OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2025-12-31-accounts

Dorking United Reformed Church founded in 1662

53 West Street, Dorking, RH4 1BS . Church Office: 01306 889644

Website: www.dorkingurc.org.uk

Pastor: Revd Siobhan Antoniou North Downs Surrey Pastorate

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

AND

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2025

Living Jesus’ love

Charity no. 1132113

Dorking United Reformed Church

Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year Ending 31[st] December 2025

Registered address – 53 West Street, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1BS (Charity Number 1132113)

OBJECTIVES AND ACTVITIES

The charitable objects of the Church are the advancement of the Christian faith for the benefit of the public in accordance with the scheme of union of the United Reformed Church. Our mission is "To live Jesus' love" and our vision is:-

This is being achieved by following the 'Five Marks of Mission' which were adopted in 1997 by the 'Forum of Churches Together in England' of which the United Reformed Church is a member. Our Church Community Worker continues to be of great assistance to our Mission work.

MINISTRY AND MISSION

SowtoGrow - The New Theme for the spring/summer season was Caring for Creation. The autumn/winter season was entitled Be Still/Prayer and Reflection.

2

Narnia Group continued to meet at a local pub, following different faith themes and contributing to the life of church in various ways including leading Sunday Worship on occasions.

‘The Thursday Gathering’ continue to meet on the first Thursday of each month with worship from 11.00 to 11.30 am in the Little Chapel, followed by refreshments and time for a chat.

Monthly Prayer Group continued to meet on each third Thursday in the month from 10-11am in the Living Room being designated as a particular Time for Prayer, inviting those who can’t attend to pray at home or wherever they may be at this particular time.

Open Doors – 10.00-12.00 – informal coffee morning for people to meet and chat – often used for raising funds for both local and national charities.

TAG (Thursday Afternoon Games) TAG (Thursday Afternoon Group) continued to meet on a weekly basis between 1-4pm in school terms. The session is open to everyone, and all activities are accessible to people with a learning disability. News is shared and a weekly boccia match is enjoyed. There are always amazing arts and crafts activities on the go as well as quizzes, conversations, and much, much more.

Open Home - meets for a couple of hours on the second Wednesday morning of each month for a chat over a cup of tea/coffee and biscuits. It is light hearted conversation and takes place in the homes of its members or the church Living Room. All are welcome to attend.

Cameo – Unfortunately Felicia Russell-North left her employment as a CCW for the church in June and consequently the Cameo club had to come to an end.

Youth Group – started this year for children aged 11-18 and meets in the Main Hall on the third Wednesday of each month from 4-6pm.

3

Dorking Area Food Bank continued to be supported by the church and the wider community with the congregation asked to bring along contributions to the Food Bank at Communion Services.

MyTime and MyTime + - these are supported by the church and meet on the 2[nd] and 4[th] Wednesday of each month from 5.30-7.00 and 7.00-8.30pm using both the Main Hall and Living Room for these meetings.

Messy Church – 3.30-6.00pm - continued to meet in the Main Hall on the first Wednesday of each month for people of all ages, but children must be accompanied by an adult.

Small Fry – 9.30am-12noon – term time only – for pre-school children and their parents/carers.

Good News Pickleball – started in the autumn, initially with 2 sessions – Sunday and Monday afternoons led by Ted Bellingham.

Ikumbya Church Uganda – chosen as the church’s overseas charity for 2025 with £380 being raised from a church coffee morning plus funds contributed by Eastwick Road Church, Bookham and was successfully transferred in spite of unrest in Uganda.

WORSHIP(MeaDoW)

MeaDoW Team continued to meet every 2 months to look at Mission and Worship matters; these meetings are open to all who wish to attend, and have Eldership representation. The team structures some of their planning around an agreed theme, approved via church meeting. 2025 themes included Caring for God’s creation and Be Still, Prayer and Reflection. Our Themes provide an additional opportunity to connect our core church family with our wider community.

The Prayer Diary – continued to be used each week and the congregation is asked to pray for a particular church group or those making use of our church premises.

1/3/25 – Gather25 – the church hosted one of the one-time global events offering worship, prayer and witness across the world, with the church showing a live stream from London that people could pop into the church to see over a 3hr period.

30/3/25 - Mothering Sunday All Age Worship as is customary, small bouquets of flowers were distributed by the children at the end of the service.

Easter events:

Once again this year, as part of the local Ministers’ Fellowship, in Holy Week the church hosted ‘Forty Hours of Prayer’. Organised over 3 days, for each of 40 separate hours (to correspond to Jesus’ time in the wilderness) this was held in the

4

Little Chapel, facilitated with specially provided prayer materials. Churches across Dorking were involved and contributed to its success.

