## The Methodist Church Standard form of Accounts and Trustees Annual Report (Circuit Receipts and Payments) South Devon Methodist Circuit For the Year ended 31 August 2022 ## Ministers Revd. Graham Thompson (until 31 August 2022) Revd. Daniel Haylett (from 1st September 2022) Mrs. Rachel Mitchell ## Circuit Stewards Mr. Robert Hamblin Mrs. Susan Morgan ## Treasurer Mrs. Rachel Mitchell Circuit number 24/10 Part of the Plymouth & Exeter Methodist District Charity Registration number 1132517 Charity number:1132517 ## **South Devon Methodist Circuit Trustees’ Annual Report** ## for the year ended 31st August 2022 ## **Objectives and Activities** The calling of our churches and Circuit is to respond to the gospel of God's love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission. We understand that we are not engaging in our mission but participating in God's mission to all people, in partnership with others and empowered by the Holy Spirit. We do this through: - **Worship** - In our worship we meet God as we intentionally recognise His presence and celebrate His love for us and for all His creation. - **Learning and Caring** - As Christian communities we help and encourage one another to learn about Jesus and to grow more like Him as we support and care for each other. - **Service** - Our churches are part of a network of organisations and people in the South Hams. We strive to be good neighbours to all, to help those in need and to challenge injustice. - **Evangelism** - As we celebrate the Good News of all that Jesus has done for us and live lives reflecting His love, we hope that others will choose to join us in following Him. ## **Worship and Learning** This year we have continued to support the churches in the Circuit and those who worship with them. Alongside our “in person” services we have continued to provide home worship sheets for those unable to join us for worship or still unsure about meeting with others. From September 2022 these will be sent out monthly, along with a pastoral letter from our ministry team, church family news and prayer list. We hope that this will enable everyone to still feel part of our church family. We have been very pleased to welcome a number of new members this year. Alongside our Sunday and home worship services, other opportunities we now offer to help ourselves and others encounter God include: - Our monthly ecumenical prayer time called ‘Sacred Space’ at Chillington. This offers a quiet time for personal refreshment and space to grow spirituality, followed by coffee. - We open Hope Cove most days, for both local people and visitors, offering the opportunity to pause and find peace in our little chapel. - Our fortnightly house group at Kingsbridge has restarted on Tuesday evenings. Also, our weekly fellowship time and coffee on Friday mornings. - Bible based craft activities at the Ark (parent and toddler group) and pre-school worship services for our neighbours at the Tresillian Day Nursery. - Joining with other churches in Kingsbridge to provide a number of special events through the year, including a weekend of biblical teaching and Good Friday walk of witness. - At Chillington, a new group for families called “Explorers” now meets bi-monthly. - In July, our outdoor “Sea Sunday” service at Hope Cove, followed by a cream tea for residents and visitors was attended by over 60 people as well as the Kingsbridge Silver Band. - Our Circuit prayer list, where we share names of those who have asked us to pray for them and also news of where we have seen God at work answering them, has been much appreciated. In addition, we offered reflections and teaching on the book of Isaiah throughout July and August, using our own “Bible Month” resources as the basis of our worship over a six week period. 1 Charity number:1132517 ## **Caring for One Another** We have continued to distribute pastoral letters by post and email twice a month this year. These have been well received and our thanks go to our Lay Minister (Rachel Mitchell), other ministers and Local Preachers for all the care, thought and prayer that has gone into preparing them. We have also been delighted to have many more occasions when we can meet in person. However, we are aware that the Covid pandemic, and particularly the lockdowns, have had a lasting effect on many people inside and outside our church family. We are therefore continually looking at how we can best support one another and offer our hope to the communities around us. As part of our caring for one another and those around us, we continue to support our volunteers and ask that they are suitably checked and trained in Safeguarding. We recognise the importance of ensuring we are all aware of our responsibilities to keep everyone safe (including our volunteers) and to ensure our volunteers know where to seek further advice, if the need arises. Over the last 12 months we have identified the need for a number of volunteers to renew their Foundation level safeguarding training or move on to doing the Advanced level. An “in person” Foundation training evening was held in September 2022, which was well attended, and Advanced training is now underway online. All our preachers have completed the Advanced safeguarding training within the last 4 years. This year we have also been pleased to support Revd. Graham Thompson in his final year with us. During this time, he has been preparing both to move to a new part of the country and to take up the role of President of the Methodist Conference. Graham, we hope and pray you will find your year as President a real blessing, just as we are sure you will be a blessing to those who meet you. ## **Other Activities that benefit our communities** We have done all we are able to support our churches and encourage them to offer what they can to