Christ Church Swanley United Reformed Church Charity
Report and Accounts Year ended 31 December 2022
1 Lamb's Passage, London EC1Y 8AB www.stewardship.org.uk
CHRIST CHURCH SWANLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY
LEGAL & ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Christ Church Centre Kingswood Avenue Swanley BR8 8AN GOVERNING DOCUMENT Part of the United Reformed Church. Local church constitution dated September 2015. CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER 1134169 TRUSTEES RESPONSIBLE FOR D.S. Dodd MANAGING THE CHARITY M. Price Haworth (until 4th June 2022) Rev. G.O. Kalu - Chairman M.J. Richardson K.M. Jefferys P.J. Webber BANKERS Barclays Bank UK PLC NatWest Bank Plc INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Archie McDowall BA CA Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB
INDEX
Page 1 Legal & Administrative Details Pages 2-5 Trustees' Report Page 6 Independent Examiner's Report Page 7 Receipts and Payments Account Page 8 Statement of Assets & Liabilities Pages 9-10 Notes to the Accounts
Page 1
CHRIST CHURCH SWANLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
The Trustees have pleasure in submitting the Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022.
Objects of the charity
The charity, which is a church, is governed by a trust deed and is constituted as a trust. The charity's principal objects, as set out in its governing document, are:
The advancement of the Christian faith for the benefit of the public in accordance with the Scheme of Union of the United Reformed Church.
Summary of the charity's main activities and achievements
To further the above objects and vision, the charity's main activities and achievements were as follows:
Sunday morning services are open opportunities for worship. The Stewardship Team welcome around 62people on average weekly. There are opportunities for prayer from our Prayer Ministry team within the church meeting along with live music and communion every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month. We have had around six visiting speakers. We are pleased to have six members who speak. Two of these are taking part in training to lead the talks and three of whom have been part of the London School of Contemporary Christianity (LICC) training course. During services on the 2nd and 4th weeks of the month there are Spectrum children’s activities during the services which are an opportunity for children and young people to have fun, explore faith and interact with their peers. The first is a family service. We would love to increase our children’s activities and are recruiting more volunteers. We are delighted to have new people join us with 6 people having completed the membership course.
House groups (or small groups) continue to meet mainly in the homes of members. There are four house groups. They are a useful way of caring for one another and teaching.
Messy Church attracts 20 people per session who are a mix of church attendees and non-church attendees. It is a great time for the community to come together enjoy crafts, games, songs, a talk and activities. Messy Church ran 3 times this year. Parents and children alike enjoy this space to informally explore faith and time together.
Community Lunch attracts around 50-55 mainly non-Christ Church attendees who are roughly in the 70 plus age bracket. The lunch is free so that no one is excluded on the basis of finances. Chairs are set out in small groups so that people can make and build friendships. This year a special jubilee lunch was held with a sing along national anthem and a beautiful cake. This is run by the Community Action team.
The Community Action Team ran 11 events including two talent shows, church BBQ, monthly litter picks in the warmer weather and the Light Party.
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There have been some special events this year. During the Prayer Quake weekend, we enjoyed hearing from visiting speakers. Following the news of the Queen’s passing, we provided time during our services to remember the Queen and added an extra service for local people to join in the minute’s silence together. The 50th Anniversary Celebrations were to celebrate the forming of the URC and when we gained the name: ‘Christ Church Swanley.’ The weekend included a tea and cake evening on the Saturday with videos, photos and the time capsules shared. On the Sunday a service led by Rev Dr George Kalu with preaching from Rev Richard Wells our former minister. It was hugely encouraging to attract new and former members from Christ Church to celebrate together.
The Alpha course was popular this year and ran over the summer and into the autumn.
With so much to do we have been blessed to have a donation made in memory of one of our former members which was used simplify the garden around the church. This is making it easier to manage and a pleasant welcome for any using our church hall, church or passers-by. The garden and other aspects of church and church hall maintenance is being taken on by a new group of volunteers who have been recruited.
Following Covid there have been new volunteers taking on new areas of work and dealing with the return to church. We recruited a new Health and Safety Co-ordinator who has correlated information from previous post holders and put together a summary of things that need doing. One result of this has been First Aid training for a number of volunteers. We also have a new Pastoral Team being recruited and we hope to have a new Safeguarding Officer in place by the end of the reporting period.
