Trustee’s Annual Report September 1[st] 2024 – 31[st] August 2025
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Introduction
We present our financial statements and annual report for the Connexional Year 1st September 2024 – 31st August 2025
Our Objectives and Activities
The activities covered in these financial statements fall within the work of The Methodist Church in Great Britain (‘The Methodist Church’ or ‘The Church’).
The aim of The Methodist Church in Great Britain is to fulfil its calling, which is to respond to the gospel of God's love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission.
The purposes of the Methodist Church are and shall be deemed to have been since the Date of Union the advancement of:
a) The Christian faith in accordance with the doctrinal standards and discipline of The Methodist Church;
b) Any charitable purpose for the time being of any Connexional, District, Circuit, local or other organisation of The Methodist Church;
c) Any charitable purpose for the time being of any society or institution subsidiary or ancillary to The Methodist Church;
d) Any purpose for the time being of any charity being a charity subsidiary or ancillary to The Methodist Church.
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The organisation and resourcing of regular public acts of worship open to members of the church and non-members alike
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The teaching of Christianity through sermons, courses and small groups.
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The resourcing of pastoral work including visiting the sick and bereaved.
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Taking religious assemblies in local schools.
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Promotion of Christianity through the staging of events and services.
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Provision of chaplaincy services to the local university and other institution
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In September 2025
We will have …
11 churches (14 worshipping congregations) Arnold Bestwood Park (LEP) Calverton Gedling Road Hucknall Central with Hucknall Eastside Nuthall with Aspley and Awsworth Phoenix Farm Ravensworth Road Rise Park (LEP) Sherwood St Johns
City Centre Pioneer Project 8 Paid Staff:
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4 Presbyters – Rev R Byass, Rev J McMahon-Riley, Rev C Sutcliffe, Rev J Wiseman,
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• 2 Deacons – Deacon J Morton, Deacon H Snowball
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1 Youth Worker / Vision Co-ordinator – Mr M Williamson
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1 Administrator / Finance Officer – Mrs C Smith
5 Volunteer Circuit Stewards:
Mr D Blount, Ms J Compton, Mrs L Davies, Mrs L Johnson,
Mr I Pickering,
3 Volunteer Safeguarding Officers:
Mrs M Carter, Mrs L Johnson, Miss G Surgay
3 lay staff:
Families Worker based at Arnold Methodist Church
Youth Missioner based at Arnold Methodist Church
Children and Families Worker based at Nuthall Methodist Church
1 student deacon on placement
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Our Circuit Vision Statement
Following the formation of the Nottingham North East Circuit in September 2020, we continue with our vision statement:
Equipping transformation through God's Love
We do this through …
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Prayer and Worship
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Discernment and Calling
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Discipleship and Evangelism
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Service and Caring
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Communication and Resources
Our Achievements 2024 - 2025
1. Development of circuit vision
As a circuit we continue to be mindful of
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Being responsible for our churches as well as being accountable to the District and, in turn, the Connexion
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Being sure of who it is we serve, both in terms of God and the churches and congregations we have locally
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Assessing what we have and what we need by way of resources and where our strengths and weaknesses are
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Acknowledging that we are part of a bigger picture in the Kingdom of God
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How we honour the fact that our churches are part of both our Circuit family, and their local communities, each seeking to be a unique and beautiful expression of a faith-filled Christian presence where they are
Our Circuit Vision remains the starting point for how we work as a circuit.
During connexional year 2025 – 2026 we will be undertaking a review of this vision assessing what we have achieved and where further work needs to be done.
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2. Prayer and Worship
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We continue to support our Preachers, Worship Leaders and those in training through quarterly meetings and provision of resources
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We undertook a series of themed preaching across the circuit using the Lent Resources provided by the Methodist Church.
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• Filling the circuit plan continues to be a challenge due to the number of Local Preachers and Supernumerary ministers no longer being able to take appointments. In addition, increasing numbers of local preachers have positions of responsibility in their own churches, thereby limiting the number of appointments they can offer to the circuit. We have continued to plan some sectional services where churches join with each other for worship. When our smaller churches have been hosts they have been encouraged by having a larger congregation. Conversely, when they have been the visitors, the office holders have appreciated a week free from responsibilities.
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In October we will be encouraging churches to think about God’s creation by providing a reflections booklet and themed preaching across the circuit.
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We continue to provide a weekly written service which churches can use for Local Arrangements, and we have also provided each church with 9 ready to use services based on the fruits of the spirit.
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We were thrilled to celebrate the ordination of Rev Jason McMahon-Riley at the Methodist Conference in June.
