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2021-08-31-accounts

WEST KIRBY METHODIST CHURCH

Trustees’ Annual Report for year ended 31st August 2021 Pages 1-6

Governing Documents and Objectives

West Kirby Methodist Church is governed by the Methodist Church Act 1976, the Deed of Union and the Model Trusts of the Methodist Church.

The purposes of the Methodist Church are and shall be deemed to have been since the date of union the advancement of:

Organisational Structure

Overall control rests with the Methodist Conference.

The Connexional Office implements decisions made by Conference and is also responsible for the stationing of Ministers in the Circuits. Connexional decisions are passed to the Chair of the District and the appropriate Officers of the District for regional implementation. West Kirby is part of the Wirral Circuit which is part of the Liverpool District.

The District passes control down to circuit level for local implementation by the Superintendent Minister, supported by ministerial staff and circuit stewards. At local church level authority is delegated to the Church Council as the decision making body. The policies of the Church Council are implemented by the Minister in Pastoral Charge supported by the Church Stewards. In addition to this, The Church Council is required to ensure all property and financial reports are submitted to the Circuit in a timely fashion.

Trustees

While the appointment of trustees is determined in accordance with Methodist procedures it is our aim to ensure that the Church Council has a broad level of experience to include pastoral, financial and property matters. Training for stewards and council members is available at circuit level.

It is the policy to reimburse trustees and others involved in the administration of church affairs for expenditure properly incurred in carrying out their duties. Trustees of the Church who served during the year are listed at the end of this report.

The Trustees are required to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the Church’s financial position at the end of the year.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees have:

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Trustees

Rev’d Vivienne Gasteen, Elaine Phillips–senior steward, David Cross- property steward, Peter Connah- steward, Kate Warbrick- circuit steward, Ann Crosschurch council secretary, Erica Rimmer- treasurer, Yvonne Gilbert- pastoral secretary, Sue Gladden, Ian Jackson- local preacher, Ray Ward, Carol Barnett, David Gane, Val Crichton, Jim Drake, Arthur Kilshaw and John Turner.

The Financial Statements and Reserves Policy for the year ended 31[st] August 2021are attached to this Report and Reserves Policy

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose, with reasonable accuracy, at any time the financial position of the church and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the law. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the church and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

So far as each of the trustees is aware there is no relevant information that has not been disclosed to the Independent Examiner and each of the trustees believes that all steps have been taken that ought to have been taken to make him/her aware of any relevant information and to establish that the independent examiner has been made aware of that information.

Staffing

Rev Vivienne Gasteen is the presbyter at West Kirby shared with Claremount on a half-time basis in total for the two churches. We also have Rev’d John Barnett, a supernumerary minister who is actively involved in church life. One of the Circuit Stewards, Ms Kate Warbrick, attends our Church Council meetings, held three times each year. She takes note of issues raised at these meetings and reports back to the Circuit Leadership Team which offers encouragement and guidance as necessary.

West Kirby also employs Heather Playfer as an Admin Assistant and Bookings

Training

Training has continued on meeting the requirements of the Creating Safer Space Initiative under Methodist Church guidance.

The Church Property Committee has undertaken a risk assessment and all electrical appliances have been tested.

In the light of the Covid Pandemic, a full Risk Assessment of the premises was taken and the Church Council implemented a full set of procedures to be followed when using the building- with training for the stewards.

Worship

During the Pandemic there was a period of time when we could not gather in person for worship and we must all thank God for whoever it was that invented ZOOM for this enabled us to worship and keep in touch with each other.

One act of worship which we were all able to take part in was “Praise in the Park” with support from St Bridget’s and the U.R.C. church since it was held in the open air on a day when the sun shone!

Sadly, when we were allowed back into the church the boiler failed. This meant that when our Sunday services were once again allowed it was necessary to worship in the hall. There were differing opinions re people’s preference for church or hall, some found it “more together” in the hall.

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However, we are all different and we respect each other’s opinions.

