2023-08-31-accounts - Southgate Methodist Church

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Southgate Methodist Church Calderdale Circuit

Annual Report for year ending 31[st] August 2023

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 2023 was constituted as follows:

i) Minister in Pastoral Charge Rev. Colin Sherwood and Superintendent Rev. Vicky Atkins ii) Lay Pastor Mrs Pamela Hales iii)The Church Stewards Mr Colin Lees Mrs Wilma Paton Mrs Lesley Kershaw Mr Alwyn Kershaw iv)Church Treasurer Mr Andrew Stopford v)Secretary of the Pastoral Committee Mrs Jenny Iredale vi)Secretary of the Church Council Mr Colin Lees vii)Representatives elected by the General Church Meeting: Mr Conrad Winterburn Mr Keith Iredale Mr Chris Partington Mr James Pickles Mrs Glenys Wadsworth Mrs Christine Chadwick Mr Ray Wilkinson Mrs Margery Wilkinson Mr Graham Alsancak

viii)1 Circuit Steward Mrs Keren Wild

Number of Church Members: 54

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.
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Minister

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the annual report of Southgate Methodist Church and a huge thank you to all those people who have contributed reports. As always it is a document that celebrates and challenges.

The Methodist church connexionally continues to task its members to work out their calling in multiple ways.

Firstly, it reminds us that we are called to worship. No surprise there and our report reminds us of the worshipping church which meets regularly on a Sunday and at times, during the week as we give glory to God. We are so grateful for our preachers and worship leaders who enable us to discern God’s voice.

Secondly, we are called to help people to grow and learn as Christians through mutual support and care. As a church we are grateful for our pastoral workers but also for the natural caring that happens within our fellowship. We are indebted to the growing prayer group, for the fellowship groups and the bible study which informs and enables us to live out our faith.

Thirdly we are called to service. The Church exists to be a good neighbour to people in need and to challenge injustice. We are thankful for the work of SnackAttack, the together group, the pensioners’ youth group, and others who meet and offer encouragement to one another.

Finally, we have a call to evangelism as the Church exists to make more followers of Jesus Christ. It is no secret that the most effective way of sharing faith is on a one-to-one basis. Each of us have our own faith story and we need to ask God to give us the opportunities to share with those around us.

A massive thank you to those who work on the front line, whether it be stewarding, managing our property and bookings, finance, working with young people, hospitality and those who run our varied activities.

As ever we are in challenging times, in the church, circuit and in the wider world and yet, as our recent cluster service reminded us, we serve a faithful God whose faithfulness is new every morning.

Every blessing

Rev Colin

Church Stewards

At the start of the year in September 2022 the Church Stewards were Christine, Ray, Margery and myself.

We celebrated our Harvest Festival at the beginning of October, which was conducted by Rev Colin. The stewards organised a small display and the congregation brought tinned food etc that was given to the Food bank to distribute.

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, on 30[th] October last year, was led by a team of volunteers and based on The Vine material for All Saints’ Day.

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. The Carol Service was held on a Sunday morning and was led by the Church Stewards and other volunteers, some who had to be recruited at the last minute due to illness.

At the end of the calendar year, Christine, Ray and Margery retired. I would like to thank them for the work they did in the capacity of Church Stewards. The General Church Meeting held in November had appointed Wilma, Lesley and Alwyn as new stewards to commence in January 2023, and at the same time, I took on the task of being Senior Steward again.

Between March and August we held experimental afternoon services at 4.00 p.m. in the Langdale Room. These have not been very well attended. At some of these services the Church Stewards had to use the new electronic hymnal due to the lack of a pianist.

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 held an early communion service, breakfast in the coffee lounge and the cross was decorated with flowers during the main service. The services were held in the Church.

In August we had a very lively Baptism service when 100 people attended in the Baptism party. Since Anne had resigned as Baptismal Secretary and has not been replaced this is another duty that has fallen on the Church Stewards and I was grateful that Lesley stepped in to act in this role at that Baptism.

We have continued to hold All Age Worship once a month in the Sykes Hall. It is a joy to welcome a few children each time. The Stewards invite preachers to lead these services.

During the year various special collections have been held. These have included the Advent Offering for Mission in Britain, the Easter Offering for

World Mission, Christian Aid Week, MHA Sunday and an appeal for the TurkeySyria Earthquake.