13/4/25 – Palm/Passion Sunday service led by Elder, Phil Currie.

17/4/25 – Maundy Thursday Service – led by Rev Ted Bellingham

18/4/25 – Good Friday Walk of Witness from Dorking Halls to St Martin’s Churchyard for open air worship at 11.30am supported by our church.

20/4/25 – Easter Sunday Service including communion led by Ted Bellingham. This was well attended with children/youth in attendance who were invited to join in with Communion.

Both Small Fry and Messy Church had their own celebrations for Easter.

31/8/25 – A special occasion was celebrated during the Sunday Morning Worship – Liz Roger (Elder) and Pete Neil were joined together in Holy Matrimony with friends and family joining the congregation followed by a lunch in the church hall. An enjoyable time was had by all.

28/9/25 - All Age/Harvest Worship – led by MeaDoW with members of the SowToGrow Group finalising the theme of Caring for Creation. Uniformed organisations attended, and Judi Currie was celebrated for having completed 50 years’ service to the uniformed organisations. Bibles were also handed out to various young people. Contributions had been requested for the local Foodbank which were delivered by Liz Neil. Chris Currie’s honey was sold, alongside TAG’s lavender bags following the service, with the proceeds going to the charity Papyrus.

9/11/25 – Remembrance Sunday Worship – led by Tricia Rwith a young church session led by Gill Morgan. The church was beautifully decorated by Judi Currie and Eileen Ring.

Christmas Services and Events

30/11/25 - As always, the Advent Season started off with the lighting of the First Advent Candle at worship led by Rev Ted Bellingham. As in the past, the church premises were then opened up to the public in order for them to enjoy the Christmas Tree Festival which was part of Dorking’s Christmas Festivities. The Brownies used the opportunity to sell the night lights. Photographs from a local competition as well as a wreath making competition for local primary schools were held in the main hall, along with entertainment from a dance group who use the church premises. The local nursery in West Street supplied refreshments for those who attended. It was very well attended with a lot of people in town due to it being a beautiful sunny day.

Specific Christmas services for Smallfry and Messy Church throughout December.

5

21/12/25 – Nativity Service in the morning, following preparation on the Saturday organised by Sue Yeomans – the service was a delight of songs and words. The Candlelit Carol Service in the evening, included a small singing group led by Cat Tait and was led by Siobhan, followed by mulled wine/tea/coffee and mince pies served in the church hall following the service.

24/12/25 – Midnight Service was led by Thomas Nimmo.

25/12/25 – Christmas Day Service entitled ‘Baby Jesus: A gift for everyone’ was led by Phil Currie with prayers by Roger Currie and the usual presentation of Christmas Presents which had been received by the children.

The Alternative Christmas Post Box available during December for church use raised £265.50 for Beatitudes, the church’s local charity.

Average attendance at Sunday Worship throughout the year has been 50 with larger numbers on Communion Sundays and specific services such as baptisms, as well as other special services.

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

10/5/25 – VE Day Celebrations – Dorking Town celebrated VE Day and asked if the church would take part as one of the venues for people to visit. The Deputy High Sheriff of Surrey visited prior to the event getting started and was very impressed with our gardens, the Peace Garden, the new Garden Room and the display in the church of our members who had lost their lives in World War II, provided by Bethan, Les, Judi and Eileen. The Peace Garden was set up with a white outlined dove surrounded by lobelia plants; visitors were asked to plant a lobelia and write a message of Peace on a white stone to place inside the dove outline. Teas were provided for a donation which raised £236 to be divided between ‘Belong’ a local charity supporting children and young people and the SowToGrow group.

Annual Trip to Goring-by-Sea – 20/7/25 – as usual this was a well-attended day with good weather, in spite of the weather forecast! Fun, games and fellowship helped the afternoon to be enjoyed by all who attended.

20/2/25 – Coffee morning run by 12[th] Dorking Brownies in aid of MND raised £150

17/4/25 – Charity Coffee morning organised by the Tate Family in aid of Belong, which raised £125.

29/5/5 – Coffee morning in aid of Christian Aid was organised by Jenny Langford and with gift aid £155 was raised.

During the summer break several fund-raising coffee mornings were held in support of the following charities:

6

CALM, Age UK, Friends of Dorking Hospital, SowToGrow, MND and Ikumbya Church in Uganda. In all £1261 was raised for these worthy causes. Grateful thanks to those who held the coffee mornings.