3. Discernment and Calling
We seek to be a circuit where churches and individuals can consider their calling by providing appropriate support.
Our Deacon working in the City Centre has continued to network and build relationships within the City Centre. Discussions have begun regarding appointment of a Development Worker as part of the New People for New Places initiatives and we hope to appoint in the connexional year 2025 – 2026.
Arnold Methodist Church was successful in appointing a new Youth Missioner.
We continue to think about how we might recruit new circuit stewards, conscious that several of our existing circuit stewards are coming to the end of their term of office or have gone beyond it.
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We trained 5 new worship leaders and gave 2 existing worship leaders a refresher course. We currently have 4 local preachers in training.
- 3 people are exploring presbyteral ministry
4. Discipleship and evangelism
We continue to use the “Our Calling” framework and the “Discipleship Pathways” to underpin all that we do. Our Vision Co-ordinator continues to work with churches as needed as they seek to discern what their calling is as a congregation and in their local community.
5. Service and caring
We celebrate the various ways in which our churches serve their communities through
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Mental Health Cafes
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Coffee Mornings
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Providing lunches
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Supporting foodbanks
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Toddler groups
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Work amongst young people
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Fellowship Groups
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Supporting the work of uniformed organisations
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Generosity in hiring buildings out
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‘Open the book’ programmes in schools
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Partnerships with other organisations e.g. Pulp Friction at Bestwood Park and The Ark at Phoenix Farm, Food Cycle at Hucknall
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Choirs
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And many others, about which we probably don’t know!
6. Communication and Resources
We …
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Have weekly staff meetings
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Have continued to support churches with GDPR
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Have helped churches with their Trusteeship obligations
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Have met with church treasurers, church property stewards, church stewards and safeguarding officers
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Have produced study booklets for Advent and Lent
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Provide weekly written services
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Have a website which is regularly updated
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Have an active social media presence
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Have initiated a quarterly circuit newsletter
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Regularly circulate a ‘Dates for your Diary’ sheet
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Offer to pay for worship resources for Local Preachers
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Assign a circuit steward to each church council
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Circulate notices / information via senior church stewards
We aim to…
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Continue to improve our communication with churches
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Provide resources for Worship where we can
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Produce Lent and Advent Study books
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Offer a printing service
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Support local churches in their mission and ministry
Legal / Church Requirements
Safeguarding – we …
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Review the Circuit Safeguarding Policy annually
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Maintain a database of all safeguarding requirements
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Have held 3 training sessions of the Methodist Church Foundation course
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Liaise with district regarding Methodist Church Advanced Module training. We will be hosting an Advanced Training course in November 2026
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Have met with church safeguarding officers to give advice and support
EDI Training – we …
- Held our second annual EDI training course and continue to be mindful of the “God for All” and “Justice, Dignity and Solidarity” strategies of the Methodist Church.
GDPR – we …
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Continue to help churches with GDPR
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Are thankful for our Archivist team who have welcomed documents from churches and have deposited hundreds of items with the County Archives. They produced a display of items retrieved from the Nottingham East Circuit Millennium Capsules.
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Annual Returns – we …
- Have ensured that all churches complete their Methodist Church annual returns and provided help when needed
Property – we …
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Have ensured that all property inspections have been completed
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Maintain all circuit held properties in good order
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Have made improvements to one of our manses towards becoming net zero
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Intend to move the circuit office into a circuit property which has been leased to a medical screening company until April 2025.
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Our circuit property steward is always ready to give advice
Finances – we …
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Have kept a watchful eye on balances and sought to transfer funds from reserves as and when needed using the correct mandates
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Have had two meetings with church treasurers which has been very well received and we aim to do this at regular intervals
Eco church / Eco Circuit
As of August 2024 we have
2 churches with sliver award
1 church with bronze award
At our circuit meeting in June 2025 we heard from these three churches about their experiences and hope to encourage other churches to explore becoming eco-churches.
We have registered to become an eco-circuit and work will begin on this from September 2025. Initially, we plan to produce a creation based reflection booklet and encourage a series of themed preaching across the circuit in October.
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Finances
Our financial statements accounts and reserves policy are attached to this report. We are aware that we have been running at a significant deficit over the past year. We have consciously used our unrestricted reserves funds to address this deficit.
We continue to be aware of the likelihood of there being a deficit in the coming financial year and will be seeking to address this while continuing to use reserves to enable us to support local churches with staff and other resources.
