2024-08-31-accounts - Brighton And Hove Methodist Circuit.

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BRIGHTON and HOVE METHODIST CIRCUIT Registered Charity 1134137

Trustees’ Annual Report

For the Connexional Year 2023 – 2024

The Trustees of the Brighton and Hove Methodist Circuit welcome readers of their Annual Report covering the Financial Year ended 31 August 2024.

1. Aim and Purpose

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.
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.
c) It is to the Circuit that presbyters and probationers are stationed and in which local preachers are trained, admitted and exercise their calling.
d) The purposes of the Circuit include the effective deployment of the resources for ministry which include people, property and finance.
Objectives and Activities
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.

3. Achievements and Performance

a) Worship

i. Throughout the year all churches offered an onsite Sunday morning service.
ii. A Circuit online service called Thinking Aloud with a progressive focus is held monthly.
iii. A Circuit Together Service continues to be scheduled quarterly, held in one of the five churches with all members from across the circuit meeting together for unified worship and fellowship.
iv. An evening Healing Service is now held monthly at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church, led by the Rev Cynthia Park and Shirley Veater. This quiet, meditative service includes communion and the opportunity for the laying on of hands.
v. At an All-Saints Day service held on 1[st] November at Stanford Avenue Methodist Church, over fifty family members and friends remembered 32 people who died over the previous twelve months.
vi. All churches held a full range of special services marking the key Christian festivals of Easter and Christmas.

b) Service

i. Every effort is made by all our churches to provide pastoral care and engage both with the family of faith and the wider community. This has included lunch clubs, coffee groups, arts and crafts, a range of children’s activities and facilitating in person contact with all members.

ii. University Chaplaincy

Historically the Brighton & Hove Methodist Circuit has supported 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). Whilst Student Development Worker Sue Harrington retired at the end of August 2022, she maintains contact, particularly at Sussex where there is a dedicated Chaplaincy Hub and helps as a volunteer as required. She also still administers the Brighton Facebook group and is happy for the Faith and Spirituality Advisors to refer any Methodist enquiries to her.

c) Mission and Evangelism

i. Circuit Refugee Project

Vision

Launched on 1 January 2022, the Circuit Refugee Project was born from a shared vision: To make our Circuit a Sanctuary for All — a place where everyone feels safe and welcomed, including those fleeing violence, conflict, and persecution. Through this initiative, we aim to live out God’s purpose and mission by offering hospitality, kindness, love, and sanctuary to all. We are committed to creating a culture of outreach and service, responding to the needs of individuals and families experiencing relocation and displacement. Our goal is to support and advocate for refugees by working in partnership with individuals, churches, and community groups — especially with those who have lived experience of displacement.

Ongoing Work and Impact

Following the Circuit receiving the Church of Sanctuary award in Spring 2023, all churches have continued to deepen their commitment to refugee support. Activities have included:

Hosting events such as Refugee Sunday in June, where refugees are invited to share their stories.
Organising educational initiatives to challenge and change negative perceptions of migrants.
Collecting and distributing clothing for newly arrived asylum seekers in local hotels.
Contributing to food banks and hosting community social events for refugees.
Fundraising Highlight: Journey4Sanctuary

Our major fundraising event, Journey4Sanctuary , took place on 18 May 2024 and raised over £2,100 . These funds were shared among six local charities dedicated to supporting and welcoming asylum seekers and refugees in Brighton & Hove:

Care4Calais Brighton
The Jollof Cafe (Sussex Refugee & Migrant Self Support Group)
The Network of International Women, Brighton & Hove
Sanctuary on Sea
Thousand for Thousand (T4K)
Voices in Exile

Gratitude from Our Partners

We were humbled to receive messages of thanks from our partner organisations:

“What a fantastic achievement. Thank you so much to everyone for this support and for the awareness you have brought to vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees in our community. We are very grateful for this money and would like to buy food and toiletries for our food bank. Also, thank you for the two bags of food donations this week — all very much appreciated!”

