2020-12-31-accounts - Reigate Park United Reformed Church Charity

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ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED

31.12.2020

REIGATE PARK UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1130103

REIGATE PARK CHURCH UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2020

INTRODUCTION

This report is produced in accordance with the requirements of FRS 102 and the Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS 102) issued by the Charities Commission.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

As a local congregation of the United Reformed Church, Reigate Park seeks to advance the Christian religion through its activities and the facilities offered to the community by its building, and described more specifically in its mission statement which states:

Travelling together with Jesus in faith, hope and love.

Reaching out with God’s care and love for all.

The Elders’ Meeting is aware of the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit in "The Advancement of Religion for the Public Benefit" and has regard to it in the administration of the Church. The Elders’ Meeting believes that the Church provides benefit to the public by:

• providing resources and facilities for public worship, pastoral care and spiritual, moral and intellectual development, both for the congregation and for anyone else who wishes to benefit from what the Church offers;

• promoting Christian values and service by members of the congregation to the community, for the benefit of individuals and society as a whole.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The activities of Reigate Park United Reformed Church are overseen by the Elders' Meeting of the Church in accordance with the provisions of The Structure of the United Reformed Church. This is determined by the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church, and supplemented by the constitution of Reigate Park United Reformed Church. The governing document of the registered charity is a statement adopted by the Church Meeting on 17th March 2009. The Church Meeting consists of those persons who have been admitted to the full privileges and responsibilities of membership of the United Reformed Church and whose names are included on the membership roll of such local Church. The Church Meeting has the ultimate authority on the life and work of the Church. The Elders' Meeting is responsible for the financial administration of the Church, and the care and maintenance of Church premises and the Manse, provide advice and recommendations to the Church Meeting whilst fulfilling their responsibilities as Trustees. The members of the Elders' Meeting are the trustees of the registered charity during their period of service as Elders. Up to 12 members of Reigate Park Church can be nominated and elected by the members of Reigate Park Church at Church Meeting to be serving Elders. Elders serve for 3 years, retire by rotation and are eligible for re-election. There is normally a limit of two consecutive periods of service. The Elders Meeting met 21 times during the year, twice a month, to oversee our pastoral responsibility and continued smooth running of the church. The Elders are assisted in the administration of the Church and its property by committees established for: Finance, Premises and Management, Media Group, Social and Fundraising and the Worship Planning Group.

These committees report to Elders and Church Meeting at least annually. The Church had a full time Minister paid from the URC central Ministry and Mission Fund, a Local Church Leader and employed four part time members of staff, the Minister’s PA, Church & Community Manager, Caretaker and a Youth Worker. A contractor was used for cleaning for the year.

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The Church building and the Manse at 7 Priory Drive, Reigate, Surrey RH2 8AF are vested in Southern Synod Trust as trustees and held for the benefit of Reigate Park URC in accordance with the trusts applicable to URC properties.

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Name and Status

Reigate Park United Reformed Church Charity is a local church of the United Reformed Church in Great Britain, and is a member church of Southern Synod of the Church. It was registered on 11th June 2009 as Charity Number 1130103.

Reigate Park Church is situated at Park Lane East, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 8BD. Tel: 01737 249766 email office@reigateparkchurch.org The Church Office is normally open Monday – Friday 9 am – 1 pm.

Trustees

Those who served during 2020 were:

Susan Knight Lynne Skinner Lynne Lewis Christina Papworth George Watt Kevin Lewis Mavis Proctor Reuben Watt Hannah Robertson Peter Whipps Helen Conway Margaret Samuel

The members of the Elders’ Meeting for the time being are recognised as the charity trustees.

Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which gi v e a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in Charities SORP 2015 (FRS 102);
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011 and the Charity ( Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. They are also responsible for safeguarding the

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assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Trustees receive advice and training on all matters necessary to enable them to perform their duties. The Trustees are aware of their responsibilities for assessing and managing the risks faced by the church and continue to implement plans to mitigate those risks. The principal risks to the finances and continuity of the church are the church buildings. This is addressed by a regular programme of maintenance and improvement.

Independent Examiner

The Independent Examiner is Mr Keith Halstead MA (Oxon) FCA 60 Woodcote Hurst, Epsom Surrey KT18 7DT.

