COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 08357702 CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1151257
City Temple URC Company Limited by Guarantee Unaudited Financial Statements 31 December 2021
ROBINSONS CONSULTING LIMITED
Chartered accountants
5 Underwood Street
London N1 7LY
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Financial Statements
Year ended 31 December 2021
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Trustees' annual report (incorporating the director's report) | 1 |
| Independent examiner's report to the trustees | 12 |
| Statement of financial activities (including income and | |
| expenditure account) | 13 |
| Statement of financial position | 14 |
| Notes to the financial statements | 15 |
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report)
Year ended 31 December 2021
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2021.
Reference and administrative details
Registered charity name City Temple URC Charity registration number 1151257 Company registration number 08357702 Principal office and registered City Temple Holborn Viaduct office London EC1A 2DE The trustees Donald MacPhee Marcos Ravelo (Appointed 10 October 2021) Rodney Woods Olusina Anifowose Zam Lian Khup (Resigned 10 October 2021) Company secretary Olusina Anifowose Independent examiner ROBINSONS CONSULTING LIMITED 5 Underwood Street London N1 7LY
- 1 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
History
The City Temple URC has lived as a congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ since at least 1640. Throughout its history, City Temple has been called by a variety of names, worshipping in a variety of places. Since 1874, City Temple has worshipped on the present site on Holborn Viaduct, using its present name. Since 1974, the City Temple has been a member congregation of the United Reformed Church denomination.
Covid 19 in 2021
The Covid pandemic and its associated mitigation measures has affected churches and charities across the country in unique ways. Rather than continually mentioning Covid throughout this report, it seemed sensible for us to highlight the positive and negative effects of Covid on City Temple in 2021.
Positive Effects
The Covid pandemic and the associated lockdowns affected City Temple in several positive ways. First, the pandemic forced us to continue experimenting with and adopting hybrid meeting models across all our offerings. Zoom remained our primary tool of choice for implementing these models because it offered flexibility and gave a sense of immediacy to worship and prayer that pre-recorded livestream simply does not achieve.
Second, the use of hybrid models Increased involvement in the life of the church, especially as both the country and the church community endured difficult times. As a "gathered church", many people travel more than an hour to get to the building for services and events. Using Zoom for all our mid-week activities meant that people no longer had to travel extensively to participate. For Sundays, we sought to maintain in-person Sunday services as much as possible, combining them with Zoom, although lockdowns forced significant periods of closure. Because we used Zoom, we experienced an increased participation in all our services. We also were able to add new activities, such as virtual small groups and Bible discussions.
Third, the pandemic led us to begin thinking of new ways to function as church into the future. We are still in the process of discernment, but churches will not simply return to the way things were before Covid.
Fourth, the pandemic demonstrated to us the importance of our residential community. Community members living in the building helped support and sustain the ministry of City Temple, especially since most volunteers from outside the building were not able to attend in person. The residential community also helped all the Zoom services to feel like corporate worship experiences, since as residents in the building they were able to attend in person despite lockdowns.
Negative Effects
Of course, the Covid pandemic has had very serious consequences for City Temple. Most notably, our Minister became seriously ill with Covid in the closing days of 2020. His illness and the resulting complications led to his hospitalization for 71 days, until mid-March. After his return home, it was another three months before he was fully functioning - although he had returned to work much sooner.
During his hospitalization and recovery, many people volunteered their leadership, including the minister's wife, Karen Woods. Many leaders from outside City Temple helped as well. The church organised hundreds of hours of prayer. In addition, many groups around the world joined to pray for the minister. Although we would consider the loss of the minister a negative effect of Covid, altogether his loss also strengthened the life of the church.
- 2 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
Within two weeks of the first lockdown in 2020, the pandemic had wiped out our conferencing activities. City Temple did not resume conferencing activities in 2021. Instead, the elders decided to defer the resumption of conferencing activities until the completion of the building redevelopment. Of course, the hospitality sector has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. We do not anticipate that this will recover until at least 2023.
