## **Southgate Methodist Church Calderdale Circuit** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Annual Report
for year ending 31 [st] August 2024
**----- End of picture text -----**
- 1 - ## 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 2024 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 Mrs Lesley Kershaw Mr Alwyn Kershaw Mrs Wilma Paton Mrs Diane Sherwood 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 - 3 - ## _**Number of Church Members:**_ 48 ## _**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. - 4 - - 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. - 5 - ## Minister Dear Friends I welcome you to Southgate’s Annual report. It is a document that is filled with good things as well as challenging things. During the years that I have worked alongside you there have been so many special moments that I continue to hold dear. There was a moment whilst singing the chorus “All good gifts around us” in the recent Harvest Festival that I suddenly seemed to hear a choir singing behind me and in what was an extremely emotional moment, remembered with joy the faces and voices that once filled our choir stalls as well as others that have lined our pews. Thank God for those who have travelled with us and who have now beheld Gods face in glory, we miss them. As Bob Dylan reflected the times are a changing, and life moves on at a pace. In our Report we will read of clusters, and challenging conversations of how to reimagine our God given mission with a growing desire to seek conversation with our sister church Bethesda on how to do that. In the coming days the Circuit Stewards will be looking through the pages of the stationing directory as they consider staff changes in the lower valley cluster for next September. Please pray into that situation. There is certainly a lot going on and I thank all those who have gone out of their way to make Southgate what it is today. We have much to be thankful for and so much to take pride in. Earlier today, at snack attack a lady came in and asked to see the sanctuary for it was in our church back in 1962 that she had been baptised. As we stood in the church, she told me how it was such an emotional moment for her, and it was lovely to share that moment. It was in that moment that grace broke through, thank God for so many moments when grace has resounded in and throughout our building and travelled far beyond it. God is good and Southgate continues to pay tribute to that. In Wesley’s words, best of all that God is with us! Every blessing Colin ## Church Stewards At the start of the church year in September 2023 the stewards were Lesley and Alwyn, Wilma and Colin. Colin was senior steward. We celebrated our Harvest Festival in the beginning of October. The service was led by Michael. The stewards organised a small display in church and the - 6 - congregation were asked to bring items suitable for distribution by the food bank. A number of Local Arrangements services have been held over the year. These have been led by our Worship Leaders Kay and Diane. Members of the congregation have also taken part when required. Our thanks go to Kay and Diane for these services. We have continued to hold All Age Worship services in the Sykes Hall on the 4th Sunday of each month. Sadly there have been only a very few children in attendance. However those that were there have enjoyed taking part as have the adult congregation An All Souls memorial service was held at the end of October when a stone cairn was built and candles were lit to remember loved ones. The Church was decorated for Christmas and looked beautiful. Thank you to everyone who helped with the decorations. A Christingle service was held with the Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade in the Sykes Hall. Gifts for distribution by the food bank were brought to a service in early December. A Carols for All service was held on Christmas Eve and a Christmas morning service when we were joined by our friends from Bethesda. At the end of December Colin retired as a steward. I would like to thank Colin for all his hard work as a steward and all the work that he continues to do in various roles throughout the Church. I would also like to thank everyone who helps the stewards not just on Sunday mornings but on many other occasions when help is needed. The stewards are small in number and without your valuable assistance we would struggle. Lesley, Alwyn and Wilma were appointed as stewards at the General Church meeting in November and were joined by Diane in January. Lesley took on the role of Senior Steward. During Lent we included a lent Liturgy in the service and items were added to the cross each week. On Mothering Sunday daffodils were distributed. A service was held on Good Friday evening and on Easter Sunday there was early morning communion followed by breakfast in the coffee lounge. Our friends from Bethesda joined us for our Easter morning