The Church building and the manse at 7 Priory Drive, Reigate, Surrey RH2 8AF are vested in Southern Synod Trust as trustees and held for the benefit of Reigate Park URC in accordance with the trusts applicable to URC properties.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Details of the Church's Income and Expenditure and its assets at the year-end are given in the Financial Statements for the year. In 2020 there was a deficit of £23,141 (2019 – deficit of £5,392). Income was adversely affected during 2020 because of a significant reduction in lettings and offerings as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the closure of the Church premises for much of the year. Three members of staff were placed on the Job Retention Scheme from March, returning to work part time as and when required from July 2020 to the present. This scheme has helped to significantly limit the church’s expenses during this difficult time.

The Trustees have designated £70,000 to hold in reserve for the 2020 financial year in accordance with the Reserves Policy (The equivalent of four months general running costs, three month’s salary costs and likely capital expenditure.)

The budget for 2021 shows a significant deficit, which we hope will be reduced by one off donations, increased lettings and cuts in expenditure.

REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

• We have continued to work on the 6 Priorities listed below which were identified and accepted at a Church Meeting on 17 April 2016 following the LMMR process. This is ongoing and is an intrinsic part of the monthly Elders meeting Agenda.

Address the reasons for falling attendance at Sunday service
Encourage more people to volunteer, to spread the workload of the many jobs that are central to the life of the church
Review the pastoral care system and ensure that it is understood
Clarify the expectations regarding the appointment of a new youth worker.
Improve communications with the large number of organisations and groups that use the premises

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Encourage awareness of how the church’s environmental footprint could be reduced.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound effect on the Church’s life with the premises closed (including for Sunday morning services) from 8[th] March to the end of the year, briefly re-opening during November and the beginning of December.
This year has been a difficult one in which we have worked hard as a church to support our Church Family and the wider community. To do this we have increased our online presence through YouTube and Zoom services, developed our pastoral support by encouraging all link people to keep in weekly contact with their groups and having online pastoral training in September, led by Andy Twilley, the Synod Training and Development Officer. We have kept up regular communications with the extended Church Family through a weekly newsletter and the monthly Record magazine and have also provided ribbons to tie to our fence for the wider community to share prayer or remembrance with us.
Reuben Watt, as our part time Children’s and Youth worker worked hard to develop youth work in our area. He helped start a Youth Club at Church which was growing well until Lockdown. When Lockdown started, he continued to reach out through Zoom meetings which involved such activities as quizzes and challenges. When he took the role of URC Youth Moderator he kept us appraised of national initiatives. As he has now gone to university, he has relinquished the role and finding a successor will be part of the 2021 priorities. We hope to use some of the Special Project Fund monies to recruit a Family and Children’s worker and we are exploring with another church to share a full time worker.
We had to furlough our Minister’s PA, Church and Community Officer and Caretaker for much of the Lockdown and were grateful for the Government’s job retention scheme which enabled us to do this.
We had planned to continue with a variety of service formats but owing to the pandemic we switched services online where they could be accessed through YouTube and Zoom.
We have endeavoured to adapt to the changes 2020 has brought. We closed when we felt safety required it and did a thorough risk assessments before reopening 6[th] September until closing again on13[th] December. Social distancing was maintained, masks and hand sanitising were obligatory, unless one was exempt and no singing was allowed.
We have always provided those unable to get to church with CD recordings and have continued this during the Lockdowns. Gift bags of chocolates and a plant and another containing a Christmas afternoon tea have also been distributed to those living alone or the elderly.
In support of The Renewed Trust Fund, we hosted the Winter Night Shelter in February, just prior to Lockdown and had approximately 8 guests.
The Easter Workshop was sadly cancelled due to Lockdown but packs of activities were sent out to the children and in place of our monthly Messy Church. These were well received.
One of our 2020 priorities was to have a new War Memorial to replace the original memorials which had been in storage since 1975. During the service on Remembrance Sunday Sue Knight unveiled and dedicated the new Memorial Scroll which included the names of all those from the former South Park and High Street churches who died during both world wars. People were encouraged to visit the War Memorial individually whilst maintaining social distancing.

