2024-08-31-accounts

The Methodist Church

Beckenham Methodist Church Bromley Road BR3 5JE

Registered Charity No. 1138006

Trustees Annual Report and Accounts for year ending 31[st] August 2024

Purpose

We are a body of people, drawn together by the love of God to worship, pray and try to follow the teaching of Jesus. To fulfil our purpose, we will:

Glorify God in worship Develop our understanding of the love of God and the way of Jesus Deepen our commitment to the Christian life Enable and encourage our community to develop and use all their God-given talents Offer Christian love and friendship to all

Respond to the needs of God’s world, especially the people of Beckenham

The Methodist Church exists to exercise the whole ministry of Christ. The Local Church in Beckenham, with its membership and larger church community, exercises this ministry where it is and shares in the wider ministry of the Church in the world. In this one ministry worship, fellowship, pastoral care, mission and service are essential elements, enabled by training and prudent administration.

Organisation and governance

Beckenham Methodist Church (BMC) is part of the Bromley Circuit (No 35/42) which will merge with the Orpington and Chislehurst Circuit on 01 September 2024. BMC used to consist of 2 churches but the Clock House Church was transferred to the newly formed Freeman Ghanaian Methodist Church on 01 September 2023.

From September 2022 Rev Karen George has had pastoral charge of BMC, Rev David Morris offers 10 hours a week pastoral care and Deacon Laura MacBean continues to be involved in the management of Joy’s Kitchen. Church services are led by the Circuit staff, visiting guest speakers and local preachers. Once the merger has gone ahead the plan is for Rev Duncan MacBean to become the Minister, as well as being the Circuit Superintendent.

The various tasks in carrying out our ministry are undertaken by the local Church, through its Church Council and committees, in union with the ministry of the Circuit of which it is constituent. In accordance with its governing document, the Constitution Practice and Discipline (CPD) of the Methodist Church, the Trustees are all the members of the Church Council who are over the age of 18 years, some by virtue of posts they hold and some as elected representatives of the whole congregation.

BMC employs one lay person as a Church Administrator. An office is provided at Bromley Road but some work is undertaken off site. The person helps the ministers with church administration matters and the stewards with BMC administrative tasks, one of which is to manage the premises.

Joy’s Kitchen is in the process of employing a Manager to operate the café. The plan is that the successful person would start on 01 September 2024.

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Worship and Prayer

Services were held at 10.30 a.m. on a Sunday. Holy Communion is usually celebrated on the first Sunday of the month. The regular congregation is a mixture of age groups, nationalities and backgrounds and everyone who comes through the doors is afforded a friendly welcome. Service books, hymn books and pew Bibles are provided, as well as printed sheets when appropriate. Audiovisual projection is now normally used at and all appropriate copyright licences are held.

Membership stands at 105. Minimum attendance at Bromley Road is 40 with many housebound or infirm and others not attending regularly because of work or family commitments.

Circuit Meeting

Several Members of the Church Council also hold posts at Circuit level and the Church Council elects three representatives from amongst its number. The Circuit Meeting is a separate charity and its members are its trustees. The Local Church pays an assessment to the Circuit each year to cover the stipends and housing of ministerial staff and contributions to the Methodist Church nationally. BMC’s assessment for this year was £41,656, which was almost unchanged upon last year.

The Church Premises

The Trustees were responsible for the maintenance of the premises at Bromley Road (BR3 5JE) which are used by some 35-40 community groups on a regular basis as well as for annual meetings of local residents groups and management committees. Activities for young children and the elderly are all available as well as the Church’s own sponsored Brownies, Guides, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Badminton Club and Social gatherings. Various evening activities are occasionally held. According to Methodist Practice (CPD) no alcohol is allowed to be brought onto or consumed on the premises. A weekly AA meeting has been held on the premises for many years. We have been running a Community Café called TCs since July 2000 when a similar project run by Churches Together in Beckenham (CTiB) was forced to close. This has been very successfully staffed by volunteers from among the church membership as well as non members. An extensive building project caused the café to relocate to one of the upstairs meeting rooms in November 2018. It then closed for covid but reopened in 2022, renamed Joy’s kitchen, initially on 3 days a week basis later extending to 4 days a week as more volunteers were obtained. The aim is to reach full 5 days a week opening if sufficient volunteers come forward. In previous years a surplus was made and allocated to various mission projects at home and abroad. This policy was put on hold during the year to build funds to a prudent level to be put towards a paid café manager. The manager will initially be funded three ways; from the café, the church and the circuit for a trial period of 3 years. Joy’s Kitchen accounts are included in the BMC accounts and the café management committee reports to the Church Council.

