Charity registratioii niiniber., 1133699 Poynton Methodist Church ALJllual Report alld Finan¢ial Slatemei)ts for tlie Year Ended 31 August 2024 Poynton Methodist Church Contents RefeiEn¢e ￿]d Administrative Details Trustees, Repoit 2to9 Stateinent of Trust¢es' R¢sponsibilities io Independent Examinevs Report li stat￿nent of Financial Activities 12to 13 B￿allee Sheet 14 Notes to the Financial Statements 15to21 Poynton Methodist Church Reference and AdministrAtive Details Thwstees Rev. Dr. G Bdwards, Cbair S BrAdley. Se¢i¢tary J Robson, Treagurer C Ding, Steward A Batt¢rton, St¢ward J Ridgeway, Steward J Tiirner, Pastoral Secret R Drinkwat¢r, Finan¢¢ Committee G Freemall, Safeguardiug officer D Holm¢s, Propeity M Hawkyard, Worship J DriThkwater S Verghese B Dooley R Ratcliffe Z Dawson D Dippie RBaker Other Officers A Price, CiiGuit Sleward Prllncip#l Offlee The Civic Hall car park Parlc Lw) Poyntoi) Cheshire SK12 IRB Charity RegllstrAtion Number 1133699 Bankers Co-operative B￿71{ Pl¢ Independent Ei xamlnèr JP Roper M¢ICellens Chartered A¢￿unt8llts I l Riverview The Embankment Business Pai'lc Vale Roal Heaton Mersey Stockport Sl(4 3GN Page I Poynton Methodist Church Triistees, Report Tlie I'i'ustees present the annual report togeth￿ with the fmancial stat'ements of the chaLity for the year ended 31 AugLlSt 2024, Tbis was the flrst year wh¢n the Church Family was able to Come togeth¢r and woiship, stiidy alld socialis¢ in tlie Church building free from the restrictions aiid fea￿ of Covid 19. As tiine went by, rn0￿ alld more of Olir members and others forn)ixJg part of that family i'eturned, feeling more relaxed mixing witli others without the inFLibitions of social distan¢ing and fa¢e masks. Objeetfives and activltleg Objects nims The Churcli Iw8 a Mission Statetnent which states that our Churcli Family ¢n¢ourag¢s everyone., - to come to woTship God who loves us to follow Jesus Chrigt our Saviour - to g￿roW lll fellowship, joy and love, and to go out, share the Good News and serve in tlie World The Objects of th¢ Charity: To provide a place of worship, learning aiid c￿'illg, service, and evaLigelism iii the town of Poytitoll, in aCCord￿ce with tli¢ g¢iieral purposes of the Methodist Cliurcli. To rnaintain a suite of premises suitable for the spiritual, educational and social needs of the tongregation and the wider coinmunity. Objectiv¢s, stralegiu. (Iclivities Staffing.. Diwing the year Poynton Methodisl Churcb initially employed two staff on a part time basis. There is curreiitly a cleaner wbo works 15 hoills per week atLd a churcli administr&toi'lsecret)ry who is co]Jtracted for 8 liours per weelc. The ChurGli relles on an artuy of volun¢¢ers for aay-to-day operatioi)s. Maijy of these highly skilled ￿Trd knowl¢dg¢abl¢. MiiGh of th¢ Churcli inainteDat)¢¢ is carried out by some of those voliint¢ers. If a financial valu¢ were to be placed oil the time given freely by the many Voll￿teel,8 it would ￿￿Ollnt tr> a signkficant sum. Provision of Facilities: Room hire is m&iaged by tli¢ Room Bookings Serr¢tary, wlio also as8lSts th¢ maiiy users of the preini5es. Roo liire provides a signifiLant proportion of the Church's incoine, as well 8s providing & vttniie for nwiy local or£anisations, These include: 3rd pO)￿tOn Giiides, 2nd and 7th Poyntoii Brownies, 2nd Poynton Rainbows, 'Epiphany music group, Icids Zone (aftei school and school boliday provksion'for Cliildren), Peak Pony Cliib, Poynton Male Voice Clioir, Sing Zest (adult choir}, Poynton Yoiith Brass band, East Cheshire Eye Society and National Childbirth Society. Bloom Baby, Tiny Tallc, Baby Yoga {relaxation claBS for pre￿I￿nt wumen} and