Methodist Women in Britain Due to the Covid pandemic meetings and the ever popular lunch at The Adelphi Hotel did not take place during the church year September 2020-2021.The easter offering Service and The National Conference in October were both held via Zoom.

Elaine Philips

Baptisms / Weddings

There were no Baptisms during the pandemic and we received no requests for Weddings during this period.

Funerals

The following Funerals took place in the name of West Kirby Methodist Church John Reginald Gilbert 19[th] August 2021 Valerie Lyn Gane 22[nd] September 2021

May they rest in peace and rise in glory. Amen.

Uniformed Organisations

Brownies, Guides, Scouts etc. were not able to meet indoors during the Pandemic and some activities continued in outdoor settings. Brownies were looking forward to meeting indoors again from October 2021.

We are really looking forward to having them with us again soon and hope to see a return to Parade Services.

Jennie Jones (Brownie Guider)

Little Lambs

The church run toddler group had to close its doors in March 2020 as the whole country went into lockdown because of the Covid pandemic. Thankfully, we had put plans in place to re-open at the first opportunity. However, more about this in next year’s Annual report which will be looking at the year September 2020 to August 2021.

Elaine Phillips

Community Outreach Group

Throughout the Pandemic the Church Pavement Window provided a message of hope to those passing by with an almost continually lighted candle as a reminder that even in the darkest of times Jesus is the Light of the World. We have reminded people of the seasons of the church year and the rolling screen by the Hilda Shore entrance provided information on our activities. Graham Gladden

Shared Reading Group

Which Sue Gladden originally had the vision for and Sue & Dirk received training for has continued to be a blessing. We phone and email around 16 people, many of whom live on their own. With SR we all read a fifteen minute chapter + a poem and reflect on this on the call. Many conversations lasted more than half an hour and it gave the ‘right’ to ring people every week, to also ask how they were doing. The group even grew during this last year!

Joan moved into Lear House and Phyl now lives in South Wales but continues to appreciate contact with us. Sadly, Olive died and others in the group have had health problems. Another member lost her husband. Some are difficult to contact

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as they prefer to have face to face contact and others struggle with mental health issues due to the continued COVID restrictions and lockdown. Siobhan and Debbie joined the Alpha course, which was great. Other activities:

Carers Soup ‘n’ Support

Carers Soup ‘n’ Support held its last meeting in March 2020 and since then we have had to cancel all our meetings. We have tried to keep in touch with as many people as possible by phone, text and e- mail and the offer of individual help to anyone who needs it is always there. We also, with Dirk’s help, distributed flowers and chocolates which were much appreciated. At Christmas and Easter all our regular members received a gift and a

I attended the online BRIDGE forum for third sector organisations, facilitated by Healthwatch Wirral, on a monthly basis. This gives up to date information on Health and Social Care provision and was one way I could identify suitable speakers for when we were able to start again.

We met once August in a different format – beginning at 11.00 with tea/coffee and cakes then lunch at 12.00 with just soup and bread and fruit. This was a chance for our regular members plus anyone from church who had become a carer to get together and catch up with each other. Hopefully we will be able to offer a full programme again from September.

Sue Gladden

Jennifer Pantall has given up organising the flower donors and arrangers’ rotas and Jean Drake has given up organising the distributers. Once we are able to be back in church Erica and Kim will organise the donors and the distributers and Sue will organise the arrangers. We have identified that We have a shortage of flower arrangers and distributers. Most weeks still have donors but there are some gaps, particularly in the first half of the year. We will therefore be using artificial flowers more often. The main festivals are still able to be covered.