Since the 1960s, City Temple has relied on casual room hire - what we call our conferencing activities - to supplement congregational giving to support the charitable activities of the church financially. With the loss of this income, City Temple used congregational giving, reserves, and expenditure reductions to sustain itself financially.
Third, the impact of the pandemic resulted in a significant delay to the planned redevelopment of the City Temple building. The developer did not communicate with City Temple about the redevelopment for several months into 2021. Subsequently, it required several months of intense negotiations to get the redevelopment on track again. This created hardship for the church because the church had delayed essential repairs in the building due to the redevelopment. The most significant impact was not having a functional boiler for the winter months. The lockdowns mitigated this problem somewhat at the beginning of 2021, but it continued later in the year.
Fourth, because the redevelopment was delayed, the developer was not making the temporary payments required under its contract with City Temple. City Temple challenged the developer in this, and finally it began making some limited contributions in June which, along with the elders' other measures, helped sustain the church financially.
Despite the negative effects of the Covid pandemic, City Temple was able to meet its charitable objects in 2021.
- 3 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
Objects and activities
According to the Memorandum and Articles of Association governing City Temple URC, the object of the charity for the public benefit is the advancement of the Christian faith in London. The main activities in relation to the charitable objects are set out in the paragraphs below.
As a Christian nonconformist congregation in the City of London, City Temple has always had diversity in the ways that it has sought to advance the Christian faith in London. Although the witness of its Sunday congregation has been strong, City Temple has expressed its witness in other ways as well. For example, City Temple was one of the first congregations in London to develop an intentional outreach to people in the marketplace. Even in the mid-1800s, City Temple drew hundreds of businesspeople to its mid-week services and events.
City Temple has a vision for the advancement of the Christian faith in London that may be summarized as follows: The vision of City Temple is to develop an urban polycultural Christian fellowship in the City of London that will glorify God the Father by making and equipping disciples of Jesus Christ. City Temple will do this by serving as a resource for the extension of God's loving rulership in the City and the world and by serving as a refuge for the healing and development of God's people. We will serve in partnership with other like-minded Christian ministries through prayer, community, worship, outreach, and training in the power of the Holy Spirit.
City Temple continues to express its faith in a diversity of ways through the ministry areas of prayer, community, worship, outreach, and training in a polycultural context, seeking practical partnerships with other churches and ministries as much as possible.
In reviewing our objects and activities, the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. The objects and activities below also describe our achievements and performance in those areas.
Prayer
City Temple engages in the ministry of prayer in several ways. In addition to various ad hoc groups for prayer, City Temple has regular times of prayer, including Thursday nights, Friday nights, and other regular gatherings. City Temple maintains a prayer chapel open to the public whenever the building is open. Unfortunately, the building was closed for much of 2021, except for in-person Sunday worship. But staff began to reopen the building regularly in September. City Temple also provides other occasional times for prayer, such as all-night prayer events and 24/7 prayer for specified periods, which were enabled by Zoom this year.
City Temple offers ministry to people through prayer. For the benefit of individuals, City Temple provides a prayer process called the "Steps to Freedom in Christ", whereby a person might receive directed ministry and coaching through prayer. City Temple encourages and trains people to minister to others through Christian prayer, seeking to meet people where they are in this vital ministry. In 2021, we offered most prayer ministry via Zoom.
2021 saw the continued ministry of the City of London House of Prayer (COLHOP). COLHOP seeks to bring Christians together from a variety of churches and backgrounds to promote prayer 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The church will not achieve the 24/7 goal until the redevelopment of the building. Covid and the lockdowns meant that we discontinued individual and group two-hour prayer "watches" but we continued the Thursday and Friday gatherings. Each Thursday evening, COLHOP has an "Equipping Service" to help develop the vision and values for COLHOP. On Friday evenings, COLHOP offers "Pursuit" in the context of other CT ministries.
- 4 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
In 2021, a group of City Temple men continued a Wednesday night prayer gathering via Zoom and then in-person when possible. They meet throughout the year to pray together and encourage one another in the Christian faith.