their communities. We have also continued to work with groups who regularly use our buildings, to enable them to continue their activities safely. These activities include: - Opportunities to meet friends old and new at coffee mornings, craft groups, men’s breakfasts and other regular events. - Hope Cove community events that bring visitors and the resident communities together. - Monthly walking and weekly table tennis groups. - Toddler, parent and carer group at Kingsbridge. - Volunteering for the Chillington village youth club. - Providing space for other local groups and organisations to meet. - Platinum Jubilee books entitled “Our faithful Queen” were distributed to local groups and made available at our own celebrations, including cream teas and a fabulous flower festival. - Supporting local charities including Kingsbridge Foodbank, Cornelius Trust housing association, Hope Cove private lifeboat and the _Wordwise_ Christian bookshop as well as raising awareness of our Circuit charity and fundraising for them. We have also been pleased to offer our facilities at Kingsbridge for a new ecumenical church-based initiative called “Soul Food” which provides meals in the school holidays for families where one or more children would usually receive free school meals. The meals are provided on a take-away or eat-in basis. ## **Achievements and Performance** The year under review has been a year in which we have been rediscovering our confidence in gathering together, as we learn to live with Covid. For some the opportunities to gather have been welcomed while others have remained cautious. We have remembered what we used to do but have also seen that we now have fewer resources and need to learn to live with this too. 2 Charity number:1132517 As churches and as a Circuit, we have said goodbye to people who, until recently, have taken responsibility for some of our key management roles. Replacing them has been difficult and so our Lay minister has temporarily stepped into some of these responsibilities. This has then asked us to consider how we may need to change to better understand and enable our mission as well as making the best use of the ministerial resources we have. Alongside this we have continued to encourage one another, listen for God’s voice and welcome new people into our churches. In Kingsbridge new stewards were added to our church leadership team and they, with the existing stewards have taken increased responsibility for the building management as well as helping to shape the character of the Kingsbridge church. Our smaller churches in Chillington and Hope Cove have been challenged by the suggestion from Conference that, to be sustainable, all of our churches should have at least 12 members. They have each been pleased to officially welcome a number of new members over the last 12 months, some of whom were brought into our communities during Covid. This year we have restarted a number of activities that had stopped during the Covid period as well as starting at least one new initiative. We continue to hold in our minds the sustainability of all we do and, for the first time, we set aside a specific Sunday to help us focus on our response to climate change. We have continued to find ways to raise funds for our Circuit Charity which, this year, has been the project to build a new Christian Hospital in Berhampur. Fundraising has included coffee mornings and cream teas, donations, jubilee events, special services, an open church day before Christmas (as part of a wider community event) and a flower festival. The Circuit also agreed to give a further £2000 to the Charity. The Circuit staffing and leadership structures have remained stable, but Rev’d Graham Thompson’s time with us came to an end on 31[st] August 2022. On the 1[st] September we welcomed Rev’d Dan Haylett as our new superintendent minister and look forward to working together with him in Christ’s service. ## **Financial Review** The accounts of the Circuit are prepared on a receipts and payments basis. Receipts for the year totaled £75,827 (2021: £63,912). This includes: - Letting income of £45,680 (2021: £33,700). This has further increased in 2021-22 following the new arrangement with the Lay Minister, whereby she and her husband have vacated the Circuit house provided and moved to their own property. This has also reduced our property costs. - Fundraising for the Circuit Charity of £2,930 (2021: £2,993). Payments for the year totaled £73,740 (2021: £67,318). This relates mainly to salaries and property costs. Included are: - Ministerial Costs. This year was the first full year where our Lay Minister received a housing allowance as well as a salary. Last year she received a housing allowance for just two months. - Other Property Costs. These now include the maintenance and insurance costs of the Manse which is now let on a residential lease. The circuit no longer pay the council tax or other costs related to providing housing for the Lay Minister. - Charity Fundraising of £4,583. This includes £1,752 raised in 2020/21 as well as £2,831 raised this year. A further £99 is yet to be forwarded to the hospital project fund. Overall, this year there was a surplus of £2,087 (2021: deficit of £3,406). We continue to review our funds and explore ways to release and/or use our historic restricted funds. £1083 is still to be released. When released, these funds will need to be transferred from the Circuit to the church/fund for whose benefit they are held. At the end of the year, our total cash funds amounted to £144,120 (2021: £142,465). 