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The Nativity Service was created while maintaining social distancing. Children were allotted a speaking or acting roles and were filmed separately. The result was edited with recordings of carols sung in former years and the result was most effective.
The Carol Service was on Zoom and YouTube and people enjoyed singing along to the carols.
As a church we are committed to charities. We raised money for Macmillan Cancer Care. At Harvest we supported Loveworks Food Bank with money and food. We also supported Homestart and shared information as to how to support Crawley Open House. We supported Christian Aid with a successful online Zoom quiz. Participants were encouraged to donate online. Despite Lockdown, clothes and donations towards the cost of food for CoCo’s Foundation continued to be collected. At Christmas we encouraged members to financially support online Renewed Hope, which works with the homeless.
During 2020 we were unable to host baptisms and weddings. Sadly 5 of our church family died during the year.
Junior Church remains an important part of the life of the Church but was unable to be held for much of the year. We continued to encourage our young people to participate in the online services and have sent out topic packs to develop knowledge and understanding of the Bible. We did manage to open briefly in the autumn, after a robust Risk Assessment. Owing to many families shielding we held it as one group with differentiated activities designed to appeal to the various age groups. Reigate Park are still proud to be a child friendly church and some people have attended training online led by Belinda Neilson (Southern Synod safeguarding Officer).
We are proud to be an Eco-Church and have been awarded Bronze level. We are now working towards Silver and Gold.
The Church Book Club continued to regularly meet via Zoom discussing a variety of books.
We welcomed the arrival of a new nursery to Church premises albeit on a temporary basis. This has been a good source of income and we hope to develop greater outreach in future. Another nursery has recently shown an interest when the current nursery vacates the building.
The Church continues to support much valued organisations which meet on the premises however, due to Covid restrictions, these have not been able to meet regularly. During the respite from Lockdown in autumn we managed to host an AGM for a regular user, Pilates, Drama, music Wing Chu and yoga classes were held. The badminton group briefly resumed. We hope these and others will return once Government guidelines allow.
On-Line communications continue to attract a growing number of people and organisations via the church website, Facebook and YouTube.
Work has continued on maintaining the fabric of the church building albeit at a slower pace. We are currently in the process of replacing the church office roof.
The Minister continued sharing Moderatorial Cover for Southern Synod until a new Moderator was appointed in September. He convenes the Synod Council and is also a Synod Trustee. George is a member of the URC Mission Council representing Southern Synod. In addition he is Chair of Trustees for Sparkfish, the churches’ ministry in local schools and continued to serve as Chair of Governors at a local infant school until June when he stepped down as chair and as a governor.
Mrs Susan Knight continues to lead online worship in her role as Local Church Leader at Reigate Park Church. She is also an Assembly Accredited Lay Preacher and Chair of Elders. Sue is Lay Preaching Commissioner for the Southern Synod, sits on the

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s0d Ministries Committee aTrJ and chairyJ the Synfyl Lay Preaching Coordinators MeetiTwJ Mrs Lynne skInr and Mrs Wthria cliffd. as SyMd Recoanised Lay Pre&h8rs support worship in ow ovm and other Itxal cburches. Looking back over 2020 the MiThsler and Elders woed to conlinue to offer effective leadership in helping the Church to fuffil its aims and obJ"ectives. The Eldern met fortnwhty on Zoom to dis3$ netds and how best to meet thwn. The Churth is assisted by the numerous volunteers gve tirelessty of their tirne and effort to ensur& Reate Path Church continues to fulfil its place Vthin the Ial commuNty. The priorilies for 2021 are re¥v•ing the LMMR report.to ensure it 1$ a 'living document. indudina updating the action plan. This will fcrfm part of Scoping a new nlster as Ge be leavlng us In May to become Mojeralor crf Thames Noth S0d. We viill be facing a ptir of ¥acwy from June. We are also followng up the Quinquennial Report of 2019 Inc1j1n9 assessifw the $tale of the rcofs. Reigate Park 11 towards apFointing a new Children and Family INc¥er. This report was apwoved by the Elders Meetr¥J on 21•t October 2021. Trms rewt 18 swJned on Its behall by: Mrs Chrfstina Pa&MVrtp Church Secretary and Trustee INDEPENDENT EXAMINEn REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF REIGATE PARK UNITED REFORMED CHURCH I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Reigate Park Unlted Reformed Church (the Church) for the year er¥Jad 31 Dècember 2020. Re•pon•lbllltl•• and ba•h of r•port The Elders as Chanty Truslees of the Church are responsit4e for the preparation of th8 ac(xiunls In a(wd8rte vlth the requirements of the Charitss Act 2011 fth6 Acr). I report in respect ol my examinali of the Churth's acwints as carrled out under section 145 of the Act and In carryrng out my examinalion I have foltovRd all the applicable Directions given by the Chaiity Commissi(m under seciion 145(5)(b) of the Acl. Ind•p•ndont •xamln•fs stat•m•nt I have completed my examination. I confimi Ihat no matters have come to my attention in connection V•ith the examination giving me wse to belte¥e that in any matwial Spect.. 1. aco)unting records were not kept in resp1 of the Church as rewired by wtion 130 of Ihe Act.. or 2. the accounts do nol accc¥d those roKd5. or 3. the accounts do not comply the appli&*le requirements cortsming the fo and content of nts set in the Chanties (Accounts a1 Report) ReguLgtion$ Page 6

