## **THE METHODIST CHURCH** 7 **BRISTOL & SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE CIRCUIT Circuit No. 7 / 2 SOUTH BRISTOL METHODIST CHURCH** ~~PC~~
REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 August 2025
**Registered Charity - Charity Registration number - 1131502**
**Minister:** Rev'd Sally Spencer ~~Pe~~
## **Church Stewards:**
Mr Robert Bennett Mrs Sue Gilchrist Miss Kavita Bhalarao Mrs Ann Rees Mrs Susan Rooke Mr Adrian Westlake
||**Treasurer:**|
|---|---|
||Mr Richards Hills|
|||
|**Bankers**|HSBC Bankplc|
|||
|**Investment Bankers**|Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church|
|||
|**Accounts Examiner**|Mr H G Nash FCA|
## SOUTH BRISTOL METHODIST CHURCH 1[st] September 2024 – 31[st] August 2025 TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT
Section A Reference and Administration Details
Name of Charity South Bristol Methodist Church Registered Charity Number 1131502 Charity’s Principal Address Knowle Methodist Church Redcatch Road Bristol Post Code BS4 2EP
## **Name of body entitled to appoint trustee:** SBMC Church Council
|**Trustee Name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**|
|---|---|---|
|Mrs Jean Abbott|||
|Mr Robert Bennett|||
|Miss Julia Blackmore|||
|Mrs Frances Bullas|Secretary||
|Mrs MercyCavicchioni|||
|Mrs Sue Gilchrist|||
|Mr Richard Hills|Treasurer||
|Miss MaryHudson|||
|Rev Prof TeddyKalongo|||
|Ms Edna Kissi|||
|Mrs Janice Lee|||
|Mrs Janet MacGregor|||
|Mrs Ruth Price|||
|Mrs Anne Rees||From 21 May2025|
|Mr Derek Rees|||
|Mr Clive Rooke|||
|Mrs Susan Rooke|||
|Mr John Seward||Until 15 October 2024|
|Mrs Rachel Joanna Spencer||From 11 February2025|
|Revd SallySpencer|Chairperson||
|Mr Kevin Richard Soulsby|Contact Person||
|Mrs Aroona Smith||Until 15 October 2024|
|Mr Adrian Westlake|||
|Section B Structure,Governance and Management|Section B Structure,Governance and Management|
|---|---|
|||
|Governing Document|South Bristol Methodist Church uses an approved governing
document issued by the Methodist Conference (as detailed
below) and have not altered or changed the objects clause of
this document.|
|Wording of Governing Document|The purposes of the Methodist Church are, and shall be
deemed to have been since the date of union the advancement
of –
(1) The Christian faith in accordance with the doctrinal
standards and the discipline of the Methodist Church:
(2) Any charitable purpose for the time being of any
connexional, district, circuit, local or other organisation
of the Methodist Church:
(3) Any charitable purpose for the time being of any society
or institution subsidiary or ancillary to the Methodist
Church:
(4) Any purpose for the time being of any charity being a
charity subsidiary or ancillary to the Methodist Church.|
|Trustee Selection Method|(1) Each of the four congregations that make up South
Bristol Methodist Church shall appoint annually three
members of their congregation to sit on Church council
plus the two congregational stewards who sit on the
leadership team. All will be trustees of the church.
(2) Such persons, if any, as the Church Council judges it
appropriate to appoint from among those employed by
the council, or by the Circuit Meeting in work in the local
church will be trustees of the church.
(3) The Superintendent Minister and one listed ministerial
staf of the Bristol & South Gloucestershire Methodist
circuit will be a trustee of the church
(4) Other trustees for the time being members of church
council
The Church treasurer
The Church MWiB representative
The Church Council Secretary
Circuit stewards as appointed by the circuit
stewards meeting
Note:- Each trustee MUST be a member of the Methodist
Church.|
|South Bristol Methodist Church
Structure|(1) South Bristol Methodist Church is made up of the
congregations of Bedminster, Knowle, and St. Peter’s
churches.
(2) There are three worship centres within SBMC.
