2022-08-31-accounts - Southgate Methodist Church

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Southgate Methodist Church Calderdale Circuit

Annual Report for year ending 31[st] August 2022

Administrative Information

Charitable Status and Constitution:

Southgate Methodist Church is registered with The Charity Commission as a charity, registration number 1130095. It is constituted in accordance with The Constitutional Practice and Discipline of The Methodist Church, found at www.methodist.org.uk/for-churches/governance/cpd/).

Correspondence Addresses:

Minister: Church Council Secretary: Rev Colin Sherwood Mr Colin Lees 1 Savile Road 6 Broomfield Elland Elland HX5 0LA HX5 0QX

Managing Trustees:

The Managing Trustees are the Church Council, which, as at the 31[st] August 2022 was constituted as follows:

i) Minister in Pastoral Charge Rev. Colin Sherwood ii) The Church Stewards Mrs Christine Chadwick Mr Colin Lees Mrs Margery Wilkinson Mr Ray Wilkinson iii) Church Treasurer Mr Andrew Stopford iv)Secretary of the Pastoral Committee Mrs Jenny Iredale v) Secretary of the Church Council Mr Colin Lees vi)Representatives elected by the General Church Meeting: Mr Peter Link Mrs Wilma Paton Mr Conrad Winterburn Mrs Lesley Kershaw Mr Alwyn Kershaw vii)Αdditional persons appointed by the Church Council: One Communion Steward Mrs Christine Chadwick Finance/Property secretary Mr Keith Iredale Gift Aid Secretary Mr Andrew Stopford 1 Local Preacher Mr Chris Partington Boys’ & Girls’ Brigade Representative Mr James Pickles Person to represent Missions Mrs Margery Wilkinson Person to represent MWiB Mrs Glenys Wadsworth viii)1 Circuit Steward Mrs Lesley Davenport

Number of Church Members: 58

Our Aim

To mission and minister to the community of Elland alongside the other Methodist Church in Elland, namely Bethesda Methodist church and our ecumenical partners working through our membership of Churches Together in Elland.

Our Purpose

We operate as a local Methodist Church under the provisions of the Methodist Church act 1976 which states: The purposes of the Methodist Church are and shall be deemed to have been since the date of union the advancement of:

the Christian faith in accordance with the doctrinal standards and discipline of the Methodist Church;
any charitable purpose for the time being of any connexional, district, circuit, local or other organisation of the Methodist Church;
any charitable purpose for the time being of any society or institution being a society or institution subsidiary or ancillary to the Methodist Church;
any purpose for the time being of any charity being a charity subsidiary or ancillary to the Methodist Church.

Our Objectives

We express our aims and purposes by attempting to translate into action the Priorities of the Methodist Church by seeking to proclaim and affirm its conviction of God’s love in Christ, for us and for all the world; and renew confidence in God’s presence and action in the world and in the church-

through the provision of public acts of worship to church members and non-members alike.
the provision of sacred space for prayer and other forms of Christian spiritual contemplation
the promotion of the Christian faith through Sunday Worship, courses and provision of small groups
the provision of a Pastoral structure that seeks to offer help to the sick, the bereaved and a general caring environment as an expression of our Christian faith.
the provision of different group activities that attempt that seek to meet the needs of all age groups.
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through these all age groups promoting the mission of the church and aiding wider social cohesion through activities for older people, parent and toddlers and other specific need groups.
by supporting various charities both in the United Kingdom and overseas through financial and prayer support.

Achievements and Performance

Welcome to the annual church report, a helpful tool which causes us to reflect on what we have achieved over the year and challenges us to contemplate the future. A massive thank you to all those who have contributed to this edition. As well as providing reading material for our members, a copy will also find its way to the charity commission.

If I had been asked what was happening last September, I don’t think I would have necessarily remembered that we were still under restrictions. Slowly but surely the reports tell of Southgate emerging from a very strange and extremely sad period, no doubt the most challenging period in our church’s history. The ‘new normal’ takes some getting used to and yet, in times of distress the worldwide church has always led the way, for we have the Spirit of Christ among us, and our shared story is one of resurrection.

Within these pages we have cause for cautious rejoicing at what has been achieved, however, we also have a call to service for, from the family which we know as Southgate, there is a need for each of us to share the burden with one another. Great things can only be achieved when we work together to Gods glory, and as we step up, we can rely upon the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us.

May God continue to pour out his grace and blessing upon us, for Christs sake.

Colin

Church Stewards

At the start of the year in September 2021 the Church Stewards were Lesley, Christine and myself. We were still operating under Covid restrictions: seating in Church was socially-distanced and we were registering those attending for track and trace purposes. A lot has happened since then as we have worked out what the ‘new normal’ is.

We celebrated our Harvest Festival at the beginning of October. The stewards, with other help, organised a small display and the congregation brought food that could be used by the food bank.

There have been a few Local Arrangements services during the year. Our Worship Leader, Kay has led most of them and we must thank her for doing

this. One of them was led by the Worship Leaders from Bethesda. On Remembrance Sunday last year, we used a service prepared by ‘The Vine’, which was read by the Church Stewards.