I would like to thank Wilma, Lesley and Alwyn for their work during the year so far. I would also like to thank Kay, Keith, Jenny, Ray and Margery for assisting the official Church Stewards by officiating as Stewards on some Sundays.

Colin

Treasurer

Annual Figures:-

Income 22-23 £138,206 Expenditure 22-23 £110,980

Funds Held:

31st August 2022 General Fund (combined) £38322 Memoriam Fund £159 Property Reserve Fund £3641 TMCP Investments £86050 £128172	31stAugust 2023 £30916 £660 £3768 £116050 £151394

Notes

1) Combined general fund is made up of:

General Account

Property 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 steady year, with shop rental and room hire income being significant contributors. The Finance & Property Committee continues to monitor all day to day finances.

Income of £138,206 is more than the previous year (£94254). Expenditure of £110980 is more than the previous year (£98555). There is thus a surplus of £27226 on the year. The surplus is the result of two legacies received during the year totalling £30,000, of which more later in this report. Therefore it can be seen that, without these legacies, there would have been a deficit on the year of £2774. The legacy money has been deposited with TMCP, and there are restrictions on the use of it.

We have received all of our due Gift Aid refunds this year. The amount received was £5013, 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. Howard has finally relinquished his position as Gift Aid Secretary, a position that I have reluctantly accepted, but with the very welcome assistance of Colin. The Church Council and I will be very glad to receive an offer to take on this duty.

The Memoriam Fund balance stands at £660, a little improved on last year’s closing balance.

Cashflow has again occasionally been tight, and I have had to make transfers of funds from the church’s deposit accounts at CFB to support the general account, totalling £4000. 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. Our energy (both gas and electricity) continues to be supplied by British Gas Lite (BGL), and matters appear to be fairly stable, although there remains a historic supply billing query which BGL continues to ignore. Our decision to move worship activity to the Sykes Hall in winter months was a financially prudent one, with savings of

almost £1000 being made. Southgate’s utility costs over the year amounted to £12329, as opposed to £12766 in the previous year, a decrease of almost 4%.

We continue to be covered by Methodist Insurance, which provides a highly specialised service to Methodist organisations. We have had one claim this year, a significant one, which was promptly and sympathetically handled. The claim (for the theft of roof lead and the costs of putting it right) highlighted a potential but unforseeable weakness in our cover, as the maximum payout on our costs of over £20,000 was only £5000. Methodist Insurance referred us to the Benefact Trust, a charitable organisation, which was able to make a very welcome grant of £2600 towards our costs. We have since reviewed our cover with Methodist Insurance – there is no extra charge on this year’s premium, but an increase will apply on renewal in June 2024.

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 Partington continues to work hard with regular and new hirers to generate meaningful income from the community’s use of our premises. The Cross Hills Pantomime is becoming well established at Southgate, and we have this year, with Cross Hills, contributed to the cost of improvements to the stage facilities in the upper hall to both Cross Hills and our benefit.

Our parade of shops still provides a vital income. All our tenants have paid all the rent due. We have had another changeover of tenants at one of the shops, but we are grateful that we are able to continue to let the premises.

Southgate’s capital sum of £86,050 with TMCP in Manchester was added to by £5000 during the year by way of a legacy from the late Sylvia Wood. We are grateful to those who choose to support Southgate with generous donations in this way. We benefit from a proportion of the income generated by the total sum of £91,050, with TMCP taking an ‘administration fee’. In last year’s report I wrote disparagingly about the amount of this fee in relation to the total interest earned. Interest rates have risen significantly over the last twelve months (as we all cannot fail to know), and the amount of income we have received this year from TMCP is a much improved £2583, after a fee of £245 taken by TMCP. 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 continuing worries that we would have to do so. Very late in the year, we received notification of a legacy from the late Mabel Peel of £25,000. The terms of the legacy are that a trust fund is to be set up for the maintenance of the ministry at Southgate, from which Southgate will receive the investment income. The fund will be managed by TMCP. There may be circumstances in

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which it is possible for Southgate to apply for some of the capital funds, but this is subject to ongoing enquiries. This is, however, a generous legacy indeed for which we are very grateful. Our total funds held at TMCP are now therefore £116050.

Our CFB deposit accounts (general funds and property development) have similarly paid much better interest this year. The Memoriam Fund, into which is paid funds given in memory of deceased members and friends, most usually in the form of funeral collections, has not made any grants this year as the fund remains at a low level after last year’s expenditure on the sound system in the Sykes Hall.

