## **Rustington Methodist Church** ## **Trustees Report for the year ending 31[st] August 2025** ## **1.0 Aims and Purposes** Our mission is to affirm God’s presence, proclaim God’s love and demonstrate God’s action. We aim to achieve this by developing worship, social outreach activities that currently exist, and by seeking new ways to extend the fellowship of the Church family. We endorse the understanding of the Methodist Church in Great Britain that the church exists for: - **Worship:** to increase awareness of God’s presence and to celebrate God’s love. - **Learning and Caring** : to help people to learn and grow as Christians, through mutual support and care. - **Service** : to be a good neighbour to people in need and challenge injustice. - **Evangelism** : to make more followers of Jesus Christ. ## **2.0 Objectives and activities** In partnership with others wherever possible, Rustington Methodist Church will concentrate its prayers, resources, imagination and commitments on this priority: To proclaim and affirm its conviction of God’s love in Christ, for us and for all the world; and renew confidence in God’s presence and action in the world and in the Church. In setting our objectives and planning our activities the Church Council meets at least four times a year under the leadership of the presbyter in pastoral charge. The work of the Church Council is delegated to a variety of teams and working parties including the Church Stewards, Resources (Property and Finance) Committee, Pastoral Committee and Safeguarding . ## **3.0 Achievements and performance** The Church funds and grants made to other bodies are all detailed in the Church accounts. In the course of the year Rustington Methodist Church has provided regular acts of public worship on Sundays and other significant days of the Christian year, and joined with Rustington Churches Together to celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Lent and a walk of witness on Good Friday. It has joined with other churches in the West Sussex (Coast and Downs) Circuit to bid farewell to ministers, and to celebrate other Christian festivals. The Church makes its premises available to the wider community, and community groups meet on the premises on a weekly basis. Worship services have been held at 9.30 and 10.45. On most Sundays one of the services was live streamed/available as a recording online. The Church Preschool has continued to operate throughout. The church has a system of Pastoral Care based on a team of volunteer Pastoral Visitors, and both formal and informal pastoral networks operate effectively. The Link magazine has been published at intervals throughout the year. ## **3.1 Plans for future years** Rustington Methodist Church is part of the West Sussex (Coast and Downs) Circuit. The Church Council - Encourages initiatives for mission in the community Supports Churches Together in Rustington Ensures that all those required to do so attend appropriate safeguarding and EDI training. ## **4.0 Financial Review** Please see the accompanying accounts. There were no significant events. The Managing Trustees have every reason to believe that the Church is a going concern. Trustees do not foresee any factors that will significantly affect the financial performance or position in the next year or two. The church holds no freehold property. The church’s principal sources of funds are from the free-will gifts of the members of the congregation, lettings and donations from groups and from fund-raising events. ## **4.1 Investment policy and performance** To comply with Methodist Standing Orders, monies for long-term investment are lodged with the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (TMCP). These sums are invested in unitised investments or held on deposit. The investment returns are close to tracking the movements on the FTSE100 index. The deposit mirrors the deposit rates available elsewhere. The Managing Trustees’ investment policy is aligned with that of the CFB and TMCP because these organisations take into consideration the social, environmental and ethical considerations, both negatively and positively, that make investments suitable for the Methodist Church. Short term deposits are lodged directly with the Central Finance Board (CFB) and attract the normal current rate of interest. ## **4.2 Reserves Level and policy** Please see the accompanying Reserves level and policy agreed by the Church Council. ## **5.0 Trustees’ Responsibilities** For each financial year ending on 31st August the Managing Trustees are required to prepare financial statements that give a true and fair view of the Church’s financial activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year. In preparing these financial statements the Managing Trustees must: Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent Follow applicable accounting standards Prepare accounts to Charity Commission standards using The Methodist Church Standard Form of Accounts The Managing Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the church and enables them to ensure that financial statements comply with the law. