|4|||||||||||||
|5|||||||||||||
|6|||||||||||||
|7|||||||||||||
|8|||||||||||||
|9|||||||||||||
||**Sub total of Charities**|**343.05**||**343.05**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|||||||**(1,659.98)**||**(160.00)**||**23,910.39**|||
||**Total Restricted Funds**|**23,851.34**||**25,511.32**||**(1,659.98)**||**(160.00)**||**23,910.39**||**22,090.41**|



Page **5** of **16** 



**13 / 07** 

## **Cleveland and Danby Circuit** 

## **Name of Church** 

## **Guisborough Methodist Church** 

Following the resignation of the full-time lay worker on 9th May 2021. it was agreed by the Church Trustees that the Lay Worker Project would be closed.  Following this decision, the balance of funds remaining have been returned pro-rata to individual donors, and, those originally donated from Methodist and external sources have been offered for return.  These have either been, with specific agreement, redirected/paid over to another project running within the local Methodist Circuit (Hope 4 East Cleveland) or reallocated to the continuing youth and childrens work within Guisborough Methodist Church.  The future of one specific balance has not been yet ascertained from the donor source and is currently held as a restricted fund within the church accounts 

The accounting implications of these actions are seen in the negative restricted collections in (2) below and the noted movements in notes (4) and (6) below.  The future impact on gift aided tax repayments, arising from the repayment of donations, has also been provided for . 

## **Notes on Receipts** 

|1<br>**Donations**<br>Lay Worker Fund<br>General Fund<br>Legacy<br>**Total**<br>2<br>**Offerings and Tax Recovered**<br>Collections - Unrestricted<br>Tax refund - Unrestricted<br>GASDS Tax Refund<br>Collections - Restricted<br>Tax refund - Restricted<br>**Total**<br>3<br>**Lettings**<br>Church Premises<br>Aislaby Court<br>**Total**<br>4<br>**Grants from District/Circuit**<br>Connexion Grant to LW Fund<br>District Grant to LW Fund<br>Circuit Grant to LW Fund<br>Circuit Grant for Live Streaming costs<br>**Total**<br>5<br>**Fund Raising**<br>Coffee Mornings<br>Sunday Coffee<br>Fund Raising events<br>Fund Raising for Charities<br>Other Fund Raising<br>**Total**<br>6<br>**Other Receipts**<br>Internal Organisation receipts<br>LW Account - local grants etc<br>Printing & copying<br>Books & magazines etc<br>Benevolence Fund<br>Other Restricted Funds<br>Others<br>**Total**|**2019/20**|**2020/21**||
|---|---|---|---|
||1,340.00<br>527.50<br>675.29<br>3,846.26<br>13,255.11<br>500.00|||
||**15,270.40**|**4,873.76**||
|||||
||**2019/20**|**2020/21**||
||55,661.12<br>59,185.99||Increased giving despite impact of lockdown|
||12,968.81<br>12,756.62|||
||3,290.25<br>-<br>10,124.04<br>(1,159.29)<br>2,746.01<br>2,528.51||19/20 incl 2 yrs GASDS rebates, 20/21 not received|
||||Closure of Lay Worker Project - donations returned|
||||Tax refund in 21/22 will reflect returned donations|
||**84,790.23**|**73,311.83**||
|||||
||**2019/20**|**2020/21**||
||||Effective closure of church building for almost all the year,<br>apart from Foodbank activities by The Bridge Association|
||6,149.25<br>978.00<br><br>|||
||4,151.00<br>4,187.50|||
||**10,300.25**|**5,165.50**||
|||||
||**2019/20**|**2020/21**|Lay Worker Project ended May 2021.  Residual grants, from<br>District reallocated by agreement to church youth & childrens<br>work, from Circuit repaid to be reallocated to Hope 4 East<br>Cleveland project, and from Connexion still held awaiting<br>instructions from them|
||10,000.00<br>10,000.00<br>10,000.00<br>10,000.00<br>5,000.00<br>813.39|||
||-<br>864.38|||
||**25,000.00**|**21,677.77**||
|||||
||**2019/20**|**2020/21**||
||2,134.13<br>-<br>121.12<br>-<br>5,193.07<br>100.00||Effective closure of church building for almost all the year,<br>with no fund raising activities taking place|
||-<br>-<br>361.82<br>343.05|||
||**7,810.14**|**443.05**||
|||||
||**2019/20**|**2020/21**||
||1,694.08<br>520.25<br>4,754.00<br>270.18<br>778.29<br>-<br>141.50<br>60.00<br>79.05<br>-<br>175.00<br>6.21<br>-<br>-|||
||||Closure of Lay Worker Project - some donations repaid, by<br>agreement to the Circuit project (Hope 4 East Cleveland)|
|||||
||**7,621.92**|**856.64**||



