STOCKTON HEATH METHODIST CHURCH 1111 ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31°, AUGUST 2021 Charity Number 1134148 STOCKTON HEATH METHODIST CHURCH TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 3181 AUGUST 2021 CONTENTS PAGE Trustees Annual Report: Our purposes and adivities Achievements and performance Financial review Plans for fuiure periods Referen￿ and administrative details Strurture, govemance arKI management Trustees, responsibilities relating to the financial statements Independent Examinerfs report to the Trustees Standard Form of Accounts: Church receipts and payments Summary of Churth Accounts and Intemal Organisations statement of Assets and Liabilities DeGlarations Notes to the Financial Statements 10 STOCKTON HEATH METHODIST CHURCH TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31st AUGUST 2021 The Trustees have pleasure in presenting their report and the financial statements of thè charity for the year ended 31st August 2021. Our purposes and activities The church adopted a vision and mission statement in January 2015. This states.. The mission of st(￿ktOn Heath Methodist Chuth is to make and nurtur? dis￿pIeS of Jesus Christ and explore and build the Kingdom of God. Wo aim to become." A vibrant church to which all our Membe￿ are pleased to belong and wheTr everyone feels able to contribute for the greater good of all. A church which is gro￿ng numerically and spintually in which the love of God is shown to all and ministry Is supportive, challenging and outward looking. Having agreed the above statement the Church Stewards and other groups V￿re tasked with setting targets and obj'edives, which could then be measured. Our main activities include: > Holding acts of worship open to all to enable ordinary people to come to know the Lord Jesus-, > Meeting together in fellowship,. and Providing space for and facilitating communty activities. We confimi that we have had regard to the Charity Commission's guidan￿ on public benefit, and, specifically, the guidance relating to chartties for the advancement of religion. The Charity wishes to thank all those who volunteer their time to enable the Charity to cary OLrt its activiiies and look after its buildings. Achievements and perforniance Our church's activilies were still severely impacted by the restrictions which the Govemment needed to implement in March 2020 in order to reduce the spread of Covid-19. Atthough our church building reopened on the 6th of September 2020 there were restrictions in place. We closed again during Ihe month of November and opened during Advent. From the 9th January through to the end of March we were once again closed managing to open for Palm Sunday. During both periods of closure services continued to be zoomed . Our Communty Hall had very limited use, again with restrictions in place, and some organisations remained on Zoom. Our main achievements during the year were.. When our thurch building dosed for worship, we stsrted a Zoom Servi￿ each Sunday moming which was attended not only by our ¢win members but members of other Circuit churches. V41hen we were able to open our building we continued Page 1 STOCKTON HEATH METHODIST CHURCH TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 3151 AUGUST 2021 zooming our services for those members vtho still felt unable to attend in person. For those members not able to use Zoom we provided a weekly message from our Minister which was taken out to homes and put on our Church website. Our Minister also put short tslks on the Circuit You Tube channel. During Covid-19 restrictions. our Children's leaders have kept in regular touch with our young people and their families. Sunday Club stsrted to zoom in September 2020. initially starting with weekly meetings however these moved to fortnightly from October. The times they met varied according to the time of year, 4.30pm during the Winter months and then reverting to their original time of 10am from the Spring. They started to meet face to face from July 2021. Sunday Club still managed to hold their annual Carols by Candlelight service although the congregation was restricted to their families. During the year the children have produced decorations for our church windows A Lent Gourse was hèld on Zoom wtth a weekly reflection and spiritual conversation whiGh was well attended and stimulated lots of discussion. The weekly coffee moming on Zoom. started the previous year, continued and various online socials and qu¥zes have taken pla￿. Bible Studies have also taken pla￿ on Zoom. The leaders of our Theatre Workshop (our young people's drama group) kept in touGh with their members but they Y￿re unable to meet physically. Our adult dramatic society continued to meet on Zoom for play readings and 'perfomied° at Christmas on zoom. In addition to our support of Methodist Connexional Funds, we continued our ongoing support for our nominated charities, 'Adive Hope" and an °All we Can (Methodist Relief and Development Fund). project. through our Charity Fund. We also support many other Gharities with donations given this year induding the Warrington Foodbank, Action for Children and Medicines sans Frontière We have continued to