tlie Pealc AiidLx Cycling Club, Vox-x {Church singiiig groiip) ￿)d the Church Film Club. The premises kwe also used by oiir loc￿ Medical Partnership for staff training. Page 2 Poynton Methodist Church Trustees, Report (continued) Working wÉth Children and Young Peopl¢'. Tbe area at the back of the church is arranged to provide a sp￿¢ for families with young children to stsy together in Church. It 18 furnished with child sized furniture and sofas with toys, books and musi¢al instnim¢nts. Recently, on Siindays wheii childreii are present. there is an area at the froiit of the ChuKh where ¢hildreii's activities take place, to enable those adults engaged with the childrai to participate in worship. If fajnilies attend Cliurch oil a Sullday when theie is no fomial teacbing, there is ahvays a volunteer aTrang¢d on a rots, to b¢ ready to engage and ensure a welcome to families ￿]d cbildye Breakfast chLirch has now been rLinnllig for t1￿ce years. The idea of an early service is to ensure that chiirch is avail￿ble for families evett on Siindays wh¢n thildr¢n have oth¢r actLVities wliich may pull them away. FEllnili¢s are able to enjoy a craft bre8kfasL Bible story aiid Ghat, song and short prayer. Anyolle is welcoine, Tliere are currelltly foiw regiilar families which is great, but we woiild love more. MLiddy chui'cli has continued oil the third Sunday of each month with around 3-4 families attendiiig each time. We have ¢njoyed being oiitdoors together, crafting aiid sharillg stories Éo celebrate St Patrick's day, Easter, P¢nt¢¢ost and our r¢turn to s¢hool in September. We are part of the Circuit Methodist Families Together led by our Circuit Family Worker, whose siipport group has a Tepresentative from Poynton Methodist Chiirch. As a Circiut theLE regul&i- events for families and children at diffei'eiit churches withiii the circuil iiicluding a Messy ChLwch one Saturday each mollth and i'egular holiday eveiits. Fainilies froni Poynton have attended events at other churches and Ewe encouraged to do so. Meinbei's frorn PMC support die team delivering tlie Circuit events. As always, we are veiy grnteful to all those who help in our children's work. Safeguarding Many people widiin the church woi'k wtth, or regiilarly ¢oine into coiita¢t witi], those who might bg considered vuliicrable. The8e groups illclude Childr￿]. the elderly and those who have problemg wid come to ¢hurcli for help. perhaps in a weaken¢d eJnotional state. The church slriiigcnt Safegiiarding policies ￿ld ttaiiiing iii place to ellSLIIE that all tbose who llltve contact with the chiiirh may be treated with dignity and respect, in a safe and caring environmetlt. As w ¢xtension of 8afeguardiThg, ￿]yone wlio deals witb people in an official ¢apa¢ity, or is instnuuental in the decision-making processes of the Church, must part'icipate in training by completujg an Bquaiity, Div¢rsion and Incli￿}vity Col￿Se by the Methodist Comiexion, Public benefit The Triistees confirrn that they have Complied with section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the guidance PLiblished by the Charity Commissioi) for Engl￿}d and Wales. Page 3 Poynton Methodist Church Trustees, Report (eontinued) Achfievementg knd perfoYmxn¢e Place in the Cotnmunity.. The Chiirch is involved with Christian ¢dii¢atiOLL welf￿e and fellowship hr alI ages within the Cliurch family and offeit a wide variety of prOgr￿￿meS and activities centred on tlie premises. The hij￿h stewards and vatious cOn￿lItteeS monitor the activities of the groiips, which meet both on and off tlie preinis¢s. Visiting speakers are arL7llged for special events and services duriiig the