## **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 March **2012** **TAR** 1 **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.| March **2012** **TAR** 2 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). - October: Autumn Grief Tending – Song, Ceremony, Community - November: Tending Our Hearts and Remembering Our Dead - March: An Introduction to Grief Tending - May: Widening Circles Grief Tending Workshop - June: An Introduction to Grief Tending - July: Wild and Precious: A Grief Tending Ceremony - July: An Introduction to Grief Tending in Norwich - September: Collapse and Emergence Truth Mandala - September: The Alchemy of Grief: 5-Week Group Journey - September: An introduction to Grief Tending 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_ March **2012** **TAR** 3 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 March **2012** **TAR** 4 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 March **2012** **TAR** 5 Section D Achievements and performance and resonant connection (with all life, other species, and with the elements). - Working with yoga and hypnotherapy practitioners to offer an ‘Authentic Self Retreat’ in Norwich. - Offering workshops entitled ‘Shambhala Warrior Prophecy: Embodiment of Compassion’ for a series of ‘Creative Matters sessions co-ordinated by Norwich Theatre and MIND mental health support charity. - Exhibiting Bird Girl costumes and photographic images (by Hanna Collins) at the Mind Aid Festival where we also offered a ‘Movement of Life’ somatic workshop within the Visual Arts Exhibition. - Offering ‘Somatic Ecology’ and ‘Shambhala Warrior Prophecy: Embodiment of Compassion’ workshops at a further three national festivals – Into the Wild, The Green Gathering and ‘Sacred Roots and Culture Gathering. - Facilitating a creative movement workshop entitled ‘My Family of Plants and Other Animals’ for parents/carers and children at Aylsham’s local Green Day, co-ordinated by Aylsham Climate Emergency project. - Collaborating with The Healing Harbour Charity and other Grassroots Organisations to offer the ‘Shambhala Warrior Prophecy: Embodiment of Compassion’ workshop in Aylsham for World Compassionate Communities Day. - Delivering four, weekly, online sessions for a somatic course entitled ‘Embodied Earth Activism’ in collaboration with Sacred Earth Activists. Other somatic health work included: - A talk and facilitated discussion on the theme ‘Creating and Building Community Wherever you Are’ at a Community Building Event at Cross Keys Community Pub in Suffolk. - Weekly Non-Violent Communication sessions at Aylsham Youth Club for a group of teenagers. - Networking at the ‘Garden of Tomorrow Festival’, a project curated by the House of Hackney, one of the first businesses to bring nature onto their board of directors, laying the foundations for future collaborations. - Designing a course entitled ‘The Felt Sense Project’ and delivering a pilot training workshop on the Summer Festival of Voice conference hosted by the Nature Governance Agency. - Offering seventeen Contact Improvisation sessions and workshops in Norwich and Trimingham (North Norfolk) and producing ten short introductory films entitled ‘Cornerstones of Contact Improvisation’ (available publicly). - Facilitating thirty One to One Co-Creation / Bespoke Embodiment sessions with nine individuals. March **2012** **TAR** 6 ## **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| March **2012** **TAR** 7 **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