## **North Harrow Methodist Church** 

## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT** 

## **1 September 2023 – 31 August 2024** 

## **Governance** 

1. As a Methodist Church in England, North Harrow Methodist Church comes under the auspices of the Methodist Church whose governing  body  is  the  Methodist  Conference.   The  authority  by which the Conference acts is laid out in the Methodist Church Act 1976. 

2. North Harrow Methodist Church is a registered charity number 1140257. 

3. North  Harrow  Methodist  Church  is  part  of  the  Harrow  and Hillingdon Circuit in the London District. 

4. The  Managing  Trustees  of  North  Harrow  Methodist  Church (NHMC) are the members of the Church Council. The composition is: 

The Superintendent Minister of the Circuit and the ministers and ministerial probationers appointed to the Circuit. 

## **Elected by the General Church Meeting to serve -** 

## **Church Stewards** : 

From May 2023 

Marian Smith (7[th] year & Senior Steward from Sept 2018) Janet Burgess (1[st] Year) 

Church Council Secretary: Jointly Marian Smith & Graham Pearn Treasurer: Peter Harrison (appointed Dec 2022) 

## **Members elected by the Annual Meeting (to serve from Sept 2023) -** 

|Jenny Briggs|(3rdyear)|
|---|---|
|Karen Harrison|(3rdyear – retired during the year)|
|Pauline Ingosi|(3rdyear)|
|Graham Pearn|(3rdyear)|
|Irene Taylor|(6thyear)|
|Steven Taylor|(2ndyear) Retired during the|
|year||



## **Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities** 

5. The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the Trustees to prepare, for each financial year, financial statements which give a true and fair record of the charity’s financial activities 

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during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year. In preparing financial statements giving a true and fair view, the Trustees should follow best practice and 

- select suitable  accounting  policies  and then  apply them consistently; 

- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; 

- state  whether  applicable  accounting  standards  and  the Statement of Recommended Practice 2005, Accounting and Reporting by Charities have been followed; and 

- prepare  the  financial statements  on the  ‘going  concern’ basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that activities will continue. 

6. The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records  which  disclose,  with  reasonable  accuracy,  the  financial position of the North Harrow Methodist Church Fund and which will enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Standing Orders of the Methodist Church and the Charities Act 1993. They are also responsible for taking reasonable steps to safeguard the assets of the charity and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities. 

7. The Trustees consider these practices have been followed and their responsibilities properly discharged. 

## **Annual Report** 

8. The  financial  year  for  the  purposes  of  accounting  to  the Methodist Church commences on 1 September. 

9. During the financial year 2023-24, the Church Council met three  times.   Two  General  Church  Meetings  open  to  all  church members were also held during the year to approve the Annual Report  and  accounts,  a  special  meeting  was  held  to  approve appointments for the new church year and to elect Church Stewards for 2020-21. The Finance and Property Committee met separately at regular intervals, as did the Pastoral Committee. The Church Council has  oversight  of  those  matters  which  concern  Neighbourhood  & Mission and the church family, there being no separate committees for that purpose. 

10. The Church Council also has overall responsibility for implementing the Safeguarding policies of the Methodist Church. In 2006,  it  appointed  a  Safeguarding  Officer,  who  liaises  with  the Circuit  Safeguarding  Officer.  The  Church’s  Safeguarding  Policy  is displayed at appropriate points around the premises. 

11. The Church Council is responsible for producing a report to the General Church Meeting. 

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12. The  following  gives  an  indication  of  the  work  overseen  or initiated by the Church Council during 2023-24: 

- (1) Most  Sundays  there  is  a  service  at  10.30  am  which includes Holy Communion once a month. Usually on the third Sunday of each month there is a more informal service called ‘Come & See’. There is a Sunday evening monthly discussion group. 

- (2) When Sunday services at not held at North Harrow there will  be  a  service  held  at  another  Methodist  church locally. 

13. A team of volunteers staffs the church office most weekday mornings throughout the year to maintain relationships with community  groups  that  use  the  premises  and  to  ensure  that essential administration is kept up-to-date. We have continued to explore possibilities for midweek activities and services that might attract a wider range of people than just our own congregation. 

14. It is the duty of  North Harrow Methodist Church to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)  which seeks  to protect individuals from the consequences of improperly obtained or processed data and to ensure that individuals are not put at risk or threatened by the misuse of data. 

NHMC utilises the Methodist Church in Great Britain privacy notice which can be viewed at (https://www.tmcp.org.uk/about/data-protection/managingtrustees-privacy-notice) or in the church office. 

Full details of lawful bases, data collected, consent requirements, retention periods, etc. can be found on the NHMC Data Protection Statement which is reviewed annually and presented to the fellowship at the general Church Meeting. 