The Property and Finance Committee reports to the Church Council and is responsible for day-to-day management of cleaning and maintenance. Cleaning is carried out by professionals. Maintenance of the premises is an ongoing expense and is carried out by paid contractors and members helping.

Pastoral Care

The members of the Methodist Church are each allocated to a Pastoral Visitor who works closely with the minister to ensure all pastoral needs are met. The Pastoral Visitors and Church Stewards are members of the Pastoral Committee which reports to the Church Council. Those who are unable to attend services are visited and where requested, the minister is able to celebrate Holy Communion with them in their own home.

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Mission

The Methodist Church supports Mission in Britain as well as Mission in the Wider World. These funds are well supported by the members of BMC as well as other charities. The work of TCs has been mentioned. Others regularly supported are Christian Aid, Action for Children, the Methodist Children’s charity, one of whose founders was also a member of Beckenham Methodist Church at its original foundation in 1887. Various other charities are supported annually, both locally and worldwide, e.g. Workaid and a food bank.

Ecumenical relationships

BMC is an active member of CTiB and participates in all its activities. On Ascension Day each year until recently a service has been shared with St. Paul’s C of E Church in Brackley Road, alternating the venue and preachers. Close relationships are held with our nearest neighbours at St. George’s Parish Church.

Financial review, including reserves policy, designation of material funds and likely timing of expenditure

The financial position improved during the year as letting income rose, other income held steady and we received a repayment of a Methodist pension contribution we had made previously. We also paid off the remaining loans we had incurred for the redevelopment project in full. This is the first time the church has been debt free since 2019.

Church income was up compared with the previous year and like last year includes figures from the café. The long term trend of switching from cash giving to electronic giving continued. We pay cash and cheques in via the post office or at other branches as the HSBC in Beckenham closed in early 2023. An account for Joy’s Kitchen is held at NatWest, whose Beckenham branch has also closed.

A tax refund payment was received during the year. No grants were received. The café made a contribution to church costs reflecting the utilities cost of running the café.

Expenses during the year included normal maintenance costs together with the concluding payments for our two new gas replacement boilers. They are performing well and are far more economical than the old set up. We had hoped to commence on a roof repair project over summer 2024, when the church is less busy with user groups. However our contractor could not start until after the school summer holidays so next year will be the year of roof repairs.

We are planning that following roof repairs we will proceed with solar panel installation. This should reduce our electricity bill and boost our Eco church credentials. One enabler we need to do is change our supply meter to a single 3 phase meter from the existing 3 separate meters for each phase. This will reduce standing charges and some electrical wiring has already been undertaken.

During the year our reserves increased by around 30% or just under £55,000 to £231,000. This increase puts us back to where we were pre-covid and pre redevelopment project.

Funds held as custodian trustee on behalf of others:

Such funds are not material. They may include, during the financial year:

collections made for nominated charitable organisations, detailed in the Notes to the Receipts & Payments Account, but not yet distributed to them. Examples are Action for Children, Mind and on behalf of Joy’s Kitchen. Movements of such funds, which are held temporarily on the main bank current account, are separately recorded in the Vestry Journal, receipts and payments ledgers, and documented in other papers on file; and balances of the Benevolence Fund, to be applied at the minister’s discretion.

It is policy to disburse such collections in the same financial year in which they were received into the church accounts, except for the Benevolence Fund which may accumulate across year-ends.