year, The Church suppoits tlie Cliurcl)es Together iii Poynton group. We s¢¢k to ellgage witli all non-¢hU￿h-based groiips who use our preini8es, and for tbose gw)ups iising tl)em on a regular basis. Thg ¢hiwch members hav¢ created a Coinmunity Garden ill iwo areas aroiind the Church. Thei'e are bellches for iise by anyon¢ waiiting to meet Mrytli friends or just take time out to ielax. Membership The Church membei'ship reduced during the past year and at th¢ 8th October 2024 stood at 123. Durftng the year four members have died, one transferred tnembership to another cliiirch and seven have ceased to iTheet l)ere. Incoming> we have had one new member, three who trallsfer￿d their membership iiito Poynton Methodist Church from elsewhere, plus two wlw have ¢hosen to iJav¢ th¢ir Jnernb¢rship reinstated. Pastoral Oct 2023 - Ort 2024 Importantly, di¢ pastora] Gare withiii the ¢hivGh is a joint iindertaking between ordained mintsslry alld t¢wns of lay inembers. As qiiite 'fTequently liappens. the latest year has seen the not-urlexpected slight change in the organisation of the te￿n. The ovetRII lay teEun I'eniains at &bout 21 in nuinber. The fiillction of the groiip is I'o mailltain a link between the church. its members and ¢los¢ friends and others who inay iio longer be able to attend worship, and to bring to the notice of the Minist￿ tny who may n¢¢d minist¢riaJ visits. PRstor41 team memb¢rs are expected to attelld safeguarding traiiiing courses {andlor refiesher courses} at appi'opriate times and intervals to ensiire tliat a bigh stalldard of ¢ar¢ is b¢ing offered. Tlie churGb bas its own safeguarding officer who supervises the relevant training in conjunction with ext¢mal organisers (1¢. at irciiiÉ or distri.¢t l¢v¢l). Most of tbe chiirch news in particular aboLIt services and significant events continues to b¢ spread via th¢ website and social media and also displayed within the church premises. We are fOrtt￿ate to be able to reach a good level of distributloll in this way. ￿]d there Still remains a small group who receive hand deliveries. Oppoi'tunities for Worsliip and sttidy: Th¢ regll1￿ patterns of worsliip hav¢ be¢n continued. d)e main aGt of worsliip taking place on Sunday at 10.30am. Tliere is a ¢r¢¢li¢ tor very young children, whicli ¢nabl¢s par¢nts to participate in the service knowing that their chilth'en are being well cared for. Tealcoffee are served after the Service and a time of fellowship enjoyed. Also once a month an afternoon Service is offered at 2.30pm. This provides worsliip for thos¢ who find ali afternoon service easier to attend. This takes the form of a short ttaditional service followed by tea alld cake and a tim¢ of fellowship. Page 4 'Poynton Methodist Church Trustees1 Report (continued) On one Sunday a ￿ollth we hold Breakfast Church atmed at families at 9,00￿ll and a Muddy Church, agai aimed at families where envii'onmeiitaL issiies are consideiEd and ¢raft a¢tiviti¢s offered. We hold a monthly n)id-w¢ek se￿1¢¢ at 12 lloon on Wednesd2ys, followed by Iiinch. This is a inore infoiTral Style of worshLP> l¢d by lo¢aL prea¢li¢rs. Prayer groiips and stlidy group5 continue to meet. There is a new prayer group which meets oli TLiesday ¢v¢llit)gs. This groiip is ¢i￿r¢￿tlY ¢oiicentrating oil a revival scheme for the life and groH¢h of tlie ¢hiir¢li, Ther¢ is a re￿llar coffee morning every W¢dn¢sday, giviiig the ￿ernberS the chanGe to socialise. The onliThe presence for worship and study has ¢ontiniied, Financial review The Charity recorded a profit of £20831 on its uiirestricted funds for th¢ year and a loss for th¢ year of £174 on its restricted fiinds and we al'e