Page **6** of **16** 



**13 / 07** 

## **Cleveland and Danby Circuit** 

## **Name of Church** 

## **Guisborough Methodist Church** 

## **Notes on Expenditure** 

|7<br>**Maintenance**<br>Repairs<br>Equipment renewal<br>Cleaning<br>**Total**<br>8<br>**Insurance and Utilities**<br>Insurance<br>Electricity<br>Gas<br>Water<br>Telephone/WIFI<br>**Total**<br>9<br>**Worship Expenses**<br>Preachers expenses<br>Copyright/Licence exps<br>Lockdown Licences & expenses<br>Others<br>**Total**<br>10<br>**Funds passed to other Charities**<br>Funeral Collections for Charities<br>Methodist Charities<br>Other Charities<br>**Total**<br>11<br>**Other outgoings**<br>Layworker salary & expenses<br>Internal Organisation exps<br>Fruitful/Mission Expenses<br>Catering etc<br>Stationery & Admin<br>Food4All<br>Payroll Costs/Apprentice Levy<br>Benevolence Fund costs<br>Youth Fund costs<br>Bank Charges<br>Others<br>**Total**|**2019/20**|**2020/21**||
|---|---|---|---|
||6,442.94<br>3,388.98<br>472.94<br>1,924.90<br>7,648.94<br>7,671.76||H&S £2,331,Gutter Cl'n £648, Electrical £116, Others £294|
||||Live Streaming equipment|
||||Cleaner paid through Lockdown|
||**14,564.82**|**12,985.64**||
|||||
||**2019/20**|**2020/21**||
||3,697.67<br>3,346.19<br>1,481.15<br>671.51<br>2,843.97<br>1,289.61<br>566.00<br>420.00<br>679.49<br>638.13|||
||||Impact of Lockdown, credits for supply disruption & contract<br>changeover.  Split electricity & gas estimated|
|||||
||**9,268.28**|**6,365.44**||
|||||
||**2019/20**|**2020/21**||
||-<br>-<br>511.88<br>578.91<br>150.20<br>326.87<br>-<br>-|||
||**662.08**|**905.78**||
|||||
||**2019/20**|**2020/21**||
||-<br>-<br>1,203.07<br>843.05<br>8.75<br>-|||
||||Property Fund £500, World Mission £343|
|||||
||**1,211.82**|**843.05**||
|||||
||**2019/20**|**2020/21**||
||37,008.39<br>23,492.15||Lay worker resigned May 2021|
||843.99<br>312.49<br>679.64<br>183.41<br>169.98<br>-<br>270.29<br>90.62<br>-<br>607.20<br>567.92<br>130.00<br>200.00<br>-<br>111.63<br>457.24<br>409.93<br>1,247.27<br>769.17|||
||||Relating to Layworker Project|
|||||
||||Youthwork now funded through General Acc reserve|
|||||
||**41,414.00**|**26,137.32**||



Page **7** of **16** 



## **Cleveland and Danby Circuit** 

## **13 / 07** 

## **Name of Church** 

## **Guisborough Methodist Church** 

## **MEMBERSHIP OF CHURCH COUNCIL 31 August 2020** 

**Minister :-** Rev John Henry **Stewards :-** Pat Anderson Senior Steward & Secretary to Church Council Gillian McCleave Viv Bee Pastoral Secretary Christine Smith Robert Hughes Sandra Hughes Sheila Crossman Hinton Court/Secretary to Resources Committee 

## **Treasurer :-** 

Peter Crabb 

## **Property Secretary :-** 

## **Secretary to Church Council :-** 

See above 

## **General Church Meeting Appointees :-** 

In addition to the above 

Steven Bee Gift Aid Secretary Rachael Cort Prayer Co-ordinator Ken Darragh Good Neighbours Angie Gavens Health and Safety Officer John Harrison Circuit Representative Gordon Middlemiss Churches Together Roma Ross MWIB/Keyholders Jenny Tyrie Bookings Mel Bradley Youth Work Sally Wardell Safeguarding officer 