There have again been few opportunities for fundraising this year, but we were glad to receive £906 from the after-worship coffee bar, and £2453 from Snackattack. A proportion of Snackattack’s surplus is paid to Methodist Mission Charities, and to external charities chosen by the church.

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, and to Sue for dealing with payroll & HMRC issues. 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, as ever, grateful for the support and assistance I receive from so many people.

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

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Finance and Property Committee

Once again, I wish to thank all and especially Alwyn [repairs] and David [gardening], who have helped with the maintenance of our buildings during the last 12 months. It has been a very different period in many ways.

Mary our cleaner for the last 8 years unfortunately resigned on ill health grounds in August, and I must place on record the Church’s thanks for her valuable work and friendship over that period.

It would also be very remiss of me not to record my thanks to the very small team who over the last 5 months have met every fortnight and kept the buildings very clean and tidy. Going forward, we are employing a contract cleaning company on a trial basis.

All the usual inspections and servicing has been carried out, so that our premises remain safe and fit for our users and ourselves. It is worth informing members that the annual cost of all this work, plus cleaning, energy and insurance cost the Church over £32,000.00, although we did save almost £1,000.00 by closing the Sanctuary during the main heating season.

Hirings remain steady with fees being increased from the 1[st] April, but we could do with more if possible, and Chris our Resources Administrator is investigating ways in which we may do this.

Cross Hills Church are continuing to use our premises for their annual pantomime, and our working together has increased with them contributing both financially and manually in updating our stage facilities. New curtains have been provided and installed, plus improvements made to the stage electrics, all of which we have contributed to financially.

A completely new ventilation system has been installed in the main kitchen, so that our 5 star rated kitchen could continue operating to its very high standard.

During the year we have purchased a Scaffold Tower so that we can carry out our own replacement of some of the higher located electric light bulbs and fittings. We also purchased an Electronic Hymnal as an alternative source of worship music for use anytime we have no organist / pianist.

On a disappointing note, we had last Oct / Nov very serious damage to our roof, caused by the theft of lead and vandalism. Unfortunately, the Insurance claim only paid out £5,000.00 due to an annual limit for metal theft in the policy. The total repair bill facing the Church is £26,000.00 which Council agreed should be paid from reserves if necessary. Work is now ongoing to complete the repairs before the winter. Since the insurance claim, we have received a grant from the Benefact Trust of £2,650.00 toward the repairs.

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All the shops remain tenanted, with the rental income supporting the work of the Church in keeping open the Christian Centre building for use by ourselves and the community.

Over the next few weeks, it is intended that work will be carried out to rationalise all our storage areas and cupboards by getting rid of unwanted and unused items which have been acquired over the years.

Finally, we were pleased to welcome 2 new members when Sue and Jenny joined the Finance & Property Management team in May.

Keith

Room Bookings

The majority of groups who had used the premises pre-Covid came back into the premises. However, some of those groups have found their numbers dwindling and have regrettably had to stop meeting. RJS Ballet and Little Kickers both ceased to meet for this reason over the past year.

The Monday night yoga group has not met for most of this last year due to the illness and subsequent recovery of the teacher. It is hoped to restart the group in the not-too-distant future.

Some previous users such as Calderdale Council and Desmond Diabetes have recently come back into the premises with the promise of further bookings in the future.

A major boost to bookings over the year was the partnership forged with Cross Hills over the pantomime. The use of our premises has enabled them to refine their pantomime operations and they have significantly upgraded the stage area in the upper Hall as well as the audio-visual capabilities there. Further development work is planned by them before the next pantomime and we are co-ordinating with them in order to develop the use of some of their audiovisual infrastructure for other bookings in the Upper Hall. In short, the work undertaken there should make booking of the Upper Hall much more attractive to a number of groups.

Chris

Pastoral Committee

Here we are again, how time flies when you are having fun !!

We held a recent meeting here at Southgate so this year we can bring you an up to date report, much better then the previous few years.

Sadly once again we have lost members but we continue to send love & prayers to their families and keep them in our thoughts. and so our numbers

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go down again, they now stand at 54 BUT by the time you read this we shall have welcomed Sue into our Church family so our numbers go Up to 55.

Really good news and a big Welcome Sue.