service when the cross was decorated with flowers before being placed outside the Church door. We have had a number of very happy Baptismal services which have been very well attended and sometimes have been followed by tea and cake in the coffee lounge. We were delighted when Kayn volunteered to be our new Baptismal secretary at the November Church meeting. Thank you, Kay. - 7 - Sadly we have also said a final goodbye to Michael Bailey, Christine Helliwell and Derek Hagreen, long serving faithful members of our congregation and also to Howard Pickles who was our Church Treasurer for many years. There have been changes in the Calderdale Circuit in the last year. We have been split into ‘Clusters’. We at Southgate are in the Lower Valley Cluster which also includes Bethesda, Cross Hills, St Matthews, Brighouse Central, Clifton and Christ Church. We are being encouraged to join together with other Churches in the cluster in joint events and worship. A joint Cluster Service was held the first Sunday in September, December. March and June. We have attended these services firstly at Bethesda then Brighouse and Christ Church. The June service was held at Southgate when we welcomed members of the other Churches in our cluster and enjoyed a coffee and a chat afterwards. I’m sure you are aware that many Churches are struggling both financially and in the number of people willing and able to do the various jobs needed. We will have to change and find new ways. Change is unsettling but it is inevitable. Clusters are the beginning and much more will be talked about in the coming months. We need to accept necessary changes as an exciting challenge and work together for success in the future. Finally I would like to thank Wilma, Diane and Alwyn for their continued hard work and support over the year. Lesley ## Treasurer **Annual Figures:-** Income 23-24 £85606 (22-23 £108206 [nett]) Expenditure 23-24 £97168 (22-23 £110980) ## **Funds Held:** |**Funds Held:**||| |---|---|---| |General Fund (combined)
Memoriam Fund
Property Reserve Fund
TMCP Investments|31st August 2023
£ 30916
£ 660
£ 3768
£116050
£151394|31stAugust 2024
£ 20556
£ 1233
£ 1908
£116050
£139747| |||| - 8 - ## **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. This has been a difficult year which has ended with a significant deficit of £11562. There was a deficit on the previous year of £2774 after taking legacy funds received out of the equation. I have reported to the F&P Committee and to the Church Council that we cannot continue with deficits of this scale, which are only going to increase. The Circuit Assessment alone is increasing by its maximum permitted 10% in the forthcoming year, from £33500 to £36400. Urgent action to boost income is required. We have received all of our due Gift Aid refunds this year. The amount received was £6738, of which £426 was paid on to the Boys/Girls Brigade Unit. 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. I am grateful to Colin Lees who has assisted me with the Gift Aid claim this year, after Howard Pickles finally relinquished his position as Gift Aid Secretary. I do not wish to continue as Gift Aid Secretary for any longer than is necessary, and both Colin and I will be very glad to receive an offer to take on this duty. Cashflow has been increasingly tight, and I have had to make transfers of funds from the church’s deposit accounts at CFB to support the general account, totalling £18000. Cash flow has been helped enormously due to the number of people who pay their offering 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. - 9 - Lloyds Bank reviewed our accounts during the year, and moved us from Business accounts to Charity accounts. This has been beneficial in that we no longer have to pay bank charges, and we keep all the existing facilities of the accounts. Lloyds refunded almost twelve months worth of fees already paid plus interest after admitting that the review should have taken place earlier. Ongoing costs for utilities continue to be reviewed. Our energy (both gas and electricity) is supplied by British Gas. Worship activity in the Sykes Hall in winter months is proving to be a financially prudent move, with significant savings being made. However, Southgate’s utility costs over the year amounted to £13215, as opposed to £12329, in the previous year, an increase of almost 9%. We have paid, under protest and after a tiresome correspondence, a monthly standing charge for electricity at one of the shops which was empty for a period. This has now thankfully ceased as the shop has again been let. Our property is covered by Methodist Insurance, which provides a highly specialised service to Methodist organisations. We have had no claims this year. The annual premium is due in June, and until this year, I have had sufficient funds to pay the premium in full at renewal. However, this year I have had to request payment by monthly instalments as there are insufficient easily accessible funds held in reserve. There is no extra charge for this easement. 