## **Charity Registration No. 1143776 (England and Wales)**
## **JOINT CHRISTIAN SCIENCE READING ROOM**
ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
## **JOINT CHRISTIAN SCIENCE READING ROOM**
## **CONTENTS**
||**Page**|
|---|---|
|Trustee’ Annual Report|1 - 2|
|Accountants’ report|3|
|Statement of Assets & Liabilities|4 - 5|
|Notes to the Financial Statements|6 - 8|
## **JOINT CHRISTIAN SCIENCE READING ROOM**
Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2023
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
The Joint Christian Science Reading Room, whose contact address is: 52-54 King’s Road, Reading Berkshire, RG1 3AA, is a registered charity number 1143776, and is governed by its constitution adopted in February 2013 and last amended in June 2018.
The Trustees act as the Management Committee, which consists of up to ten persons elected annually by the members of the organisation from among their number. During the year to 31 December 2022 the Trustees were:
John Lardge (Chairman) Joanna Bowley Laycock Gay Bryant-Flatt Edwin de Leon Susan de Leon Timothy Twinn Susan Thomas
## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES**
As stated in the constitution, the purpose of the Joint Christian Science Reading Room UK is the public promotion of the practical healing method know as Christian Science, in accordance with the Manual of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA0 It carries this out under the Manual provisions of Article XXI concerning the operation of Reading Rooms. Under this provision it is listed in The Christian Science Journal as a Joint Christian Science Reading Room.
The main activity is the sale and distribution of “Science and Health with key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy and other publications from the Christian Science Publishing Society. This is carried out through the UK Online Reading Room website, books, Christian Science magazines and other products ordered online are mailed to customers in the UK and abroad by the specialist stock-holding firm, My Warehouse. All the stock holding, and sales management is handled by that firm.
The Online Christian Science Reading Room remained open during the lockdown periods in 2021 when other Christian Science Reading Rooms had to close. Being primarily web-based it continues to be open round the clock supporting Christian Science organisations and customers with sales and services. The Trustees employ a salaried Librarian, Administrator, Technical Assistant, and a Digital Services Manager to manage key functions of the Charity. This includes operating the website and acting as an information centre for queries about Christian Science, its publications, and activities, particularly in the UK.
The Trustees use various freelance persons and firms for website maintenance, development, and management. General management functions are carried out voluntarily by Trustees and members. The Trustees have continued to organise the live-streaming of Christian Science lectures and other events, including concerts, when requested by various Christian Science churches and with the approval of the lecturers concerned, who are all member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship. Further top quality equipment was acquired in the year to extend the availability and reliability of the livestreaming and to develop video-making for Christian Science events.
Page 1
## **JOINT CHRISTIAN SCIENCE READING ROOM**
## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** _**continued**_
Advice and support was also provided to any churches wishing to live stream their services during the time that services and meetings in buildings were not possible.
The Trustees also continued to offer export assistance in creating and upgrading websites of individual Christian Science Churches in the UK.
They also continued to otter the installation of remotely managed display screens for windows of Christian Science Reading Rooms. These high quality screens show revolving posters and notices of Christian Science information’s and activities.
## **PUBLIC BENEFIT**
As information and activities of the Charity are clearly displayed on its website, and are available to the public, the trustees are satisfied that they have fully complied with the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit.
## **FINANCIAL REVIEW**
The financial affairs of the Charity for the year ended 31 December 2023 are shown in the attached Accounts, which have been prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis in accordance with Section 130 of the Charities Act 2011.
All donations and contributions to the funds are considered to be “unrestricted” and are recorded as such in the Accounts.
The Trustees, having full consideration of the requirement for charities to hold Reserves Funds, consider that the level of funds at the end of the financial year are appropriate to meet current and future planned activities.
………………………………………………………. ………………………… (For and on Behalf of the Trustees) Date
Page 2
## **JOINT CHRISTIAN SCIENCE READING ROOM**
## **ACCOUNTANT’S REPORT**
## **To the members of the Joint Christian Science Reading Room UK**
I report on the Accounts of the Charity, registered number 1143776 for the year ended 31 December 2023.
