2022-08-31-accounts

BRIGHTON and HOVE METHODIST CIRCUIT Registered Charity 1134137

Trustees’ Annual Report

For the Connexional Year 2021 – 2022

The Trustees of the Brighton and Hove Methodist Circuit welcome readers of their Annual Report covering the Financial Year ended 31 August 2022.

1. Aim and Purpose

2. a) All our churches are committed to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in word and action. We aim to increase awareness of God’s presence and celebrate God’s love; be good neighbours to people in need and to challenge injustice; make more followers of Christ; and help people to learn and grow in faith. We offer safe and caring communities of nurture and respect that are committed to the safeguarding and protection of all children, young people and vulnerable adults.

3. b) The Circuit is the primary unit in which local churches express and experience their interconnexion as the body of Christ, for purposes of mission, mutual encouragement and help.

4. c) It is to the Circuit that presbyters and probationers are stationed and in which local preachers are trained, admitted and exercise their calling.

5. d) The purposes of the Circuit include the effective deployment of the resources for ministry which include people, property and finance.

6. Objectives and Activities

7. a) In planning its activities, the Circuit has considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, and in particular the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion together with the ‘Our Calling’ framework as defined by the Methodist Church of Great Britain. Our services and worship put faith into practice through prayer and scripture, music and sacrament as we try to enable people to live out their faith as part of the wider community.

8. Achievements and Performance

a) Worship

• i. From September 2021 all churches resumed an onsite Sunday morning service, although national pandemic restrictions had been lifted, there remained a high rate of infection so socially distanced seating and mask wearing during worship continued.

• ii. At the same time a weekly Circuit online service was offered, particularly for those isolating or of restricted mobility.

• iii. A Circuit Together Service was held in one of the five churches with all members from across the circuit invited for unified worship and fellowship. This was held monthly until February 2022 when it moved to every quarter.

• iv. All churches were able to hold their own onsite Covenant Service during January 2022.

• v. During the year local preachers Wynn Funnell and Connie Croly celebrated 60 years of preaching with Geoff Harrington marking 30 years .

• vi. In June 2021 the Methodist Conference voted to confirm provisional resolutions on the principles or qualities of good relating, understanding of cohabitation and same sex marriages conducted on Methodist premises or by Methodist officeholders. A year later Hove Methodist was the first in the circuit to celebrate a same sex marriage ceremony in the church.

b) Service

• i. As people have returned to our buildings, every effort was made to provide pastoral care and engage both with the family of faith and the wider community. This has included the resumption of lunch clubs, coffee groups, children’s activities and facilitating in person contact in whatever way was possible.

• ii. University Chaplaincy . The Brighton & Hove Methodist Circuit continues to support Chaplaincy work at The University of Sussex and the University of Brighton and is part of the Student Christian

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Movement (SCM). The work is very different in the two locations because Sussex University is campus-based locally at Falmer, whereas Brighton University is spread across the city, so work is covered as a team.

There has been a gradual move to more face-to-face meetings although some have remained online to make them as accessible as possible. For example, the University of Brighton Crafty Drop-Ins continue, both online and on-site in a blended format, on-site following whatever COVID protocols the University has in place.

Activities offered included a green Wellbeing event held in October 2021 at National Trust’s Saddlescombe Farm with the Grow project was an immensely enriching experience; weekly drop ins; Christmas online carol service; and food and hospitality linked to Christmas, Fairtrade fortnight, Shrove Tuesday, One World Week and Interfaith Week.

The Methodist team was led by Student Development Worker Sue Harrington, who retired at the end of August 2022 after eleven years of service and the Revd Cynthia Park retired from her chaplaincy role at the University of Brighton. Tribute was paid to both for championing the cause of Chaplaincy, building strong relationships and providing pastoral care as well as extensive hospitality. The Circuit will review how the chaplaincy will continue in 2022/23.

c) Mission and Evangelism

i. Circuit Refugee Project

After early discussions about the possibility of supporting Afghan refugee university students and their families arriving from Afghanistan, a circuit project was launched from 1 January 2022 with the following vision:

To make our Circuit a Sanctuary for All, where all feel safe and welcomed, including those fleeing violence, conflict and persecution. We will live out God’s purpose and mission and offer hospitality, kindness, love and sanctuary to all through witness and service. We seek to build a culture of outreach and service by identifying and responding to the needs of those experiencing relocation and displacement. Through this project we will share our commitment to support and advocate for refugees and their families, working collaboratively in partnership with individuals and groups, particularly with refugees. Mrs Sue Harrington and Dr Deeptima Massey were appointed to lead the Circuit Project. A launch Myth-Busting Breakfast was held at Hove on 5 March to help all understand the plight of refugees and asylum-seekers. This was followed by an online talk "Sanctuary: working with refugees" with the Rev Dr Inderjit Bhogal OBE, founder and President of the City of Sanctuary movement and former President of the Methodist Conference. The circuit churches have started collaborating with organisations and churches that are currently involved in supporting refugees. We are exploring ways of working with them. Sunday 19 June 2022 was designated as Refugee Sunday in all our five churches and a range of related resources and ideas were shared to utilise in the services. We are continuing to fundraise by selling cards designed by Shirley Veater at various events and in social gatherings, and by collecting essential items (toiletries etc) for students and their families and a few others we know who have no immigration status yet.

4. Financial Review

a) Income & Expenditure

• (i) The single largest expense is that relating to employment of ministerial staff. These include stipends; National Insurance contributions; pension contributions and the provision and maintenance of the manses. Expenditure for this year remained within the budget forecast. Circuit income was in line with budget projections.

• (ii) The Covid recovery plan provided stability for churches until the restrictions were lifted by reducing the Circuit reserves by around £35000. It was agreed to continue the financial support, albeit reduced, for a further year.

• (iii) The Circuit Operations Manager was appointed in September 2021. This post now provides support to the Ministerial Staff and stewards and the local churches, enabling the Circuit to ensure compliance with legislation such as GDPR, Safeguarding and employment practice.

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• (iv) The Circuit Meeting agreed to support the Methodist Pension Reserve Fund by contribution of £6644 from the Circuit non committed reserves fund.

• c) Reserves Policy

The Reserves Policy is attached in the appendices.

1. Structure, Governance and Management

2. a) The Circuit Meeting

   • (i) The Circuit Meeting of the Brighton and Hove Circuit is the body of Managing Trustees and is responsible for the affairs of the Circuit and the development of Circuit Policy. The Circuit Meeting together with the Superintendent Minister and the Circuit Leadership team exercises that combination of spiritual leadership and administrative efficiency which enables the Circuit to fulfil its purposes as set out in the Standing Orders of the Methodist Church. The Circuit Meeting acts as the focal point of the working fellowship of the churches in the Circuit, overseeing their pastoral, training and evangelistic work.

   • (ii) During the autumn of 2021 the Circuit held a Roadshow and series of consultations about the future structure and organisation to determine how best the communities might be served post pandemic. 100 folk attended, representing all our five churches and over 25 pages of feedback was received. After much consideration, it was decided that the concept of one combined Society covering multiple sites should be seriously explored as an alternative of our current Brighton & Hove Circuit structure consisting of five individual societies plus circuit infrastructure. To examine this in detail a series of working groups covering Mission, Growth and Structures was convened with conclusions to be reported back in the autumn of 2022.

   • (iii) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

     • Considerable effort was made to ensure that our circuit and each of our churches and particularly all managing trustees was able to complete their 2022 GDPR Annual Checklist to be compliant with the requirement from the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (TMCP). Ongoing education around best practice has also continued.

   • (iv) The Circuit Meeting met on four occasions, on 16[th] September and 25[th] November 2021 and 22nd March and 16[th] June 2022

   • (v) On 22 August 2022 there were 37 members of the Circuit Meeting

b) Churches

Brighton and Hove Methodist Circuit www.brightonhovemethodistcircuit.org.uk There are five churches in the Circuit: Dorset Gardens Methodist Church www.dgmc.org.uk Hove Methodist Church www.hovemethodistchurch.co.uk Patcham Methodist Church www.patchammethodistchurch.co.uk Stanford Avenue Methodist Church www.stanfordavenuemeth.co.uk Woodingdean Methodist Church www.woodingdeanmethodistchurch.co.uk On 1 Nov. 2021 the Circuit had 305 members

• c) Staffing

Revd. Andrew Lowe, Circuit Superintendent,

Revd. Deborah Cornish, Revd. Dan Woodhouse

Steve Preston, Circuit Operations Manager

6. Administrative Information

• a) Appointments

• At the meeting on 16 June 2022 all membership of Circuit Officer roles and committees was reviewed and approved.