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Church and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. ## **5.1 Risk** The Church is largely risk averse. ## **6.0 Structure, governance and management** The Church is governed by the Methodist Church Act 1976, the Deed of Union and the Model Trust Deeds of the Methodist Church. ## **6.1 Structure** Rustington Methodist Church is part of the West Sussex (Coast and Downs) Circuit. As such it is represented on the Circuit Meeting which meets four times a year. The Methodist Conference meets once each year as the supreme denominational body for all Methodist Churches. 1. Overall regulatory authority rests with the Methodist Conference. 2. The Connexional Office implements decisions made by the Conference and is responsible for the stationing of presbyters and deacons (collectively known as ministers) in individual Circuits within the District. 3. Connexional decisions are passed to the Chair of the District and the appropriate officers of the District for implementation. 4. The District passes these down to the Circuit Meeting for implementation by the Superintendent Minister, ministerial staff and Circuit Stewards, and authority is delegated to Circuit Meeting for certain matters. 5. The Circuit Meeting passes regulatory control down to Church Councils for local implementation by the presbyter, the Church Stewards, and other officers, and this regulatory control is then exercised by the Church Councils as Managing Trustees of their charity. - 6.2 Purpose of the Church 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 the discipline of the Methodist Church, and b) Any charitable purposes for the time being of any Connexional, District, Circuit, local or other organisation of the Methodist Church, and, c) Any charitable purpose for the time being of any society, or institution subsidiary or ancillary to the Methodist Church, and d) Any purpose for the time being of any charity being a subsidiary or ancillary of the Methodist Church. The primary purpose of Rustington Methodist Church is to advance the Christian faith by providing opportunities for worship, Christian nurture and fellowship within the wider Rustington Community. ## 6.3 Governance The Church operates within a statutory framework of regulation and seeks to ensure that it follows Methodist Standing Orders. It relies on the Connexional Office at 25 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9SFto provide guidance on changes that could affect the Church. The members of the Church Council are appointed under the terms of S.O. 610(2). The Superintendent is ex officio chair of the Church Council but may delegate this task to other presbyters in the Circuit. The Church Council normally meets four times per year and deals with routine and exceptional matters. It oversees the work of other groups within the life of the Church. 6.4 Responsibilities of the Church Council The responsibilities of the Church Council and other committees are set out in Standing Orders 603 – 604 of the Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church. ## 7.0 Reference and Administrative Details - 7.1 Name of the Church: Rustington Methodist Church - 7.2 Charity Registration number: Our charity registration number is 1134885 - 7.3 Superintendent Minister The Revd Rosemarie E G Clarke Presbyter in Pastoral Charge The Revd Rosemarie E G Clarke 7.4 Names of Managing Trustees (in y/e 31/8/24) Mrs Brigette Alexander Mrs Dorothy Benison Mrs Sue Bingham Revd D Carn Mr Philip Carr Mrs Marian Clacher (resigned 1/12/25) Mrs Christine Clarke. Revd Rosemarie E G Clarke Miss Hilary Colbourn Mrs Sue Cooper Revd Steven Donnison Mr Colin Fraser (died 9/3/25) Mrs Mary Lax Mr Ken Marshall (resigned 6/10/25) Dr Rebecca Richards Mr Simon Richards Mrs Joan Salmon Mrs Karen Scrivens Mr Robert Slatter Mrs Elizabeth Slatter Mrs Verena Thrift Mrs Paula Trahern (resigned 6/10/25) Mrs Ann Waters ## 7 **.