3 Charity number:1132517 ## **Reserves** The Reserves Policy indicates that the Circuit should hold the equivalent of at least six months expenditure (£36,420). Also, that we hold a Property Reserve for major works to buildings of £50,000; a Redundancy Reserve of £4,866; a Property Maintenance Fund of £8,000 and a Mission Reserve of £5,000 (so that we can fulfil our current commitments). This indicates we should maintain reserves of approximately £105K. At the year end, the Trustees were aware that our current unrestricted reserves were in excess of the Reserves Policy by approximately £38K and are continuing to review how to best use the funds we hold whilst continuing to operate within the aims of the Circuit. ## **Plans for the Future** We continue to consider how we, as a Circuit, can best celebrate God in our communities and respond to the needs we see, both locally and further afield. By making best use of the resources we have, we aim to enable our churches, and the people connected with them, to thrive and grow closer to God. Overall, we hope that we will continue to offer our distinctive “Methodist” Christianity in Chillington, Kingsbridge and Hope Cove. ## **Structure, Governance and Management** The Circuit is led by the Circuit Leadership Team, which is made up of ministerial and lay members, supported by our part-time Administrator. During 2021/22 the ministerial staff were: - The Revd. Canon Graham Thompson, Chair of the Plymouth & Exeter District, who is also the Circuit Superintendent. - Mrs. Rachel Mitchell, our lay minister, who has been granted special dispensation to administer the sacrament of Holy Communion and is the ‘authorised person’ for weddings at Kingsbridge and Hope Cove. Alongside the ministerial staff, the Circuit is reliant on church members who have voluntarily taken on significant roles within the leadership of the Circuit. Special thanks are expressed to Mr. Robert Hamblin and Mrs. Susan Morgan for their ongoing involvement as Circuit Stewards and our Circuit Meeting Secretary Mrs. Helen Hibbard, who are all valued members of our Circuit Leadership Team. Grateful thanks also go to Mrs. Elizabeth Paisley who represents Chillington. The Leadership Team is answerable to the Circuit Meeting. The members of the Circuit Meeting are the Trustees of the Circuit. In performing their duties, the Trustees keep in mind their responsibility to demonstrate ‘public benefit’, as defined by the Charities Act 2011. New Trustees are appointed from within the membership and staff of the Circuit. In making each appointment, care is taken to ensure that any new Trustee have the skills and experience needed to fulfil the responsibilities of their role and safer recruiting procedures are followed. Please see the following section for details of our Trustees. ## **Reference and Administration** |**The name of the Charity**|South Devon Methodist Circuit| |---|---| |**Charity registration number**|1132517| |**Principal Office**|100 Fore Street, Kingsbridge, Devon TQ7 1AW| |**Superintendent Ministers**|Revd. Canon Graham Thompson (until 31stAugust 2022)| ||Revd. Daniel Haylett (from 1stSeptember 2022)| |**Lay Minister**|Mrs. Rachel Mitchell| **Lay Minister** 4 Charity number:1132517 **Circuit Meeting Secretary** Mrs. Helen Hibbard **Circuit Administrator** Mrs. Fiona Van Es **Circuit Property Manager** Mr. Roy Mitchell **Circuit Safeguarding Officer** Mrs. Carole Knights **Names of Trustees:** Mrs. Barbara Allen (appointed 16th March 2022) Mr. Peter Bolt Mrs. Gillian Butt (resigned 31 August 2022) Mr. Robert Hamblin Revd. Daniel Haylett (from 1[st] September 2022) Mrs. Helen Hibbard Mr. Ken Johnson (resigned 29th September 2021) Revd. Margaret Johnson (resigned 29th September 2021) Mrs. Erica Jordan (appointed 16th March 2022) Mrs. Carole Knights (resigned 1[st] January 2023) Mrs. Sandra Litchfield Mrs. Rachel Mitchell Mr. David Monk Mr. David Morgan Mrs. Susan Morgan Mrs. Elizabeth Paisley Mr. John Sargeant Mrs. Sally Sargeant (appointed 29[th] September 2022) Revd. Canon Graham Thompson (until 31[st] August 2022) Mrs. Greta Wills **Treasurer** - In 2021 Mrs. Rachel Mitchell, our Lay Minister and an existing Trustee, temporarily took over the financial management of the Circuit. Due to her other roles, Rachel does not consider it appropriate for her to be a signatory on the Circuit bank accounts. The Trustees have agreed this arrangement. ## **Approval** This report was approved by the Trustees on the date below and is signed on their behalf by: ## Dan Haylett ## Helen Hibbard Revd. Daniel Haylett Superintendent Minister Mrs. Helen Hibbard Circuit Meeting Secretary Date: 29[th] September 2022 5 Charity number'.1132517 South Devon Methodlst Clrcult Recelpts and Payments for the Year ended 31 August 2022 Goneral Clrcult Modol Fund$ Trust Fund lunrnstrl¢t•dl lunrn8l￿tt8dI RMtriet•d Fun Totall ih yoar Totals last RECEIPTS Not• Ass¢s$mènts 25.4S¥) 25.490 25,400 Capilal receipts Bank and CFB interest and Investment income 122 10 518 Rental Property income 46,580 46,$80 33.71)0 Olher receipts 2.930 3,239 4.459 TOTAL RECEIPTS 72,501 386 2,940 75,827 63,912 PAYMEI¥TS Sknpends, salaries. NIC, Pension and travel costs 34.451 34.451 23.526 Manse Costs 9.717 Distrid Assessmenl 5,797 5,797 9,734 1,087 6,671 Alministration and Offic8 costs 9,495 233 9.349 Worship and Discipleship 1.087 2.363 Grants and donaiions 4.090 2,045 6.136 3.095 Other property costs 10,839 10,839 10,768 Other payments 16 5,681 5.697 1,829 TOTAL PAYMENTS 65,775 2.278 5.687 73,740 67,318 NET RECEIPTSIPAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR 6,726 {1,8921 12,7471 2,087 {3,406) Totsl furKl$ brought fcryard from 18$1 y¥ar 56,742 81,794 3,929 142.465 145.927 Sub total 63,468 79,902 1,182 144,552 142.521 Transfers and adjustments Ubrealised gain Ilossl on investments {4321 14321 1561 TOTAL FUNDS AT ENO OF YEAR 63,468 79.470 1.182 144,120 142,46S Charity number'.1132517 South Devon Methodist Circult Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31 August 2022 Genwal Clrcull M