As Steve Preston stepped down as Circuit Steward, the circuit welcomed Jonathan Gravestock as a new Circuit Steward.

• b) Safeguarding

In March 2022 Rosemary Cuthbert was appointed as Circuit Safeguarding Officer. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) issued its report in September 2021 of the investigation into Child Protection in Religious Organisations and Settings. The secretary of the Methodist Conference, the Revd Dr Jonathan Hustler, welcomed the report

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and said: “The report makes recommendations on policy, procedures and training; this largely reflects our existing policy and procedures and stresses the need for regular updates.”

With this in mind the Circuit promoted the Methodist online Creating Safer Space: Advanced training module and launched the first of a classroom Foundations course in Hove in July 2022. All church and circuit stewards are invited as well as encouraging anyone working with children or vulnerable adults to attend.

No Safeguarding issues were reported during the period.

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CIRCUIT RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS

THE METHODIST CHURCH

STANDARD FORM OF ACCOUNTS

Brighton and Hove

Circuit

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022

South East District Circuit no 36/12

Registered Charity - Charity Registration number

1134137

If not a registered charity Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs Gift Aid number

(The HMRC number is equivalent to a registered charity number in terms of evidence of charitable status and may be used to give to donors or grant funders wishing to see evidence of the organisation's charitable status. Methodist charities in England and Wales that are not registered charities are excepted from registration under Statutory Instrument 2014 No.242 )

Ministers:

Reverend Andrew Lowe (Superintendent) Reverand Deborah Cornish Reverend Daniel Woodhouse Reverend Heather Leake-Date

Circuit Stewards: Ann Collins (Senior Steward) Stella Goddard Jonathon Gravestock

Treasurer:

Stella Goddard

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Brighton and Hove Circuit

20ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
Un - Circuit
restricted Model Trust Restricted Totals this Totals last
SECTION A Funds Fund Funds year year
a1 RECEIPTS Note £ £ £ £ £
a2 Assessment/Share 145,476 145,476 173,289
a3 Capital receipts 0
a4 Bank and CFB interest and
Investment income
146 177 323 212
a5 Grants 14,190 14,190 13,860
a6 Other receipts 0 57
a7 TOTAL RECEIPTS 159,812 177 0 159,989 (a8) 187,418
SECTION B
b1 PAYMENTS
b2 Stipends, salaries, NIC, Pension and
travel costs 146,498 146,498 122,174
b3 Manse Costs 18,749 18,749 21,317
b4 Administration etc 6,869 # 6,869 8,757
b5 District Assessment 40,370 # 40,370 40,329
b6 Grants & donations 3,000 2,602 # 5,602 3,470
b7 Pension Contribution
6,644 # 6,644
b8 Other payments 7,450 # 7,450 1,474
b9 TOTAL PAYMENTS 222,936 9,246 0 232,182 (b9) 197,521
SECTION C
NET RECEIPTS/PAYMENTS FOR
THE YEAR
c1 (a7-b9) (63,124) (9,069) 0 (72,193) (10,103)
c2 Total funds brought forward from last year 100,713 102,031 202,744 (c6) 212,847
c3 Sub total (c1+c2) 37,589 92,962 0 130,551 202,744
c4 Transfers and adjustments 0 (c7)
c5 TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF YEAR (c3+c4) 37,589 92,962 0 130,551 (c8) 202,744 (c6)
----- End of picture text -----

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SECTION D
FOR INFORMATION ONLY: MONEY RECEIVED AND PASSED ON TO EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS
d (these amounts should not be included in total receipts/payments above)
d1 Balance brought forward from last year 8,553 8
d2 Offerings/Gifts - received for external organisations 2,400 9,946
d3 Offerings/Gifts - passed to external organisations 9,600 1,401
d4 BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID (d1 + d2 - d3) 1,353 8,553
----- End of picture text -----