C hurches Together in Swanley and District is supported by a number of local churches. This year we have taken part in a number of events. This has ranged from joint events to build cohesion amongst people from other church denominations, to events that bless our community such as the Jubilee event run by Swanley Town Council.
The above does not include all that we do which includes:
Inner healing ministries – an opportunity to pray with those who have had training to support church attendees.
Prayer ministry – prayer offered as part of Sunday morning worship.
Bullrushes- a thriving parent and toddler group which regularly has a waiting list.
Prayer meetings- twice weekly
Prayer Chain - a text service for urgent prayer requests
Overseas Mission Team – which has held two cake sales and a quiz to raise funds for overseas causes.
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We are delighted to bless other groups with the use of the Church and hall, this includes:
Swanley Dance Academy.
Child Tutoring.
Karate Club
Slimming World.
Alcoholics Anonymous.
Private Functions
Kindergarten
In planning the activities the Trustees have applied the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission.
Financial review
During the year income decreased by £42,688, to £136,426, and expenditure decreased by £84,265, to £121,637. As a result the cash held by the charity increased by £14,790, to £74,069, of which £59,560 is unrestricted and can be used for any charitable purpose.
Christ Church Swanley has continued to maintain healthy stability after the covid period with an excess over expenditure of £8,785. Although there has been a slight drop in the numbers to the Sunday services pre Covid levels, we are so grateful to our faithful members who have continued to pay their offertories through the bank, and was delighted to reveal we received around 5k more than budgeted. We were also encouraged to receive £1,300 extra giving to the general fund and £5,550 towards our Church Garden and Manse BBQ. We were able to claim £5,747 in URC Grants more than the previous years because we did not claim for 2021.
A Gift Aid claim was submitted in early April and received £14,081.77 for the main gift Aid. The small donation scheme came to around £751.19. This is an increase over double from last year because of covid and £483 received more than budgeted.
Regarding our Centre, once again we are delighted to pick up from where we left off pre Covid and received £4,700 of rented income more than budgeted, this was mainly due to the continued faithful groups who continue to use our Centre after covid and the extraordinary increase in bookings for parties and events. We have also been fortunate to secure low energy rates with our energy suppler until 2025
It was agreed by the Trustees not to make any significant plans at this stage due to the uncertainty of the possible upgrades to our Gas boilers and electrical tests.
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Reserves policy
The trustees have resolved to maintain unrestricted cash reserves equivalent to three months of normal church operating expenditure.
The trustees agreed that any future annual surplus generated by the Centre would be transferred in full to the Centre reserve to help finance electrical upgrades and the potential need to replace the heating system boilers within the next 5 years.
At 31 December 2022 total cash reserves were £74,069 of which £28,008 were church general and designated reserves, £31,552 were Church Centre reserves and £14,509 were restricted funds.
Governance
Responsibility for setting policy and for making operating decisions rest with the trustees who meet regularly to monitor the activities of the charity. New trustees are recruited and appointed by the existing trustees, by a majority vote and all such appointments are approved by the Church Meeting.
Risk statement
The charity is exposed to various risks - be they operational, financial or reputational. The trustees review the charity's activities regularly to identify significant risks and, where possible, they take appropriate measures to mitigate those risks.
Responsibilities of trustees
Charity law requires us as Trustees to prepare financial statements for each accounting year which record the receipts and payments of the charity for the year.
We are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable us to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011.
We also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the charity and to take reasonable steps to prevent fraud or any other irregularities.
Approval
This report was approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:
Mark Richardson
_________ MARK RICHARDSON
Date: 31 July 2023
Page 5
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT
TO THE TRUSTEES OF
CHRIST CHURCH SWANLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Christ Church Swanley United Reformed Church ('the charity') for the year ended 31 December 2022 on pages 7 to 10 following.
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 2011 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 2011 Act.
