2020-08-31-accounts

Sherwood Methodist Church (Registered charity, number 1133934) Financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2020

Page	Contents
2 - 5	Trustees’ annual report
6	Independent examiner’s report
7	Receipts & payments account
8	Statement of assets & liabilities
9 - 10	Notes to the accounts

Sherwood Methodist Church Trustees’ annual report for the year ended 31 August 2020

Full name Sherwood Methodist Church

Registered charity number 1133934

Principal address

Sherwood Methodist Church, Devon Drive, Sherwood, Nottingham, NG5 2EN

Trustees

Rev. John Wiseman Katherine Thomas Robert Thomas, Treasurer Gregory White Paul Lewis, Secretary Colin Wignall Anthony Brunt Richard Cooper Marguerite Carter Jane Edwards Robert Chandler Josephine Williams Jane Lewis Julie Compton, from 28/07/20 Alice McGregor Thomas Boakye, from 28/07/20 Brenda Nix John Hardiman, until 03/05/20 Stephen Paling Helen Lewis, until 03/05/20 Robert Rattigan Jennifer Turner, until 03/05/20 John Saxton Maurice Turner, until 03/05/20 David Slinger Margaret Jones, until 15/09/20 Rachel Tavener Peter Jackson, until 30/09/20

Independent examiner

John O’Brien, employee of Community Accounting Plus, Units 1 & 2, North West, 41 Talbot Street, Nottingham, NG1 5GL

Governance and management

The charity is operated under the rules of its Deed of Union (1932) and The Methodist Church Act (1976).

Some trustees are appointed by being approved into specific positions of office by either the General Church Meeting or the Church Council; other trustees are elected from the church membership at the General Church Meeting.

Public benefit statement

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, 'Charities and Public Benefit'.

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Sherwood Methodist Church

Objectives and activities

The purposes of the Methodist Church are the advancement of:

• The Christian faith in accordance with the doctrinal standards and the discipline of the Methodist church;

• Any charitable purpose for the time being of any connexional, district, circuit, local or other organisation of the Methodist church;

• Any charitable purpose for the time being of any society or institution subsidiary or ancillary to the Methodist church;

• Any purpose for the time being of any charity being a charity subsidiary to the Methodist church.

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit

• Acts of public worship have continued to be held on Sundays and during the week throughout the year. These have utilised a variety of different styles in order to provide an eclectic worship experience. These services were attended by congregations of varying sizes, with an average attendance in the mid 80’s attending the main 10.30am Sunday service;

• More than 12 different groups for children and young people met regularly (almost all weekly) at the church, providing for their spiritual and developmental needs;

• At least 10 groups comprising of over 70 adults met regularly (almost all weekly) for discussion, prayer and fellowship;

• Events have been organised to increase awareness, focus on specific needs and raise funds for local, national and global charities and natural disasters;

• More than 45 groups were hosted at the church, providing for a wide variety of local needs, e.g. Alcoholics Anonymous, Sharing Sherwood, guide dog trainers, healthy eating group, ME support group, Congolese congregation, 2 parent & toddler groups, craft group, knit and natter (making prayer shawls);

• The church premises are made available for the local community to hire at modest rates for social gatherings, with children’s birthday parties being the most popular;

• As a Christian body we encourage and embrace diversity. This is demonstrated by the wide range of our community in terms of age (1yr-100yrs), physical ability and ethnic background (Congolese Congregation and Ghanaian Fellowship) who regularly attend activities and worship at our church;

• We promote the use of fairly traded goods with a weekly TraidCraft stall operating after the Sunday 10.30am worship;

• The church relies on and receives tremendous levels of voluntary support from members and friends so that its ministry and service to the community can be delivered at the level that it is;

• A number of church members are actively involved in the meetings and work of Nottingham Citizens, a multi faith and multi agency group that campaigns on subjects and isues of social justice on behalf of the residents of Nottingham;

• Through the provision of training to appropriate volunteers and staff, the church is able to maintain its high level of commitment to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults;

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Sherwood Methodist Church

• From the end of March 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the building has been closed but the church has continued to be active. We have operated a weekly Food Bank collection as well as coordinating with Share Sherwood to act as a distribution point for their Fareshare food allocation.