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Holy Communion

For a long time during the Pandemic we were unable to celebrate Holy Communion, even after we were allowed “back into church”. Once this was allowed the Communion stewards West Kirby devised a system of pouring wine into individual glasses as normal but also by carefully using hand gel and plastic gloves to cut bread and place a morsel into other small communion glasses. These were then taken round to the congregation who only needed to touch the glasses they were using. We owe our thanks for being able to continue to receive Holy Communion to our Communion Stewards: Sue, Steve, Gillian, Dianne and Anne Ann Cross

Beacon Report

Throughout the pandemic The Beacon has continued to be printed but, because of the lack of activities, it has been half its normal size – just one double sided sheet of A4. As we only needed about 50 – 60 these have been printed at home. These were placed in the boxes outside church and sent to church members/ adherents and community group attendees who don’t have access to the internet. Those who do have access were sent copies electronically. Hopefully we can revert to the bigger version once all our activities are back up and running. Sue Gladden

Church Community Worker

Lego Church was not able to continue during Lockdown and we were all looking forward to it starting up again. It is a tremendous opportunity to share Bible stories with the children who have so little knowledge of them. We are looking forward to starting up again in September 2021 and wish to thank, Arthur and Carole who will be staffing the kitchen and Gillian along with Colin who are also volunteering to help out.

Techy Coffee We are all looking forward to getting going again with this. I shall be advertising this on the international website “Next Door” and lots of Wirral residents are part of this. Dave & Ray are our star Age UK volunteers and people will really appreciate their expertise.

Bread Making Although this stopped on a Saturday morning we are all looking forward to starting again as soon as restrictions are lifted.

Churches Together in West Kirby I will be taking over as Chair of Churches together in West Kirby from September 2021 and am really looking forward to this. Carole is also a member of this group and we were all really looking forward to sharing in Carol singing together with the Happiness Band in the station courtyard in December 2021.

Impromptu Dancing We shall be holding dancing in the Hall on some Wednesdays from 1pm to 3pm in a very open way. Anyone who would like to come along watch this space from September 2021.I have very much enjoyed my work with West Kirby Methodist Church. We turn to God, who is Master at doing the unexpected and I intend to retire in 2024 So let’s work together and give it our best shot in the year ahead.

Dirk Uitterdijk

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Social Badminton Group

The Social Badminton Group were only able to meet sporadically between September 2020 and August 2021 due to the Covid 19 pandemic. However, we were all looking forward to starting again in September 2021numbers have reduced and we are on the look out for new players-so you may like to come and have a game or two! No experience required, just the desire to have a good time with some gentle exercise thrown in.

Jim Drake

Church Administrator The year has been a difficult one in the life of the church and impacted heavily on Heather’s job as she works with the church groups and other organisations which make up the life of our community. When groups have been able to use the premises extra work has been involved to ensure that everyone was aware of the restrictions and that guidance was clear- and

As well as the more obvious aspects of the job being on the end of the church phone means that unexpected calls can be received. As a consequence, there is a pastoral element to the role giving both immediate support and acting as a pointer for further help.

Following a review of her work, Heather’s hours have been increased to 15 hours per week and as things get back to something like normal we will be looking at ways to ensure that she is able to cover the full range of her job description. The balance of her job description has needed to evolve and change over time with the needs of the church, extra demands of Covid, changes in congregation and ministers, changes in availability of congregational member involvement and the ways forward for the church. This has also impacted the type of role needed and also the amount of time that is realistically needed for the needs of the church and the demands for her role. I would like to thank Heather for her contribution to our church life. Graham Gladden

So where do we go from here?

This church and its members have been worshipping and serving The Lord in many ways over the years. What does God have planned for us; how shall we be church into the future? We look for new and exciting ways of worshipping and serving our Lord and making new disciples of Jesus Christ. The future starts here and now! and God wants each and every one of us to play our part.