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Thanks

The Trustees would like to thank all those who work in a volunteer capacity to enable the smooth running of the Church in all its facets. As can be seen, BMC is an organisation devoted to providing public benefit with the assistance of its members. The Trustees, in exercising their powers and duties, complied with their obligation to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission.

This Report was approved at BMC’s Church Council meeting on 13thMarch 2025, on which date the Trustees were the following:	The Trustees during the year ending 31 August 2024 were the following:
Rev. Duncan MacBean	Rev. Karen George
Deacon Laura MacBean	Deacon Laura MacBean
Kojo Anokye	Irene Antwi
Irene Antwi	David Bishop
David Bishop	Hilary Cheverton
Hilary Cheverton	Andrew Cloke
Andrew Cloke	Tina Eshun
Tina Eshun	Theo Farmer
Theo Farmer	Micheline Faulkner
Micheline Faulkner	Christine Handel
Christine Handel	David Jackson
David Jackson	Mary Jackson
Mary Jackson	David Keall
David Keall	Rev. David Morris
Rev. David Morris	Graham McLeod
Graham McLeod	Jenny Nichols
Jenny Nichols	Lum Ntumazah
Lum Ntumazah	Stephen Olufunwa
Stephen Olufunwa	Sheila Priestman
Sheila Priestman	Judith Reep
Barry Stewart	Sandra Storch
Judith Reep	Paulette Tomlinson
Sandra Storch	Gordon Wilson
Paulette Tomlinson	Valerie Wilson
Margaret Toronka	Simon Young
Gordon Wilson
Simon Young

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CHURCH RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS THE METHODIST CHURCH STANDARD FORM OF ACCOUNTS B•ckertham Church FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 August 2024 Brorn Circuk arcult no 36142 Reglsternd Charty. Charty Regtstrathn numb•r If not a registered charity Her Majestys Revenue arml Customs Glft Ald nUM￿r (The HMRC number Is ￿Ul¥a10nt to a registered number li tem$ of e¥ldenc4 of chaitablé ¥taius and may bè used to give to donors or sTant funders V•ryshirw to se8 8vMknce of the LYganisalion'$ charrtable status..Methodist chwltlos In England arnd Wath that are nol r•gistor8d thw5ties are eX￿pIed frDrn r8gistratNJn thidgrstabjkny Instrwnert 2014 No.242) 11380L NIA MiThster. Rev. Karen Ge Chjrth Stewafd&" Jenny Nichois, Graham McLeod Th80 Famier. Paulette Tomlinson. Judith Reep, Sandra Storch Svnon Yow la15 PUBUC

ACCOUNT8 FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGU8T 2024 Beckenham Church SECTION A Unrutrfctsd R••lrfcl•d Tota￿ th1• Fund¥ Fund8 Totals last ar 81 RECEIPTS Not• Offerf s Tax r•trJ¥ered Bank and CFB inlerest and Invthontlncome Loltin 89.358 73 7238 81,197 18,183 17S,•64 7,236 81,197 19,425 177,216 3,882 68,246 8,007 162.418 a4 othor rgc•ipts TOTAL RECEiprJ 1262 f•71 8EcnoN B b1 PAYMENTS CircuitAs88ssrn8nt or Shor• Don8Uons 41 995 ir5 and Malntenanc8 Utilth (Instsr8neos, w818r cha os, heati 19,828 66 b7 Othgr Pa￿0nts TOTAL PAYMENTS 29,039 128,565 29.039 128,565 30.268 139,133 Ib91 SECTION C NET RECEIPTdlPAYMENT8 FOR THE YEAR c1 13 Totsl bfougm forward from la5tygar 149.715 Sub total c1+c2 210224 211 163.000 Trartsfers and ad. ustments ¢7 16 TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF YEAR {c3+c41 210,224 1.262 210,649 162.835 SECTION D FOR INFORMATION ONLY: MONEY RECEIVED AND PA88ED ON TO EfftRNAL ORGANISAn1￿3 lth•s• amounts ar• ftot to h In¢lud•d In total rnc•l tsl ntsfl w•s abov•) d1 Balance tsou ht forward Irom last d2 Offorfn Glts- racow for external or nlsolJon8 d3 Offolin - pas8od to oxtemol orgenetion8 2.737 3,329 d4 BALANCE 8TLL TO BE PAID (d1+d243 935 2•15 PUBUC R*tsap201Jtsh PUBLIC