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 with regular and new hirers to generate income from the community’s use of our premises. We continue to host the Cross Hills Pantomime, which is a mutually beneficial arrangement. Our parade of shops still provides a vital income. All our tenants have paid all the rent due. We have had yet another changeover of tenants at one of the shops, and there has been a period where the shop has been empty, but we are grateful that we have again been able to let the premises. The ‘new’ tenant is Calderdale Samaritans, who have enlarged their existing footprint. Income from our shops this year was £22266 (£25656 22/23), and room hires was £10066 (£14018 22/23), a combined total of £32332, a significant and serious reduction of £7342, over 20%, on the previous year. Southgate holds a capital sum of £116,050 with TMCP in Manchester. We are grateful to those who choose to support Southgate with generous donations by way of legacies. We benefit from a proportion of the income generated by the funds held at TMCP, with TMCP taking an administration fee. Interest rates have held at around 5% during the year, and the amount of income we have - 10 - received from TMCP is a very much improved £5753, after a fee of £330.74 taken by TMCP. This is unlikely to be repeated in the year to come as interest rates have now begun to reduce. We are able to access the capital funds at TMCP 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 increasing worries that we will have to do so. 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, but is accumulating again after contributions from two funerals were added during the year. There have again been few opportunities for fundraising this year, but we were glad to receive £859 from the after-worship coffee bar, and £3364 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. Tributes will have been paid elsewhere to Howard, who died during the year. I would like to add my own appreciation to Howard for his unfailing, generous and cheerful assistance to me as Treasurer in the ten years that I have held the position. _We give thee but thine own, whate’er the gift may be; all that we have is thine alone, a trust, o Lord, from thee._ Andrew - 11 - ## Finance and Property Committee Firstly, my thanks go to all and in particular to Alwyn who have helped in any way with the upkeep of our buildings during the last 12 months. All the necessary inspections and servicing required before we can open our buildings for use have been carried out. Following the resignation of our cleaner Mary last August, we entered into a contract with Carroll Cleaning Co for the regular cleaning of the buildings. Our energy contract expired in January this year, and a new 3 year fixed contract was entered into with British Gas. The part time contract for our Resources Administrator was also extended for a further 2 years from 1[st] March 2024 Room hire rates were increased from the 1[st] April 2024. Banners have been purchased for display in the Sykes Hall and Sanctuary depicting the main festivals of the church. A banner has also been purchased advertising Snackattack and one is in the process of preparation for Room Hire. After a long period out of use, the lift in the Sykes Hall was eventually repaired. Our friends at Cross Hills completed their updating of the stage facilities, and we thank them for this valuable improvement. Green chairs in the Prayer room have been disposed of and replaced with more comfortable chairs from the creche. The lighting was also made brighter, giving a more welcoming feel to the room. The Upper Hall chair store has been sorted out making stores more accessible, and the additional church audio gear is now stored in what was the GB store on the balcony. Major flooding along the Catherine street toilets was eventually resolved by jetting and then preventative works to hopefully resolve the issues. A new hot water boiler has also been provided in the Coffee Lounge. The 5 star Food Hygiene rating for the main kitchen has also been retained. Room hirings have again been steady this year, but with the opening of the Elland Hub (formerly Cartwheel Club) competition for room usage in Elland is quite fierce and any help in increasing this would be appreciated. All our shop units remain fully let, with the Samaritans taking over unit 3 / 4 and extending their existing use of unit 1 / 2 into the adjoining space. Prior to this we experienced a difficult period with tenants leaving after only short periods of occupation. This caused a loss of rental income, and also resulted in expense to provide additional ventilation to the rear of the unit 3 /4, removing - 12 - the gas meter and sealing the external wall adjoining unit 6 to prevent water ingress. Since then, minor works have been carried out to strengthen