Elaine Brough Church Life Rep Anne Middlemiss Church Life Rep Michel Cort Church Life Rep Richard Osborne Church Life Rep Shona Joselin Church Life Rep Bob Rogers Church Life Rep Yvonne Holden Church Life Rep Isabel Stuart Church Life Rep Chris Hume Church Life Rep Ruth Todd Church Life Rep Linda Lister Church Life Rep Joyce Turner Church Life Rep 

Page **8** of **16** 



Name ofchurth ............................... Gulsborough Methodist Church
Declarations and Scrutiny
I confirn that these Raceipt 8nd P8ym8ni based ac<x)unts for Ihe yegrto 31 August 2020 have been prepared from the
rem￿$ ot the Churd) and that they InclLKle all fund5 under the control of Churctt trustees.
Slgnaiure of treasurer
N￿e and address oftreasurer............ Mr Potsr Crabb
40 St LtronardB Road. Gulsborough, TS14 8BU
PreBentsllon to the Chu￿￿ tru•tees
I confim that the 8nnual report and ac¢oJnl8 forth8 en($2d 31 Auuu5t 2020 werelvrill be. presented to the meeting
ofthe Church tsustees hekj Dn 20th October 2021
Signature of Chair of the nEeling
Natne of the Chairof the meeting
Rev J4Jhn Henry
Indo￿ndent Examln•ffs R•port to tht Tru#t袥 ofthe
Gulsborough Methodist Church
¢baTIty Number........
1128
Ro8pon8lbllltl88 and ba8b8 of report
I repori 10 the tiustees Dn my èxarnination of the accounts of the Gui5borough Methodist Church br thè year ended 31
August 2020 set out on pages 1 to 7. A6 the Church's ttustees. you are iesponsible forthe preparation of the accA)unts
in aC(x)rda￿e with the requireTnents Df the Chanties knt 2011 1.lheAot'i.
l Teport in resppct of my examination of the Church's accounts carrEd out under¥ectYJn 145 of Ihe Act and. in carrying
out rny ex4fflingtion. I have followed all ttte applicable [iractio￿ given bythe Charity Ctrnmis5ion under SeCt￿n
14515llbl ol IheA¢t.
delete or rArrJe as appropriate
Page 9 of 16

Name of Church .... Guisborough Methodlst Church
Independent Examlnor'$ Stst¢mont
I have wmplete(I my examinatkTh. I confirm that no material tnattets have come to my attention Tn Connection
with the examination
"I which give me cause to believe that in, any material
specL
the accounting records were not kept in acctsrdance with section 130 of the Act,. or
the a￿Unts do not accord with the accounting records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examinatw)n to which
attenty'on should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be
ched.
I hlRfèlhave nor obt8ined independent verification of 811 investments with the Trustees for Methodist Church
Purposes or held in other trusts. bank balances and funds at the Central Finance Board ol the Methodist
Church which are individually in excess of £10,000 (ten thousand pounds) at the balan￿ sheet date.
SYJnalure of independent examiner
Name of independent ex8mtner
. Mr R E N Shawcros8
Relevant professional qualifKats"on of independent examin•r
.FCA
Name of firm (where appropriatel
NIA
Addr8ss
. 2 Devon CrescenL Skelton,
Post Code
.TS1228S...-..
Date
delete or Circ￿ as appropriate
Page 10 of 16

## **Guisborough Methodist Church (including Hinton Court)** 

## **ANNUAL REPORT 2020 - 2021** 

Guisborough Methodist Church is part of the Cleveland and Danby Circuit, which includes 15 Churches/Fellowships. The Circuit lies within the Darlington District of the Methodist Church of Great Britain. 

## **Mission Statement** 

Our mission statement continues to be focused on the initial letters of **G** uisborough **M** ethodist **C** hurch, namely 

**G** rowing in God 

**M** oving in the Spirit 

- **C** entred on Christ 

This is designed to encourage spiritual growth as Christians, and our mission to serve the community in which we are placed.  This mission is now incorporated into our Church Logo, publicity material 


## **The Nature of the Local Church - Standing Order 600** 

'The Church exists to exercise the whole ministry of Christ. The local Church, with its membership and larger Church community, exercises this ministry where it is and shares in the wider ministry of the Church in the world. In this one ministry worship, fellowship, pastoral care, mission and service are essential elements. Administration and training enable their fulfilment. In the Methodist Church these various tasks are undertaken by the local Church, through its Church Council and committees, in union with the ministry of the Circuit of which it is a constituent. It is represented in the Circuit Meeting and represents it locally. It engages in ecumenical work including, where appropriate, the support of ecumenical housing associations.' 