Jean has stepped down from being a visitor and I would like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU for her contributions to our little team and members over the last few years, it really is appreciated.

On another note I am pleased to say I have hopefully found 2 new visitors for our team …….. watch this space. At the moment we have 18 members who have not got a Pastoral Visitor but I hope this will be solved when our numbers increase from 5 to 7 and I do a bit of juggling !!

I would like to Thank Rev Colin and also Kay, Christine, Barbara, Bernice and Philip for the continued help and support they offer to me and our members. Without them I wouldn’t have ‘a job’ (now there’s a thought !!!)

Blessings,

Jenny

Mission

During this year money was raised for Missions through two envelope collections:

Advent Offering Collection for the work of the Methodist Church Mission in Britain Fund - £135.20 (including Gift Aid)

Easter Offerings Collection for the Methodist Church World Mission Fund - £156.25 - (including Gift Aid)

In addition to these envelope collections, additional donations have been given to Methodist Missions from the money raised by the SnackAttack coffee mornings. 20% of the money raised was donated as follows.

Methodist Women in Britain - £65.00
Mission in Britain Fund - £130.00
World Mission Fund - £130.00

Sincere thanks to everyone for your support.

Margery

Adopt a Child

Astrid is our sponsored child. She is being supported by both Southgate and Bethesda and we continue to maintain the Teapot Fund in both churches. A big thankyou to both congregations and church visitors/users of the church for their generous contributions.

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Astrid sends letters periodically. These are kept on the coffee bar. Please have a read. The Brigade have sent drawings to Astrid and we're very much welcomed.

If anyone wishes to send Christmas greetings or money please inform me.

Thank you,

Wilma

The Boys’ Brigade and Girls’ Association

Elland Boys and Girls Brigade enjoyed another eventful and enjoyable session during 2022-23. Our membership numbers remain strong and 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.

Congratulations go to Oliver and Isaac who gained their Presidents badges this year and will now progress to their King’s Badge along with the 3 other young people working towards this.

Our annual residential weekend saw us use a PGL site for the first time. We headed to Winmarleigh Hall near Preston where 15 of our young people enjoyed a brilliant weekend. It was an impressive site, activities included zip wire, fencing, abseiling and trapeze.

Thanks to the Elland Stedfast Association and all who have donated to us over the past year. This financial support, as well as the money we raise internally, allows us to keep our activities affordable to as many families in our community as possible.

We were able to hold our regular Craft Fairs in 2022-23. Thanks to all of you who have supported these. Our fundraising has also 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

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http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ellandboysgirlsbrigade to find out more.

We continue to have a strong online presence through our Facebook page. 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 address is below, feel free to follow/like our page.

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

James

Prayer Meeting

Prayer Meeting! Can I ask a question? When you hear these 2 words – what are your thoughts? Do you think – Heck No – not for me! Do you think – I’m really too busy – I don’t have the time! Or, do you think - OK , some time I might come – but not yet!

A few weeks ago now, one of our visiting preachers (who often comes to our Friday Prayer meetings when she’s free, and often leads it for us too) told our congregation, how good and meaningful and happy our Friday Prayers “get together” is – and invited all to come to join us– 10.30a.m. - Choir Vestry - half an hour! Believe me – the following week – a friend from our congregation, decided to give it a go and has been 2/3 times since! So , what do we do when we meet? We discuss any new Prayer Requests we’ve received! We ask for any up to date information on people we are regularly praying for! We share TV news which we have found disturbing! We give thanks to God for good things that have happened and are happening! We always sing a hymn and we always close by blessing each other as we share the Grace together!

As I am writing this down, I have in front of me last year’s report which was full of doom and gloom! We had fears of having to stop meeting due to having lost quite a few loved ones for one reason or another! But now – one year later – we have 10 – 15 friends who regularly join us, sat around the table on a Friday morning – and we know that the time will come when we will need to squeeze a few more chairs around the table!!! Thank you, Lord, for all answered Prayers! And Father God, we pray that you will continue to watch over all who

Maureen

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Bible Study

The group is quite small and we welcome additional enquirers. We meet at 2 pm, fortnightly on Thursdays in the coffee lounge at Southgate (flexible if area required by others). Each study, lasting around an hour, usually ‘stands alone’ so there is no problem if one cannot commit to each and every session. Just ‘popping in’ is good!