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 giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 1. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 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 order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Archie McDowall
Archie McDowall BA CA Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB
Date: 23 August 2023
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CHRIST CHURCH SWANLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
| Notes Income receipts Donations and grants Gift aid receipts Income from charitable activities Rental income Interest Other Capital and similar receipts Total receipts Payments 2 3 Total payments Transfers between funds 5 Net movement in funds Cash funds as at last year end Cash funds at this year end A Loan repayments Net of receipts / (payments) before transfers Grants paid in relation to charitable activities undertaken by others Payments in relation to charitable activities undertaken directly Loan received from URC |
Centre Other designated Funds Funds £ £ 1,000 - - - - - 34,669 - 65 - - - 35,734 - - - 35,734 - 28,066 - - - 28,066 - 2,304 - 30,370 - 5,364 - 640 6,100 6,004 6,100 25,548 17,602 31,552 23,702 Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds £ 13,572 - - - - - 13,572 - 13,572 9,429 1,000 10,429 - 10,429 3,142 (517) 2,625 11,884 14,509 |
2022 £ 85,743 14,833 550 34,669 103 527 136,426 - 136,426 115,299 4,034 119,333 2,304 121,637 14,789 - 14,789 59,280 74,069 |
2021 £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Funds £ 71,172 14,833 550 - 38 527 87,120 - 87,120 77,804 3,034 80,837 - 80,837 6,283 (6,223) 60 4,246 4,306 |
|||||
| 127,458 16,585 1,534 21,760 8 250 |
|||||
| 167,594 | |||||
| 11,520 | |||||
| 179,114 | |||||
| 201,679 4,223 |
|||||
| 205,902 | |||||
| - | |||||
| 205,902 | |||||
| (26,788) - |
|||||
| (26,788) 86,068 |
|||||
| 59,280 |
The notes on pages 9-10 form part of these accounts.
Page 7
CHRIST CHURCH SWANLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
| Notes A Cash funds Cash at bank with immediate access Petty cash B Other monetary assets Gift aid due to charity Other debtors C Liabilities Falling due within one year Loans Fee for Independent Examination Accrued expenses Falling due after one year: Loans Total |
General Designated funds funds £ £ 3,861 55,134 445 120 4,306 55,254 10,401 - - - 10,401 - - 2,304 1,560 - - - 1,560 2,304 6,912 - 6,912 1,560 9,216 Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted funds £ 14,509 - 14,509 - - - - - - - - - |
2022 £ 73,505 565 74,069 10,401 - 10,401 2,304 1,560 - 3,864 6,912 6,912 10,776 |
2021 £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58,963 316 |
||||
| 59,279 | ||||
| 11,124 103 |
||||
| 11,227 | ||||
| 2,304 1,440 1,373 |
||||
| 5,117 | ||||
| 9,216 | ||||
| 9,216 | ||||
| 14,333 |
The above loan is repayable in annual instalments if £2,304 and is repayable in full by 31 August 2026.
D Assets retained for charity's own use
| ets retained for charity's own use | ||
|---|---|---|
| Church contents Community centre contents |
Insurance Value 2022 £ 1,601 1,736 3,337 |
Insurance Value 2021 £ |
| 121,135 95,342 |
||
| 216,477 |
Land and buildings used by the church are owned by the URC Trust and occupied rent free.
The trustees have used insurance values as the trustees are unable to reliably estimate current values; insurance values may differ materially from current values.
The accounts were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:
Mark Richardson
_____ MARK RICHARDSON
Date: 31 July 2023
The notes on pages 9-10 form part of these accounts.
Page 8
CHRIST CHURCH SWANLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
1 Accounting policies
The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis and comprise a statement that shows the charity's receipts and payments, a statement that summarises the charity's assets and liabilities and related notes. The accountancy profession have determined that only accounts prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards present a 'true and fair' view and, as these receipts and payments accounts have not (and cannot) be prepared in accordance with accounting standards, these accounts do not present (and are not intended to present) a 'true and fair' view of the charity's financial activities and state of affairs.