The Church Council is constituted to unite those who hold responsibility in the Church in one working community. It has the authority, as trustees, to take decisions for the Church and to manage its affairs to this end. It has the authority and oversight over the whole area of the ministry of the Church, including the management of its property. 

The senior leadership team of the church, including the minister, and appointed Church Stewards, meets regularly to both deal with the day-to-day running of Guisborough Methodist Church, and also look at the strategic and spiritual leadership issues that arise, namely 

- To uphold and act upon the decisions and policies of the Church Council, including furthering the mission of the church and its ‘fruitfulness’. 

- To influence and empower church members engaging in the full range of the church’s life and activity 

Page **11** of **16** 



## **Vision** 

The vision of the church is that “Guisborough Methodist Church is a place where people can discover a relationship with God through Christ; a place where they can discover their gifts and calling and then are empowered by the Spirit (and our Church) to fulfil that calling in offering God’s love to each other and the world”. 

## **Church Life during 2021/22** 

However, during the last year, because of the impact of the global pandemic and the measures taken by the UK Government to combat Coronavirus, Guisborough Methodist Church has continued to face new challenges, uncertainties and demanding circumstances.  As in the previous year, ‘normal’ Church life has been largely put on hold and only since the close of the year have we seen any real opportunities for practical or reasonable worship and service to the community 

The following has been extracted from a report on the Cleveland and Danby Circuit, of which Guisborough Methodist Church is a member, made in the Spring of 2021 to the District Synod 

“Without question this past year has been challenging for us all; however, right across the Circuit people have stepped up, reaching out in a myriad of different ways; offering pastoral care and the ability to worship God in new ways, through the mixed economy of hybrid worship; we are so lucky to have had the Revd Kevin Highfield stationed to us as our new probationer who has some expertise and the passion to match in the delivery of online worship, Bible study and pastoral care. 

I am also so grateful for my colleague the Revd Alan Coates and his encouragement and listening ear for me personally; our lay workers continue to be an inspiration to me in the ways they have adapted during the pandemic . . . . Finally, I have been so moved, by the tireless commitment of so many lay people, both in terms of people that hold official office within the church, but also the 'unsung' heroes who have touched so many lives during this past year, ringing people, delivering 'paper' worship and newsletters and generally caring for people. 

Like so many people we are looking forward to the time when we can begin to rebuild following this awful year. My perception of the Circuit is that there is a hunger to begin to re-establish the mission and worship life of the church, we certainly plan, purpose and prepare for those future times. 

## John Henry 

Superintendent of the Cleveland & Danby Circuit and Minister of Guisborough Methodist Church 

## **Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic** 

## **Physical Factors** 

The critical physical factors which have significantly affected the church, its members and congregation during 2020, and into 2021, were 

1. Through most of the year, the Coronavirus rules and guidance only allowed restricted opportunities for meeting together in worship.  In November 2020, socially distanced services were resumed in the Church Hall.  Numbers were consequently very limited, with places having to be pre-booked, and services could not include congregational singing etc 

2. The Church did continue to make available services using Zoom software and live/recorded services available on the Church’s Facebook page. 

3. With the further lockdown at the start of 2021, live services were again suspended, with live Facebook services by our Layworker and zoom services continuing.  For those who did not have the necessary computer/software access, hard copies of sermons, church magazines etc were delivered/sent on a weekly basis 

Page **12** of **16** 



4. From Easter Sunday (4[th] April 2021) live in-person services were resumed and we established the means for live streaming the services and making them available on the Church’s website, Facebook page and YouTube 

5. Audio only sermons and devotional material were made available by telephone 

6. Towards the end of the year (July/August) we resumed services in the main Church auditorium, with greater numbers having access and with live-streaming continuing.  The latter has involved considerable demands on both the equipment necessary and the training/availability of those willing to operate the technology 

7. However, throughout the pandemic period, the Church building has been used for a foodbank to supply much needed supplies to families and individuals in need in the Guisborough area.  This work has been run by The Guisborough Bridge Association, using a small team of workers and volunteers.  This has met a considerable need for support and assistance, the work has been generously supported by local supermarkets etc., and individual donations to ensure adequate supplies have been available.  The Bridge Foodstop team have continued to do a tremendous job, work which has been highly praised throughout the local community. 