We enjoy tea or coffee whilst sharing our observations on various bible passages, or just listening to others….. it is remarkable how the different interpretations sometimes offered by others can help your own understanding.

We are a friendly, informal group – one of our strengths is our openness to different approaches to ‘study’ and also a willingness to ‘think outside the box’ if something crops up in conversation that we feel a need to share and discuss. Come, taste and see…..

Kay

Together Group

After a break during the summer months our Together Group started meeting again in September 2022. We continued to meet on alternate Thursdays throughout the winter and spring.

We have had a variety of speakers and activities to keep us entertained. We’ve tried flower arranging, singing, origami and even a bit of gentle exercise. At Christmas instead of a meal at a restaurant we had our own celebrations with a quiz, sketches, carols and of course celebratory food. In the new year we had a very interesting visit from the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and also from a representative from Guide Dogs for the Blind who brought along his dog. These are just a few of the afternoons we have enjoyed.

It has been a very successful year which has been appreciated by everyone. Our numbers have grown slightly and we now average about 25 ladies at our meetings but, we have room for more and would welcome any newcomers who would like to join us.

A varied programme with lots of new ideas and some old favourites has been arranged for the next few months We’re looking forward to having lots more fun, fellowship and food in the coming weeks,

Thank you to everyone who comes and supports this group and a special thank you to the small group who cheerfully help to organise all our activities

Lesley

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Gents’ Gathering for Grub

Following a long break for Covid, the gatherings only restarted in November 2022. It was perhaps appropriate that there was a long pause as both the two organisers were called to higher service as a result of Covid-19. So I decided to take on the task of organisation to get the gatherings going again.

We always meet at the Toby Carvery, Ainley Top and just have a meal and a general chat. After varying the day of week and the time, we have now settled on Wednesday evenings at 7.00 p.m. We try to meet once a month but sometimes months get missed.

Most of the group attend Southgate, but not all. We usually have one from Bethesda and one from Blackley Baptist, and sometimes have other visitors. The average number present is about 10.

Colin

Song Group

The song group meets once a fortnight throughout the year, 7 pm ‘til 8 pm, Thursdays, in the choir vestry. We average between 8 and 10 attendees. In each session, with a short prayer, we offer our joyful praise noise to the Lord. We did have a bit of ‘time out’ during the early part of 2023 as our resourceful pianist was out of action.

The purpose of the group is simple - to enjoy a short time of singing together for pure pleasure. We try, however, try to introduce and learn newer worship songs so we have a ‘confident few singers’ when newer songs appear in our Sunday services. We are a friendly, welcoming group and would love to have more folks join us - the ability to sing is not a requirement – enjoying singing is! We just spend an hour, in a very informal setting, simply enjoying learning and singing lovely worship songs.

When we are in a position to know the hymns/songs chosen for the coming Sunday we sing those too, to make sure we are familiar with them. We are also blessed to have access to many items of music that the choir used in times gone by – we really enjoy singing those songs too…. trips down memory lane - very nostalgic……

come, taste & see….. the Lord is good – and the singing ain’t bad either!

Kay

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SnackAttack

A very welcome £2454.72 was handed into the Church as profits for this past year. A welcome increase both for the church and the Charities who benefit from a percentage of the profits. This year Overgate and The Forget me not trust are benefitting. The Friday cafe continues to be well attended both by the church family and people coming off the street as well as family and friends.

The atmosphere is friendly and there is a general buzz about the place. We have recently got a banner for the railings and hope that this will bring more people in. Fingers crossed! Again we have welcomed new volunteers behind the counter and could do with more so if you wish to help please talk to our helpers.

A big big thankyou to Glenys and Christine for their help in the kitchen. On the busy days it is more than a one man person job and if it is to get busier we definitely will need more help. So, if you wish to help out in the kitchen or if you are a baker and fancy trying your hand, please let me know. This, I hope you will agree is a success story. Many people have walked through the doors and said they never knew about our premises and have been impressed. We need to continue to welcome them and make them feel valued.

Thankyou for all your support.

Wilma

Sunday Coffee Bar

The Sunday coffee bar continues to follow each Sunday service. The donations given go to restocking the coffee bar with various drinks including decaffeinated and ordinary beverages and more cups as necessary. Would you believe, we have " lost" 50% of the original number of large cups and so some may notice the good china is being used when we have larger numbers.