Backert￿M 13 •12 119,014 133,7•1 176 19 io PUBUC

DECIARATIONS Trnasur•r 1313 N•m• Slm¢m J Yow¥J O Vl•90 Way. 8•ck•rtsm, Krfa 8R3 3NR Pi•Mnlallon to th• %hur¢h Counell forapprnv•l. lln 41 Ihts Chak ofthe n N•m• ol th• Cho1th• m•4th R•v. Duncan MacB•an Ind•p•nd•nt Exafflln•f• R•port to th• Tr4tht••s of th• Bock•n￿M M•thodl•t Church 2024 RMpKtfv• rn•poMlbllld•• ol Tn*t••• and examln•r C•mffllJ•ion S¢Gkn 1445Xb) olth• Ad). l￿d 4d5 PUBUC

Bas18 of Indop•nd•nt Examln•e¥ R•port My exarnlnatlon was carrfed oul In a¢coThJan¢o vAth gonernl Dlr¢dlon$ olven by tha Charlty Commisslon. An exgmlnatlon Includes a revlew of Ihe 8ccountlrvJ records kepl by the ch•iity Ènd a comparfson of th¢ ac￿￿nts kMe5enled wlth th059 ro￿￿5. 110150 In¢ludes conslderatlon ol any unusual ti8m$ ordtsdosures In the accounts, arKI saeklng explanhtlons from th8 tnJslee$ conc8rnlng Any such mgtter Tho PFoc4dures uThlertaken do not trovlde all the eVIden￿ Ih8t would be requlred In on audll, 4nd ¢ons¢quenlly no opifilon ts glvon 45 to whelh Ihe 8¢¢ounts present 8 and lalf vltrw and the report Is Ilmlled to those m•ttern set out Sn the statement beltrAT. Independ•ftt Examlne¢s Stat•ment In fAJnn¢cllon my examln4ilon, no matler has come to my dttentlon (oltrthon th•1 dls¢l¢)sod belrf: (1) whlch afves m• reasonabh cause lo bgll•v8 Ihat In 4ny m8t0rt01 respod the r•qulrnment . to keep èrthunllThJ ￿(￿rdS in accordance vAth ￿¢(lon 130 of the ChArftles Act: . to prepare ac￿￿nts ac(y)ryl vAth the accountlng rery)rds And ￿)M￿Y vAth th¢ ac¢ountl requlrwnents of1￿ Charttles Ad have not begn it or lo vhjich, In my oplnion, ottentlon should be drawn In othrto enablo i proper ofth• a(xounlsto b• r¥8chad. "Fhase d8181& th• vArds In the brod(ets ff Iheydo not8pplyapwo (3) I havo obialned Inde￿￿18ftt verif￿atIon of all Invem8nts the Trustees formethodist Church PurFM)ses fTMCPry or hekl In olher Trusls, B8nk balances 2fM1 Funds at the Certtr81 Flnance 8oard of the Methodi Churth CCFBry, which are Individually in excess of £10.OCLI Oen I￿￿5￿d pounds) al tho balance sheet d¥te. John Whittam Signgiur• Rolgvanl Professlonal quallficatlon or Lh)dy ICAEW (7735C Addrnss 9 Badp8rs Way, Stratford-upon-Av¢n. War*Ackshlr• CV37 LIUJ 5dS PU8LIC PUBLIC

Beckenham Methodist Church

2023-24

There was no formal audit report from the Examiner.

When the accounts were to his satisfaction they were signed oC.

Simon Young