pleased to report that this is an improvement over the previous few years. This is du¢ in part to a geiien)iis bequest and in part to ali inGrease in rooin bookings, a]Iliough diere contillues to be sigiiificanl fillanciaj pressures, llotably the ongoing ei)¢rgy Costs. Unrestricted fiinds have in¢rga5ed to £161047. Restricted Fuiids - R¢sts-i¢ted reserves anLOUnted lo £9817. sp¢cifically to assist with the Flower Fund (£259) and bequests for specific pil￿OSeS (£9558). The Community Garden Project restricted reserve 'ftind has now been fully iitili5ed and the balance of expenditure and ongoing tnaintenallce have b¢en (alld will ¢ontAnLie to b¢) fiinded by the Church. Policv on reserves It is the policy of tlie chiircli to inaintgAiii unrestricted funds, which are the free reserves of the church, at a level which equates to at least six ni01iths iinr¢stri¢ted exp¢nditure iii order to provide 5Lifficieiit fiinds lo Gover Inanagemellt. adJ)iinistration ￿ld siipport costs iii the imin¢diate futur¢. W¢ th¢r¢fore aim to hav¢ no le5S tlian £52,000 in reserves at any time. The reserves policy is bas¢d on Metliodist guidelines. aDd is r¢viewed from tim¢ Éo time, Prlftciprtlfundthg sources Donations fLDm tlke Gon8r¢gation, room hire fees and bequests. InV￿lMentPf)l1eY and objectlv The Ch￿lty invests surplus funds willi the Methodist Cbur¢b it]v¢$tment sclieme Page 5 Poynton M¢thodist Church Trustees, Report (Lontinued) Plans for futiire periods Plans for thtiire periods- Managing Change 202412025 is & ¢hallengiiJg year for all the Churches in the M￿clesy1¢1d Circuit. In tlie summer of 2024, th¢ minister with respongibility for Poynton, along with the chiirches in Pr¢Stb1￿ and Brolien Cross, announc¢d that she was taking early retirel￿e1]t froin the ininisty, effective fi'om the 3 1st August 2024. At the tinie, announGement was made that the Ciruiit Superintendeiit, who also lias pastoral responsibility for the chLirches at Ma¢¢lesfL¢ld, aiid the rural cliurthes at GaWswor￿7 and Langley, bad accepted an acaden]ic appointment at Cliff College, Derbyshire. In ordei that the Nlacclesfield Circiiit would not be left totally bereft of presbyterial supporL he generously offered to spend half his time at Cliff College, and the other half Continuing his role as Cu'¢uit Siip¢rinten(l¢ut. This lias caused some changes to the patterns of worship at all the churches iii the circuit, with more services beu)g taken by local pr¢a¢l)¢rs atsd on on¢ Siioday ea¢h month all the chiirches worshipping logetber eitber at Poyirton or Ma¢clesfield. Some Sunday5 have been d¢signated oll th¢ circuit plan as "Own Arrangen]ents." The8e services are led by members of the congr¢gation, suppoited by local preachers and Musici￿ls. Tbey often bring a different peispective to the worship and life of the Chui'ch which has been well received. We look to tbe future with hope for growth, and it was a joy to l¢arn recfntly that tiJ¢r¢ will be two new fiill.time Lllit)isters joinillg the circiiil fi'om 1st September 2.025. One will be based in Poynton, biit will &lso have responsibility for Pr¢stbury and Broken Cross. Our Future Stoiy One of tb¢ aiins Stated in our Mission Statement is to "Go oiil, Share the Good New5, and serve in tbe woi'ld." It is a¢l￿Ow[edE¢d that evangelism is Illl integral part of our calling. Another part is the deepening of our own faith and dedication to follow and serve Christ. As niimbers decline in all tlie established c11i￿CheS, it is seen as vital that we do not only pay lip service to our Mission Statement, but also that we should have a mission plan, to effectively share the Good News wliich Jesus