(3) There will be an annual meeting of the whole church
which will be open to all and will be an opportunity to|
discuss the whole life of the church. (4) Each congregation will hold quarterly, an open meeting to which everyone is welcome and which will discuss any issues the members of the meeting raise. The calling of these meetings and the voting at them will be in accordance with the constitution, practice, and discipline of the Methodist Church. (5) The guidelines for the working of South Bristol Methodist Church is aligned to the constitution, practice, and discipline of the Methodist Church and can only be amended with the trustees voting 75% in favour of any amendment.
Section C Objectives and Activities (1) The provision of regular public acts of worship open to members of the church and non members alike. (2) The teaching of Christianity through sermons, courses and small groups. (3) Pastoral work including visiting the sick and bereaved. Activities (4) Taking religious assemblies in schools. (5) Promoting the whole mission of the church and aiding social cohesion through activities for older people, parents and toddlers, and other specific needs groups. (6) Supporting other charities in the UK and overseas financially and with prayer. The trustees would like to acknowledge the work carried out in all of its congregations in leading worship, providing pastoral care and maintaining the premises, especially during the cost of living increases. Contribution made by Church Members and friends of SBMC Generous giving by congregation members has continued in all four worship centres and in these difficult times the trustees are also grateful for all the work carried out by congregation members in their communities.
Section D Achievements and Performance
|Section D Achievements and Performance|Section D Achievements and Performance|Section D Achievements and Performance|
|---|---|---|
||||
||Summary of the main
achievements of SBMC|**_Whoever you are, whatever your journey, welcome._**
_We are your neighbourhood Methodist Church. We seek to_
_bring our community into the all-encompassing ways of Jesus_
_Christ, and take his love out into the world. We seek to ofer_
_hope and encouragement as we serve each other and the_
_wider area, travelling together in faith._
As part of God’s church in South Bristol, our aim is to grow in
the spiritual depth of our faith, in the diference we can make to
the communities around us, and in the numbers of people who
can discover and grow in the love of God in our congregations.
This year there have been signifcant signs of growth in our
church community.
We have grown in spiritual depth, through regular worship and
Bible study and for some, by holding on to faith through illness
and other dificulties in life. Weekly worship continues to equip
people to practise their faith in daily life, and small group
discussions take place to nurture people in their faith and
discuss subjects of topical interest. SBMC supports monthly
services in local care homes, where we can provide a message
of hope. Pastoral care is important and is led by teams of
volunteers from within the congregations.
We have welcomed a new employee focusing on the church’s
work in the community, and have grown in our community
impact through continuing Warm Welcome Spaces at St
Peter’s and Knowle, links with Monica Wills House in
Bedminster and a new project hosting South Bristol Grace
Network in Bedminster, which ofers social enterprises
beneftting the local community. We continue to host Citizen’s
Advice at Knowle and have welcomed the Food Pantry at St
Peter’s in partnership with Oasis Community Hub.
Although always respectful of the beliefs of others, we are not
apologetic for wanting to share the good news of the Gospel
message of forgiveness, love and hope through Jesus Christ
with those who are interested and we are happy to be
welcoming new faces, in small numbers, to our congregations
over the last year. We continue to baptise small numbers of
children and adults, and to carry out funerals for much loved
members of our congregation as well as people from our local
communities. This year we have also been delighted to
welcome new members and to encourage those who are
learning to lead worship in our services.