During Advent we used an Advent Liturgy. For Christmas the Church was decorated and we held a Christingle Service, a Carol Service, Carols for All and Midnight Communion on Christmas Eve, and a service on Christmas morning.

At the end of the year Lesley finally retired after serving an extra year as a steward due to Covid. I would like to thank Lesley for the work she did. The General Church Meeting held in November had appointed Ray and Margery as new stewards to commence in January 2022, but only for one year. At the same time, Christine took on the task of being Senior Steward.

At the beginning of January the Church Council agreed that Sunday morning services would be held in the Sykes Hall during the heating season due to the enormous increase in the cost of gas for heating the church. This meant extra work for the Church Stewards and other volunteers as the hall has to be set up with chairs and other furniture every week. At this point I would like to thank Lesley and Alwyn, Keith and Jenny and Kay who have undertaken the stewards duties at services and the team of other volunteers who have set up the Sykes Hall and cleared things away afterwards.

January also saw the re-introduction of All Age Worship once every month for the first time since February 2020 when they were suspended due to Covid. These are all held in the Sykes Hall, irrespective of the time of year and a few children along with their parents and/or grandparents usually attend. The stewards are inviting specific preachers for these services.

During Lent we included a Lenten Liturgy in the services, daffodils were distributed on Mothering Sunday and a service was held on Good Friday evening. On Easter Sunday we returned to worshipping in the Church with an early communion service, breakfast in the coffee lounge and the cross was decorated with flowers during the main service.

In June, Christine unfortunately suffered a stroke. Since then, I have been acting as Senior Steward again. We are pleased to see Christine back worshipping with us once again and I would like to thank her for the work she did.

Rev Colin had a sabbatical from July to September and during this period, in July, Rev Colin and Diane celebrated their wedding at Southgate. The service was conducted by Rev Mark. Members and friends from all Rev Colin’s churches were invited and it was followed by a splendid bring and share meal in the Sykes Hall.

During the last year we have held a number of joint services with Bethesda. Recently there have been two of these at Southgate and two at Bethesda. Attendances at these have increased and most of each congregation are attending services at the other church.

The Church Council in March decided not to appoint a regular organist, so Ray is now co-ordinating a team of organists and pianists. I would like to thank Ray, Glenys and Hilda and also occasionally David, Peter and Diane for providing the accompaniment during services.

I would like to thank Ray and Margery for their work during the year so far and particularly for the extra work they have shared during the last 3 months.

Colin

Treasurer

Annual Figures:-

Income 21-22 Expenditure 21-22

Funds Held:

General Fund (combined) Memoriam Fund Property Reserve Fund TMCP Investments	1 Sep 2021 £ 38835 £ 6257 £ 1627 £ 86050 £132769	31st Aug 2022 £ 38322 £ 159 £ 3641 £ 86050 £128172

Notes

1) Combined general fund is made up of:

General Account Property Account Office Account

General & Property Fund Central Finance Board Deposit Accounts

2) Memoriam Fund, which receives interest and donations from the family & friends of lately deceased members/adherents.

3) TMCP Investments (use of which is subject to certain restrictions covering bequests & model trusts).

Treasurer's Report

The Standard Form of Accounts has been completed on a receipts & payments basis. There have been no serious incidents.

Southgate has had a cautious but steady improvement in income throughout the Connexional year, with the pandemic limitations finally being lifted. The Finance & Property Committee sub-committee consisting of the Treasurer, the Secretary, and the Minister, have maintained tight control of all day to day finances. The Church Council has been kept fully informed, and both the F&P Committee and the Church Council continue to be involved in the actions we are taking to maintain a steady course. Southgate is very fortunate to have a diligent F&P team, and we were especially sorry to lose the services of Howard Pickles during the year. His help and support has been invaluable.

Income of £94254 is more than the previous year (£78714). Expenditure of £98555 is more than the previous year (£68215). There is thus a deficit of £4301 on the year. At this point last year, we were holding funds of £1479 from the recently closed Girls’ Brigade unit. The Church Council determined that these funds should be passed to the new combined Boys’/Girls’ Brigade Unit, and this was done early in the year.

We have received most of our due Gift Aid refunds this year A small amount (approximately £500) remains outstanding and will hopefully be paid shortly. The amount received was £4867, and this amount continues to decline each year as gift aided contributions decline. Gift Aid is not ‘extra income’, but income we budget on receiving year to year. We continue to benefit from the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS). We have once again received several one-off or regular donations (some Gift Aided) from friends old and new, offering support, for which we are grateful. I repeat my reminder to members that it is essential that we ensure that all Gift Aid claims are accurate and verifiable. All providers of Gift Aid declarations have a personal legal responsibility to be certain that they pay sufficient income tax for Gift Aid donations to Southgate to be claimed.

We used most of the £6257 in the Memoriam Fund to pay for the installation of a new audio visual system in the Sykes Hall, which by all accounts is working well and is a much appreciated asset.