the floors in both doorways from Southgate to the newly extended unit 1 / 4. ## Keith ## Room Bookings There are a number of groups who have ceased to book Southgate since last year. Healthy Minds have gone to All Saints Church. They were constantly complaining about a variety of things with Southgate, primarily the Langdale Room being cold which was only cold when some of their members opened the doors and went outside for a cigarette, holding the doors open so they could get back in again. Trinity music exams have also ceased to use us as their numbers were reducing making it less viable. ASR Dental Surgeons were taken over by a chain who decided on a different strategy for training. Monday Yoga ceased meeting due to the group leader being unwell. RJS Ballet ceased meeting due to the numbers not being large enough to sustain the group. Little Kickers had been ‘hit and miss’ for a while. Their numbers diminished to the point where the group was no longer sustainable. The total invoiced from bookings during 2022-2023 was £13,481.75. Healthy Minds continued to meet at Southgate until Christmas 2023. Desmond Diabetes started to use us again after a gap of a few years. Sam at Curious Motion has continued to use us for a variety of activities. These have been expanded over the last year with a few new groups being run at Southgate. Similarly, SureStart have increased the courses offered at Southgate, running a variety of ante-natal, toddler and pre-school activities. New users have been: Northern Broadsides Theatre, Greetland Academy for their end of year celebration and awards evening, Elland Silver Band for rehearsals and their Slow Melody Contest. The total invoiced from bookings during 2023-2024 was £12,315.50. Neither of the year totals include the Cross Hills Pantomime which is booked separately and paid directly into the Bank by donation. This shows a decrease in income expected from invoices of £1166.25. Until fairly recently, there was no mechanism for checking whether invoices were paid or not, but a mechanism is now in place. I have recently showed a number of people around Southgate with a view to possible bookings. The newly refurbished Elland Hub may well be providing some competition to us though we can’t afford to run at a loss so it is pointless trying to undercut them. There are 2 or 3 potential new bookings to start in the new year. **Other work** : I have started painting the Langdale Street doors but this needs completing during the next dry spell. Banners have been produced for the - 13 - Worship Areas for each of the Seasons. Two more have just been purchased for the Harvest to Remembrance season and then Advent to Epiphany. Another banner has been purchased to hang on the Church railings advertising the various rooms we have for hire. The website www.southgate-hub.org.uk is currently being reinstalled and will focus on room hire. The domain name and web space are owned by myself for which I make no charge to the Church – I am happy for this to continue for the time being. Other signage to improve user experience and information giving is in the process of being developed. Recent clashes in bookings have highlighted the need for a place where church traditions are written down so a booking is not taken that clashes with it. I plan to purchase a year planner which will be placed on the desk in the office for occasions such as ‘setting the church’ up for harvest to be written on. From that year planner the events will be put on the existing Google Calendar. To my mind, the precarious position of the Church and the difficulties increasing bookings, make my continued employment as Resource Administrator untenable. The salary paid to me would be better used elsewhere. There are a number of tasks which I would like to complete before ceasing to work for Southgate so I am giving notice of my intention to resign effective 31st December 2024. I will make sure there are paper-based systems available to continue the work for whoever is employed or volunteers to do the work. Chris Partington ## Pastoral Committee We have managed 2 successful meetings this year so our report is right up to date. Our total membership is now 48 and we had a few minutes remembering those members we have sadly lost this last year – Derek Hagreen, Christine Helliwell, Michael Bailey and Howard Pickles. We continue to send love & prayers to their families and we keep them all in our thoughts as they come to terms with their sad loss. At our last meeting, with our 2 new visitors Diane & Pamela on board, we managed to ‘juggle’ our lists around and am pleased to say we have a visitor for every member. This hasn’t happened since before Covid and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rev Colin, Kay, Christine, Barbara, Bernice, Diane, Pamela and Philip for their continuous help and support, it is very much appreciated. We look forward to our annual re-dedication service and distributing our new membership tickets to you all. - 14 - As we go to press we have just got an update on our Pastoral Care Guidance, (it is only 16 pages !!) so plenty to read and keep me on my toes. Again, my thanks to my team. 