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Brighton and Hove

Circuit

SUMMARY OF CIRCUIT ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATION REPORTING TO THE CIRCUIT MEETING

SECTION E Please follow the Guidance Notes to complete this page

Summary of the Circuit accounts for the year ended 31 August 2022 and Internal Organisations reporting to the Circuit Meeting. Note that the funds of an Internal Organisation would normally be Restricted funds unless it could be clearly shown that they could be used for any Methodist purpose. This section must be completed to arrive at the gross receipts and payments totals of the Circuit. If gross income exceeds the Accruals threshold of £250,000, then the Accruals method of accounting AND A DIFFERENT FORM must be used to report the accounts (see Methodist website). Please refer to the guidance notes regarding transfers between the Circuit and connected Circuit Organisations.

----- Start of picture text -----
INTERNAL Net Receipts/
ORGANISATIONS Receipts Payments Payments Adjustments Opening balances Closing balances
e1 0 0
e2 0 0
e3 0 0
e4 0 0
e5 0 0
e6 0 0
e7 0 0
Sub total of Internal
e8 Organisations funds 0 0 0 0 0 (e11) 0 (e12)
Circuit accounts (totals
brought forward from
e9 page 2 - totals column) 159,989 (a8) 232,182 (b9) (72,193) 0 (c7) 202,744 (c6) 130,551 (c8)
TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD
e10 BY CIRCUIT 159,989 232,182 (72,193) 0 202,744 (x) 130,551 (y)
Continue on a separate
sheet if necessary and bring TOTAL RECEIPTS TOTAL PAYMENTS
the totals forward
SECTION F
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
OPENING CLOSING
CIRCUIT - CASH FUNDS HELD at 31 August 2022 BALANCES BALANCES
f1 Cash in hand
f2 Bank Current Account 65,132 12,562
f3 Bank Deposit Account
f4 Central Finance Board 30,279 27,230
f5 Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes 110,292 107,881
f6 Other funds (2,959) (17,122)
f7 SUB TOTAL 202,744 (c6) 130,551 (c8)
Total funds held by Internal Organisations (the closing
f8 balance totals above) (e12) 0 (e11) 0 (e12)
f9 TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD BY CIRCUIT 202,744 (x) 130,551 (y)
SECTION G At At
OTHER ASSETS and LIABILITIES 1 September 2021 31 August 2022
g1 Investments (include Endowments)
g2 Land and Buildings (see notes re Insurance value)
g3 Other Assets
g4 Loan(s) - show amount outstanding at year end
g5 Other Liabilities
----- End of picture text -----

• f4 Include only Funds held at the Central Finance Board

• f5 Include only CFB Funds held at Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes

• g1 Include any other investments (not the cash element of TMCP trust accounts this is inserted in line f5)

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Name of Circu 36/12 Brighton and Hove

Declarations and Scrutiny

I confirm that these Receipt and Payment based accounts for the year to 31 August 2022 have been prepared from the records of the Circuit and that they include all funds under the control of the Circuit meeting.

Signature of treasurer ……………………………………………………… Date……… 03/12/2023

Name and address of treasure 28 Crest Way, Portslade, BRIGHTON

…………………………………………………………………………………. Post Code…… BN41 2EY

Presentation to the Circuit meeting

I confirm that the annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 August 2022 have been presented to the Circuit meeting held 23rd March 2023

Signature of the Chair of the meeting …………………………………………………………………… Name of the Chair of the meeti Rev Andrew Lowe 03/23/2023

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Name of Circ 36/12 Brighton and Hove

Independent Examiner’s Statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below*) which give me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

• the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act; or

• the accounts do not accord with the accounting 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.

I have/have not* obtained independent verification of all investments with the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes or held in other trusts, bank balances and funds at the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church which are individually in excess of £10,000 (ten thousand pounds) at the balance sheet date.

Signature of independent examiner ………………………………………………………………….

Name of independent exami Stuart J Neate

Relevant professional qualification of independent exam FMAAT retired

Name of firm (where appropriate) ………………………………………………………………………

Address …… 23 Surrenden Road Brighton

……………………………………………………………………………….. Post Code ………………BN1 6QB

Date Mar 12, 23

Signed copy scanned and attached as PDF

• delete or circle as appropriate

09/22

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