These activities benefit the public as follows :

• As one of the largest Christian faith congregations within the community of Sherwood, SMC provides the major focus in the local community for the spiritual needs and development of local people. In doing so we work alongside our ecumenical partners within the Christian faith as well as those of other faiths;

• By actively promoting values of inclusiveness and tolerance, SMC encourages the enhancement of integration within the local community and the minimisation of conflict;

• By making its building available at modest cost to the wider public and local groups SMC enables community groups to function and flourish and provides a centre for community activities;

• By its support for people in need, such as through the Food Bank and the Winter Shelter for the homeless, it helps reduce the impact of poverty in the neighbourhood.

Summary of the main achievements during the period

• The church has continued to work with and support several asylum seekers both during their applications and also once residency has been granted in order to ensure a smooth transition;

• The church continues to expand its links with the community by offering safe, secure and affordable places for a wide variety of groups to meet both to host their groups on a regular basis but also in the case of the various choirs we host to enable them to perform to a wider audience. We are currently exploring ways in which we can be seen as a fresh expression of church within our local community;

• As a church we continue to reach out into a community to be a visible sign of God’s grace and love. We are an active part of Nottingham Citizens and are currently engaging with their three areas of concern: mental health, low wages, education for children;

• As part of our creative outreach we actively engage with the Sherwood Arts week by hosting art exhibitions as well as encouraging the work of artists from within the church family especially via our Quiet Garden resource;

• The monthly Messy Church activity continued to thrive, attracting an average attendance of 70 people with over 120 different people, nearly all from the local community, attending in the year. We have also started an ecumenical venture called Connect@4 with one of our partner churches in the community aimed at 8- 12yr olds with the hope of creating a new worshipping community for them and their families;

• The church’s monthly magazine, The Message, continues to win awards with the latest one being a Certificate of Excellence especially for creativity of headlines;

• We continue in our aim to be an Eco church, with our latest progress resulting in the church receiving a silver award;

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Sherwood Methodist Church

• The church’s Family Worker has developed its work with families and children. This continued to reach new families through our toddler groups, outreach into schools, prayer groups and liaising with other users groups catering for this age range who use our premises. The contract for this position came to an end in January 2020 and the church is in the process of finding a suitable replacement to carry on this valuable work as soon as Covid restrictions allow;

• Our Pioneer FX worker continues, via his Nomad podcast, to reach a worldwide audience far beyond the scope of our local outreach and mission;

• We have successfully developed an expanding online ministry involving Zoom worship services, coffee & chat gatherings, online house groups, and Messy Church online. We have also been responsible for the production of paper format home worship material that has been distributed not just within our own faith family but used widely across the Nottingham North East Circuit. Whilst our Toddlers group has not been able to meet, we have regularly telephoned the parents/carers to keep them informed about possible reopening, as has been the case with our other multiple user groups.

Financial review

The financial position appears to be strong, even though the income from lettings has been greatly reduced since March 2020 by the closure of the building following Government restricions due to Covid-19. This has been offset by receiving Gift Aid from previous years, and legacies.

The charity’s policy on reserves

The church’s policy on reserves is to aim to hold a level of uncommitted free reserves equating to six months of General Fund expenditure. These reserves are held in case of unbudgeted expenditure on repairs to property, replacement of damaged or faulty equipment, or additional investment in church activities and initiatives. Reserves are also required in case of a short term shortfall in income. The policy is reviewed annually.

Financial risks

Reduction in income due to members leaving or having reduced circumstances, or an increase in outgoings which are most likely to be due to unexpected repairs to buildings or equipment. Income from letting the building to community groups normally forms a large proportion of income but this will be greatly reduced for an unknown period of time due to the closure of the building and restrictions on the groups using it as a result of the Government restrictions due to Covid-19.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:

Signed ______ Date _ John Wiseman, Trustee

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Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Sherwood Methodist Church for the year ended 31 August 2020

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Sherwood Methodist Church (the charity) for the year ended 31 August 2020.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘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 examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or

2. the accounts do not accord with those records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed ____ Date _______ John O’Brien MSc, FCCA, FCIE Employee of Community Accounting Plus

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Sherwood Methodist Church Receipts & payments account for the year ended 31 August 2020