Cashflow has again occasionally been a little tight this year, and I have had to make a transfer of funds from the church’s deposit accounts at CFB to support the general account, totalling £3000 (as opposed to £15,000 last year). Because of the improved situation with rental and room hire income, I have also been able to transfer £2000 from the current account to the Property Reserve Fund, which had been badly eroded during the worst days of the pandemic. Cash flow has been helped once again due to the number of people who pay their weekly collection by standing order. I cannot stress too highly

how important this regular income stream has been. Many members have once again managed to review and increase their weekly giving, which is much appreciated.

Ongoing costs for utilities continue to be reviewed. This time last year our energy provision was in a state of transition. After our previous supplier ceased trading, we were placed by OfGEM with British Gas, and we have since moved to British Gas Lite for both our gas and electricity supply. This has not been without its frustrations, but things appear to be settling down. During the year we have had to come to grips with what we now call the ‘Cost of Living Crisis’. We took the drastic step of moving worship to the Sykes Hall over the winter to save money on heating. Although this was not appreciated by a number of members, we did save a significant amount, and we also turned down the thermostats by a degree or two to further assist. By the time this report is read by members, some decisions will have been made about what to do over the coming winter as regards the cost of heating our premises. Southgate’s utility costs over the year amounted to £12766, as opposed to £7193 in the previous year, an increase of 56%.

We continue to be covered by Methodist Insurance, which provides a highly specialised service to Methodist organisations. We have had two claims this year, both of which were promptly and sympathetically handled.

The suite of premises at Southgate is regularly inspected and cleaned, necessary to ensure the cleanliness and safety of our premises both for us, and our hirers. The costs of inspections and cleaning are met from the income we receive from our hirers and shop tenants, whose rent also contributes to the funds we maintain for repairs and other unexpected costs. Chris has taken on the paid and snappily titled role of Resource Administrator, and is working hard with regular and new hirers to generate meaningful income from the community’s use of our premises. We were glad to welcome friends from Cross Hills who presented their annual pantomime at Southgate, and are hopeful that this is to become a regular event.

Our parade of shops still provides a vital income. All our tenants have resumed trading and have paid all the rent due. We are sorry that one of our tenants is leaving, but glad to know that the business is to continue in new ownership.

Southgate holds a capital sum of £86,050 with TMCP in Manchester. We benefit from a proportion of the income generated by this sum, with TMCP taking a larger proportion, 61%, as an ‘administration fee’. Specifically, our investment returned interest of £403.77 on the year, of which TMCP took £254.24 as an administration fee. I have contacted TMCP to ask for an explanation, but have not received any response. We are able to access the capital funds for approved projects, and, if necessary, to support general income. It has not been necessary to access the funds to prop up the general

account during the year, despite every forecast we made assuming that we would have to do so. The sum at TMCP is occasionally added to in the form of legacies from deceased members and friends, and we are grateful to those who choose to support Southgate with generous donations in this way. Southgate also maintains a modest Memoriam Fund, into which is paid funds given in memory of deceased members and friends, most usually in the form of funeral collections. These funds are used to pay for smaller scale projects, with the Church Council’s approval. We installed a new sound system in the Sykes Hall this year using money from the fund., which, by all accounts, has been a great success.

There have been few opportunities for fundraising this year, but we were glad to receive £961.79 from the after-worship coffee bar, and a fabulous £1633.31 from Snackattack.

Reserves, and the Reserves Policy continue to be reviewed. As a general rule, incoming resources should be used to meet general expenditure. It is for the Church Council, as Managing Trustees, to maintain and review strategies of building up reserves, and to ensure net income & expenditure are as close as possible. Managing Trustees are reminded of their legally binding obligations and requirements to exercise prudence and provide good governance at all times.

Thanks are due to Keith & Jenny for managing the Sunday collections, to Sue for dealing with payroll & HMRC issues, and to Howard for looking after gift aid. Howard is also retiring from this role after a lengthy stint, and, in the absence of anyone else, I have agreed to take on this extra task, on a temporary basis, pending the appointment of a permanent replacement. Colin has kindly offered to assist me with gift aid work wherever possible. The annual church accounts are being examined on a commercial basis by Messrs BM Howarth Ltd. This remains a detailed and time consuming task, which has to be carried out before the accounts can be presented to the Church Council for acceptance and onward submission to the Circuit, the District, and the Connexion.

I am grateful for the support and assistance I receive from so many people, and look forward to a happy continuation of this in the year to come.

For all that we will spend or save, invest or give away, is held in trust to be a means to follow in Christ’s way. (Liz Delafield)

Andrew

Finance and Property Committee

First my thanks to members of the committee for their ongoing support, and special thanks to Alwyn for the maintenance, to David for the gardening, and

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Colin for managing the office facilities, also thanks to all who turned out for the tidy up of the gardens and church surrounds in June.

Also huge thanks to our paid staff, Mary (Cleaner) and Chris (Resource Administrator).

During the year Michael, Howard, Derek and David all left the committee, whilst David, Colin and Chris joined us.

As usual all the necessary inspections and servicing has been carried out to keep our buildings safe and legal for all our users. The kitchen cooker safety check revealed that there was not enough oxygen being drawn into the kitchen when the cookers were in use, which means that we are having to install an input fan to match the outgoing extractor fan.

Resource Administrator: One of the most important decisions taken by Church Council and the Committee was to appoint Chris as our paid part-time Resource Administrator. Chris is doing a sterling job managing the bookings and looking after many other matters. He does of course spend more time volunteering at Southgate than what we pay him for.