## **Spiritual and Social Factors** 

The church has continued to provide the following activities to support its members during the lockdown periods and also when normal activities were not possible. 

1. Great use has been made of online facilities, including the Church website (http://www.guisboroughmethodistchurch.org.uk/), the Church Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/guismethodist), Zoom meetings, WhatsApp groups and also telephone calls, delivered and posted support material, socially distanced visits, garden meetings and walks etc 

2. Several of the Church House groups have continued meeting through this time, either utilising the internet zoom technology and later meeting together for both social fellowship, prayer, or focused Bible teaching 

3. The pastoral care for the Church family, members and friends has been carefully maintained by the Minister (regular visits and telephone calls), the house groups, members of the Church’s Pastoral committee and individuals caring for, and especially watching over, those that were, and are, vulnerable through age, underlying medical concerns or through personal circumstances, such as living alone. 

4. It has however been apparent that the resumption of physical church services has caused a high degree of uncertainty for many people.  The physical constraints of the building itself and the risk-assessed guidelines implemented, have left some unsure whether the rules in place are adequate to avoid the risks of contagion, and others who were expecting greater accessibility and freedom for worship and other fellowship activities.  The church has ensured that all Government and Methodist Church guidelines for have been followed but the balance of controls and their relaxation has been a common problem faced by churches throughout the country 

5. Physical church attendance numbers have consequently been significantly lower than those before the pandemic, and even now, several months since the end of the year, this feature has not yet altered.  This no doubt reflects the dilemma for the nation as it grapples with new coronavirus variants and endeavours to ensure that the vaccine is given to all those that may be vulnerable and eligible 

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## **Financial Impact** 

With the cancellation of church services through a large part of the year and the significantly lower attendances seen when they did occur, there was unsurprisingly concern about the ongoing, and future, financial stability of the Church.  From a financial point of view, the following negative factors continued from the previous year 

1. The  limited loose cash offerings at church services and the inability to receive any giving from those who regularly give by weekly envelopes placed in the offering collection at all church services. 

2. The inability to hold any fundraising events based on the church premises.  Typically, from specific fundraising events and regular coffee mornings etc about £5-6,000 is raised annually.   Additionally, other charities use our premises for fund raising coffee mornings on a fortnightly basis, these charities will no doubt be also feeling the impact of the lockdown restrictions.  Fund raising coffee mornings only resumed in September 2021 and to date there has been little take up of dates available to outside charities. 

3. Room rentals were also a significant part of regular income, peaking at over £12,000 in the last financial year before the pandemic.  In the last financial year, these rentals have been effectively zero 

4. On the expenditure side, several of our key expenses continued without change.  Our ‘Assessment’, which is the calculated contribution paid to the Cleveland and Danby Circuit, incorporating the costs of our Circuit ministers, manses, Circuit overheads, and contribution to District and Connexion costs of the Methodist Church etc, was paid throughout and will continue to be paid for the current financial year. The Church agreed to retain and fully reimburse the work of our full-time Lay Worker and part-time cleaner through the year, rather than placing them on furlough. 

5. Other overheads, such as insurance, water, telecoms, continued unaffected by the lockdown.  Energy usage, which in the previous year had been minimal, was also an increasing cost as greater use of the church building was made.  Our energy supplier was one of the several companies that went into liquidation following the abnormal rise in wholesale energy costs.  Future energy costs will no douby be higher as the Church cannot shelter under the cap on costs available to domestic users 

**However** , we feel that God particularly blessed us, and provided for us over this period, and indeed continues to do so in the current financial year.  As a consequence, the financial stability of the church has not, as yet, been threatened, we have seen many examples of sacrificial giving by church members and some windfall financial benefits following on from the termination of the Beacon Project (see below) 

The key examples of this were: 

- a. Despite the absence of church service collections, most of the Church income comes from direct giving by bank standing orders and transfers.  This is normally about 75% of our direct giving and during lockdowns and the current level of uncertainty, this has continued, and in fact increased, as several people changed from our weekly ‘envelope’ giving scheme to monthly standing orders and others increased their monthly giving. 