Community
City Temple promotes Christian community in several ways, although these were curtailed in 2021. We provided fellowship times via Zoom on either side of our services. We also provided special ad hoc fellowship events via Zoom throughout the year. For some people, these Zoom gatherings increased their engagement with the church and their fellowship with others.
Because of lockdowns, we limited our Church Meetings in 2021, but hope to resume them in the latter part of 2022.
City Temple also has a residential Christian community as an integral part of its ministry. This community - consisting of staff, members, and others - resides in the City Temple building and shares extensively in the ministry and leadership of the church. In 2021, the community maintained its number of members, although one left to join his wife in another country. When we resumed in-person meetings, the community continued to take responsibility for the hospitality setup for Sundays as part of its ministry this year as well as exploring other ways to serve in the life of the church.
In 2021, City Temple continued to expand the experience of community through "What's App" and Telegram groups enabling people to maintain more regular and spontaneous communication with one another and amongst groups of people. We also sought to connect with people more effectively through social media, such as Instagram and Facebook.
Worship
City Temple's primary service of worship is held on Sunday mornings. People from about 15 different nationalities gather to worship God in a contemporary format. With the pandemic, we discontinued our services at Thursday lunchtimes designed for people in the marketplace and did not resume them in 2021. We hope to continue these via Zoom or in person when the redevelopment of the building is completed. Throughout the year, City Temple provides many other services of worship, such as carol services, Good Friday services, and prophetic intercessory worship. COLHOP (described above) provides a further context for worship in the life of the church. However, the pandemic led to most of these services remaining cancelled for 2021.
In 2021, not only did we begin to offer our worship services via Zoom, but we also began to livestream our Sunday sermons via YouTube. We recorded these sermons live and made them available for people to listen to throughout the week. We also included links on our web site for the sermons.
Outreach
City Temple expresses its outreach as a congregation in many ways, especially through the ministry of hospitality. Since there are few homes in the "neighbourhood" of City Temple, and since we have little access to the homes and businesses within a reasonable commute to City Temple, we must engage in Christian outreach in creative and different ways. One of the primary ways that City Temple engages in outreach is by welcoming people into the building and showing them distinctive Christian hospitality. Such hospitality includes service, prayer, and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with users of the building. We welcome people into the building through such activities as room hire, serving meals, holding worship services, providing special training events and courses, and the like. City Temple seeks to become a leader in hospitality outreach. Unfortunately, the pandemic inhibited our ability to provide hospitality outreach, but we hope to resume as soon as
- 5 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
possible.
In 2021, City Temple continued developing its website to enable people to connect with the church more easily. The site will become our primary ministry hub, with various resources for people seeking to grow in faith.
Training
City Temple offers a variety of programmes to help train Christians for effective engagement with the world and involvement in ministry inside and outside the "church". City Temple offers various discipleship courses, such as Learning to Walk with Jesus and the Freedom in Christ Course. The Freedom in Christ Course offered in 2021 brought together people from several different churches. City Temple offered most of its training opportunities via Zoom.
In 2021, City Temple continued its primary training via "Tuesday Courses". City Temple provided this time of training on Tuesday evenings. City Temple created this training activity because more and more people indicated an interest in City Temple and the training we offered, especially people who were involved in other churches.
Partnership
City Temple serves as a resource for many other congregations and ministries, partnering with them formally and informally to advance the aims of City Temple as well as the aims of these congregations and ministries. This creates a dynamic synergy within City Temple that allows City Temple to accomplish more than it could on its own. This also leads to the growth of City Temple, as many people who come to special events often look for a church home.
In 2021, City Temple worked extensively with Freedom in Christ Ministries International, helping to develop and maintain a few of its initiatives.
In 2021, City Temple continued working together with four other URC churches in a partnership called the "Good News Local Area Group". Representatives of these five churches meet regularly to explore was of advancing the Christian faith throughout London, especially in the various locations in which member churches are located.