— Stephen Cummiskey, Food Bank Coordinator, Voices in Exile

“This is wonderful, wow! Thank you so much for all your amazing work in getting the walk to happen, and for raising so much money. We will certainly let you know what we do with it so you can feed that back.”

— Cathy Maxwell, Network of International Women

Through this project, we continue to walk alongside those seeking sanctuary — offering not only practical support, but also solidarity, hope, and welcome.

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4. Financial Review

a) Income & Expenditure

(i) The single largest expense is that relates to the employment of ministerial staff. This includes 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) Following the reduction in the number of ministers appointed to the circuit, it was decided to let the manse at Surrenden Road. The Circuit Meeting approved the use of reserves for the refurbishment of the property which was completed in October 2023.

b) Reserves Policy

The Reserves Policy was reviewed and updated.

5. Structure, Governance and Management

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) Circuit Archive set up at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church This Archive is of material relating to the history of all branches of Methodism in Brighton and Hove that has been collected over the years. Much of it was used for writing histories of the Circuit and various Methodist Churches in the city. Researchers are most welcome.

https://brightonhovemethodistcircuit.org.uk/methodist-archive/

(iii) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- We strive to ensure that our circuit and each of our churches and particularly all managing trustees complete their Annual GDPR Checklist to be compliant with the requirement from the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (TMCP).
(iv) The Circuit Meeting met on four occasions, on 18[th] September and 23[rd] November 2023 and 18[th] March and 27[th] June 2024
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. 2023 the Circuit had 279 members

c) Staffing

Revd. Andrew Lowe, Circuit Superintendent,

Revd. Dan Woodhouse

Steve Preston, Circuit Operations Manager

Administrative Information

a) Safeguarding

Rosemary Cuthbert continues as Circuit Safeguarding Officer.

We continue to promote training & education via the Creating Safer Space methodist foundation/refresher and Advanced training modules or utilising the online Church of England ‘Foundations’ course.

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 2024

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:

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Circuit Stewards:

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Treasurer:

"Stella Goddard

B&H Circuit SOFA-2024.xisx

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|||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |20ACCOUNTS|FOR THE YEAR ENDED|31|August 2024|Brighton|and|Hove|Circuit| |Un|-|Circuit| |restricted|Modol|Trust|Restricted|Totals|this|Totals|last| |SECTION|A|Funds|Fund|Funds|yoar|yoar| |a2la [RECEIPTS Assessment/Share|||[Note]||||172,742£|a£|f|172,742£|159,144£| |as|coptatrcops|||||«||‘||—~i||[|]| |Bank|and|CFB|interest|and| |Investment|income|2.117|2.697|3.584| |Other receipts|Manse|rental|income|34,250a|||34,260|fF| ||a7|TOTAL RECEIPTS|207,672]|2,17]|———i|——209,689|(a8)| |SECTION|B| |bt PAYMENTS| |travelStipends,costssalaries, NIC, Pension and|84,530|84,530|||woman115,136| |palManse Costs|||iL|anal|=||S||a|15,499| |b4 [Administration etc|||s1052|||||||27,361| |s|District Assossmont||||azz]|S|| |b6| Grants & donations|ee|es|7”|| ee)|4,990| |b7|Surrenden|Road|Renal| |refurbishment|40,117|40,117| |b8 Other payments|ee|eeee||[ee)]|31,930| |lb9|TOTAL PAYMENTS|||sd|237,726|p|239,275|(b9)|||235,135]| |SECTION|C| |THE YEAR|568|29,586|72,407| |Total funds brought forward from last|year|3,808|61,952naa|58,144|(6)|130,551| |Sub|total|ci+c2)||_(33,962)||62,620]|28,558| |[ca]Transfers and adjustments|[38505]595|33505,38,595 ||=||[|| |[cs[TOTAL FUNDS ATENDOF YEAR|(c3+ca]23,026]4633]||_2,56a][__ 58,144]|(c0)| |SECTION|D| |FOR INFORMATION ONLY: MONEY RECEIVED AND PASSED ON TO|EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS| |these amounts should|not be|included|in|total|receipts/payments|above)| |Balance brought forward|from|last|year|3,037| |a2 Offerings/Gifts|- received for external organisations|||sg 036 || |\a3| Offerings/Gifts|-|passed to external organisations|4,007| ||d4] BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID|(d1|+ d2 -d3|