Energy Supply: As you are all aware the energy markets have been in chaos over the last 12 months, and our original supplier went “bust” last September. Thankfully we did secure a fixed 2 year contract in January, but at a much higher cost. This resulted in Church Council agreeing to hold worship in the Sykes Hall during the October to May heating season.

Room Hire : Hiring rates were increased by 20% from the 1[st] April, and will in future be reviewed annually. They had not previously been increased since 2009. Hiring of our rooms has also increased since the pandemic, leading to a generous and welcome increase in income. A very welcome addition to our room usage, was the decision by Cross Hills Church to hold their annual pantomime in our Upper Hall. This will happen again in February 2023.

Audio Visual Equipment Sykes Hall / Langdale Room: A major upgrade of our facilities in the two rooms has been carried out, and is appreciated by all our users, especially when used for worship.

Internet and Phone Line: We now have these all supplied by the same provider. This has saved money and made operation and communications easier. Indeed a refund of £2300 was received for a monthly overpayment gong back over a number of years.

A new printer has also been purchased for use in the office.

Recently a new hot water boiler had to be installed in the coffee lounge.

During the summer we have also had the car park white lines re-formed. This has proved very effective in improving the standard of parking, and making the car park safer for both pedestrians and vehicles.

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The broken monitor over the choir stalls in the church has been repaired and restored to correct working order.

The no longer used old stage lighting has now been removed from the balcony store room.

We still have a problem with water ingress in the Catherine Street corridor with an ongoing investigation by Crawshaw’s.

Shop Units:

Samaritans: Once again we have had vandals causing damage to the pan tile roof over the shop.

Crafty Owl Studio: There was a small fire to the front of the shop, luckily noticed by a passer by and quickly put out by the Fire Brigade

In both of the above instances our Insurance Company paid out our claim, minus of course the £100 excess in each case.

The Crafty Owl Studio tenants gave notice over the summer, and whilst expecting extreme difficulty in re-letting the unit, we have been very fortunate that someone came along at the last minute, and purchased the business, and is taking out a new lease from the 1[st] September.

Keith

Room Bookings

I took over the room bookings on a voluntary basis August/September 2021 on the untimely death of David Akroyd. At the time we were still very much in the midst of the Covid pandemic and tentatively opening up our buildings again for use in very controlled and managed ways. In March of 2022 I was appointed to the position of Resources Administrator and so have been more formally responsible for the bookings at Southgate.

The Food Bank continue to use the Upper Room and Kitchen for their preparation work on Fridays and Saturdays. Their booking has been extended to include the Upper Hall and the charges increased accordingly. Whilst this booking remains heavily discounted it provides a good regular income to Southgate whilst allowing the very valuable work of the Food Bank to continue from our premises.

The Rainbows, Brownies and Guides continue to use the Upper Hall and Sykes Hall on Tuesday evenings.

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Elland Children’s Centre have used us for a number of groups, including preparation for starting school and a Baby Pilates Group that met for a couple of 5 week blocks.

Little Kickers use the Sykes Hall on Saturdays between 10am and 11am

Samantha’s various groups (Dance for Wellbeing/Brews and Grooves/Rhythm and Brews) have continued to use us in regular blocks of 5 to 6 weeks and she has also started a monthly ‘Happiness Lab Workshop’ with plans to pull these together into a one-off performance in July.

Healthy Minds continue to use the Premises on the 2[nd] and 4[th] Tuesdays of the month with occasional additional bookings. They are now paying for the additional use of the Coffee Lounge.

Yoga use our Upper Hall on Mondays for an hour. This started in the Emmaus Room but the number of attendees grew to the point where a bigger room was needed.

RJS Ballet is a new booking beginning with us in November 2021. The bookings are from 4.15pm to 7pm on Thursdays with the potential to expand if the uptake improves.

A new dancercise group ‘Broadway Boogie’ started using our Upper Hall and Stage during the Spring of 2022 but the ill health of the session leader meant it was curtailed after 3 weeks. There is a possibility it may start again at some point in the future.

The Trinity Music Examinations did not take place at Southgate over the Pandemic due to it being impossible to meet their ventilation requirements for the Sanctuary, Choir Vestry and Prayer Room. They returned during the Summer 2022 examination season but the increased energy costs we face and the stringent requirements of the exam board regarding heating and ventilation going into the winter months have meant that the charge we would have to levy to make sure we didn’t make a loss would be too great for them to use the premises in Winter.

Occasional bookings are made by the dentists on Southgate, the Pennine and Bingley Goat Society, the Calderdale Organ Society and there have been a couple of parties.

The Greetland Churches Pantomime used our premises during March 2022 with preparation time in February. They are planning to return in 2023 for a Pantomime during the February half-term. This has been a mutually beneficial arrangement – Southgate was ‘buzzing’ during the performance and also provided the Church with a useful income.

Generally I feel we have done well, picking up most, if not all, of our pre-Covid bookings and attracting some new ones due to the closure or increased costs of other venues. Even when we put up the rates for bookings in April, all of our

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existing users continued to use us. The Church website and the Southgate Hub have been updated with clearer details on the rooms available and better use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter to advertise our rooms and resources is being planned for 2023 to see if we can bring in more users to the premises.

