ST JOHN’S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH ORPINGTON CHARITY Charity number 1135421
Charit no. 1135421 y
ST JOHN’S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH ORPINGTON CHARITY REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
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Year ended 31[st ] December 2023
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ST JOHN’S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH ORPINGTON CHARITY Charity number 1135421
An unincorporated association affiliated to the United Reformed Church governed by Trust Deed adopted 14 October 2009.
Officers and Advisers
| Officers and Advisers | |
|---|---|
| Trustees and Elders Meeting Stephen Bebbington (Treasurer) Jackie Bebbington (appointed AGM 17thMay 2023) Andrew Clare Lesley Clare Fiona Drysdale (appointed AGM 17th May 2023) Paul Gill Charlotte Leonard Angela Liddell Annette Mace Jacqueline Pasifull (Joint Church Secretary) Jennifer Sheehan Christina Wheeler (Joint Church Secretary) |
Elders Meeting in attendance Revd Margaret Collins Revd Wendy Swan Advisers Property Officer: Ian Purton Independent Examiner: Clive Malcolm Address Lynwood Grove, Orpington, BR6 0BG www.stjohnsurc.org.uk |
Appointment of Trustees Those members of the Elders’ Meeting who are qualified to serve as charity trustees are collectively the Charity Trustees, responsible under the Charities Act 2006 for the day-to-day oversight, management, safety and insurance of all property and financial resources. Elders are ordained for life and inducted to serve on the Elders’ Meeting for a maximum of eight years. Except in exceptional circumstances (e.g., a high level of retirements or where a serving Elder is called to serve as an Office Bearer) they must then stand down for a period of one year before being appointed to the same or another position.
Objects of the Charity
The object of the Charity is the advancement of the Christian faith for the benefit of the public in accordance with the Scheme of Union of the United Reformed Church.
Membership
| Membership | |
|---|---|
| Number on roll 1stJanuary 2023 |
179 |
| Profession/Reaffirmation of Faith | |
| Transfer from other Churches/associate roll | |
| New Members |
2 |
| SUB TOTAL |
181 |
| Transfer to other Churches | 0 |
| Deaths | 7 |
| Resignations | 0 |
| Total on Membership as at 31stDec 2023 | 174 |
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ST JOHN’S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH ORPINGTON CHARITY Charity number 1135421
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ST JOHN’S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH ORPINGTON CHARITY Charity number 1135421
Report of the Treasurer
Statement of Financial Activity
2023 has been an unusual year for the charity as we have received two significant donations / legacies amounting to £455,000, these have resulted in a surplus of £425,229. Ignoring these two sums, and associated costs (£4,790) the charity had a deficit of £24,981 (2022, a surplus of £107).
Incoming resources from charitable activities amounted to gross £712,750 and after removal of significant donations £257,750 (2022: £227,780). Offerings were up by 2% and hall lettings recovered to pre Covid levels. Preschool income was positive resulting in a trading surplus before service charges of £6,238 (2022: £4,236).
Expenditure on charitable activities amounted to £287,521 and after removal of costs associated with the legacy £282,731 (2022: £227,780). The essential electrical work identified in 2020 has been completed at a cost of £59,949, this expense was offset by a 50% (£29,973) grant from Synod. The premise reserve was sufficient to cover the remaining cost.
Legacies & Donations
The charity was the grateful beneficiary of two significant sums in 2023.
The first was a donation from Trinity URC Bromley Trust for £60,000. This trust was wound up during the year and its assets distributed between four local churches that have a similar objective to the main purpose of the Trust – Advancement of Religion. The trust requested and we agreed that the monies should be held in a restricted fund and be used for Mission and Outreach purposes. St John’s is currently expecting that the main use of the monies will be to fund family and community work including potentially employing a family and community worker.
The second gift was the residue of the estate of one of our members. This consists of two properties and £170,000 in cash. Probate has been obtained, the monies transferred and one property, a retirement flat, was transferred to the Charity in December, the property has been valued by the estate agents at £225,000.