2019 Total Unrestricted Funds Funds £ Note £ Receipts 63942 Grants & donations 2 92237 1000 Gifts & legacies 16000 4623 Fundraising & events 27 24150 Lettings 16529 736 Coffee bar 372 573 Bank interest 901 2526 Sundry income 3689 97550 Total receipts 129755 Payments 660 Accountancy fees 696 12 Bank charges - 1000 Benevolence fund expenditure - 5577 Cleaner's wages 5756 905 Cleaning materials 924 4327 Donations 9957 1196 Equipment, repairs & renewals - 3924 Events & fundraising - 138 Family worker expenses 33 3217 Family worker wages 6166 502 Hospitality & coffee bar 228 2393 Insurance 2452 651 Licences & music, worship resources 709 987 Messy & junior church activities 356 47000 Nottingham East Circuit Contribution 49000 17601 Premises maintenance & improvements 8064 605 Publicity 286 4282 Stationery/photocopying/IT 3854 337 Sundry expenditure 413 - Training 390 5536 Utilities 6508 6000 VFX Project 6500 106850 Total payments 102292 (9300) Net receipts/(payments) 27463 75765 Cash funds at start of this period 63534 - Transfers between funds (75) 66465 Cash funds at end of this period 90922

2020 Restricted Total Funds Funds £ £ 847 93084 - 16000 - 27 - 16529 - 372 - 901 1021 4710 1868 131623 - 696 - - 150 150 - 5756 - 924 448 10405 - - - - - 33 - 6166 - 228 - 2452 - 709 25 381 - 49000 - 8064 - 286 - 3854 - 413 - 390 - 6508 - 6500 623 102915 1245 28708 2931 66465 75 - 4251 95173

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Sherwood Methodist Church Statement of assets and liabilities at 31 August 2020

2019 £ Cash assets Note 66465 Bank accounts 66465 Other monetary assets 16027 Debtors & prepayments 4 16027 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Land & buildings at insured value £2,350,000. Other assets at a cost of £152,430. Notice Board purchased January 2015, cost £1,804. Sound desk purchased May 2015, cost £1,712. Chairs purchased June 2016, cost £5,747. Data projector purchased October 2016, cost £1,494. Defibrillator purchased August 2017, cost £780. Seating purchased May 2018, cost £1,489. Chairs purchased January 2019, cost £534. Liabilities (9614) Creditors 5 (9614)	2020 £ 95173
	95173
	27461
	27461
	(2935)
	(2935)

These financial statements are accepted on behalf of the charity by:

Signed _____ Dated _____ Robert Thomas, Trustee

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Sherwood Methodist Church Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 August 2020

1. Receipts & payments accounts

Receipts and payments accounts contain a summary of money received and money spent during the period and a list of assets and liabilities at the end of the period. Usually, cash received and cash spent will include transactions through bank accounts and cash in hand.

2. Grants & donations

Unrestricted £ Gift Aid 35243 Sundry donations 56994 92237 Funds analysis Opening balance £ Unrestricted funds General fund 1598 Gifts & legacies 61936 63534 Restricted Benevolence fund - Collections for external funds 27 Family worker 2904 2931	Restricted £ - 847 847 Receipts £ 113381 16374 129755 75 422 1371 1868	Total £ 35243 57841 93084 (Payments) £ (91086) (11206) (102292) (150) (449) (24) (623)	Transfers £ (75) - (75) 75 - - 75	Closing balance £ 23818 67104
				90922
				- - 4251
				4251

3. Funds analysis

The transfer from the General fund to the Benevolence fund is to cover the deficit on this activity.

The Benevolence Fund is for the purpose of holding funds given or designated to be used for the benefit of people in financial need.

The Collections for external funds are funds collected by us specifically for other bodies until we have sent those funds on to those bodies.

The Family worker fund is for the purpose of holding funds designated to support the family worker.

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Sherwood Methodist Church

4. Debtors & prepayments

	£
Grants & donations - Gift Aid	10721
Insurance	1377
Lettings	500
Licences & music, worship resources	464
Nottingham East Circuit contribution	12250
Premises maintenance & improvements	381
Stationery/photocopying/IT	106
Sundry income	1636
Utilities	26 27461

5. Creditors

Donations Independent examination Utilities	£ 1980 708 247
	2935

6. Trustees’ remuneration

Trustees received no expenses, remuneration or benefits in this period.

7. Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions during the year.

8. Glossary of terms

Creditors: These are amounts owed by the charity, but not paid during the accounting period.

Debtors: These are amounts owed to the charity, but not received in the accounting period.

Prepayments: These are services that the charity has paid for in advance, but not used during the accounting period.

Restricted funds: These are funds given to the charity, subject to specific restrictions set by the donor, but still within the general objects of the charity.

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