The Church Council is committed to implementing not only the legal requirements  of  the  Equality  Act 2010  but all feasible  action  to improve access to the activities of the church.  The Church Council believes this is in line with the mission of the church as well as the legal requirements of the State. 

15. The membership of the church at the end of August 2022 stood at 46 and we continue to be encouraged by the number of regular adherents attending services. 

## **Investment Policy** 

17. The investment of surplus funds is operated via the Central Finance Board (CFB) of the Methodist Church; CFB aims to provide a high-quality investment service seeking above-average returns for long-term investors, while ensuring that the securities held by all its funds are in line with the ethical policy of the Methodist Church. 

## **Reserves Policy** 

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18. During the year the Trustees agreed a reserves policy which equates to 50% of annual expenditure and is to be reviewed every September. The reserve to be held by TMCP (Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes). 

## **Financial Statements** 

19. Key issues are: 

   1. Income rose from £82,266 to £104,098 largely due to strong income from licence fees. 

   2. Expenditure rose from £76,409 to £86,774 due mainly to increased energy costs.  The Assessment that we are required to pay the Circuit fell slightly £40,654. 

   3. The outcome is that for the 12 months to 31 August 2024 the available funds rose from £87,367 to £100,274. 

   4. A number of legacies have been left to the church over a number of years and their value currently stands at £38,338. 


Revd. Julie King Minister North Harrow Methodist Church 


Peter Harrison Treasurer 

PJH 18th April 2025 

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||Unrestrjcted Rest「icted   日1doWme|nt|
|---|---|---|
||funds fun{is funds||
|Rece匝S|||
|Cifehngs and tax recovBrable|||
|Bank & CFB inte「est and investment income|||
|Le同ngs|||
|O肌er receipts|||
|IntemaI organisatons (in∞me)|||
|ll虹aI income|||
|Payme巾S|||
|Ci「cuit assessment or share|||
|Donati on s|||
|Repairs and ma而enan∞|||
|∪輔ties言nsurances etc|||
|α「le「 PayTl entS|||
|lntemal 。rganisatons (expendifure)|||
|帖t incc州e / (ex【鷲nditure) resou「ces before t「ansfer              1 6,701.03   61 3.04       "  1 7,31 4.07   (60・00)|||
|Transfers :|||
|G.oss transfers betWeen凡inds - in|7,201.63|7,201.63|
|G・OSS tranSfers between funds - Out|(3,1 86.36) (4.01 5.27)|(7,201.63)|
|Chhe「 「ec(珂nised gains / losses|||
|Cains/losses on investment assets|||
|Gains on revaiuafronJi〉ed assets, Charitys own use|||
||20,71 6.30 (3,402.23〉      ・ 1 7,314,07   (60.00)||





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|CHURCH FUNDS|96,461||
|---|---|---|
|General Fund||51,821|
|BenevoIence Fund||1,012|
|LegacIeS and Special Donations Fund||38,228|
|Mission Action Plan Fund||803|
|Accounts Recevabie (Debto「s)||4,596|
|MONEY HELD FOR OTHERS|330||
|Co//ections for other oI甘anisations (StiI/ fo be pa杓)||340|
|Lettings Oeposits (St〃/ fo be retumecJ)||-10|
|OTHER CHURCH GROUP FUNDS|8,079||
|Badminton CIub<br>Fiower Fund<br>NORMADS<br>Stroke Group<br>C「oss「oads Stroke CIub<br>Young Chu「ch||O<br> <br>「<br> <br>1<br> <br>0<br> <br>3<br> <br>4<br>1<br> <br>1<br> <br> <br> <br> <br>7<br> <br>8<br>1<br> <br>7<br> <br> <br> <br> <br>9<br> <br>2<br>3<br> <br>3|
|TOTAしFUNDS HEしD|104,870||
|SUMMARY OF HOW FUNDSARE HEしD|||
|Current Assets|||
|Charities Aid Foundation|与8,100||
|No万h Hamow||53, 086|
|NORMADS||7jヱ|
|StI℃ke Group||0|
|CI℃SSI℃ads Stroke C/ub||王973|
|Badminton C/ub||0|
|Co//ections for other organisaf/ons (St〃/ fo be pai匂)||340|
|Let紡gs Deposits||-ヱ0|
|CentraI Finance Board|||
|Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes|||
|Other Bank Accounts/Cash of Church Groups|||
|FIowe「 Fund|||
|Young Church|||
|TOTAしCHURCH ASSETS|||
|MONEY HEしD FOR OTHERS|||
|TOTAしFUNDS HEしD|||





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