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2024-09-30-accounts

Trustees' Annual Report for the period

01 October 2023

30 September 2024

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name The Gathering Gates

Other names charity is known by[Norfolk Grief Tending ] Somatic Health

Registered charity number (if any) 1141757

Charity's principal address

Carrow House

301 King Street

Norwich Postcode NR1 2TG

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1
2
3		 Trustee name Office (if any) Dates acted if not for whole
year		 Name of person (or body) entitled
to appoint trustee (ifany)
Elizabeth Day Chair
Emily Scott-Bolton Treasurer
David Aufenast Secretary

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity

Type of governing document[Constitution] How the charity is constituted[Association] Trustee selection methods[Appointed by existing trustees] We have the following policies in place: Policies Safeguarding Adults Safeguarding Children Bullying Harassment Complaints Disciplinary Health and Safety Volunteers Data Protection

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Section C Objectives and activities

Summary of the
objects of the charity
set out in its governing
document
Summary of main
activities		 Description of Activities
Creating spaces in East Anglia where people can access support and resources
that enable human and planetary evolution on multiple levels, including spiritual,
social, ecological and economic. Drawing on diverse traditions and practices,
exploring questions of meaning and purpose, and collaborating together in order
to renew community and contribute to a more beautiful and regenerative society.
Charitable Objectives
The promotion of the spiritual welfare of the community for the public benefit,
drawing on a variety of religious and spiritual traditions and practices.
The promotion for the benefit of the public of the conservation, protection and
improvement of the physical and natural environment.
The advancement of education of the public in the skills and techniques of
community development and collaborative decision making.
This year we offered a range of different kind of workshops and gatherings with
the common theme of resourcing people to experience greater levels of
connection – with themselves, with others, and with the wider lifeworld. These
activities contributed to our core objectives of disseminating skills and practices
for growing community, for advancing spiritual welfare, and for becoming more
attuned to the natural world.
In all our work the trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission's
guidance on public benefit, and we have taken this into account when making
decisions.
Our workshops and events have been offered entirely on a gift basis, with no
financial barrier to attending. We have endeavoured to make our work more and
more widely accessible, through communicating with a growing audience on
social media, building our mailing list, and networking with other local groups and
communities.
Section D Achievements and performance
Summary of the main
achievements of the
charity during the year
Beloved Earth Community
In October and November 2023 we held three well-attended events exploring the
idea of land-based community. Each event was three hours long, and 36 people
attended in total. We held two of the events at the Julian Centre, and another at
St Augustine’s Church Hall.
Grief Tending in Community Workshops
We held ten grief tending in community events – four introductory sessions (two
of which were online), five one-day workshops, and a 5-week group journey. The
events varied in theme, and included looking at our pain for the world and
ceremonies marking different seasons of the year. A total of 109 participants took
part in these events.

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Section D Achievements and performance

We received a generous grant from Norfolk Community Foundation’s ‘Love Norfolk’ fund (just under £5,000) to support this programme, which meant we were able to continue to offer support to people regardless of income.

These activities took place in different venues around Norwich, including the Sea Scouts Hall in Lakenham (NR1), St Luke’s Church in Aylsham Road (NR3), St Augustine’s Church Hall (NR3) and St Mark’s Church Hall in Lakenham (NR1).

In the 5-week group journey we used the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) to measure improvements on key mental health indicators. We asked participants to complete the form on the first session, and again on or soon after the last session. Of those who responded (5 out of 7) all participants (100%) reported an increase in confidence. 80% of respondents reported an increase in ‘feeling good about themselves’ and being able to make up their mind about things. 60% of respondents reported increases in five other mental health indicators.