- b. With the support of HMG, tax rebates on gift-aided giving were received promptly, however the tax rebates associated with small donations (GASDS), were not received at the end of the year, as in 2019/20, but were in fact minimal because of the almost total lack of loose cash offerings in the previous tax year, 

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- c. Continued action was taken by the trustees to avoid an unnecessary expenditure where it could be avoided, or at least deferred.  Property repairs during the year were minimal, limited to those necessary for Health and Safety and costs associated with technology for live streaming etc. 

The church finances, as will be seen from the finance summaries on the first 10 pages of this report, ended the year in a reasonably healthy state. 

## **The Lay Worker and Beacon Project** 

Following the unexpected resignation of our full-time lay worker on 9th May 2021. it was agreed by the Church Trustees that the Lay Worker/Beacon Project would be closed, and no further full-time worker employed at this time. 

The project had been funded through a separate, discreet account, which dealt with all grants, donations, and expenses associated with the project.  The decision of the Trustees to discontinue the project meant that the account had to be closed and the balance of funds, after all outstanding expenses had been covered, needed to be returned to the respective donors 

Consequently, the balance of funds remaining have been returned pro-rata to individual donors, and those originally donated from Methodist and external sources have been offered for return.  These have either been, with specific agreement, redirected/paid over to another project running within the local Methodist Circuit (Hope 4 East Cleveland) or reallocated to the continuing youth and children’s work within Guisborough Methodist Church. 

The future of one specific balance had not been yet ascertained from the donor source and at the end of the financial year was held as a restricted fund within the church accounts.  Since the year end, this has been reallocated, by full agreement of the donor, to the youth and children’s work at Guisborough Methodist Church. 

Several individual donors requested that any personal reimbursement should be donated to the general funds of the church.  The various individual reimbursements will have a consequent impact on the gift aided donations that are available for calculating rebates from HMG in the following financial year 

## **The Ongoing Mission and Life of Guisborough Methodist Church** 

These concluding remarks are sadly little different to last year, the high level of uncertainty and the serious impact of the virus continues to jeopardise and challenge all future plans and aspirations 

The Coronavirus pandemic has had, and continues to have, a dramatic impact on the life and mission of the Church and its members.  In addition to the cessation of many church services, social and fund-raising activities, church based fellowship groups, fellowships meeting together in houses, we have also had to postpone planned teaching and communal events have also had to be postponed. 

Looking forward, the Church leadership continues to look at new ways of doing things, looking for a new “normal” as well as hopefully, at some time in the future, being able to fully join together and enjoy the worship, singing, teaching and fellowship etc which is so much the part of the Church and Christian life that we remember and miss.   Proactively maintaining the community of the Church’s congregation and friends is a high priority, especially as most options to bring them physically together are either not allowed, or thwarted by the high level of uncertainty and even fear of the unknown 

During the recent months we have actively used, explored, and experimented with digital and internet-based activities.  ‘Zoom’ services, live led services broadcast on Facebook/Website, live-streamed services, zoom house, teaching and prayer groups, WhatsApp groups, web-based teaching for adults and children, have all become commonplace.  Many of our church have used these to share, worship and keep in touch.  Access has also been 

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possible to other Christian churches doing similar things, presenting an almost unlimited and broad-based range of different styles and approaches, renowned teachers and preachers, national and worldwide churches etc. 

A particular concern has been the section of our friends and congregation who do not have, or do not want, access to an ‘electronic’ church.  These people will continue to be supported through telephone calls, delivered, or posted printed materials, and where possible, and allowable, by pastoral visits, remote visits for holy communion and social interaction.  We all realise how things in the future may be different to what was normal, we have learnt new skills and now regularly do things which at the start of 2020/21 would have been both strange and even unheard of.  We do realise that some of these activities, that are part of our new ‘normal’ will reach many who would have been ‘out of sight’, and inaccessible, previously. 

Our mission and vision remains that Guisborough Methodist Church will be a place where people can discover a relationship with God through Jesus Christ; a place where they can discover their gifts and calling and then are empowered by the Holy Spirit (and our Church) to fulfil that calling in offering God’s love to each other and the world. We now realise that the methods, whereby we seek to fulfil this, will undoubtedly change, and develop, with God’s guidance and inspiration through prayer and the active involvement of the Holy Spirit. 

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