Chris

Pastoral Committee

Another year …… and what has gone on ? Well sadly we have lost some more members and our thoughts, love and prayers go out to their families and friends – we miss them all.

At the time of ‘going to press’ we had not managed to have a meeting (had one since … but that’s for the next report !!) but our Pastoral Visitors are doing a sterling job trying their best to keep in touch with their members. If you know of anyone who is ill and would appreciate a visit/phone call please let me know and we will do our best to help in any way we can.

We have all recently been on a Safeguarding Course and I am pleased to report we ALL passed Yay!!! Well done us.

Our membership stands at 58 and this is very worrying as the ‘jobs’ still need doing, whatever the number is! We need to help out wherever we can – all of us. If anyone would like to be a visitor, please think and pray about it, you would be made very welcome. I would like to take this opportunity to THANK VERY MUCH our small team of visitors for the work they do ‘behind the scenes’ it really is appreciated.

Jenny

Mission

During this year all the money raised for Missions has been from envelope collections.

The Advent Offering Collection for the work of the Methodist Church Mission in Britain Fund: £137.50.

The Easter Offerings Collection for the Methodist Church World Mission Fund: £174.50

Methodist Homes for the Aged: £114.50

Christian Aid: £83.00

All we Can and the Methodist Church Ukraine Emergency Appeal: £699.02

Sincere thanks to everyone for supporting these collections through the year,

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Margery

Baptismal Roll

There have been two baptisms this year, the first being held on Sunday 26th September 2021 where we welcomed Aria Elizabeth and her family. The baptism was conducted by Rev Colin.

On the 17th October 2021 we welcomed Theo George with his parents Samantha and Michael. This baptism was conducted by Chris.

A book of Bible stories was given to each child and the Godparents were each given a certificate to remind them of their commitment to their respective Godchildren.

Anne

The Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade

Elland Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade enjoyed another eventful session during 202122. The session represented a return to normality after government interventions had interrupted our last 2 years.

2021-22 was also the first year of what is officially titled the 5[th] Halifax (Elland) Boys’ Brigade and Girls’ Association after Elland Girls’ Brigade merged with us in the summer of 2021. I’m pleased to report that the merger went smoothly, and it is great that we have given all young people in our local area the opportunity to join us on a Wednesday. I believe this has been a positive change which has enriched the Company- there is a fantastic atmosphere on a Wednesday night and a real buzz about the place.

As a result of the merger and our recruiting efforts, our membership numbers remain strong. I’m pleased to say that we have a good group of young people who are a pleasure to work with each week. They can be a lively bunch at times, but we do have a lot of fun on our Wednesday nights. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents and guardians of our members who are extremely supportive and are brilliant at recommending us to their friends and family.

Our team of Officers and helpers do a fantastic job; I would like to thank all the Officers and helpers for their continued work with the Company and to everyone else that has lent a hand over the last year. On behalf of the Company, I would also like to thank David for fulfilling the role of treasurer once again this year.

The return to normality saw the return of our Enrolment Service, which we held on a Wednesday evening for the first time, our Presentation evening and our annual residential. During the Enrolment Service, we presented Benjamin with

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his Queen’s Award- although we didn’t know it at the time, Benjamin is the last member of our Company to have his certificate signed by Queen Elizabeth II. Congratulations also to Toby and Jason who gained their President’s badges this year. Our annual residential weekend saw us return to Kirkham where we enjoyed a brilliant weekend which included a visit to Blackpool Zoo, Laser Tag, Archery, Escape Rooms and much more. Our Anchors also enjoyed a trip to Cannon Hall Farm at the end of the session.

Five of our members also attended the Battalion leadership weekend; we look forward to these young people implementing the skills they learned within the Company and beyond. Thanks to the Elland Stedfast Association for financially supporting our young people on the leadership weekend and for their continued support of the Company. We were saddened to hear of the passing of the treasurer of Elland Stedfast Association, John and the President, John, who was also a former Captain of the 5[th] and a big supporter of the Company. They will be greatly missed. We thank God for their service to both the Brigade movement and the Stedfast Association.

We were able to hold our regular Craft Fairs in 2021-22. Thanks to all of you who have supported these. Our fundraising has been supplemented by our Easyfundraising account. If you shop online, you can go through their website and the retailer donates a small percentage of the transaction to the Company. All the major online retailers are on the website and it is free to both the shopper and the Company. Go to http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ellandboysgirlsbrigade to find out more.

We continue to have a strong online presence through our Facebook and Twitter pages. This has been invaluable in keeping in touch with our members over the past year. Our Facebook page is great at raising awareness of the Brigade in Elland and we have seen plenty of our posts reach several hundred people. Our addresses are below, feel free to follow/like our pages…

www.facebook.com/EllandBB www.twitter.com/5thHalifaxBB

Finally, thank you on behalf of the Company for all of your support throughout the year.