Polycutlural Context
2021 saw the continuation of the polycultural vision for the overall ministry of City Temple. For years, City Temple has been one of the few churches in central London to have a truly diverse congregation, with no majority ethnic group represented in the church. In previous years, we may have described this as "multicultural". However, the word "multicultural" seems to describe a situation in which various cultures exist side-by-side, affirming one another yet maintaining cultural distinctiveness. However, "polycultural" is different than "multicultural". Polycultural affirms the value and uniqueness of each culture, but at the same time encourages people from various cultures to influence and change one another so that the result is a personal transformation that brings a greater sense of unity and a fuller cooperation among people. In a polycultural context, people are personally changed by the interaction with other cultures and backgrounds so that they become part of an an entirely new "culture". We are excited to see how this vision will develop in coming years. City Temple is one of the few congregations where the elders of the church come from a diversity of backgrounds.
Socio-Economic Diversity
City Temple embraces people from a wide variety of socio-economic backgrounds and situations. In any given Sunday, you might find homeless persons sitting next to persons with well-paying jobs; you might find someone with little advanced education engaging with someone having a Master's degree or beyond; you might find people from working-class backgrounds interacting with people from more
- 6 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
middle-class backgrounds. To help facilitate this interaction, City Temple provides all its services freely or or inexpensively to allow all people to participate. Even when there is a cost involved, City Temple seeks to provide generous bursaries so that lack of funds does not become an impediment to people experiencing the public benefit of the charity.
Achievements and performance
As mentioned earlier, the paragraphs above contain several reflections on the achievements and performance of the charity in 2021. Obviously, the pandemic has affected everything we do in some way.
City Temple had several significant achievements in 2021. City Temple maintained a thriving ministry despite the extended absence of the minister due to ill health. It demonstrated that it did not depend on one person to facilitate and expand its charitable objects. City Temple continued its ministry offerings and even added some ministry offerings, like the "Tuesday Courses", despite the challenges of Covid. City Temple renegotiated an agreement with a hotel developer to redevelop the CT building alongside a new hotel next door to City Temple. Although the redevelopment was delayed, City Temple continued to prepare the building for vacant possession by the developer. City Temple developed hybrid means of delivering its services to a larger number of people.
Throughout the year, City Temple remained a vital congregation. Our trustees functioned at an extremely high level, even with the absence of the minister. The church maintained a high-trust environment. The charity continued to fulfill its charitable objects. We also maintained a wide range of ministries and activities.
CT has developed a reputation for excellent teaching and training. The diversity and quality of offerings connect with many people, including many who do not attend the church regularly. City Temple offers all its resources to the wider community.
In addition to all this, City Temple has largely maintained its congregation despite the problems of Covid. Few people have left the church and several have begun participating more regularly.
- 7 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
Financial review
Through the leadership of the treasurer, the Elders maintained financial controls for the charity through an increasingly difficult environment for any charity. The treasurer appointed in 2020 continued his work, with the former treasurer becoming the assistant treasurer to facilitate a smooth transition. The move to SageOne enabled many people to become involved with financial management safely and accountably. This move gave the charity a much greater transparency in its financial management. This move also gave the Elders more active oversight of the finances as a group.
The Eldership has consistently reviewed the financial status of the charity before making significant financial decisions. Throughout 2021, the charity remained financially stable, although the pandemic has challenged this stability. Although the elders had many moments of grave concern about the financial condition of the charity, the elders also exercised careful oversight of the finances. The treasurer provided updated reports of how long reserves would last, so that the elders could navigate clearly toward the future.
The Church Treasurer provides regular reports to the Eldership and the Church Meeting. Overall, the Church Meeting as well as the Eldership continues to be strongly involved in the budgeting process. The Church Treasurer ensures that the financial policies of the Eldership and the Church Meeting are carried out in a timely manner. The Treasurer actively seeks to hold both the Eldership and the Church Meeting accountable to their own internal policies while implementing new ways of managing City Temple's finances effectively.
Although the pandemic caused extreme financial disruption and discomfort, the charity maintained financial stability in 2021. Although the Trustees would have liked the overall financial position of the charity to have been stronger in 2021, the Trustees have ensured a measure of financial stability for the charity throughout the year. The Trustees carefully consider the financial needs of the charity as well as the financial growth of the charity on an ongoing basis, consulting with one another as as necessary even in between the monthly meetings.