“Thy kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth, as it is in heaven Amen God Bless you all,

Viv Gasteen(reverend)

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31Au gust 20 21
Circuit Circuitno 18/09/15
Registered Gharity-Charity Registration number 11341
ACCOUNTS FORTI.IEYEARENDED31AUGUST 2021 ACCOUNTS FORTI.IEYEARENDED31AUGUST 2021 ACCOUNTS FORTI.IEYEARENDED31AUGUST 2021 ACCOUNTS FORTI.IEYEARENDED31AUGUST 2021 ACCOUNTS FORTI.IEYEARENDED31AUGUST 2021 West West Methodist Methodist Methodist Church
Unrestricted Restricted Totalsthis Tolals last
SECTIONA Funds Funds
c f L g
a1 RECEIPTS Note
a2 Offerings and Taxrecovered 64,879 3,424 68,299 65,711
Bank and
CFB interest
and
lnvestment
a3 income 3,848 86 3,934 4,733
a4 Lettings 4,982 4,982 10,458
a5 Otherreceipts 7,840 132 7,972 10,292
a6 TOTALRECEIPTS 81,550 3.637 85.187 h7l 91,194
SECTTON B
bl PAYMENTS
b2 CircuitAssessment orShare 55,072 55
72		 58,944
b3 Donations 1,764 1,133 2 2,751
b4 Repairsand Maintenance 5,035 5,035 3,600
Utilities
(lnsurances,
water
charges,
heating&
b5 liohtino) 6,991 991 10,791
b6 outreach 23,859 859
b7
b8		 Otherpayments
TOTALPAYMENTS		 14,172
106.894		 1.133 172
1
rfirlrEfil[g[		 39,392
115,478
SECTIONC
NET
RECEIPTS/
PAYMENTS
FOR THE
c1 YEAR (a6-bB) {25,344|2,504 (22,840| (24,284',)
Totalfunds
brought
forwadfrom
c2 last vear 42,018 1,248 43,266 (c6) 47,550
c3 Subtotal 1+c2 16,674 J 752 20,426 23,266
c4 Transfers anda
stmentsnote1		 20 20,000 20,000
c5 TOTALFUNDSATENDOF (c3+c4) 36.6741 3.752 40,426 16r
SECTIOND
T
trI
Eil
Eil
E		 FOR INFORMATIONONLY:MONEY RECEIVEDAND PASSEDONTOEXTERNALORGANISATIONS
(these amounts arenottobeincluded intotal
€
lc5
Balancebrou htfonuardfromlast
1 816
1,214
s/Gifts-received for extemal
anisations
1,468
1,756
s/Gifts-passedtoextemal organisations
(s)
BALANCE$TILLTO
P
(d
55
€
TIONF
STATEMENT OFAqEEIS}NEI-IAE,I!!T!EE
OPENING CLOSING
CHURCH-CASH FUNDS HELDat31 2421 BALANCES BALANCES
fl Cash inhand
n Bank Cunent Account
R BankDepositAccount
f4 CentralFinanceBoard
f5 Trustees forlvlethodist ChurchPumoses
f6 Otherfunds
t'i SUB TOTAL-Church accounts (cB)
{8
19		 closingbalanoetotalfromabove)(e12)
TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD BYCHURCH		 11
reEU		 (e12)
(v)
SECTIONG At At
1September 2020 31 August
0THER ASSETS and LIABILITIES
265,831 2BB,9B5
4,890,286 4,983,204
Assets
Liabilities Ove,paymer{mrmleitings 3,991
l€paid in 21-22

Name ofchurch West lfjrby Methodist Church No 18109115 Independent Examinerfs Statement I have completed my examination. I confimi 1hat no material matter5 have come to my attention in connecb'on with the examination {otherthan thatdisdosed below'l which give me cause to believe that in, any material respect. the accounting records were not kept in accordance with seciÉon 130 ofthe Act. or the accounts do not accord wtth Ihe accounting records. lthe lthe I have no concems and have cnme across no olhermatters in I￿nneCtIOn with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this reportin orderto enable a proper undetstanding ofthe accounts to be reached. I havefftave not" obtsined independentverification of all investrnents wilh the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes or held in othertrusts: bank balances and fvnds atthe Central FinanTr Board ofthe Methodist Church which are individually in eX￿sS of £10.000 (ten thousand pounds) at the balance sheet date. Signature of independent examiner Name ofindependentexaminer Relevant professional qualification of independentexaminer Name offimi (where appropriate) Address Post Code delete or cirde as appropriate Sep-20 3)15r*4rthR¥dP 5rf5