We have welcomed some new members to the rota and continue to be blessed by them and our faithful coffee bar mates.

Nothing could be done without them.

If you want any changes / additions please let me know.

If you feel you could be included in the rota, please have a word with any of the volunteers. Orientation will always be given . All profits are given back to the church to help sustain our community.

Thankyou for your continued support.

Wilma

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Pensioners’ Youth Club – Table Tennis

We will commence our new session on Tuesday 3rd October at 2pm.Sadly David and Jean have had to hang up their bats. They are welcome to watch and umpire. Otherwise subs will remain the same with a brew at half time. We are a happy band and natter away on many subjects apart from playing. Any new members are welcome.

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 2023 Calderdale Circuit Circuit no. 27134 Registered Charity- Charity Registration number 1130095 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.2421 Minister.. The Rev Colin Sherwood Church Stewards: Colin Lees Alwyn Ker5haw Lesley Kershaw Christine Chadwlck FIlYn10rid Wilkiiiso MJTgoiy WilkiiiJOIi Wilm¢i Paton Treasurer- Andrew Stopford Copy of Sosjthgate Sofa 22 23 1of5

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31AUGUST 21)23 Southgate Church SECTION A Re5trtcted Totalsthlsyear Tots15 lastyear al RECEIPTS Note Offenngs and Tax wovered Bank and CFB interest and Investment income 30,436.97 £ 30,436.97 31,142.42 a3 3,364.86 146.07 3.510.93 249.30 a4 LÈttSngs Other receipts TOTAL RECEIPT5 39,674.25 £ 39.674.25 36,635.00 a5 30.IOIA5 30,482. 60.583.85 26,227.57 £ 103.577.93 30,628.07 £ 134.206.00 94,254.29 5EcnoN bl PAYMENTS b2 Circuit Assessment or share É 31.024.25 31,024.25 31,434.25 b3 Donations 2.306.70 Z.306.70 502.20 b4 Repalrs and Mainten3rKe Utiiifies Ilnsurances, water £harBes. heatin £ 29,127.65 £ 29.12Y.65 14.784.49 b5 21.130.32 £ 31,130.31 Zl,119.73 b6 1,479.Bl b7 Other PayTnent5 27.391.88 27,391.88 29,534.68 b8 TOTAL PAYMENTS £ 110.980.80 f 110.980.80 Ib9 t 98,855.16 SECTION C NET RECEIPTSIPAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR lafrb81 7,402.87 £ 30,628.07 £ 23.225.20 4,600.87 Total funds brou8ht forward from last year f 31,244.43 £ 96,924.58 £ 128,169.01 £ 132,769.88 c3 Sub total Icl+cll £ 23.84l.56 £ 127.552.65 E 151,394.21 £ 128,169.01 c4 Transfers and adjustments 4.0.00 1¢71 TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF YEAR Ic3+c41 27.841.56 £ 123.552.65 É 151.394.21 £ IZ8,169.01 SEcfioN D FOR INFORMATION ONLY.. MOP4EY RECENEO AND PASSED ON TO ExfERP4AL ORGAN15AMON5 (these amounis are not to be Included In total recelptsl ayments f4 ures above) dl Balance brought forward from lastyear 2.91 2.91 d2 Offerln8s/Gift5- re1ved for extemal Ofganlsati¢Ms 247.55 190.00 d3 Offerfn8s/G*ft5 - pa55ed to external orEanisation5 247.55 190.OD BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID Idl+d2-d31 2.91 2.91 Copy of Southgate Sola 22 23 1ofS