James

Prayer Meeting

There has been a very well attended weekly prayer meeting at Southgate Church since sometime in the 1980’s! However, when all the churches had to respond to the Covid-19 closure period, the Prayer Meeting also ceased to meet. It was not until Friday 15[th] October 2021 that once again members felt

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ready to come together and continue meeting to pray as we had in the past. Sadly, during the Covid time, for one reason or another, we lost several of our former members, and those of the original group who were left, struggled to come as often as they would like to. So an appeal was made to the rest of the church outlining our problem and thankfully the response was wonderful! What had got down to a mere 3/4/5 members attending each week has now become a regular number of 10–15 - and it’s a bonus when friends just pop in to join us when they can! We meet in the Choir Vestry at 10.30 on a Friday morning. The prayers are led by different people each week – and our prayer time lasts for about half an hour. We sing! We share thoughts and concerns! We allow time for spoken and unspoken prayer and the door remains open to welcome anyone who cares to come! And they do! Yes, God is Good! Thank You!

Maureen

Bible Study

This Thursday afternoon group meets fortnightly at 2pm in the Coffee Lounge and is led, in the main, by Pamela, our lay pastor.

As background, I think I can safely say this particular group was born, after lockdown, out of the already established, well attended, fortnightly Tuesday morning group also now led mainly by Pamela at Bethesda. Having said that, the study style of the two groups is quite dissimilar.

The Southgate group is small but therein lies one of its strengths; new seekers are, of course, always most welcome. We have a brief time of prayer and then our study is usually of the ‘stand-alone’ type – so no worries about missing a session. We feel comfortable and able to share views confidently with each other, perhaps because of our small size. Going forward, it would be good to welcome others to join us in an opportunity to learn more about being a Christian in today’s world, in an informal, welcoming setting ….

Kay

Together Group

Before the Covid pandemic two ladies’ groups were meeting at Southgate: The Ladies’ Guild which met on alternate Thursday afternoons and the Tuesday group which met monthly on the third Tuesday of the month. After Covid, as life was beginning to return to normal a joint meeting was held in September 2021 to discuss the best way forward for these groups.

As it was becoming difficult for some ladies to come in an evening it was decided to have just one meeting in the afternoon on alternate Thursdays. The two groups would amalgamate and be known as the Together Group.

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Our first meeting was held in October 2021 when Rev Colin told us about his passion for bee keeping. Since then, we have had various speakers who have entertained us with their memories and made us laugh reciting monologues. We’ve held quizzes and beetle drives. We had a very enjoyable visit from Stainland Community choir and enjoyed a Christmas meal together amongst many other happy afternoons.

We have also been joined by some ladies from Bethesda and from the local community. Around 20 has been our average attendance and we seem to be slowly growing in numbers as word spreads.

It has been a very successful and enjoyable first year and we are looking forward to starting meeting again in September after a short summer break.

I would like to thank all the ladies who come to our meetings for helping to make it a success and for joining in and trying out some new ideas.

I would also like to say a huge THANK YOU to the small group (you know who you are) who help to organise the meetings and find speakers etc. A fantastic team!

Lesley

Song Group

Although this idea of a fun time of learning and singing newish worship songs was ‘on the table’ in 2021 we did not actually meet to sing until July 2022. We now gather for just over an hour, fortnightly, on Thursday evenings, 7pm, in the Langdale Room. The original intention was – and indeed still is - simply to enjoy learning and singing ‘new to us’ songs – if the ‘spin off’ is that we can sometimes introduce newer/different stuff into our Sunday worship time that is wonderful – a small group leading, who already ‘know the song’ – what’s not to like? Also, a plus, in my view, is that some folk from Cross Hills have joined us and I know one or two from Bethesda are interested. All are welcome - turn up and just praise & sing…. you might even like it!!

Blessings,

Kay

Snack Attack

This year has seen a settling down of this service to our church family, both those attending church and those who support us.

Covid robbed us of many of our friends and loved ones. It robbed many of their health and significantly has affected many people's mental health. It robbed us of helpers, funds and long cherished clubs and institutions within the church.

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I like many others no doubt would love to go back to those glory days but, wither we like it or not they are gone and God seems to be saying change must happen.

I guess that is what Snack Attack is to me and I think it is the same for those who help. We needed to continue the wonderful work of the Friday coffee morning and the Friday lunches. We needed to bring people back. We needed to welcome old and new friends into our space ----- we needed to raise funds to help keep our worship space alive!

Our weekly contributions have gradually grown from a few butties to scones, butties of various types and the odd other baked goods as and when the cook has time! We now sell out of scones in double quick time and we have added regular as well as casual new friends to our space. They are all welcome.

I do wish we could do more and advertise our goods to a wider audience but word of mouth needs to be acceptable for the present. All our endeavours in the kitchen are accomplished by a very small team. Glenys, myself and until lately Christine who we miss a lot. You can imagine therefore that when any of us need to be absent, baked goods can be the first to disappear and at times the butties. Which leads me to the other part of the team. The "front of house". This small team do an amazing job serving tea and coffees, running up and down to get butties and stopping any fights over the last few scones. They are there to set up, clean down and most importantly talk to people and welcome them into our space.

They are getting really good at it but sometimes need a helping hand from other church-goers ----.