brought with tbose outside the CburLh. Befoi'e tliis can be achieved, we need to look irnwards and see whether our faith and triist ill God is suffi¢iently deep to shal'e it with othei's. We believe that we ¢I￿not iindertake this mission in oiii- own strength. Much prayer and inspÉred planning is required, and this planning is initially being led by our Tuesday evening prayer group. The Methodist Church Collnexional n]ission website has miich helpful material and tools with which chiirches call work and plan for mission. Iiinovative idea8 are required to enable us to engage witli those not used to our Christian traditions alld forms of worship. We are only At the start of thftt jouniey. It may be a loiig one. but the TTUStees believe that unless we embark on the journey, then we are only planning for'pallialive c￿e, for our Church. Page 6 Poynton Methodist Church Trustees, Report (continued) Update In January 2024, the above-mentioned pRyer group decided, after in-depth discussion, that we shoiild approach our worshippers, both member5 and non-l￿e1ThberS, with our own questiot]naire d¢sigiied to obtaiii iheir views of wliat was good and not-so-good about our Chiwcli, specifically asking what they thouglit we should do aboLII niission. This was entliusiastically coinpleted by ovei. 70 worsliippers and ¢overed 4 ¢ategori¢s of church life worship, ev￿)ge]iSn], learniiig aiid caring and lastly, service. Collating tlie responses led to the 'fonnation of a Strpltegic Plan (effectively a missiotL plan}. It was siib-divided into 3 TaGtiral Plans, each spanning appi'oximately 6-8 months over a 2 year time pei'iod. Thes¢ Tactical Pl￿9 Contain sp¢¢ific actions, with tb¢ now compl&ed I st plan coveiing mainly pra¥tical, admiiiislrative actions. The 2nd plaLi contains a inix of further administrative actions, and actions to find ways of bringing our Chiirch family together in prnyer, bible Study and pastoral ¢ar¢. The 3rd plan will Gover mainly outreach. Fiiially, it was deGid¢d right froin the stf4rt, that if jiist One person is bioLight iiito God's Kiiigdom during this missi(m process. thffli we would talce that as a mark of 'success', but at the very leasL as we go througli this process, the deepeiiing of our faith will bring much joy to all illvolved. Eco Church Group The E¢0 Chur¢li GroLIP is GOIIIPTised of 7 member5 of the coiigregation aiid tlie minister, which met twice in 2024. Eco Church Awards. We reaGlied broiize level in late 2022 and received our silver award on 5tli May 2023. We are cutteiitly quite ¢los¢ to th¢ gold level. Activiti¢s Several actions h&ve been taken over 2024.. Talk by Melanie Baker during morniiig worsbip on Siillday 18th February when she talked about hei PhD, studyii)g the introduction of Be&vers at Hatchmere by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust. Butterfly Cloiid mobile installation at church during Creationtide {Septeniber 1st to October 4th) and then at Poyiiton Baptist Church (8th- 18th November) • Annual Climate Service on 8th Septetnber 2024 which was also a Circuit S¢rvi¢¢. Fund-raising concei'l. with Epiphany on 29th Septetnber. Two pei'fonnan¢eg raised a total of £453.30 divided equally betweeii oiir Eco Chll￿h Charities- Ocean Clean Up, Chri5tiaii Aid and Chesliire Wildlif¢ Trust, Continuing inclusion of regular eco-tips in the Newsletter and on slides before worship. Richard Baker has led eco-themed worship at Poynton, Broken CrDSS, PrestbLiry and Marple Ridg¢ and led woi'kshops for Hope in North East Cheshire'8 Seasons of Ci'eation programine and at Gawsworth Methodist Church. Iture Plans Tlie group have reviewed our progress towards