be involved with CARE UK - a local charity that helps refugees here and in Syria & Greece as well as local people needing help to set up home after prison or homelessness. Financial review Receipts and payments were in balan￿ in the year, which compares with a surplus of £8,000 in the previous year. On our General Fund, Y￿ had a deficit of £4,000 after transferring £1,500 into the Repairs Fund to cover cyclical resurfacing of our car park. This compares to a surplus of £8,000 in 2019120. The cumulative General Fund balan￿ at 31 August 2021 was £42.000. Despite the continuing impart of the pandemic on church services, our collections held up very well due to the high incidence of offerings made by Bank Standing Order. However, there was further redLSCtion in lettings income of £4,000. Making a reduction of £9,000 over two years. At the end of the year, Y￿ held £139,000 in Unrestricted Funds of which £33,000 is in the Memorial Fund and £68,000 in the Repairs Fund (See Note 2 to the Accounts for the purpose of these funds.). A further £78,000 of Unrestncted Funds is invested by TMCP in managed equrty and fixed interest fvnds. Page 2 STOCKTON HEATH METHODIST CHURCH TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 3181 AUGUST 2021 There is in addition, a restricted Caprtal Resetve of £7,000 held in a cash fund with TMCP which can only be used for approved property schemes. and is ear-marked for use in completing our church redevelopment scheme. Princlpal Fundlng Resources The principal funding source of the Charity is voluntary offerings by our members. In addition, the church receives income from OLtside organisations {mainly not-for-profft) for use of its premises. Investmerrt Power5 Under Methodist standing Orders any moneys re￿iVed from the sale of property must be invested with TMCP. Other funds not immediately required are deposited with the Central Finano Board of the Meth¢>Jist Church. Reserves Policy The Charity requires reserves to ensure that it can cover timing differences between receipts and paymenls and to fund unexpected costs particularly in respect of its property. The Charity is planning to use its Capital Reserves to fund redevelopment works in its church building and the appointment of a family and children's worker. In addition, the Chartty has specific reserves to wver identified repair works to its property and the refurbishment of its organ. The Church Council considers that an appropriate level of General Reserve is between three and six months payments. which equates to £15.000 to £30,000. At 31 August 2021, we held £42.000. The excess will be used to fund a projerted budget deficrt of £15.000 in 2021122 caused by the expected reduction in income due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Our reserves policy is reviewed annually in the light of year end balances and ¢ommitments. Going Concem Basis The Trustees confinn that there is a reasonable expectation that the Charity will continue to receive offerings from its members and can therefore continue in operational existen￿ for the foreseeable future. Accordingly. the going concem basis has been adopted in preparing the Charity's financial statements. Plans for future periods We plan to on putting our serVI￿S on Zoom for those who do not wish to attend in person because of the risks associated with Covid-19 or are housebound for other reasons. As a growth Church we have benefrted from a grant to enable us to increase our technical equipment and this will enable us to share our services wrthin the Circuit. We are seeking to complete the church redevelopment scheme with new windows, fumishings and upgraded technology. We propose to continue to build our links with our charty partners Active Hope and 'AII We Can. (Methodist Relief and Development Fund). In addition. we will continue to support other local Gharities such as CARE UK and Warrington Foodbank. as well as the Circuit Charity. Other plans indude: Page 3 STOCKTON HEATH METHODIST CHURCH TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31st AUGUST 2021 Planning for a period of change when the minister with pastoral charge for our church retires in August 2022, particularly as there is a possibility that the Circurt may be unsuccessful in the stationing process in which case there will be one less minister to cover 18 churches. Holding a Lent study course and continuing our v￿eklY bible study group and house group using Zoom where we Gannot meet in person. Reference and administrative detsils stockton Heath Methodist Church Registered charity name Charlty registration number 1134148 Prlncipal Office Stockton Heath Methodist Church Heath Street Stockton Heath Warrington WA4 6LP Our trustees The Trustees as at 31 August 2021 were: Circuit Superintendent Minister (Ex-officio) Circuit Minister (App￿￿ted by c1￿Ult) Circuit Steward (Appointed by Circuit) Church Council Secretary Church Stewards Revd David Easton (Chainnan) Revd Linda Bishop Mr Alan Rogers Mr Alan Rogers Mrs Vivien Palmer (Senior) Mrs Ann Eggboro Mrs Catherine Ardem Mrs Barbara Maddock Mrs Fiona Morton Mr David Maki Mrs Karen Park Mr John Humbles Mrs Angela Huntley Mr John Stott Mr Richard Verrill Mr Geoff Clarf