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 - £151.50 (including Gift Aid) **Easter Offerings Collection** for the Methodist Church World Mission Fund - £144.50 - (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: Methodist Women in Britain - £95.00 Mission in Britain Fund - £196.00 World Mission Fund - £196.00 Sincere thanks to everyone for your support. Margery ## Adopt a Child We continue to support Astrid in her journey through life. Her letters, just to remind you, are in the frame at the coffee bar. Astrid is doing well and seems to be thriving. I would just like to remind you about our teapot fund which contributes to the direct debit provided by the church on a monthly basis. This direct debit has unfortunately gone up due to high inflation in developing countries and so your spare change in the teapot holds even more importance than before. Thank you for all the faith you show to Astrid despite having never met her. Wilma ## The Boys’ Brigade and Girls’ Association Elland Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade enjoyed another eventful and enjoyable session during 2023-24. 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. Our Senior age group is particularly strong, and we - 15 - were pleased to see Dylan gain his Queen’s badge this year. Congratulations also to Gabriella and Leah who were awarded their President’s badges and will join 2 of our other members in working towards their King’s (formerly Queen’s) award this year. The Mayor and Mayoress of Calderdale joined us at our annual Presentation night to present these awards and the badges to all our members. Our Wednesday nights can certainly be lively, and we do have a lot of fun throughout the year. 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 Alsancak for fulfilling the role of treasurer once again this year. Our annual residential weekend saw us visit another PGL site. This year, we headed to Newby Whiske near Thirsk where 12 of our young people enjoyed a brilliant weekend. It was an impressive site, activities included zip wire, archery, paddleboarding and climbing. The Elland Stedfast Association took the tough decision to finish this year. We thank all who have been involved over the years and those who have supported their events. The legacy of the ESA lives on, and we will continue their work by keeping our activities as affordable as possible. We were able to hold our regular Craft Fairs in 2023-24. 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 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 www.facebook.com/EllandBB, feel free to follow/like our page . Finally, thank you on behalf of the Company for all of your support throughout the year. James - 16 - ## Prayer Meeting You may think – every Friday morning from 10.30 – 11.00 ish - every week – year in – year out – would become a toil of a pleasure!!! But it’s really not like that at all! Those who come enjoy every minute! It’s been happening now for a long number of years – and we pray that it will never end! We feel it is a very important part of our church life! Are you aware that Southgate has a Prayer Room of its own? It’s next to the room known as the Choir Vestry – come and have a look! During the last few months, it has been renovated by some kind person, and it’s now cosy and comfortable with lovely easy chairs, a nice coffee table, extra lighting, and a warm feeling! We love it! So, let me remind you what we do on a Friday morning! We are happy to chat and share our thoughts and concerns for those we know, and some we don’t know, who need our prayers! We discuss any new prayer requests we have received! We ask for any up to date information on people we are regularly praying for! We share, and pray about any TV news items we have found disturbing! We give thanks to God for good things that have happened and are happening! We usually begin with a hymn and close by blessing each other as we share the Grace together! And Friday morning is important to us! Please feel free to join us whenever you are able! You will be truly welcomed! And remember – _What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege_ Maureen ## Bible Study This group was led by Pamela Hales and during the period under view met fortnightly on Thursdays at 2 pm (then amended to 1.30pm to fit in with another group). We are a friendly group, currently from two churches, who just enjoy an hour or so of informal chat over coffee/tea whilst sharing an interesting way of looking at familiar bible passages. Each fortnightly session ‘stands alone’ so no commitment to coming every time. The group is small but we continue to enjoy meaningful conversations that I feel sure others would find interesting