The second property is not registered with the Land Registry and has a licence tenant in residence. Before the property can be transferred to St John’s Charity it must registered, the executors are proceeding with this registration. Assuming the registration is straight forward and there are no complications with the current resident the executors expect to be able to transfer the property to the Charity in the first half of 2024. If sold it is expected that the property will contribute approximately £425,000 to the Charity’s funds.
Reserves
Total Reserves amount to £612,724 (2022: £187,495) Movements and classifications of reserves are shown on page 9.
Outlook
Thanks to the legacy from our late member the Charity will be in a strong financial position for the next few years. The trustees are developing plans for the use of the monies in meeting our charitable objectives. It is expected that the monies will be split between rebuilding our reserves, undertaking a number of short to medium term projects within the church and local community and appropriate long-term investments that will provide additional income for the future work of the charity.
Day to day finances continue to be challenging in the current financial climate and we expect that our energy costs will increase significantly when our current 3-year contract expires in June. The Government have made major changes to funding in the Early Years education sector and we have some concern over the impact this may have on the Preschool. It was encouraging that offerings were up slightly despite a small drop in membership.
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ST JOHN’S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH ORPINGTON CHARITY Charity number 1135421
Special Collections
During the year, members and friends raised £1,152.60 for Commitment for Life
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my thanks to the Finance Team comprising Gill Webb our FWO secretary, Alison Bruce for managing the hall bookings, Frank Liddell and Gordon Coventry for their accounting advice and Lynne Gill for running the day-to-day accounts packages.
I am extremely grateful to Clive Malcolm for continuing to act as our Independent Examiner.
Most of all, I would like to thank members and friends who generously support the work of the Church with regular and periodic gifts. Thank you.
Stephen Bebbington
Treasurer March 2024
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ST JOHN’S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH ORPINGTON CHARITY Charity number 1135421
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ST JOHN’S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH ORPINGTON CHARITY Charity number 1135421
Statement of Financial Activity 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023
| Incoming Resources from Charitable Activities Freewill Offerings Loose Offerings Gift Aid Tax Refunds Legacies and Donations Uniformed Organisations Hall Lettings Community Events Pre-School Babies, Toddlers and Sunday Fun Club Thursday Club Solar Feed-in Tariff Other Income Synod Grants Incoming resources Expenditure on Charitable Activities URC Ministry and Mission Fund Worship and Ministry Youth ministry Administration Legacy expenses Publicity and Publications Community Events Pre-School Youth and children Thursday Club Premises - Maintenance: Repairs and Refurbishments Equipment Servicing Consumables Caretaking, Cleaning and Gardening Manse Maintenance and Council Tax Gas Electricity Water, Telephone, Waste disposal Insurance Depreciation Fixed Assets Charitable Activities NET RESOURCES |
2023 2022 £ £ 78,352 76,901 4,119 4,116 21,082 22,023 459,342 6,959 2,700 2,540 31,510 28,116 461 64,690 65,225 691 377 3,606 2,185 4,397 3,613 6,618 6,820 35,643 8,444 712,750 227,780 81,963 81,963 9,116 10,298 430 9,962 5,654 4,151 4,790 0 434 361 100 0 58,452 60,989 1,053 251 2,072 1,570 66,118 1,672 2,651 3,454 943 2,141 21,252 18,956 4,118 3,916 4,683 4,848 3,345 3,635 2,973 2,103 7,134 5,580 10,240 11,823 287,521 227,673 425,229 107 |
|---|---|
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ST JOHN’S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH ORPINGTON CHARITY Charity number 1135421
Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2023
| 2023 | 2023 | 2022 | 2022 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| Fixed assets | ||||||