We have increased the work we are doingwith children and|
teenagers, recognising the importance of supporting and encouraging young people. We continue to work with schools in Broomhill and to run our own Junior Church at Knowle. We have joined this year with other churches in Knowle and Totterdown to run a Youth Alpha course. We continue to represent, in our congregations and in our leadership teams, sections of our community from a variety of ethnic, generational and social backgrounds and see this as one of our strengths. We meet regularly for Church Council and other meetings to discuss and make decisions about church life. Thanks go to people who have stepped down from church activities after many years of service, and to people who have taken on new responsibilities. _“Be thankful in all circumstances”. From 1 Thessalonians 5.18_
|Section E Financial review|Section E Financial review|
|---|---|
|SBMC Policy on Reserves|The policy is to maintain a general reserve equivalent to three
months routine expenditure.|
|Any Funds in Defcit|There are no funds in defcit|
## **SOUTH BRISTOL METHODIST CHURCH**
## **ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025**
||**SECTION A**|||**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**|**£**
**65,594**
**2,699**
**64,551**
**Totals this**
**year**|**£**
**65,594**
**2,699**
**64,551**
**Totals this**
**year**|**Totals last**
**year**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||**£**|**£**|**£**||**£**|
||**RECEIPTS**|||||||||
||Offerings and Tax recovered||||65,594||**65,594**||**66,823**|
||Bank and CFB interest and
Investment income||||2,699||**2,699**||**2,961**|
||Lettings||||64,551||**64,551**||**77,662**|
||Fund RaisingActivities||||10,186||**10,186**||**9,640**|
||Donations and Bequests||||13,554||**13,554**||**7,899**|
||Grant for Warm Space|||||4,920|**4,920**||**6,000**|
||Other Grants||||7,128|52,000|**59,128**||**2,881**|
||Mission work funding from the sale
ofpremises|||||43,500|**43,500**||**41,500**|
||Other receipts||||118||**118**||**710**|
||**TOTAL RECEIPTS**||||**163,830**|**100,420**|**264,250 **|**(a7)**|**216,076**|
|||||||||||
||**SECTION B**||||||**81,954**
**2,055**
**18,698**
**27,038**
**50,985**|||
||**PAYMENTS**|||||||||
||Circuit Assessment or Share||||81,954||**81,954**||**84,313**|
||Donations||||2,055||**2,055**||**1,351**|
||Repairs and Maintenance||||18,698||**18,698**||**18,541**|
||Utilities (Insurances, water
charges, heating& lighting)||||27,038||**27,038**||**34,095**|
||Otherpayments||||37,509|13,476|**50,985**||**23,864**|
||**TOTAL PAYMENTS**||||**167,254**|**13,476**|**180,730 **|**(b9)**|**162,164**|
||||||||**83,520**|||
||**SECTION C**|||||||||
||**NET RECEIPTS/(PAYMENTS)**
**FOR THE YEAR**||||(3,424)|86,944|**83,520**||53,912|
|||||||||||
||Total funds brought forward from
last year||||131,457|47,692|**179,149 **|**(c6)**|**125,237**|
||||||||**262,669**|||
||**Sub total**||||128,033|134,636|**262,669**||**179,149**|
|||||||||||
||Transfers and adjustments||||5,788|(5,788)|**0 **|**(c7)**|**0**|
|||||||||||
||**TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF YEAR**||||**133,821**|**128,848**|**262,669 **|**(c8)**|**179,149**|
## **SECTION D**
||**SECTION D**||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**(these amounts are not included in total receipts/payments figures above)**
**£**
Balance brought forward from lastyear
0
Offerings/Gifts - received for external organisations
1,117
Offerings/Gifts -passed to external organisations
1,117
**0**
**FOR INFORMATION ONLY: MONEY RECEIVED AND PASSED ON TO EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS**
**BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID**|||**£**
|
||Balance brought forward from lastyear||0|0|
||Offerings/Gifts - received for external organisations||1,117|834|
||Offerings/Gifts -passed to external organisations||1,117|834|
||**BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID**||**0**|**0**|
## **SOUTH BRISTOL METHODIST CHURCH SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL**
## **SECTION E**
||**SECTION E**|**SECTION E**|**SECTION E**|**SECTION E**|**SECTION E**|**SECTION E**|**SECTION E**|**SECTION E**|**SECTION E**|**SECTION E**|**SECTION E**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Summary of the Church account|s for the year ended 31||August 2025 and Internal Organisations reporting to the Church|||||Council/Church Meeting.|||
|||||||-2
-488
39
0.00
0.00
-451
**)**
**83,520**
**83,069**
Net Receipts/
Payments||||||
||**INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS**|Receipts||Payments||Net Receipts/