and helpful. It would be good if the group was better attended and I understand that a ‘change of shape’ to widen the scope is being considered for the future.... Kay - 17 - ## Together Group After a break during the summer months our Together Group began meeting again in September 2023 on alternate Thursday afternoons throughout the winter and spring. We have had another successful and enjoyable year and our numbers are still slowly growing. There can sometimes be as many as 30 ladies enjoying their time together. We still have room for more and would welcome anyone who would like to come along and enjoy various entertainment followed by coffee or tea and a chat. We have once again had a variety of speakers to keep us entertained which have included a Mission Trip to Romania, Maurice Jagger Centre, Happy Days and Home Instead. We have heard about Life in the NHS, Memories of Christmas Past and been Totally Brassed Off. We had our usual Christmas and Easter celebrations which of course included food. A varied programme is planned for the coming year which will again include something new along with some old favourites. Thank you to everyone who supports this group and helps to make it such a success and a huge thank you to the small group who help to organise the activities and make the tea and coffee. Lesley ## Gents’ Gathering for Grub We are group who meet roughly monthly on Wednesday evenings for a meal at The Toby Carvery. There are 12 of us in total but never manage to have a full attendance. Most of us attend Southgate but the group includes gents from other churches and none. Sadly, one of our members, Derek Hagreen, passed into higher service during the year. Colin ## Song Group This group initially met in the evening, fortnightly, on Thursdays. A re-think during the winter had us meeting at 3 pm instead, at which time it was hoped that those attending the bible study group at 1.30pm, same date, might be able join us. We also thought maybe others would be attracted by the idea of not venturing out on a winter’s evening. Unfortunately attendance has not increased. Nevertheless, the gatherings are lively and most enjoyable as we look at newish songs and also good older things and ‘seasonal’ songs. Often we are in a position to have a bash at the hymns chosen for the coming Sunday service. Having taken some time off for the summer, it is planned that the - 18 - group will gather again at the start of the new ‘Methodist’ year in September 2024. Perhaps we will have more support in the future.... Kay ## SnackAttack Our Friday SnackAttack sessions continue to be quite well attended. As well as church members, we also have regular attendees from outside the church community. There seems to always be a bit of a buzz going on and a lot of friendly banter. I would like to thank all the people behind the coffee bar and in the kitchen for their unstinting help and contributions. Both old and new. Thanks to Barbara and Emma, our new recruits, for joining the team. Remember folks, we could always do with more help to keep this much appreciated social event ticking over. I am pleased to say that £3362.62 has been handed over to church funds this year. 20% of this will again be going to Methodist Mission funds and 20% to deserving local charities. Thanks again to everyone. Please keep supporting us in anyway you can and spread the news about SnackAttack! Wilma ## Sunday Coffee Bar We continue to maintain fellowship in the coffee bar after services. £975.20 has been donated to church funds. Thanks as usual to all our helpers who stock, run and clean up the coffee bar afterwards. You are all fantastic. Any more help would be greatly appreciated. Wilma ## Pensioners’ Youth Club – Table Tennis we are a friendly bunch who meet for a natter and cards as well as ping pong. We have tried indoor kurling too. Sadly some members have had to hang up their bats but after Christmas we have had an influx of new people who have stayed with us, so much so that we started a month early in August. - 19 - Any new members are most welcome to join. We play every Tuesday 2 till 4 with a half time brew. Thanks go to the heating man for keeping us warm during the winter. Philip - 20 - CHURCH RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS THE METHODIST CHURCH STANDARD FORM OF ACCOUNTS Southgate Church FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 August 2024 Calderdale Circuit Circuit no. 27134 Registered Charity - Charity Registration number If not a registered charity His 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 eviden￿ 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) 1130095 Minister.. The Rev Colin Sherwood Church Stewards: Alwyn Kershaw Lesley Kershaw Colin Lees Diane SheThvood Wilma Paton Treasurer" Andrew Stopford Church-receipts-and-payments-2024 Final 1 of5 ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024 Southgate Church Unrestrlcted Restricted