2LM)8 other than ffj requirernent that Ihe give a 'true and fair vithv'vthich 18 not a matter considered as part of an independent examination: or 4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance ¥th the methcJs and principles of Accounting and Reporting by Chartties.. Statement of Recornmended Practice applicable lo charities preparing their accounts in accordan V•ryth the Finanoal Reportrng Standard app1(able in the UK ar¥J the Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) examin81ion to attent shId be dran in lth"s reiKxt in [der to enat4e 8 woper understanding of the accounts to be reathed. Signed by the Independent Exanmner Signature.. Date: Ketth Halstead 60 Wocmlcote PrSt Epsom Surrey KT18 7DT Page 7

REIGATE PARK UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Unrestricted Funds £ 60,568 4,055 14,896 34,428 1,209 961 1,731 117,848 66,466 52,296 6,815 4,890 265 130,732 -12,884 4,514 8,214 -156	Designated Funds £ 240 60 650 950 10,402 210 10,612 -9,662 21,000 -25,259 184,490 170,569	Restricted Funds £ 1,964 33 1,997 125 2,268 200 2,593 -596 45 -300 59,570 58,719	This Year 2020 Total £ 60,568 4,295 1,964 14,989 650 34,428 1,209 961 1,731 120,795 66,466 52,296 6,815 5,015 2,268 10,402 265 410 143,937 -23,141 25,559 -25,559 252,274 229,133	Last Year 2019 Total £
				71,396 5,116 3,641 17,191 5,000 43,750 1,152 4,727
				151,973
				66,465 63,921 6,683 4,730 2,340 11,321 1,389 516
				157,365

				-5,392
				1,345 -1,345 257,665
-156	170,569	58,719	229,133	252,274

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REIGATE PARK UNITED FIEFORMED CHiXICH STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND UABIUTIES Last Year 2019 Totsl£ 2020 T•ngibl• AMMIS Mon•t•ry a•Mt• Cambftdgo & Counties Bank Nabonal W8stminster rrent Chafits' Aid FoundalK>n axrent Patty Cash Total mon•t•ry •sMt• 83.941 85,261 76,832 82,980 58.93S 107,372 D•btorn Outside causol unbanked collectth Pr•payinonts Cr•dhof• 'ng to outlh16 caus OtMru•dttor¥ TOTAL NET ASSETS 229 133 252 274 Represont•d ty... Unrgstrict•d g8n8ral fimd$ Unresthct8d dsignal•d fv R•8lri¢Xed fvnd# 8,214 184.49) 59.570 170.569 58,719 229 132 252,274 APPROVED by th• TnMl••s on 21st i)iobw 21r21 Imir b•h•if by Mrs Cmstina pap. Church sau81 and Tn P•Je 9

REIGATE PARK UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

NOTES

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

This report is produced in accordance with the requirements of FRS 102 and

the Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS 102) issued by the Charities Commission.

2 FUND ACCOUNTING

UNRESTRICTED FUNDS may be used by the Church for any of its ordinary purposes.