a gold award and. whilst cliallenging, tliiiik this could be achievable by sunifft¢i' of 2025. The rnain ￿ea we Iieed to addi-e5s is Community and Global Engagemeiit where partiCLdar issue is that th¢T¢ do¢s not appear to be miTch green a¢tivity within Poynton with which to engage. We are thus proposing a twin trnclc approach. In early 2025 we will be fociissing oil several stnall initiatives that G&n be acliieved internally. Later in 2025, we woiild like to try and stimulate and engage with some green activities within the local con]munity. We hope this wtll resiilt in a large Eco Fair to be held in the late sprillg or early summer building on the siiccess of the Bco Festival in 2023. Pag¢ 7 Poynton Methodist Cliurch Trustees, Report (continued) Structure* governance And m￿n￿gernent Nature ofgoverning dt)eumenl The Methodist Chiirch is con8titLited uiider the Methodist Church Act 1976. The local church is part of the iiatioiial Methodist Chiirch. The loc￿ cliLirch's property is held on the Model Triists by the Custodian Trustee, The TrLlStees for Metliodist Church Purposes. Managemenl of tliat property, aiid responsibility for ilie local hur¢h's spiritual financial atTairs. is d¢legated to the local Chur¢h Coiincil to art as Mmaging Truste¢s, Poynton Methodist Chiirch was granted charitable status on 30 Decenibcr 2008 under Charity Number 1133699, and registered on 22 January 2010. The TLWSlees are aware that these are challeiiging times for chU￿heS of most denomiiiations. We live iii a secular so¢iety where people live busy lives, and th¢re 1$ little interest in u)htters of faith. However, the Trustees believe that Poyntoii Met])odist Cbui'di is well eqiiipped both fmaiicially and Spiriti￿llY to meet that d]allenge. RecruitmellÈ rtppointment of truBtees Some menibers ar¢ appointed to Churcli Coiincil by virtue of the otTice tliey hold within tlie life of the church. Tlie Church CounGil is r¢sponsibl¢ for iuaking suGh appointineuts. The Cliur¢h Stewards and r¢pr¢selltativ¢s of th¢ congregation ar¢ appointed at th¢ Annual ChuLrh M¢eting held in the sununer each ye￿. ortd tralnlng of Irustédv Trustees are periodically reminded of tFL¢ir legal obligations ut]dei' ¢harity law. OrgantsrtdoAal structsirg Th"e Church Council as Managing Trustees admittister the Cbarity. They tneet at least twice a year. There is a Finallce Corninittee which has delegated powei's to deal with f￿al)ce and audiL pliis other sub-committees which m¢et regidarly. A proportion of the Trustets are appoiiited each year by tbose attendiiig the ￿]nLial Church Meetin& held usually in July, and at which all members are entitled to attend and vote. Accordillg to the rLile8 and reglilations of the Methodisi Chureli Such Trllstees normally serve for a period not exceeding 6 years. However, there exceptions where posts would otherwise rernain unfill¢d, Page 8 Poynton Methodist Cliurch I'riisteL¥S' R¢poi't (coiillnued) Tlie ChuLf]i Cuuncil li¢)¥ & r4ng¢ ()[ iJ()li¢ie8, Nvhicl) Lipdllt¢d I'egulai'ly. Loveting Ih¢ kolluwing iiiEas: S¥LlcL4iÉir(liiig* on(1 woi'lle uLeoiinliiig poli¢i¢s and tlien apply Il)eim oottsisl¢nily* ob8¢ive i.he Illtythods E]i)d i)I'in¢iplcs iii tFic Cbxriii¢s SORP. mal(e jLidgeLnentg l￿d esliinal¢S tbnr aiy rec1soii&bltt liid pnffl¢iit- slllte whe1"liei' Al)plicable accoLllltinB St[￿d}￿d$ httve bgcii followed, subject to Ellly 111a*rial di'p&i'ruKq disclosed expl&iiied in tho fin&iitriiL] stat¢n1Cllts' and pi'epar¢ the fil)￿1¢i&l staleineiJt% on th¥ goin¥ Loncorn L)asis ill￿¢8$ it IS ITiappropriate to pre,SLlliie Ilitu tILe chai-ily will coiilinue iii bLl8ine*%. The Lrustee8 ￿'e i'espoiisible for l