Payments|Adjustments||Openingbalances||Closing
balances|
||**Bedminster**|418||420||-2|||238||236|
||**Knowle**|414||902||-488|||736||248|
||**St Peters, Brislington**|577||538||39|||142||181|
|||||||0.00|||0.00||0.00|
|||||||0.00|||0.00||0.00|
||Sub total of Internal
Organisations funds|1,409||1,860||-451|||1,116**(e11)**||665|
||**Church accounts (totals**
**brought forward from page 2**
**- totals column)**|**264,250**|**(a7)**|**180,730**|**(b9**|**)**
**83,520**||**(c7)**|**179,149 **|**(c6)**|**262,669**|
||**TOTAL CASH FUNDS**|**265,659**||**182,590**||**83,069**|**0.00**||**180,265 **|**(x)**|**263,334**|
|||**TOTAL RECEIPTS**||**TOTAL**
**PAYMENTS**||||||||
## **SECTION F**
## **STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES**
||**CHURCH - CASH FUNDS HELD at 31 August 2025**
Cash in hand
BankCurrentAccount
Bank Deposit Account
Central Finance Board
Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes
Other funds
**SUB TOTAL - Church accounts**
Total funds held byInternal Organisations
**TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD BY CHURCH**|120,457
58,692
0
**179,149** (c6)
**1,116** (e11)
**180,265** (x)
**OPENING**
**BALANCES**|**CLOSING**
**BALANCES**|
|---|---|---|---|
||Cash in hand||171|
||BankCurrentAccount||201,144|
||Bank Deposit Account|||
||Central Finance Board||61,354|
||Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes|||
||Other funds|||
||**SUB TOTAL - Church accounts**||**262,669**|
||Total funds held byInternal Organisations||**665**|
||**TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD BY CHURCH**||**263,334**|
|||||
||**SECTION G**
**OTHER ASSETS and LIABILITIES**
Investments(include Endowments)
Land & Buildings(Insurance value)
Other Assets
Loan(s)- show amount outstandingatyear end
Other Liabilities|At
1,325
10,044,303
0
0
0
31 August
2024|At
31 August
2025|
||Investments(include Endowments)|1,325|1,278|
||Land & Buildings(Insurance value)|10,044,303|10,305,489|
||Other Assets|0|0|
||Loan(s)- show amount outstandingatyear end|0|0|
||Other Liabilities|0|0|
**16 Norton Road, Knowle, Bristol, BS4 2JG**
Address
## **Presentation to the South Bristol Methodist Church Council for approval.**
I confirm that the Report and Accounts were presented for approved by the Church Council on 24th February 2026.
> Signature of the Chair of the meeting ~~_S Spencer_~~ Name of the Chair of the meeting **Rev'd Sally Spencer** Date **24/02/2026**
## **Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of the**
## **SOUTH BRISTOL METHODIST CHURCH**
## **This Report is on the Church Accounts for the year ended 31st August 2025**
## **Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner**
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for t under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
- Examine the accounts under Section 145 of the Charities Act
- to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under Section 145(5)(b) of
- the Charities Act), and
- to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
## **Basis of Independent Examiner’s Report**
My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a revie accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of a items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertake provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'tru view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
## **Independent Examiner’s Statement**
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
- (1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
- to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act;
- to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act h met;
- (2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
> Signature ~~_H G Nash_~~ Hilary Gordon Nash, FCA75 Manor Road Keynsham Date **16/02/2026** Bristol, BS31 1RE
Section F Other Information
Not Applicable
## Section G Declaration
**----- Start of picture text -----**
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees report above
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signatures
Revd Sally Spencer Mrs Frances Bullas
Full Names
Position (eg Secretary, Chairperson Secretary
Chair etc)
Date
**----- End of picture text -----**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Section F Other Information
Not Applicable
Section G Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees report above
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signatures a Cn, f wl. Beatles
Poll Warniea
)
Revd Sally Spencer | Mrs Frances Bullas
Position (eg Secretary,Chair ) Chairperson Sec retary
etc) ——
ia
**----- End of picture text -----**