Two or three times this year we have welcomed friends from our local community choir and of course love seeing our friends from Bethesda. Thank you all for supporting us.

I personally would love to be able to offer a larger variety of products especially in this climate of increasing food and energy costs. Could we be a warm space? Could we supply newspapers for example??? Could we use the ovens to batch cook while they are on for the scones? Do we need a quiet corner??

We have ideas but frankly need more volunteers to step up and make a difference, so can you help in the kitchen by baking? Can you help in the Coffee bar? Have you any ideas for the future?

Any of our team would love to know. The ideas box didn't work so just grab someone.

As to income, I think we have done well: £1633.31 was handed to the church treasurer.

Please keep supporting us. Please consider helping us if you can. Please give us ideas, however wild.

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In the meantime, thank you and God bless.

Wilma

Sunday Coffee Bar

We continue to hold our coffee bar after the services at Southgate. Thanks to all who support us and come back for a natter after church. It has been wonderful to see our Bethesda friends after joint services and we do hope they feel welcome. We are part of each other.

The sum of £961.79 was raised in donations during the year.

As usual we have an ever-decreasing band of Marthas. Could you help?

Thanks to all who serve.

Wilma

Pensioners’ Youth Club – Table Tennis

We enjoy each week showing people how to serve and the novices are improving. Our numbers are on average 10 to 12 and we have players from Brighouse and Stones. We might have a go at indoor curling this winter. We have a friendly atmosphere and the tea break tends to get a bit longer as the years go by. Come and join in - we will provide a spare bat.

Philip

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CHURCH RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS THE METHODIST CHURCH STANDARD FORM OF ACCOUNTS SOUTHGATE Church FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 August 2022 Calderdal8 Circuit Clrcult no. 27134 Reglstered Charity - Charlty Reg18tratlon number If not a registered charity Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs Gift Ald numb8r (Th8 HMRC number is equivalent lo a registered Charlty number in terms of 8viden¢e of charitable status and may be used to give to donor8 or grant funders wishing to see evidence of the organisalion's charitable status, Methodist charilles in England and Wales that are not registered chariliès are 6xcepted from registratlon under Statutory Instrument 2014 No.242J 1130095 Minister.. The Rev Colln SheTwood Church Stewards.. Colin Lees Raymond Wilkin$on Margery Wilkinson Lesley Kershaw Christine Chadwick Treasurer.. Andrew Stopford Chufch R and P 2075.xls 1 of5

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022 SOUTHGATE Church Unrèstrlctsd Re¥tri¢ted Funds Funds Totals thls year Totals last y&ar SECTION A a1 RECEIPTS Note a2 Offerings and Tax recovered Bank and CFB interest and Investment income Lettings Other receipts TOTAL RECEIPTS 31,142.42 31,142.42 31.207.77 a3 233.58 15.72 249.30 158.43 36,635.00 36,635.00 21,517.00 25,831.15 78,714.35 a5 23,252.57 2,975.00 26,227.57 91,263.57 2,990.72 94,254.29 la7} SECTION b1 PAYMENTS b2 Circuit Assessment or Shar8 Donations 31,434.25 502.20 31,434.25 502.20 30,357.50 b3 365.00 Repairs and Mainlen8n¢e utilities Ilnsurances, water char es. healin hlin Payment of GB funds lo BB Other paym8nls TOTAL PAYMENTS 14,784.49 14,784.49 17,788,85 b5 21,119.73 21,119.73 14,734.90 1,479.81 1,479.81 29,534.68 98.8S6.16 b7 23,334.68 91,175.35 6,200.00 7,679.81 4.968.31 b8 Ib9) 68,214.56 SECTION C NET RECEIPTSIPAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR c1 (a6-b81 88.22 14,689.091 {4,600.871 10,499,79 Total funds brought forward from last year c2 37,356.21 95,413.67 132,769,88 Ic61 127,270.09 c3 Sub total Ic1+c21 37,444.43 90,724.58 128,169.01 137,769.88 Transfers and adjuslmenls 16,200.001 6,200.00 (c71 15,000.00) TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF YEAR CS (c3+c41 31,244.43 96,924.58 128,189.01 Ic81 132,769.88 c81 SECTION D FOR INFORMATION ONLY: MONEY RECEIVED AND PASSED ON TO EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS {these amounts are not to be Included In total recei payments figures above) d1 Balance brought forward from last year 2.91 2.91 d2 OfferingslGlfts - received for external organisations 190.00 161.83 d3 Off8ringslGifts - passed to external organisalion5 190.00 1$1.83 BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID d4 Id1+d2-d3} 2.91 2.91 Church R and IJ 2015.xts 2of5