General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. Restricted funds are donations which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors; they include donations received from appeals for specific activities or projects.
| 2 Payments in relation to charitable activities undertaken directly Ministry expenses Administration and support (see note 2(a)) Property costs Roof repairs Manse costs Equipment Outreach & events Worship Miscellaneous 2 (a) Administration and support Salaries Photocopier Office supplies and expenses Finance costs Governance costs Other 3 Grants paid in relation to charitable activities undertaken by others Organisations Individuals |
Unrestricted Fun General funds £ 45,298 15,112 7,016 - 5,596 - 2,771 1,554 458 77,804 9,809 1,156 1,433 742 1,440 531 15,112 2,534 500 3,034 |
ds Designated funds £ - 15,250 12,816 - - - - - - 28,066 14,681 - - 569 - - 15,250 - - - |
Restricted Funds £ - - 6,441 - 1,500 - 1,488 - - 9,429 - - - - - - - 1,000 - 1,000 |
Total 2022 £ 45,298 30,362 26,273 - 7,097 - 4,259 1,554 458 115,299 24,490 1,156 1,433 1,311 1,440 531 30,362 3,534 500 4,034 |
Total 2021 £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46,672 29,275 17,479 87,548 5,634 4,533 5,946 2,247 2,345 |
|||||
| 201,679 | |||||
| 23,430 1,227 262 1,078 1,446 1,831 |
|||||
| 29,274 | |||||
| 3,323 900 |
|||||
| 4,223 |
4 Transactions with related parties
The Minister is employed by the central finance office of the URC, and ministry costs (in note 2) include contributions to the central fund for this purpose. No staff received salaries at a rate of more than £60,000 per annum.
MP Plumbing, a business owned by the son of Mark Price-Haworth, who served as a trustee during the year, received £426 (2021: £387) from the charity for plumbing work.
In addition the charity incurred expenditure totalling £7,097 (2021: £5,634) in respect of the provision of accommodation (which is customary for ministers) to Rev G.O. Kalu, who is a trustee so that they could better perform their duties.
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CHRIST CHURCH SWANLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH CHARITY
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
5 Movement of funds
| General funds Designated funds Infrastructure fund General reserve Equipment fund Centre fund Centre reserve Restricted funds Community lunch fund Communion fund Millie Finch memorial fund Mission fund Phil Goddard memorial fund Church garden fund Community Care fund Maintenance Fund Total funds |
Opening balance £ 4,246 5,433 10,882 1,287 9,802 15,746 43,150 317 998 3,918 5,786 865 - - - 11,884 59,280 |
Receipts £ 87,120 - - - 35,734 - 35,734 1,861 50 - 63 50 4,800 1,000 5,747 13,572 136,426 |
Payments £ (80,837) - - - (30,370) - (30,370) (1,488) - - - - (4,800) (1,000) (3,141) (10,429) (121,637) |
Transfers £ (6,223) 2,500 - 3,600 (4,360) 5,000 6,740 (517) - - - - - - - (517) - |
Closing balance £ 4,306 7,933 10,882 4,887 10,806 20,746 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55,254 | |||||
| 173 1,048 3,918 5,849 915 - - 2,606 |
|||||
| 14,509 | |||||
| 74,069 |
Designated funds
The Infrastructure reserve is a designated fund for works to the church building. The Equipment reserve is a designated fund for all new or replacement equipment and furnishings. The Centre fund represents funds set aside for major long term maintenance projects. The Centre reserve is designated for long term maintenance projects
Restricted funds
The Community lunch fund is a self funding monthly lunch programme reaching out to the elderly and those living alone. The Communion fund relates to donations given in support of members or non members (where appropriate) in financial need. The Mission fund relates to donations given for specific mission related initiatives which are in line with the charity's objectives. The Millie Finch Memorial fund is an amount left in a legacy which the trustees have designated to fund opportunities for individual ministry training. The Phil Goddard Memorial fund relates to donations given in memory of a past Church Secretary and Elder. The funds are held pending a decision from the The Church Garden Fund was used for the receipt and disbursement of a specified gift during the year.
The Community Care Fund was used for the receipt and discurbsement of a specific gift during the year.
6 Agency funds
The charity acts as agent for Traidcraft in receiving and paying amounts related to sale of Traidcraft goods. These receipts and payments are excluded from the receipts and payments account. At year end £88 was held in the church bank account on behalf of Traidcraft. This amount has been deducted from the cash funds figures shown in these accounts.
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