The Charity Trustees consider that an aduit is not required for the year (under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
- examine the accounts (under section 145 of the Act),
- to follow the procedure laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145 (5) (b) of the act, and
- to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
My examination was carried out in accordance with General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as Trustees concerning any such matters. The procedure undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.
In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention, which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the Members have no met the requirements to ensure that:
- proper accounting records are kept (in accordance with section 130 of the Act); and
- • accounts are prepared which agree with the accounting records and comply with in accounting requirements of the Act; or
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
……………………………………..
Geraldine Coates Accounting Robson House Chapel Street Honiton EX14 1EU
………………………
Date
Page 3
## **JOINT CHRISTIAN SCIENCE READING ROOM**
|**Bank Accounts**
CAF Current Account
Movement in Year
Balance C/f
CAF ORR
Movement in Year
Balance C/f
CAF Gold
Movement in Year
Balance C/f
Stripe
Movement in Year (
Balance C/f
Paypal
Movement in Year (
Balance C/f|**Closing Balances on Accounts**
**2023**
**2023**
**2022**
**£**
**£**
**£**
4,489
5,610
615
1,722
8,364
147,749
7,590)
( 7,562)
80)
-
**5,798**
**147,519**|**2022**
**£**
1,121
1,107
139,385
28
80
**141,721**|
|---|---|---|
Page 4
## **JOINT CHRISTIAN SCIENCE READING ROOM**
## **STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023**
|**2023**
**£**
**MONETARY ASSETS**
Value of funds brought forward at 1stJan 20223
141,721
Surplus of Income for the Year
(5,798)(
Value of funds carried forward at 31stDec 2023
**147,519**
**=======**
Represented by:
Bank Accounts:
CAF Current Account
5,610
CAF ORR
1,722
CAF Gold
147,749
Stripe
( 7,562)
Paypal
-
**147,519**
**=======**
Other Assets
Stock at Cost
25,606
Display, Filming & Technical Equipment
77,440
Debtors
1,171
**104,216**
**=======**
Current Liabilities
Creditors
4,249
**4,249**
**=======**
**TOTAL ASSETS**
**255,048**
**RESERVES**
Reserves Account
249,250
Total Surplus/(Deficit) for the Year
5,798
**255,048**|**2022**
**£**
162,271
20,550)
**141,721**
**=======**
1,121
1,107
139,385
28
80
**141,721**
**=======**
18,644
69,533
-
**88,177**
**=======**
-
**-**
**=======**
**229,898**
269,800
( 20,550)
**229,898**|
|---|---|
Approved by the Trustees on ……………………….. and signed on their behalf by:
…………………………. Trustee
…………………………. Trustee
Page 5
## **JOINT CHRISTIAN SCIENCE READING ROOM YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**
## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT**
||**2023**|**2023**|**2022**|**2022**|**2021**|**2021**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**£**||**£**||**£**||
|**Online Reading Room Activity**|||||||
|**Income:**|||||||
|Online & Sundry Other Sales||9,135|11,339||12,449||
|Donations for Google Adwords||-||155||315|
|Donations from Churches||33,008|28,716||30,958||
|||42,143|40,210||43,721||
|**Expenditure:**|||||||
|Stock Purchases||6,962||4,015||6,722|
|Google Adwords||328||-||15|
|Employee Salaries & Employer Costs||64,460|50,253||29,886||
|Social Media Fees||100||1,813||924|
|My Warehouse Charges||2,605||2,310||3,427|
|Website & General Running Costs||1,141||2,450||2,264|