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B&H Circuit SOFA-2024.xlex

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Brighton and Hove

Circuit

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MMARY OF CIRCUIT ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATION REPORTING TO THE CIRCUIT MEETING
secTONE ase follow the Guidance Notes to complete this page
‘Summary of the Circuit accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023 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
Accruals at the gross receipts and payments totals of the Circuit. If gross income exceeds the Accruals threshold of £250,000, then the
notes regarding methodtransfers of accountingbetween AND theA DIFFERENTCircuit and connected FORM must be usedCircuit Organisations. to report the accounts (see Methodist website). Please refer to the guidance
ORGANISATIONS Receipts Payments Payments Adjustments balances
0 OO fe —
a —]| [> Fe] bE P|
Oy es ee
aaa coll
Organisations funds
Circuit accounts (totals
brought forward from
page 2 - totals column) 209,689 (29,586) (c7) 58,144 28,558
enorHELD BY CIRCUIT 209,689 239,275 (29,586) ee ees58,144 ee15:
Continue on a separate TOTAL
risheetthif necessarytt Frwer and TOTAL RECEIPTS P.AYMENTS —$
STATEMENTOF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES OPENING CLOSING
CIRCUIT - CASH FUNDS HELD at 31 August2023 BALANCES BALANCES
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OTHER ASSETS and LIABILITIES 1 September 2023 31 August 2024
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{4 Include only Funds held at the Central Finance Board
{5 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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B&H Circuit SOFA-2024.xisx

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ame of Circuit .. Brighton and Hove

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Declarations and Scrutiny / | confirm that these Receipt and Payment based accounts for the year to 31 August 2023 have been prepared from the records of the Circuit and that they include all funds under the control of the Circuit meeting.

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Signature oftreasurer.. — sean614
Name and address of treasurer ...... Mrs Stella Goddard 28 Crest Way Portslade
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Presentation to the Circuit meeting

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| confirm that the annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024 were
presented to the Circuit meeting helc 28th November 2024
Signature of the Chair of the MESTNG saw566 meen cecum Ke 14 Bt CEAERCCNNNTGeneecerrmmenilSWE LEE 6 8
Name of the Chair of the meeting .. Rev Andrew Lowe Date 28th November 2024
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Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of the
weseeeeeesBrighton and Hove Medtirrda sk Cvonrt
Charity Number WSU!)
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Responsibilities and basis of report

| report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Brighton and Hove Circuit for the year ended 31 August 2023 set out on pages ... to .... As the Circuit's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

| report in respect of my examination of the Circuit’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and, in carrying out my examination, | have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

“ delete or circle as appropriate

Name of Circuit ............... Brighton and Hove

Independent Examiner’s Statement

| have completed my examination. | 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: e the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act; or e the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.

| 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. | 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.

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Signatureof independent examiner ..........505-..Tse t tseeecescreteeeerrns
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Name of independent examiner .....S J Neate

Relevant professional qualification of independent examiner ....FMAAT

Nameoffirm (where appropriate) .............:.::ceee nee c e e eeeeeeseeeessescse ce e eesea ee s es eee ee e e ees eesre

Address ........... 23 Surrenden Lodge Surrenden Road Brighton

cc cc cccccuceccauaecececcacccecenesececessueceececessceeeeseeeesseeresseesesegesegegeneeees Post Code BN16QB

Date ....1st January 2024

* delete or circle as appropriate

Form reviewed May-23

B&H Circuit SOFA-2024 .xtsx

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