2023-12-31-accounts

SL Thomas. Unlted Refornied Church. Watford REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31" DECEMBER 2023 Thls report indudes Information requlred by the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2011 and the Statement of Recommended Practice for Accounting by Charltles 2015 as applicable to charities entitled to prepare accounts on the recelpts and payments basis. Admlnlstratlve Information St. Thomas, United Reforned Church, Watford, Is part of the Scroll Church Local Ecumenical Partnership. This is a slngle congregatlon local ecumenical partnership (LEP) between St. Thomas, URC and North Watford Methodlst Church. The constitution of The Scroll Church was adopted on 23° September 2017 and establlshed it as the charitable, unlncorporated association governed by that Constltutlon. The Scroll Church Is not required at present to register wlth the Charlty Commlsslon. St. Thomas, Unlted Refonned Church remalns responslble for the management of the church property at 68 Langley Road, Watford and the manse at 185 Casslobury Drlve Watford. The properties are vested in URC Thames North Trust (company no. 75432) as trustees for the beneflt of St. Thomas, URC In accordance wlth the statutory tnjsts applicable to URC propertles. St Thomas, URC is a local church of the Unlted Reformed Churd) In Great Brltaln and is member of the Thames North Synod. It Is administered In accordan￿ with the provislons of the Structure of the United Reformed Church determined by the General Assembly of the Unlted Reformed Church and supplemented by the rules of St. Thomas, URC. The flnandal attivities of the Church were required by law to be reglstered as a charlty. The governing document of the Charlty th was adopted by the Church Meetlng on 28 June 2009. The Charlty was th reglstered by the Charlty Commission on 10 August 2009 as CharSty Number 1131058. Planning pemlssloon was glven durlng 2015 for the redevelopment of the Langely Road site with a smaller church and some houses. The Langley Road bullding was closed at the end of 2015 in preparation for this. Slnce January 2016 the congregatlon has worshipped wlth the North Watford Methodist Church in Its premlses at The Harebreaks, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD24 6NF and the LEP was established In 2017. The intentlon was to move to Langley Road when the redevelopment of the URC slte was completed. Further Infonnat5on about The Scroll Church can be found at htt th Ilchurch.

Structure• Governance and Management With the formation of the LEP, and In accordance with its constStutlon, the Trustee5 of The Scroll Church, known as the Leadership Team, exerclse the functions of the Elders Meeting of St. Thomas, URC, and The Scroll Church congregational meeting (of all member5 wlshlng to attend) glves general gUIdan￿ on the life and work of the Church. The Trustees consist of the Minister having pastoral charye with up to twelve members elected by the congregation, six of URC origin and six of Methodist orlgln, whose perlod of servlce Is three years. There Is no limlt on the number of consecutlve periods of their senlice. Their responsibilitles span the Ilfe and work of the congregation, the finanaal administration of the Church and the care and malntenance of Church premises and the manse. The members of the Scroll Church Leadership Team who served from 1° January 2023 until the date this report was approved are: Revd Dr Donna Fowler-marchant Mrs Catherlne Baldwln (untll July 2023) Mr Jlm Clark Mrs Elalne Falres (from 18.02.24) Mr Mlchael Hlll Mrs Margaret Ingram Mrs Iren Jasko Mr Vernon Lane Mrs Wendy Nugent Mrs Frances Raymond Mrs Katle Scott Dr Jean Stevenson Mr Charles Vlnan The Scroll Church is one of seven Churches forming the South Herts Group of United Refonned Churches, a Local Area Group within the Thames North Synod, and one of 20 Churches In the Methodlst West Hertfordshlre and Borders Circult whlch Is part of the Bedfordshlre, Essex and Hertfordshlre District of the Methodlst Church. Objectives and Activities The activities of St Thomas. URC through the LEP are described irt The Scroll Church's own report. There Is nothlng further to describe he￿. The Leadershlp Team Is aware of the Charlty Commlsslon s guidance on public benefit in -The Advancement of Religion for the Public Benefit" and has regard to It In the admlnistratlon of the Church.

Review of Actmties and Athievernents The projett to redevelop the Langley Road site has agaln made slow progress. The 2019 planning permission needed renewing but this was not progressed by the developer who subsequently indlcated that the scheme is not viable. Flnanclal revlew The registered charfty's accounts are attached to thls report. As prevlously reported, St. Thomas. Charlty's Income durfng 2023 was principally from the letting of the manse. Apart from costs In connettion with the manse, ongoing expenses are prlndpally for the resldual malntenance, insurance and elettricity costs of the Langley Road property, and the off-site storage of fumiture which may be needed In the new building. URC Thames North Trust holds for the church, Investments known as the Church Malntenance Endowment and the Manse Malntenance Endownment Fund. Thelr use is ￿$tricted accordlngly. Thls report was approved by the Trustees on 7 th July 2024 and Is slgned on thelr behalf by the Mlnlster, the Revd. Dr. Donna Fowler-marchant.

FINAIICIAL STATEMEiifs FOR THE YEAR ENI)ED 31 DECEI1￿ 21)23 REceipTS AIID PAThIEltrs AccouNr TIM# Yèar Fw¥ts£ T¢tsl £ Toiai £ Offerings for Suoll Churth Fund taising and (k)nat Propwty. lettwvJ 1x31 30.18&31 1¢IJ69A7 74 74 &04 30.18&31 74 30.23￿06 11OM51 PAYMENTS Mi'nisty & Ml8sion Fm1 Churth running costs 13MI.OD 4M11 Mairttenanco ofthuth Iwiktirys Manse colts 4478 1771 U7UD 23,667.06 2.4XOO 9.000.00 945.17 NEf RECEivf8 I (PAYMENTS) 44.74 TRANSFERS bolwMI fun08 CASH FUNDS bllwd 1 January 701.90 1.75 32 657.30 CASH FUND3 drfftl 31 Decw 39.615.50 14671.64 Cash 8ank CuTr8nt Account 36.729.01 &BB6A9 3.886.49 1467&64 3,836.71 39.615AO 1&5113S Grftlknd tecovwat4 Buildings under ststtrtThylntyts 10 11 URC PMhTrwt LlbilllleB and slgn•d rn tholr b•halP.

kn>w£ 4&74 knJw£ 841.75 74 TNIY L•#Y•w Tthd£ 210.11 {8B8 Noto 111 Lkencw and ffl￿t T¥airrir¥J PUW SOY Ccffimknentfty U

L#YE T1£ TsJt•i£ 1M.12 15XOO * 150A¥J S8U04 9 I>FT AID 14.101 13.204 PAlghd ty Tntyt TOTAL

., ST THOPIW UNffU> REFORMED CHURCH WATFORD CHARITY {No 1131058) Charity forthe Jtar el￿ts￿ 31 D￿nber2ff23 RMpon•lbMitles •Thl ba•1• of rnp￿t with ihe requirement ofthe Charitss Act 2011 fthe ￿. I report in resFect of my examinatN)n of the Charivs ￿nts c•J (xrt undw seclkn 145 cllhe 2011 P and in carrylng out my examK￿￿jn I fr￿k¥￿￿j the apfvlle gr4en by the C￿lty , Commjsstt￿ und¢r 145(5Xb) ofthe P 200 Batth￿n$ Lana Rickman8worth Herts WD3 3LQ