|Journal Card & Other Advertising||480||344||317|
|||76,074|61,186||43,555||
|**Surplus/(Deficit)**|**(**|**33,932)**|**( 20,976)**|||**167**|
|**Livestreaming & Video Production of Events**|||||||
|**Income:**|||||||
|Donations from Churches for Streaming Costs
||19,602||6,525|19,229||
|**Expenditure:**|||||||
|Livestreaming Expenditure||24,262|12,353||19,581||
|**Surplus/(Deficit)**|**(**|**4,660)**|**(**|**5,828)**|**(**|**352)**|
|**Website Design and Management for Churches**|||||||
|**Income:**|||||||
|Fees for Website Creation and Management|
|3,181||2,175||1,750|
|**Expenditure:**|||||||
|Development Costs||722||634||864|
|**Surplus/(Deficit)**||**2,459**||**1,541**||**886**|
|**Reading Room Remotely Managed Display Screens**|||||||
|**Income:**|||||||
|Installation Fees from Churches (Incl Mgt Fees)
||3,245|23,910||16,116||
|**Expenditure:**|||||||
|Equipment, Installation & Development Costs
||-|11,329||30,357||
|**Surplus/(Deficit)**||**3,245**|**12,581**||**( 14,241)**||
||Page 6||||||
## **JOINT CHRISTIAN SCIENCE READING ROOM YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**
## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT** _**continued**_
|**Equipment Acquisitions**
Equipment Purchases in Year
**General Income & Expenditure**
**Income:**
General Donations
Grants from Trust Brit
Interest
Gift Aid Refunds
**Expenditure:**
Events
Meetings
Insurance
Professional Fees
Miscellaneous
Mailing & Office
Bank Charges
**Surplus/(Deficit)**
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
**TOTAL EXPENDITURE**
**TOTAL SURPLUS/(DEFICIT)**|**2023**
**2022**
**2021**
**£**
**£**
**£**
7,907
11,783
8,735
13,758
8,640
18,774
40,216
14,142
-
1,386
527
16
-
184
696
**55,360**
**23,493**
**19,486**
1,483
15,240
3,493
3,085
1,368
3,147
1,120
1,008
966
1,900
675
277
564
-
990
218
1,083
400
397
204
222
**8,767**
**19,578**
**9,855**
**46,593**
**3,915**
**9,631**
**123,530**
**96,313**
**100,302**
**117,732**
**116,863**
**112,947**
**5,798 ( 20,550) ( 12,645)**|
|---|---|
Page 7
## **JOINT CHRISTIAN SCIENCE READING ROOM**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**
## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT** _**continued**_
|**RECEIPTS**
**Income:**
Church Websites
Donations – General
Donations – Google Adwords
Donations – Livestreaming
Donations – ORR
Donations – Trust Brit/ Westminster
Gift Aid Refunds
Interest
Online Sales
RR Screens
**Expenditure:**
Advertising
Church Websites
Google Adwords
Liberians, Admin & Tech
Livestreaming
My Warehouse Charges
ORR Website
Professional Fees
RR Screens
Running Costs
Shopify Fees
Social Media
**Stock & Equipment**
Equipment
Stock
**Running Costs**
Bank Charges
Events
Insurance
Meetings
Professional Fees
Stationery, Postage & Other
Miscellaneous
**TOTAL EXPENDITURE**
**TOTAL SURPLUS/(DEFICIT)**
Page 8|**2023**
**2022**
**2021**
**£**
**£**
**£**
3,181
2,175
1,750
13,758
8,640
18,774
-
155
315
19,602
6,525
19,229
33,008
28,716
30,958
40,216
14,142
-
-
184
696
1,386
527
16
9,135
11,339
12,449
3,245
23,910
16,116
**123,530**
**96,313**
**100,302**
480
344
317
722
634
864
328
-
15
64,460
50,253
29,886
24,262
12,353
19,581
2,605
2,310
3,427
49
1,623
104
-
-
360
-
11,329
30,357
1,092
491
1,180
-
336
980
100
1,813
924
**94,096**
**81,486**
**87,995**
7,907
11,783
8,735
6,962
4,015
6,722
**14,869**
**15,798**
**15,457**
397
204
222
1,483
15,240
3,493
1,120
1,008
966
3,085
1,368
3,147
1,900
675
277
218
1,083
400
564
-
990
**8,767**
**19,578**
**9,495**
**117,732**
**116,863**
**112,947**
**5,798 ( 20,550) ( 12,645)**|
|---|---|