Bankers
Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church
CAF Bank
Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes
Independent Auditor Mr Benjamin McMahon-Riley
Structure, Governance and Management
The governing document for the Circuit is the Deed of Union (1932) and Methodist Church Act (1976) Detailed governance arrangements are outlined within the Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church by order of the annual conference (CPD). Day to day management of the Circuit is undertaken by the Circuit Leadership Team.
Trustee Body
All ministers, presbyteral and diaconal, stationed in the Circuit by the Conference or who are residing for the purposes of the stations of the Methodist Church in the Circuit and who are in the active work (that is not retired), are ex-officio members of the Circuit Meeting (the Trustee Body).
Other ministers who reside in the Circuit in accordance with the standing orders of the Church (including those who are retired) may choose to be members of the Circuit Meeting, and if they do so they are shown in the list of trustees.
Each church is represented by a Church Steward and the Church Treasurer
The Circuit Meeting has the power to co-opt other members
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Statement of Trustees Responsibilities
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales, the Charities Act 2011, Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provision of the Trust Deed require the
Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure of the Charity for the financial year. In preparing those financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
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Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
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• Observe the methods and principles in the appropriate charities SORP;
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Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation
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State whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures that must be disclosed and explained in the financial statements.
The Trustees are responsible for maintaining the proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial information included on the charity's website in accordance with legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice; Accounting and Reporting by Charities.
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Statements of Accounts and Financial Activity September 1[st] 2024 – 31[st] August 2025
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Financial Statements for Nottingham North East For the Year 2024 - 2025
| As at As at 31 August 2025 31 August 2024 |
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| INCOME Church Assessment Donation Grants Other Income Interest Layworker Recharge Property Rental Sale of Property Transfer From TMCP TMCP Interest/Dividends Total Income Total Income Less Exceptionals STAFF COSTS Payroll - Ordained Payroll - Lay Workers Payroll - Charges Payroll - Other Stipends Eden Project Wages Total Staff Costs OTHER EXPENDITURE District Assessment CPF Levy CMTF Contribution Manse Costs - Maintenance Manse Costs - Council Tax Manse Costs - Water Rates Manse Costs - Insurance Purchase of Property Admin Admin Office Building Phone/Broadband External Organisations City Centre Bank Charges TMCP Charges Other Costs Grants For Projects Unclassified Total Costs Total Costs Less Exceptionals Surplus/(Deficit) Surplus/(Deficit) Less Exceptionals |
£314,172 £305,836 £0 £0 £0 £0 £21,883 £39,633 £2,217 £4,018 £41,911 £70,051 £23,930 £24,005 £383,126 £0 £168,661 £149,527 £29,578 £52,057 £985,479 £645,127 £433,691 £495,599 (£127,099) (£220,979) (£124,381) (£128,008) (£1,263) (£1,891) £0 £0 (£28,546) (£15,845) £0 £0 (£281,288) (£366,723) (£117,464) (£109,780) £0 £0 (£64,751) (£75,462) (£94,470) (£21,021) (£10,045) (£12,459) (£377) (£1,333) (£964) (£5,177) (£411,097) £0 (£5,146) (£7,801) (£16,358) (£14,734) (£4,682) (£4,818) £0 £0 (£141,658) (£120,513) (£60) (£157) (£3,185) (£3,200) (£23,538) (£16,212) (£94,870) (£12,498) £3,313 (£33,349) (£985,353) (£438,515) (£1,266,641) (£805,238) (£697,529) (£669,991) (£281,163) (£160,111) (£263,837) (£174,391) |
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Financial Statements for Nottingham North East For the Year 2024 - 2025
As at Aug-25 Fixed Assets Property £1,761,872.00 Total Fixed Assets £1,761,872.00 Current Assets CAF Bank £35,832.39 Central Finance Board £55,581.48 Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes £798,439.91 City Centre £704,839.04 Total Current Assets £1,594,692.82 Net Assets £3,356,564.82 Reserves Current Excess/(deficit) to date (£281,162.54) Reserves £3,637,727.36 Total Reserves £3,356,564.82
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Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of The Nottingham North East Circuit
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The Nottingham North East Circuit (‘the Company’)
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31st August 2025.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act').
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the 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 matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
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Accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act;
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Or the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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The accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
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The accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).
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.
Signature of independent examiner
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Name of independent examiner:
Benjamin McMahon-Riley
Relevant professional qualification of independent examiner
AAT Qualified Accountant
Name of firm (where appropriate)
BR Accounting Services
Address :
2 Fairburn Way,
Watnall,
Nottingham
Post Code: NG16 1GH
26/03/2026 Date ………………………………………