DESIGNATED FUNDS represent unrestricted funds set aside by the Church for specific designated purposes; they can be transferred back into general funds at the Church's decision.

Fund name & purpose: Children's & Youth Work Fund Special Project Fund Repairs & Maintenance Fund Reserves Kitchen Fund Totals for designated funds	Balance b/fwd £ 6,537 114,424 -7,554 70,000 1,083	Balance b/fwd £ 6,537 114,424 -7,554 70,000 1,083	Receipts inyear £ 300 650	Receipts inyear £ 300 650	Payments inyear £ 210 10,402	Payments inyear £ 210 10,402	Transfers foryear £ -4,259 -21,000 21,000	Transfers foryear £ -4,259 -21,000 21,000	Balance c/fwd £
									2,578 93,864 3,044 70,000 1,083
	184,490		950		10,612		-4,259		170,569

Legacies £650 were received into the SP Fund

The funds held in reserves represent the amount set aside to comply with the Reserves policy for general running costs.

RESTRICTED FUNDS represent income which may be expended only on those restricted objects provided in the terms of a trust or bequest, or donations or grants received or invited for a specific purpose. These funds can only be spent for the specific purpose for which they were given. Any balance remaining unspent must be carried forward as a balance on that fund for future expenditure on that specific purpose, or returned; it cannot be absorbed into general funds.

Fund name & purpose: Endowment Fund The John Mercer Youth Fund Benevolent Fund Outside causes Totals for restricted funds	Balance b/fwd £ 40,000 18,935 -19 654 59,570	Receipts inyear £ 157 1,840 1,997	Payments inyear £ 200 125 2,268 2,593	Transfers foryear £ -300 45 -255	Balance c/fwd £
					40,000 18,435 13 271
	59,570	1,997	2,593	-255	58,719

Endowment Fund • Capital can only be used in accordance with the terms of the former Kingswood Congregational Chapel Fund and interest used for the maintenance and upkeep of buildings
John Mercer Youth Fund • to provide grants to young people to assist them to take part in activities which will help them to develop educationally, socially and spiritually. The capital is £17,694.31
Benevolent Fund • to assist people in straitened circumstances. Outside causes • to support outside causes as they arise.

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REIGATE PARK UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

NOTES - continued

Designated Funds £	Restricted Funds £ 0 0 0 57 0 19 0 710 0 250 0 0 20 78 244 244 162 33 147 1,963 0 1,963 0 Restricted Funds £ 0 0 125 125	This Year 2020 Total £ 0 0 0 57 0 19 0 710 0 250 0 0 20 78 244 244 162 33 147 1,963 0 1,963 19,753 13,200 1,475 34,428 This Year 2020 Total £ 8,176 5,852 859 6,598 7,920 7,990 4,582 1,689 53 3,952 982 2,487 892 264 52,296 906 640 3,345 1,923 6,814 4,390 125 500 5,016 2,907 1,193 -892 3,208	Last Year 2019 Total £
			19 19 200 408 25 878 190 195 100 23 270 270 217 93 440 440 0 0 369
0	1,963		4,156
			-515
0	1,963		3,641
			27,382 13,200 3,168
0	0		43,750
Designated Funds £			Last Year 2019 Total £
			7,188 10,309 903 10,009 12,238 11,035 6,584 2,574 159 18 751 834 862 457
0	0		63,921
			956 630 3,222 1,875
0	0		6,683
			3588 300 0 341 500
0	125		4,730
			3,769 0 -862
		3,208	2,907

Depreciation on Plant & Equipment is provided at 20% on a straight line basis.

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REIGATE PARK UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

NOTES - continued

9 MONETARY ASSETS The church monies are not held in segregated accounts.

The distribution of assets between funds is shown for illustrative purposes only.

10 ASSETS USED FOR CHURCH PURPOSES The church building and the manse at 7 Priory Drive are vested in URC Southern Synod Trust as trustees and are not church assets. They are held for the benefit of Reigate Park Church in accordance with the statutory trusts applicable to URC properties under the URC Acts.

11 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS One of the trustees, Reuben Watt, was employed by the charity as a part time Youth Worker between January to September. He was paid £3,745.40 gross, which represents a market rate.

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