w¢h SUMMA8YOFCH¥8CHACCOUNTSthDl•ffEPJWc6ANWinoNSREPORTGT0ThE rlIft coupx SECtItsNE Fomtswthe Guthce to£om Surnm3ry of the Chvrcha¢cwnTS ftytheyearetsded 31 Au&J51 2023 InteiDal 0r8anL5ètIUn5reporti10Ihe(VrthcUtttil1chvT¢h Meeiin8 NOTethèithe ltsndsoFan InrornalOr8athSaTiQn vJQvld noimèllvbe Restnrted luhds uD551T couldbEdearty5kwn IhèttwknJ beusedloi ary Mh¢01sto0S. This se¢EIOThrnySite¢ompleted to èriive atthe8fossin¢tykneandxwrthurttokisolth thurth tFlro&simEetdSthtAr(rL4IsthreShL1d.thtrtAl5MelY)&èct0UtIn8Atr+DA DI¥FERENT Foftm MUStU&e4 toftrry)rtthe act(wJntsl5Èe MdhDOtstwebtel. Wea5E refErt0theEdth reEardinKttansFersbttentheDiStrirtand¢onnerted $tl¢t INItgNALOAGANISATWS Pecelpts ptymertts Opentrce5 0reanCeS Boyslfjiils Br5i•de S.046.99 7.269.56 6A69.66 4.247.09 ToEetherGr¢)up 695.50 732. 36.$0 36.62 e3 •7 OY 8.001 56 1.259 L>7 6.542.P8 l•AII Churchcc•ulltsitoials rw8ht l•iwarl pg l-trt$t0IUmRI £ 134.2C4.00 23215.zo iU.169.01 151.a94.11 el TOTAL CASH FVNDSHfLDBY CHURCH E 1>9,948.49 £ Jl•,982.36 20.966.13 114.711.79 155.677.9l Contlnueon a wpirateshqtt ffit(e&5•Tyand brlni th TQTALRElflPTS TOTAL PAYk•ENTS SEcf1014 F AND{LaLIr LUACM.USH FUNElp•t 11 &¥iust20Z3 OPENING bAW4C£S CLOSI1 BaL4NCE5 C45hln ha 24.81 24.81 8•nkCwrqni Account 17.315.$9 7.074.B2 Bènk Dgw511 Account Cèntral Flnanrp Bo?rrt Jg.O93.76 10,941.66 Trustees ForMtihodis1 C1LrthFrpDjes 86.019.56 116.NlJ.$6 6.675.29 7.303.36 SUB TOTAL. thyrth 128,169.Dl 151.194.11 Total fuods hdd by Internal 018aS4¢S Ith•doA balancetotal abovel le121 &541.7B 4,283.71 TOTALU5H FUND5HELO 8Y(MURtH t34.711.TY 155.677.91 5ECIIONG At OTHERA5SET5•nd LIABILlnES 31Au8vst 2023 Èi 1nve51menis IIfiClude EOrnets) nd & 8ulldln8slsenois Inyjr4ewUeI 9.Jl4.516. 9,657.378 00 otherset5 Loanlsl. show1mntOtrtd1Ths3tWed sw.rh) E5 Othet abl15 f41rt1LeoTrty Funds helrtat ttCEntTal Firsrd IS IrK5thlentyFundshelrtat TNstEE5fwMethodtsl 81 Include ènyoihEr inve51meTrtsiDoi u(athdthmentofTMCPtntststh$Sm%dÈdIMI5 COwse Srts 22 23 l of5

Name of Church Southgate No 27134 Declarations and Scrutiny I confirm that these Receipt and Payment based accounts for the year to 31 August 2023 have been prepared from the records of the Church and that they include all funds under the control of the Church trustees. Signature of treasurer........................ . i* Name and address of treasurer Andrew Stopford. 330 Wakefield Road, Bailiff Bridge, Brighouse, HD6 4DU Presentatlon to the Church trustees I confirm that the annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023 kne1witlfe' presented to the meeting of the Church trustees held on . 147 Signature of the Chair of the meetin8 Name of the Chair of the meeting c1 4IL>c¥J.. Date ..... ..... .......... Independent Examlnerfs Report to the Trustees of the Southgate Methodist Church Charlty Number 1130095 Responslbllitles and basi5 of report I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Southgate Methodist Church for the year ended 31 August 2023 set out on pages... to As the Church's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts In accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 20111'the Act'l. I report in respect of my examination of the Church's accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and, in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commi55ion under Section 14515llbl of the Art. * delete or circle a5 appropriate Copy of Southgale Sofa 22 23 1of5

Name of Church.. Southgate No 27134 Independent Examiner's Statement I have completed my examination. I confimi 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 a¢¢ordan¢e 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 this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. I have obtained independent verification 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 excess of £10,000 (ten Ihousand pounds) at the balance sheet date. B M Howarth Ltd Chartered ACllnt8 West House Klng Cross Road Halifax HXI IEB Name of firm: B M Howarth Ltd Address . Wesl House, King Cross Road, Halifax, HX11 EB Date: 25 October 2023 2015 churGh R and P.x1s 5015