Here are some of the positive testimonials from the group and other events:

“The process works! I was feeling very detached and unable to connect with any deep sense of grief but the writing practice and the grief circle worked their magic. This work shifts energies in the mind and body and precipitates thoughts, ideas and conversations that would not otherwise happen.” Jonathan

“Our culture doesn't provide emotionally supportive spaces for suppressed grief to be allowed to surface. Many of us have been trained to contain feelings that

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Section D Achievements and performance

are 'difficult' for others to understand. There is a difference between this process and therapy; we are all wounded and we don't look to fix one another in Grief Tending, but to stand alongside and witness non-judgementally.” Alexander

“It was a powerful, soft and wildly authentic day. I accessed my grief easily which is a testament to how well the space was held, with great care and intention. Having my grief witnessed safely has allowed me to release something and to move on to a more hopeful stage.” Cat

“I was pleasantly surprised by how easily my tears came and that in itself nourished me – the ease and lack of embarrassment. Being able to ask for support and receive it during the ceremonies felt nourishing too. For so long I grieved in isolation... I now feel less burdened by the weight of grief, and I’m noticing that my body wants to move and dance, it feels less rigid.” Karen “I felt nourished by the venue, the 'building the banks' process, the physical unwinding, the contact with the natural world, and skilful facilitating. I felt heard in my sharing and was able to deeply enter the invitations in the visioning practice. Subsequently, the heart energy that arose has empowered more selfcompassion and I feel more courageous.” Alexander

“Photos can't recreate the safety, tenderness, magic and holding that was created; a profoundly moving experience for me. Thanks to the other participants and the facilitators for their guidance, compassion and fellowship.” Janet

Anecdotal evidence suggests that grief tending participants gain skills that contribute to growing resilient and compassionate communities. Many report feeling lighter, more alive, with greater access to a wider range of emotions including joy, gratitude and compassion. As well as personal grief, people bring emotions about climate breakdown and biodiversity loss, and engage in conversations about how we can cultivate more healthy responses to grief. Many also report improved relationships within families and communities as a direct result of taking part in workshops. See our testimonials page for more: https://www.norfolkgrief.com/testimonials. Grief Tending in Community Training Events In May we piloted a one-day training workshop entitled ‘Widening Circles’ to support people in forming grief tending peer groups. This was led by Sophy Banks, a guest teacher visiting from Devon, working with our team of facilitators. The training day was preceded by a one-day ‘Widening Circles’ grief tending workshop. Thirteen people attended the training, including local people and a number from further afield (Edinburgh, Sheffield and London). Participants gained an understanding of the key dimensions to this approach and training in basic facilitation skills. We produced a 22-page handbook to support the learning, outlining the key elements of a grief tending journey and some introductory concepts, and this resource has since been taken up and widely used widely across the international grief tending network.

Following this training event we hosted two online focus group sessions to integrate the learning and to support participants in their ongoing journey in taking grief tending into their own contexts. They all reported increased

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Section D Achievements and performance

confidence in taking grief tending practices into their communities, and some had successfully held groups and events. Feedback from these sessions was used to design the Widening Circles 2025 programme.

“Widening Circles is an intensive introduction into building a more conscious relationship with your grief, giving you some tools to go and give it a go in your community. I managed to connect with people from back home to begin creating our own circle and I feel I managed to connect with something moving for me during the ritual as well. I was able to cry in a group setting and genuinely feel held.” Oliver

In July we hosted a 6-day ‘Apprenticing to Grief’ residential training in Castle Acre, West Norfolk with guest teachers Sophy Banks (Devon) and Sarah Pletts (London). Thirteen people attended, and the programme was supported by four volunteer ‘re-apprentices’. As well as participants from East Anglia (Norfolk and Suffolk), three were from other parts of the UK (Scotland, Sheffield and Devon) and there were three overseas participants (from Italy, Belgium and Lebanon).

Winter Ceilidh Celebration

In December we hosted a ceilidh dance celebration with the popular ‘Hippo Ceilidh Band’ at St Luke’s Church Centre in Norwich. 75 people joined us for an evening of community building and all-age feasting and fun.

Chants and Prayers

We piloted a new programme of ‘Chants and Prayers’ on Sunday afternoons, running six monthly sessions between February and July at St Helen’s Church, Bishopsgate. A group varying in size between 8 and 20 attended and a mailing list of 100+ registered interest in future sessions.