** 5 Independent Examiner: Neat Accounting Ltd _16[th] March 2026_ CHURCH RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS THE METHODIST CHURCH STANDARD FORM OF ACCOUNTS Rustington Church FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 August 2025 West Sussex Coast & t)owns Cir¢uit Circuit no. 3618 Registered Charity - Charity Registration number If not a registered tharity His Majesty's Revenue and Customs Gift Aid number (The HMRC number is equivalent to a registered chatity number in tems 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 charitles in England and Wales that are not registered charities are excepted from registration under Ststutory Instrument 2014 No.242) 11348885 Minister. Rev Rosemarie Elaine Ga e Clarke Church Stewards: Mrs Elizabeth gatter Mrs Susan Bingham Mrs Christrne Clark8 Mrs Susan Cooper Mrs VeTeDa 7]￿ft MT Pbl'lip Carr Treasurer. Mr RoiKrt Slatter SOFA Auoust'25 -11-25 1 of5 ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025 Rustington Church unl￿tr￿1 Restrkted Totals thls Funds Funds Totals last SECTION A a1 RECEIPTS 82 Offerin s and Tax recovèr8d Bank and CFB interest and Investment income 72.119 72,119 74,699 a3 8.303 7.536 54,210 142,168 8,303 7,536 54.210 142,168 9,212 84 Lettin 8,116 54,849 146,876 Other receipts TOTAL RECEIPTS la71 SECTION b1 PAYMENTS Circuit Assessment or Shar8 68,456 2,750 51.520 68A56 2,750 $1.520 72,356 b3 Donations 2.8 13,696 airs and Maintenance Utiltti8s {Insurances. water charges, heat.ng & lighting) bs 8.053 8.OS3 9,037 b7 Other payments TOTAL PAYMENTS 38.119 168,898 38.119 168,898 31.632 129.521 Ib9 SECTION C NET RECEIPTSIPAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR c1 a64)8 26.730 26.730 17,355 Total funds brought fopNard from last year 205,784 205.784 188,429 Sub total c1+c2 179,054 179,054 205,784 Transfers and ad. ustments ¢7 c5 TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF YEAR Ic3+c41 179,054 179.054 (c8 205.784 Ic6) SEcnoN D FOR INFORMATION ONLY: MONEY RECEIVED AND PASSED ON TO EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS {these arnDunts are not to bé included In total reCe￿t51paYMellts figurES above) d1 Balance ht foMard from last ar d2 Offerin sIGifts- receNed for external o nisations 894 737 d3 OffeiingslGift8 - passed to exlemal organ￿￿On$ 894 737 d4 BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID (d1 +d243) 2of5 SOFA Augu￿1.. 27.11.25 Rusti lon Clvjrch SUMMAR HUR SECTION E ance fiole to c eté this Surnrnary ofthp Ch￿h xcountsrorthé yoarended 31 A￿uSt 2025 and *tem* Or9anis*Jm5 Kts•ting. N￿tr￿tthe fthds ofan Intemal 0ryani5ationyK￿* norrnaltybp Re8trLted th*theYc￿lI be used kn any IAelhd¢& purpx•. Thk5 ￿tion mu complétèd to atthè giossincomeand eypenditLYetota15 ofthe ClvJth Ngr¢>55 ihry ￿￿￿¥thrO￿l￿)￿, m8W ccountrng ANDA tIFFERENT FIYIPI mv# to (sea ￿b￿l. Pkne refw totheguhlanre ncle5 mgarthng tran51ws th¢ fystyi¢tan¢ ¢wn¢¢W Clstr*t&gan￿atiQn$. IN7EA14AL ORGANISATIONS Opgri t4•nBes Rasc31g Prtrschool Grou 1162 114.384 s7,￿1 Mod Mums ste Stones 3.475 ubtot£l oflnterwl nisBbonstrJnds ¢8 121. 120273 1.&$1 e11 e12 Church xcounls Itolals brought forward Irorn pJg 2- totals cdumnl 142.1fj9 la7 768.898 Ibg) 126,noi 20S,784 Ic8 Ic8 BY CHURCH x4.t02 289.271 125,1691 276,048 250,876 cOntTr￿ on a separate sheet n¢cess3ry ond brifigth• tolalsforward TOTAL FIECEIPTS TOTAL PAYMENTS SE¢T1014 F STATEMENTO CLOSING BALANCES CHURCH-CASH FLWDS HELD a131 Au 112025 Cash in hand Bank Current ACc￿rt 6.287 BAnk tAccounl 6.871 8.081 Cethèl Finance 8oard 9244 f5 IrL￿•s1Or Mq1hod￿ Chu￿￿ Putpws 183.272 161,435 Oth¢rfiJnds Sug TOTAL- c￿rCh accounts 205.784 179.054 Ic8 Tolal funds by Inwrol 0rG•nwti￿ ltr cIDsifvJ bakr*etotaltroM above) le12) 7(1.264 71.822 (¢12) TOTAL ¢ASH FUNOS HELD BY CHUFiCH 276,IM8 200,876 SECrnN O 31 August 2025 OTHER A55ETS UABILITIES Inv•$Nvwts In¢lud¢ Er*o*men Land & Buildings (sèe notès ￿ Iw•r . 5bowam(￿nt0Uts12￿dln ren Other LHtslthes M Int1￿0 ￿￿tY Funds h￿d￿t￿P CeTthI Finance 8oatd IS Includo onty Funds h&d * Tnjsithsfor M•lh(*tstC￿￿h PL¥Pt 91 ID¢lud• m olhar 1Th￿sIments (rntthe55 ihry ￿￿￿¥thrO￿l￿)￿, m8W ccountrng ANDA tIFFERENT FIYIPI mv# to (sea ￿b￿l. Pkne refw totheguhlanre ncle5 mgarthng tran51ws th¢ fystyi¢tan¢ ¢wn¢¢W Clstr*t&gan￿atiQn$. IN7EA14AL ORGANISATIONS Opgri t4•nBes Rasc31g Prtrschool Grou 1162 114.384 s7,￿1 Mod Mums ste Stones 3.475 ubtot£l oflnterwl nisBbonstrJnds ¢8 121. 120273 1.&$1 e11 e12 Church xcounls Itolals brought forward Irorn pJg 2- totals cdumnl 142.1fj9 la7 768.898 Ibg) 126,noi 20S,784 Ic8 Ic8 BY CHURCH x4.t02 289.271 125,1691 276,048 250,876 cOntTr￿ on a separate sheet n¢cess3ry ond brifigth• tolalsforward TOTAL FIECEIPTS TOTAL PAYMENTS SE¢T1014 F STATEMENTO CLOSING BALANCES CHURCH-CASH FLWDS HELD a131 Au 112025 Cash in hand Bank Current ACc￿rt 6.287 BAnk tAccounl 6.871 8.081 Cethèl Finance 8oard 9244 f5 IrL￿•s1Or Mq1hod￿ Chu￿￿ Putpws 183.272 161,435 Oth¢rfiJnds Sug TOTAL- c￿rCh accounts 205.784 179.054 Ic8 Tolal funds by Inwrol 0rG•nwti￿ ltr cIDsifvJ bakr*etotaltroM above) le12) 7(1.264 71.822 (¢12) TOTAL ¢ASH FUNOS HELD BY CHUFiCH 276,IM8 200,876 SECrnN O 31 August 2025 OTHER A55ETS UABILITIES Inv•$Nvwts In¢lud¢ Er*o*men Land & Buildings (sèe notès ￿ Iw•r . 5bowam(￿nt0Uts12￿dln ren Other LHtslthes M Int1￿0 ￿￿tY Funds h￿d￿t￿P CeTthI Finance 8oatd IS Includo onty Funds h&d * Tnjsithsfor M•lh(*tstC￿￿h PL¥Pt 91 ID¢lud• m olhar 1Th￿sIments (rntthe