Coffee mornings – Thursdays – from Sept-Dec were run by church volunteers following the resignation of Katie Dymock – no lunches were served during this time.

30/10/25 – Charity Coffee morning arranged by 12[th] Dorking Brownies, under the guidance of Nikki Mayne, in aid of Children in Need with a further one led by TAG on 13/11/25 jointly raised the amazing sum of over £700.

11/12/25 – Charity Christmas Coffee morning and a light lunch was arranged by a friend of the church, Claire Whittacker in aid of MND and Papyrus, with the help of Mark and Ewan who used to assist with the coffee mornings when Katie Dymock was managing the kitchen. It was good to see them back with us. It was a joyful occasion with preparations for the upcoming Christmas Services taking place at the same time. £200 was collected for these very worthy causes and divided equally between the two.

TAG – In the past year TAG have raised over £400 for charity. There was a Children in Need session in November, which was great fun and raised over £200 and homemade lavender bags and Christmas decorations raised further funds for Papyrus and Dorking Foodbank in the autumn and at Christmas. TAG love to get involved in the church themes. They contributed to the dove of peace in the garden, the Christmas Tree festival and more recently provided some accessible prayers for the Day of Prayer in January and made bird feeders for the garden. In February they celebrated their third birthday.

BUILDINGS AND FINANCE

Finance – Both income and expenditure for 2025 have grown beyond the corresponding amounts for 2024. Proceeds from both 'offertories' and 'rents' are ahead of budget. Our current energy costs have dropped further than expected. Although the overall result for business as usual activities was a deficit, this figure was lower than the deficit anticipated in the budget. We have been blessed with further gifts from members of the congregation and also investments continue to improve. These funds have been used for much-needed improvements, particularly to the Facade of the Church.

The Synod has decided to reduce our M&M contribution for 2026 from £45,110 to £40,200 (10%). The reason for this is due to the reduced ministerial scoping.

As we go forward, we are reviewing how we should use these gracious gifts from our members.

Buildings - FM&D Activity

In addition to regular maintenance issues 2025 was a busy year which saw:

7

Lettings of the church premises continued with hiring rates increased for external hirers in October, and we are thankful for the excellent work done by our Voluntary Lettings Secretary – Denise Hooker.

Looking ahead in the coming year it is planned to redecorate the lobby between the church and main hall, replace the soffits and facias on the Follett Hall as well as repoint the internal brickwork identified in the insurance and Quinquennial reports.

Thanks also go to the FM&D Team for the work that they have done in connection with the maintenance of our premises, and to the Finance Team who have managed our finances during a time of change.

Weddings and Baptisms

Weddings: 1. Births: 0. Baptisms: 0.

Membership

The following members have passed away: 5 Accepted into Church membership this year: 2 Names removed from the Members Roll: 1 The current number of Church members is 75.

GENERAL

Church Meetings were held following Sunday Worship on 2 March, 15 June, 7 September and 16 November.

CONCLUSION

There are many people in the church who work for the Lord but whose name does not appear in this report; we give grateful thanks to all who give of their time and talents helping our church to move forward in faith. It is good to see that our average number of attendees each Sunday is slowly growing, although it would be good to see younger people attending more often. Great thought is still being given to the use of the legacies we, as a church, have been so fortunate to receive and we have benefitted greatly from being able to employ a part-time Church Administrator because of these legacies, who has made the work of both our new

8

Minister and those who work on a voluntary basis, much easier. Thankfully, we were also able to replace our CCW, Chris Currie, who retired from his work with the Church, towards the end of the year, and we welcome Ben Perry to this role. Trustees

The following individuals have served as Trustees over the period of this report and until the date of approval. Trustees serve a maximum continuous term of 6 years.

Current Trustees

Mrs Jane Bellingham Appointed 01-01-2023 Mr Ted Bellingham Appointed 01-01-2023 Mr Phil Currie Appointed 01-01-2022 Mrs Jenny Langford Appointed 01-01-2022 Mr David Langford Appointed 01-01-2022 Mr Simon Moorhouse Appointed 01-01-2020 Ms Linda Nice Appointed 01-01-2025 Mrs Liz Roger Appointed 01-01-2020 Mrs Rosemary Russell Appointed 01-01-2022 Mrs Hilary Venn Appointed 01-01-2020 Mr Chris Yeomans Appointed 01-01-2022 Mrs Fiona Yeomans Appointed 01-01-2023

Structure, Governance and Management

Elders' Meetings (Trustees plus Minister, Treasurer and Community Worker) are held monthly throughout the year apart from the month of August. The major items discussed over the year have been the 'Church Growth Plan', the appointment of an organist, Safeguarding, a review of the rules governing the consumption of alcohol on church premises and preparation for the Vacancy.