Somatic Health

We collaborated with numerous groups, growing awareness and sharing somatic practices locally, nationally and internationally, and producing ten short films on the theme of ‘Somatic Ecology'. These workshops gave people opportunities to try simple practices to develop sensory receptive awareness, creative expression

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Section D Achievements and performance

and resonant connection (with all life, other species, and with the elements).

Other somatic health work included:

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Section E Financial review

Section E Financial review
The charity’s policy on
reserves
Details of any funds
materially in deficit
Further notes on
finances		 Our overheads for this years were relatively small, and we maintained a modest
reserves fund of £500.
None.
We were grateful for a grant from Norfolk Community Foundation’s ‘Love Norfolk’
fund (just under £5,000). This supported some elements of our grief tending
programme, helping ensure these opportunities remain open to all.
All other funding came from donations from supporters and participants.

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s)
Full name(s)
Position
Elizabeth Day Emily Scott Bolton
Chair Treasurer
Date 29 July 2025 29 July 2025

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Charity Name No (if any) The Gathering Gates 1141757 Receipts and papts and pats and papaayments accounts ments accounts CC16a

Receipts and papts and pats and papaayments accounts

For the period
from		 01/10/23 To 30/09/24

Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ A1 Receipts

Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts
Donations
9,471
TrainingFees
9,612
Grant(Norfolk CommunityFoundation)
Gift Aid
2,120
-
-
-
-
21,203
-
-
-
Sub total -
Total receipts 21,203
A3 Payments
Accommodation
1,339
Catering
3,048
Communications
1,256
Consultancy Fees
1,000
Equipment
512
Facilitation Fees
1,651
Project Management Fees
1,883
Coordination Fees
2,545
Memberships
20
Marketing
611
Refunds (Training Fees)
310
Sundry Expenses
57
Supervision
-
Venue Hire
2,402
Volunteer / Travel Expenses
132
Sub total 16,766
-
-
Sub total -
Total payments 16,766
Net of receipts/(payments) 4,437
A5 Transfers between funds
-
A6 Cash funds last year end
-
Cash funds this year end 4,437
Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest £
Sub total(Gross income for AR)
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)		 to the nearest £
3,390
-
4,959
-
-
-
-
-
8,349
-
-
-
8,349
-
60
-
-
3,650
2,017
1,255
175
-
300
742
150
8,349
-
-
-
8,349
-
-
-
-
Restricted
funds		 to the nearest £
Endowment
funds		 Total funds
to the nearest £
12,861
9,612
4,959
2,120
-
-
-
-
29,552
-
-
-
29,552
1,339
3,108
1,256
1,000
512
5,301
3,900
3,800
20
786
310
57
300
3,144
282
25,115
-
-
-
25,115
4,437
-
-
4,437		 Last year
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
- -
-
-
-		 -
- -
- -
- -

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories
B1 Cash funds
B2 Other monetary assets
B3 Investment assets
B5 Liabilities
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees		 Details
Details
Details
Details
Details
Signature
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))		 to nearest £
to nearest £
4,437
-
-
-
-
-
4,437
-
OK
OK
to nearest £
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Print Name
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Fund to which
asset belongs
Fund to which
asset belongs
Fund to which
liability relates
Amount due
(optional)		 to nearest £
Endowment
funds
-
-
-
-
OK
to nearest £
Endowment
funds
-
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
When due
(optional)
Date of
approval

----- Start of picture text -----
Elizabeth Day 29 July 2025
Emily Scott Bolton 29 July 2025
----- End of picture text -----

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ANO WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of TkL On accounts for the year ended 30-S4 Charity no (if any) -202+ 114-1i¥l Set out on pages I report to th8 trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity ("the Trust'l for the year ended Responsibilities and As the charity Irustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordan￿ with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {Ihe Act.). I rejort in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examinalion. I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145{51(bl of the AGt. I have completed my examination. I confim that no material matters have come to my attention ") in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. accounting records were not kept in accordan￿ with section 130 of the Act or the acu)unts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examiner's statement I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention shouSd be drawn in orderto enable a proper understanding ofthe accounts to be reached. ' Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not appty. iyii6u.- 11-08_25 Name: Relevant professlonal qualificalion(s) or body (if any): Address: IER October 2018