| Audio Visual at cost | 32,652 | 32,652 | ||||
| Less depreciation | 26,120 | 6,532 | 22,855 | 9,797 | ||
| Boiler at cost | 29,626 | 29,626 | ||||
| Less depreciation | 14,813 | 14,813 | 11,850 | 17,776 | ||
| Car at Cost | - | 21,112 | ||||
| Less deprecation | - | - | 4,222 | 16,890 | ||
| Atkins court | 225,000 | 225,000 | - | - | ||
| Other Assets at cost | 13,736 | 13,736 | ||||
| Less depreciation | 11,844 | 1,892 | 10,471 | 3,265 | ||
| Fixed Assets | 248,237 | 47,728 | ||||
| Current assets | ||||||
| CAF Bank accounts and cash | 135,491 | 76,777 | ||||
| Nat West Bank accounts | 126,982 | 36,610 | ||||
| Pre-School CAF bank accounts and cash | 23,445 | 21,587 | ||||
| Metro Bank Accounts | 20,100 | - | ||||
| Debtors | - | 350 | ||||
| HMRC Gift Aid Receivable | 59,769 | 38,687 | ||||
| Total Current assets | 365,787 | 174,011 | ||||
| Liabilities | ||||||
| Creditors | 1,050 | 32,543 | ||||
| Agency Collections | - | 1,308 | ||||
| Pre-School Creditors | 250 | 393 | ||||
| Total Liabilities | 1,300 | 34,244 | ||||
| NET ASSET SURPLUS | 612,724 | 187,495 | ||||
| Reserves | ||||||
| Car | 23,750 | 23,750 | ||||
| General | 72,264 | 97,245 | ||||
| Premises | 45,500 | 45,500 | ||||
| Thursday Club | 1,000 | 1,000 | ||||
| Pre-School | 20,000 | 20,000 | ||||
| Restricted Trinity F&C | 60,000 | - | ||||
| Gray legacy | 390,210 | - | ||||
| TOTAL RESERVES | 612,724 | 187,495 | ||||
| C Wheeler Joint Church | Secretary | S Bebbington, Treasurer |
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ST JOHN’S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH ORPINGTON CHARITY Charity number 1135421
| Movement in Reserves | 31-Dec | Net | Transfers | 31-Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Incoming/ | between | 2023 | ||
| Outgoing | Reserves | ||||
| Resources | |||||
| Unrestricted | £ |
£ | £ | £ | |
| Designated Funds | |||||
| Thursday Club | 1,000 | 1534 | -1534 | 1,000 | |
| Pre-School | 20,000 | 6,238 | -6,238 | 20,000 | |
| Car | 23,750 | 0 | 23,750 | ||
| Premises | 3 | 45,500 | -30000 | 30,000 | 45,500 |
| Total designated | 4 | 90,250 | -22,228 | 22,228 | 90,250 |
| Undesignated Funds | |||||
| General Reserve | 97245 | -37772 | -17438 | 42,035 | |
| Gray Legacy | 1 | 425,229 | -4,790 | 420,439 | |
| Total Unrestricted | 187,495 0 | 365,229 | 0 | 552,724 | |
| Restricted Funds | |||||
| Trinity F & C | 2 | £60,000 | 60,000 | ||
| Total reserves | 187,495 | 425,229 | 0 | 612,724 |
Notes.
-
Gray legacy recorded separately for 2023,
-
Costs incured for receipt of legacy transferred to General Reserve
-
New restricted reserve for Trinity Trust donation
-
£30,000 used for Rewiring project
-
All designated reserves maintained at 2022 level
Restricted reserves are subject to limitations on their use, imposed by legislation or the wishes of the donor. Other reserves are available for the general purposes of the church and some of these have been designated for specific items of future expenditure .
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ST JOHN’S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH ORPINGTON CHARITY Charity number 1135421
Accounting Policies Accounting convention and basis of accounting
The accounts are prepared under the historical cost convention. The income and expenditure dealt with in these accounts is accounted for on an accruals basis. The accounts include all of the transactions of the Church, the Pre-School and the Toddler Group and Thursday Club.
Tax refunds
Donations made to the Church through Gift Aid enable the Church to recover the basic rate tax associated with those donations. Where the tax refund related to donations made in the year has not been recovered at the year-end it is brought into the accounts as an amount recoverable.
Land and Buildings
The Church, the halls and the manse are the property of the United Reformed Church rather than St John's.
Assets
Assets acquired which have been provided for in reserves held for that purpose are written off in the period in which they are made. Other assets acquired in excess of £2,500 in value are capitalised and treated as fixed assets when purchased and are written down to their estimated residual value over their expected useful lives, currently 5 years for cars and 10 years for all other assets.
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