The Church Meeting currently meets once every three months. The average attendance is around thirty. The major items discussed over the year have been the 'growth plan' for the Church, the development of the buildings, a review of the rules governing the consumption of alcohol on church premises, and the frequency of evening services.

The Mission Committee meets every two to three months. Its terms of reference are to support and strengthen the existing mission activities of the Church, to extend the mission of the Church to the wider local community, to ensure that the 'Five Marks of Mission' are visible within the Church life and to retain and increase Church membership.

The Facilities, Management and Development (FM&D) committee meets quarterly and looks after health and safety matters, building maintenance and, in recent years, the development of our premises.

9

The Flnance Commlttee meets quartedy. The Health and Safety Commlttee meets four times per year. The Worship Review and Planning Group meet three to four times a year. Financial Review Overall, the outcome for the year was sats'sfadory. Total resources increased by £73,000 in the year from £596,0￿ to £669,000. The overall movements of note comprise.. 1) Unrestricted funds recorded a deficit of £71,OCQ for 2025 (2024.. £17,000) before transfers, mainly due to Ihe significant programme of building and facilities development work undertaken during the year, as detailed on pages 6 and 7 of this report. Transfers into unrestricted funds of £75,000 were made to fund this deficit. 3) Designat&J fvnds increased by £131,000 during the year before transfers, comprising £120,000 of legacy income {2024.' £nill and £11,00012024.' £12,C()O) of investment gains. Transfers of £50,000 were made to Un￿strICted funds. 3} Restricted funds were increased by £13,000 of unrealised gains on the investment portfolio and reduced by transfers out of £25,000 to unrestricted funds. Full details of the fund movements are set out on Page 14. Approved Chair of Trustees 026 Chair of Fi anc8 Committee Mr Chris Yeomans Mr Derek Morrison 10

Independent examinefs report to the trustees of Dorking United Refomied Church (Registered Charity 1132113) I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Dorking United RefoTm8d Church (' the Chariv) for the year ended 31 De￿mber 2025. which are set out on pages 12 to 15. Responsibilities and basis of report As the trustees of the Charity. you are responsible for the preparation of the accounls in accordan￿ Wlth the requirements of the Charities Act2011 ('the Act). I report in respect of my examination of the Charity's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5){b) of the Act. Independent examinerfs statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matter5 have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in. any material respect: accounting re￿rdS were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the Acl," or 2. the accounts do not accord with those accounting records. ffll/ E Steven Hooke Bsc ACA Ash Vale, GU12 SER Date:

DORKING UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

Balance Sheet at 31 December 2025

ASSETS
Investments
Epworth Interest Funds
Epworth Equity Funds
Cash at bank
CafCash
CafGold
Organisations
Total Assets
FUNDS
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds
Restricted Funds
Total Funds		 2025
282,533
238,128
520,661
5,133
143,225
148,358
207
669,226
28,203
361,808
279,215
669,226		 2024
298,492
243,587
542,079
7,100
46,852
53,952
221
596,252
23,869
281,317
291,066
596,252

12

DORKING UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

Income and Expenditure of Unrestricted Funds for the year ended 31 December 2025

2025 2024 2025 2024
INCOME EXPENDITURE
Members & friends Ministerial
Offertories 44,296 39,856 Ministry & Mission 41,351 45,100
Tax Refund 16,099 15,860 Pastorate Minister's Expenses 1,881 1349
Donations 3,884 8,112 Travel 41 111
Coffee (Net) (187) (1,340) Telephone & Wi Fi 1,673 1,064
64,092 62,488 44,946 47,624
Outside sources Services
Rents 40,352 23,388 Pulpit supply 1,363 707
Lettings 34,269 33,854 Organists & choir 865 725
Investments 1,366 3,953 Tuning & repairs - 280
Property & Development 30,691 8,215 Flowers - 80
106,678 69,410 2,228 1,792
Premises
Caretaking 17,890 14,380
Electricity 6,099 7,601
Gas 6,995 13,640
Insurance 7,021 6,216
Water 880 1,298
Maintenance 39,767 34,336
Flats rental expenses 15,015 7,991
Property & Development 70,029 7,493
163,696 92,955
General
Young Church 52 35
Administration and Publicity 25,795 3,304
Miscellaneous 1,378 1,814
Donations 120 465
Mission 480 616
CTD Subscription - 10
27,825 6,244
Total income 170,770 131,898 Total Expenditure 238,695 148,615
Result before transfers (67,925) (16,717)