Totals this Funds Funds year Totals last year SECTION A a1 RECEIPTS Note a2 Offerin s and Tax recovered Bank and CFB interest and Investment income 29,832 29,832 30,437 a3 6,805 32,332 16,064 85,033 6,805 32,332 16,064 85,033 3,511 39,674 60,584 134,206 a4 Lettin Other receipts TOTAL RECEIPTS a6 (a7) SECTION B b1 PAYMENTS b2 Circuit Assessment or Share 34,029 2.001 34,029 2,001 31,024 b3 Donations 2,307 b4 Re airs and Maintenance utilities (Insurances, water charges, heating & lighting) 26,840 26,840 29,128 b5 15,388 15,388 21,130 b6 b7 Other payments TOTAL PAYMENTS 18,911 97,169 18,911 97,169 27,392 110,981 b8 (b9) SECTION C NET RECEIPTSIPAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR ¢1 (a6-b8 (12,136) 12,136) 23,225 Total funds brought fotward from last year 27,841 123,553 151,394 (c6) 128,169 c3 Sub total {c1+c2 15,705 123,553 139,258 151,394 Transfers and ad'ustments c7 c5 TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF YEAR Ic3+c4) 15,705 123,553 139,258 (c8) 151,394 {c6) SECTION D FOR INFORMATION ONLY: MONEY RECEIVED AND PASSED ON TO EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS (these amounts are not to be included in total receiptslpayments figures d1 Balance brou ht forward from last ear d2 Offerin sIGifts - received for external or anisations 248 d3 OfferingslGifts passed to external organisations 248 d4 BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID (d1 +d2-d3) 2of5 Church-IrceEPtS-aDd-payinentS-2024 Final South ate Church SUPAMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNC SECTION E Please follow the Guidance Notes to com lete this Summary of the Church aecounts for the year ended 31 August 2024 ancf Internal 0rganisab.ons ￿[hYb"n9 to the Church Counuvchurch Meeting. Note that the funds of an Internal Organisalion would nomially be Restr￿ed fuThts unless r( ctyJld be dearty sIKMn that they could be used for any Meth(￿1$1 purpL)se. This section must be cornpleled io arrive at the gross tncome and expenditure totals of the Church. If gr05s incorne exceed5 the Attnjals th￿shold. then theAceruals method of accounting AND A DIFFERENT FORM must be used to the attounts (see Methodistwebsitel. Ple&* refer to the guida￿ no￿ regarding transfers between the Distrfct and connecle(J District Org8nisatsons. INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS Net R￿1p ments Opening b8￿nCeS Receipts Pa Ad ustments Closn balan￿$ Glr18 Brl ade 11,338 4.494 4,247 8.741 ther Grou 800 37 71 ¢3 ¢5 ¢7 Sub total of Internal arEisations funds ¢8 12,138 7.610 4.528 e11 e12 chU￿h accounts (totals brou9ht fotward from page 2-totals column) 85,033 la71 97.169 Ib91 112.1361 Icn 151.394 le61 139,258 Ic8 elo BY CHURCH 97.171 IOL779 17,6081 155,678 148.070 Continue on a separate sheet if rne￿$sary and brSng the lotsls forward TOTAL RECEIPTS TOTAL PAYMENTS SECTION F STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABIL￿rEs OPENING BAL4NCES CLOSING BALANCES CHURCH- CASH FUNDS HELD at 31 August 2024 Cash in hand 25 Bank Current Account 7.075 4,593 Bank De ositAcwJnt f4 Central Finance Board 20.942 18,567 Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes 116,049 116.049 Other funds 7,303 SUB TOTAL- Church accounts 151,394 ((*) 139,258 le81 Total funds hel£J by Intemal Org8nisatti)ns (the dtssing balance total from above) le121 4,284 le111 8,812 le121 TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD BY CHURCH 155,678 148,070 SECTION G At 1 September 2023 Al 31 August 2024 OTHER ASSETS and UABILITIES Investments indude Endowments Land & Buiklin see rsoles re Insurance value 9 657.378 10 147,258 Other Assets Loan - show amount OLtstandi at ar end Other Liabilities f4 Include only Funds held at the Central Finance Boaid 15 Include only Funds held at Trustees for Methodist Churth Purposes g1 Include any other investments (not the cash element ofTMCP trusts armunts thss is I￿1[￿]e￿ >n ItnefS hurthrfE￿ptr￿•3•7o24 FThl 3of5 Name of Church: Southgate No: 27134 Independent Examiner's Statement We have completed our examination. We confim that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below.) which give us cause to believe that in, any material respect: the accounting records were not kept in accordan￿ with section 130 of the Act" or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records. We 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. We 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 Finan￿ Board of the Methodist Church which are individually in eX￿sS of £10,000 (ten thousand pounds) at the balance sheet date. Signature of independent examiner Name of independent examiner Relevant professional qualification of independent examiner Nameoffirm (whereappropriate) ..B..N hcLxXA.(4h..yt¢............................................ Address bJ£!t 140.v.&¢.,.Kirys..C(Gil..R(A. haliEfy*............................................. Post Code IAA.I I Éfy... Date delete or circle as appropriate Fotrn Reviewed 24 hi