SOUTHGATE church MARY CH ACCOUNTS TER TIONS RÈPORMN CH COUNCIL SECTIQN lowth Guldanc Gom lete th[$ SurnTnary ollh2 ChuiGh accDunisfor iheye8rfrnued 31 August 2022and Intein&1 Organi1105 reporting io the Church Counuvchurch Meelino. Note ih81 (unds oran Intamal OrganisallDn WOld nDrmalty be Rèskn¢tWJ lunrls unleBS Ilcotsld bg ¢l•arly shown tha11heyU1d be us&d fDrany Method15t purpose. Thi$ Setn mutsi be ¢ompteted lo arrive allheoross Income and 8xp&nditurtlotsl$of the Ctwjrch. Ilgws5 IllcL ex£dthAcCralslhre50. then th8Ac¢rual$ meiFtsJ of anry9 AND A DIFFERENT FORM mu81 b8 u$8d to reportlhe a¢counl$ls8 Methdlstwe1l. Plea5ereferlD theguld8nc8 notS 189arding transfer5 bethen the Dlslrtiand conneGted Dislrw OrgaDls8Uorn8. INTERNAL ORGANISATICNS Recaipts POwni¥ M¢iRettrip151 Paymen Aoluslrnerls Openlng b81an¢es Closln9 Wènc8S BoyglGlrlg Brlgade 8.384.D2 8.049.D2 3.335.00 3.134 66 6.489.66 ChDlr 251N 261.00 251.00 t3 TogetherGroup 7Jg.82 68e.70 73.12 n.12 Soclél & Drnma 2.88S.81 (2.885 &11 2.885.81 LÈdles Gulld Tu•¥d&y Group 59.46 59.40 e7 b lolil of Interfial 0.1Z3.B4 9.02&.80 85.04 0.4A7.74 6.542 78 Church accounts Itotals brought foThYord pa 2-tolal• columni £ 14,254.29 98,865.16 Ibg) 4,eQO.87 £ 132,769.88 TOTAL CASH FUND¥ MELD BY CHUR¢ Conllnuè on a separok sheei 11 necess8ry8nd brlng ihe tjls ImY•rd E 103,376.13 £ 107.803.96 4,505.83 134,711.79 lyl TOTAL RE¢EIPT8 TOTAL PAYMENT8 SECTION F CHUR¢H. CASH FUNDS HELO atjl Augu8t 2022 OPENINO OALANCES CLOSING BALANces C4$h In hand 200.81 2fj.81 8•nk CuwniA¢etsunt 23.gP4.08 17,32S.59 B•nk D•positAccounl r4 Conwal FltbEnc9 eo•r 18,093.7$ Trus f¢rMolhodlg1 chUh PUrpaS 88,049.58 86.045.56 othèr lun4$ 9,364.38 6.675.29 SUB TOTAL- Church aceounts 132,769.f4 126,t19.01 TotHI funds hora by InternBI OF$anlICnts (tho cloBkno bala$181 Irom 8btsvel le12} ,447.74 6,S42.7ll TOTAL CASH FUNL)S MELO BY CHURCH 139,217.62 lJ4,711.79 8ECTIQN G Al At OTHEII ASSETS and LIABILITIE$ I S8PtsmbEr 2021 31 August 2022 InvÈstrttsnts lkn¢lude EndThYnenwi L8M & 8U11n0s[5ee nots5 re In¥ur8nc8 Value) 8.040.É75 9,314,516 OarASSelS Lowlsl- 8howamounl outstsndino al yearen Loan ItsDwrf 500 500 0er Uabiiiie& f4 InclUdety FundshelLS atthe CaniAI Fillan Board 15 InEludeoni¥ FuS held atTrUste for Mèthodl81 Chwth Purpo3 91 Includ8 anyotherinveslmenls Inthe cash elemeniofTMCP trus15 8ttountsthb Is induded in Inef5 201SchhRP% Jors

Name of Church.. Southgate No 27134 Declarations and Scrutiny I conflrm that these Receipt and Payment based accounts for the year to 31 August 2022 have bÈÉn prepared from the records of the Church and that they Includ8 all funds under the control of the Church trLJslees. Signature of treasurer . Nam8 and address of treasurer.. Andrew Stopford 330 Wakefield Road, Bailiff Bridg8, Brighouse HD6 4DU Presentatlon to the Church trustees I confirm that the annual report and accounts for t to the meeting of the Church trustee$ held on ../. e year ended 31 August 2022 y81WIll b8. presented Slgnature of the Chalr of the meeting Name of the Chalr of the mee15ng Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of the Southgate Methodist Church Charity Number 1130095 Responslbllitles and basis of report I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Southgale Methodist Church for the year ended 31 August 2022 set out on pages 1 to 3. As the Church's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of th8 Charities Act 20111'the Act'l. I report in respect of my examination of th8 Church's accounts carried out under sectlon 145 of the Act and. in carrying oul my examination. I have followed all the applicable Direcllons given by the Charity Commission under section 14515llbl of Ihe Act. delete or circle as appropriate 2015 Church R P.x15 4Df5

Name of Church: Southgate No 27134 Independent Examiner's Statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below) which give me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act., or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in thls report in order to enable a proper understandlng of the accounts to be reached. I have obtained independent veriflcation of all investments with the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes or held in other trusts, bank balances and funds at the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church which are individually In eXsS of £10,000 (ten thousand pounds) at the balance sheet date. B M Howarth Ltd Chartered Accountants West Hijuse King Cross Road Hallfax HXI IEB Name of firm: B M Howarth Ltd Address '. West House, King Cross Road. Halifax, HX1 1 EB Date.. 1 December 2022 2015 chtsrth R P.xl$ 5of5