13

Dorking United Reformed Church

FUNDS - 2025

Funds not invested are held in CafCash & CafGold Bank Accounts. The funds of the Church Organisations are held in their own bank accounts

Unrestricted funds
General
Development & Property		 At 1 Jan
2025
Income
Expenditure
Other
Receipts
Transfers
Investment
Gains /
(Losses)
At 31 Dec
2025
18,213
140,079
(168,666)
(2,741)
40,000
-
26,885
5,656
30,691
(70,029)
-
35,000
-
1,318		 At 1 Jan
2025
Income
Expenditure
Other
Receipts
Transfers
Investment
Gains /
(Losses)
At 31 Dec
2025
18,213
140,079
(168,666)
(2,741)
40,000
-
26,885
5,656
30,691
(70,029)
-
35,000
-
1,318		 At 1 Jan
2025
Income
Expenditure
Other
Receipts
Transfers
Investment
Gains /
(Losses)
At 31 Dec
2025
18,213
140,079
(168,666)
(2,741)
40,000
-
26,885
5,656
30,691
(70,029)
-
35,000
-
1,318		 At 1 Jan
2025
Income
Expenditure
Other
Receipts
Transfers
Investment
Gains /
(Losses)
At 31 Dec
2025
18,213
140,079
(168,666)
(2,741)
40,000
-
26,885
5,656
30,691
(70,029)
-
35,000
-
1,318		 At 1 Jan
2025
Income
Expenditure
Other
Receipts
Transfers
Investment
Gains /
(Losses)
At 31 Dec
2025
18,213
140,079
(168,666)
(2,741)
40,000
-
26,885
5,656
30,691
(70,029)
-
35,000
-
1,318		 At 1 Jan
2025
Income
Expenditure
Other
Receipts
Transfers
Investment
Gains /
(Losses)
At 31 Dec
2025
18,213
140,079
(168,666)
(2,741)
40,000
-
26,885
5,656
30,691
(70,029)
-
35,000
-
1,318		 At 1 Jan
2025
Income
Expenditure
Other
Receipts
Transfers
Investment
Gains /
(Losses)
At 31 Dec
2025
18,213
140,079
(168,666)
(2,741)
40,000
-
26,885
5,656
30,691
(70,029)
-
35,000
-
1,318
Total Unrestricted funds 23,869 170,770 (238,695) (2,741) 75,000 - 28,203
Designated funds
Legacy, Gift & Memorial
Benevolent
Holiday at Home
Open Doors
Smalll Fry
Community worker
Special Collections
The Manse
David Young
Total Funds in Bank Accounts
Designated Funds - Invested
Doreen Howes
David Young
Restricted Funds - Invested
Roy Currie Memorial
The Mary Alexander Charity
Philip Henman Fund
Doreen Howes		 4,017
-
(659)
-
-
-
3,358
4,077
379
(735)
-
-
-
3,721
606
-
-
-
-
-
606
84
1,640
(2,836)
-
-
-
(1,112)
1,983
1,257
(679)
-
-
-
2,561
(18,180)
25,831
(31,365)
-
-
-
(23,714)
790
1,427
(1,721)
-
-
-
496
35,885
24,958
(17,606)
-
-
-
43,237
821
-
-
2,658
-
-
3,479
-
-
-
117,523
(30,000)
-
87,523
30,083
55,492
(55,601)
120,181
(30,000)
-
120,155
53,952
226,262
(294,296)
117,440
45,000
-
148,358
92,822
-
-
-
(10,000)
6,462
89,284
158,191
-
-
-
(10,000)
3,971
152,162
251,013
-
-
-
(20,000)
10,433
241,446
36,428
-
-
-
-
1,663
38,091
56,352
-
-
-
(25,000)
1,739
33,091
198,286
-
-
-
-
9,747
208,033
291,066
-
-
-
(25,000)
13,149
279,215
Total all Restricted Funds 291,066
-
-
-
(25,000)
13,149
279,215
Designated Funds - Church Organisations and the Development Fund
Messy Church
221
59
(73)
-
-
-
207
221
59
(73)
-
-
-
207
Total all designated funds
281,317
55,551
(55,674)
120,181
(50,000)
10,433
361,808
TOTAL ALL FUNDS
596,252
226,321
(294,369)
117,440
-
23,582
669,226

14

Dorking United Reformed Church Notes to the Accounts 2025

1. Accounting policies

(a) Basis of preparation

The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis.

(b) Funds

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.

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.

15