Accounts for Richmond Hill St Andrews United Reformed Church for Year Ended 31 March 2023
| 2023 General Fund | 2022 General Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Balance | 361792 | 372311 |
| Net Income Legacies Donations Members Car Park Fees Fundraising Lettings of Church/Wedding Income School of English Commercial Car Park Investment Income Sale of Assets Appreciation of Investments |
15058 41087 950 96 10138 22381 26265 980 0 -17627 |
43358 41754 400 95 2631 17636 -5223 583 0 4453 |
| Total Income | 99328 | 105687 |
| Net Expenditure Ministry & Mission Ministry and Manse Expenses Early Bird Salaries and Expenses Churchkeeper, Organist and Choir Costs Administration Church Maintenance Utilities, Insurance and Cleaning Church Refreshments Sundries Audit Donations to Charity from Church Funds Purchase of Assets Discretionary Spend Major Organ Repair |
55890 7897 441 33967 2600 11788 17419 302 578 70 870 199 |
55882 5692 284 22014 2966 9513 17735 120 1190 65 324 421 |
| Total Expenses | 132021 | 116206 |
| Net Surplus | -32693 | -10519 |
| Closing Balance | 329099 | 361792 |
Independent Examiners Report
I have examined the Receipts and Payments Accounts and Balance Sheet of Richmond Hill St Andrews United Reformed Church (Charity No 1131668) for the year ended 31 March 2023. My examination was conducted in accordance with the General Directives issued by the accounts for small charities. Nothing has come to my attention that gives me cause to believe otherwise that the records satisfy the requirements of the Charities Act 1993. I am not aware of any matter for which attention needs to be drawn to obtain a proper Understanding of the accounts.
Examiner:
Colin Naughton
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - SECRETARY’S REPORT 2023
The time seems to have flown since our AGM last year but everything has run very smoothly during this time. It is disappointing our numbers in the congregation have fallen, in line with other town centre churches since the pandemic.
There was one big social event – The Queen’s Jubilee Tea which was organised by Colin, Gay and other helpers. The Link churches were invited and the lunch was very well attended by about 70 people. It was a really successful afternoon with a wonderful atmosphere. Thank you particularly to Colin for all his hard work and to all who took part.
At the end of the year it was suggested in order to combat the very high heating and lighting charges at the time, the morning services should move into St. Andrew’s Chapel for January, February and March. This proved a great success and created a very good atmosphere with everyone sitting close together which also made the singing very uplifting. We returned to the main church at Easter and decided to restrict the sitting area to the front half of the church which created this same feel.
Our Treasurer Alex Copeland retires at this year’s AGM. He has been the most wonderful Treasurer here over many many years, and deputy Treasurer before that, and we owe him so much for all the work he has done over this long period of time to keep the finances of the church in good order. On behalf of all the Elders and everyone in the congregation we give you our sincere thanks. We will miss you at your familiar place at the front at meetings, but hope you can now spend some well earned relaxing time ‘on the back benches’. We thank John Guthrie for very kindly taking on this role and look forward to working together in the future.
As always there are so many people to thank who keep all the wheels turning during the week and on Sundays. Edith Clarke for the Sunday morning coffee rota, Colin Dorsett for organising Thursday coffees and the Wednesday lunches, Sue Starkey for finding the weekly Sunday readers and stewarding on the door, the team who give the pastoral updates at Pause for Prayer each week, Pat Williams, Lauren Baba-Slimane, Anne Piggott and Agnes Copeland who has also recently found the volunteers to lead that special half hour, and of course our splendid flower organisers, Ann Gawler, Heather Crane and team, also Adrian and Sue Marchant for their faithful work on the Memorial Garden. Peter Hansford and his committee who work tirelessly to keep our buildings in good repair. Our organist Chris Denton has settled down very well and we enjoy his excellent voluntaries at the end of the service each Sunday. A special word of appreciation for our brilliant caretaker Stuart, for all he does with patience and good humour at the centre of our activities.
We are very grateful to Wilbert for his ongoing Ministry to us over the past year, especially through some personal difficult times when it cannot have been easy for him. However now he soon embarks on his three month sabbatical leave which he is going to spend in Zimbabwe. We wish him a safe journey and a fruitful time of study. All services in his absence will be covered by visiting Ministers.
I finish as always with THE STATISTICS FOR THE YEAR June 2022 to June2023.
There were no BAPTISIMS or WEDDINGS over this period.
THOSE WHO HAVE DIED –It is with great sadness we record the loss of ten of our members and friends who have died during this church year..
Eileen Wood - October 2022 Joanne Bratt (Roy Perryman’s daughter) – October 2022 Professor Gordon Seward – October 2022 Connie Wadams – October 2022 John Clarke – November 2022 Hesba Jones – December 2022 Joyce Colmer – March 2023 Patricia Mason – April 2023 David Clark – May 2023 Dr. Jimmie Nicholson – May 2023
We express our condolences to all their families.
OUR TOTAL MEMBERSHIP is 109
I hope we can look forward now with optimism to another year ahead of worship, music and fellowship in the life of our church.
Hilary Scott