In 2021, the charity derived its revenue from giving by members of the congregation, license fees paid by the residential community, and partial support payments made by the developer, called "Temporary Accommodation Payments". Although the principal financial risks to the charity related to declining casual room hire activity had become a reality in 2020, the elders were able to work diligently to maintain stability in 2021. We do not believe that room hire will return to pre-Covid levels until after the redevelopment of the City Temple building.
From April to December in 2021, we negotiated diligently with the developers to ensure that the delayed redevelopment would go forward and the temporary payments to the church would resume fully. (This was accomplished at the end of January 2022.) The temporary payments, once resumed, will be sufficient to sustain the charitable activities of the church until the redevelopment is completed.
In 2021, we continued to see the risks due to the age of the building and the needs for urgent repairs. The elders did considerable planning if the redevelopment would have been cancelled. The elders have continued to monitor these developments, seeking to adjust the expenditures as necessary to compensate for increases or decreases in revenue. The elders continued to develop contingencies in case of further delay to the redevelopment or the failure of temporary payments to resume.
Financial Reserves
Even though the Eldership were somewhat concerned with the general financial health of the charity
- 8 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
in 2021 due largely to Covid-19, City Temple maintained appropriate levels of reserves for 2021. The Eldership seeks to maintain levels of reserve at least equal to three months' operating expenses of the charity. This was maintained in 2021, although the overall level of reserves declined.
Structure, Governance and Management
City Temple is a congregational church historically, and currently a member church of the United Reformed Church denomination. Because it is a congregational church, the Church Meeting of City Temple is the primary governance authority in the church. The Church Meeting normally meets at least quarterly, considering such items as financial reports, ministry matters, and other such issues within its purview, although it met less frequently in 2021. The Church Meeting is also responsible for the accountability of the Elders' Meeting (Eldership) in the conduct of its governance.
City Temple URC is a charitable limited company. City Temple operates in accordance with a Memorandum and Articles of Association (Constitution). In addition, City Temple has Standing Orders that govern the conduct of meetings. As a church of the United Reformed Church denomination, City Temple also conducts itself according to the governing documents of the URC.
The Elders' Meeting (Eldership) consists of men and women elected by the Church Meeting in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles to serve as elders (leaders) in the overall ministry of City Temple. The Minister chairs the Eldership, which usually meets monthly. The elders serve as the Trustees (Directors) for the charity. The Eldership has the overall responsibility for the leadership and governance of City Temple. Individually, the elders may give oversight to various ministries within the church.
At least once a year, church members have an opportunity to nominate persons whom they believe might be qualified to serve as Elders (Trustees). Those who receive enough nominations are then voted on by the Church Meeting. Those who receive at least two-thirds of the votes are selected as elders. In addition, the Minister and Church Secretary, acting together, may place names into nomination for election as elders. New elders receive training regarding the governance of the church, good practice according to the Charity Commission and other issues related to the healthy operation of the charity. The elders together receive ongoing training as needed. Normally, this occurs on an ad hoc basis during the monthly Elders Meetings.
City Temple has three officers: The Minister, who chairs the meetings of the Eldership and Church Meeting; the Honorary Church Secretary, who is the communications officer of the church; and the Honorary Church Treasurer, who provides financial oversight as directed by the Eldership and the Church Meeting. These officers work in tandem to provide day-to-day leadership in the ministry of the church. The Church Secretary took exceptional leadership during the absence of the minister due to illness in in 2021.
The absence of the minister for an extended period due to illness clearly demonstrated the health of the governance of City Temple. The elders and staff functioned exceptionally well, maintaining unity and stability across the charity.
City Temple also has employees who serve in various capacities, including finance, administration, stewarding, ministry leadership and the like. These employees are accountable to the Eldership through the Minister or another elder appropriately designated.
The Church Meeting elected one new elder in 2021. One elder stood down to move to another country to be with his family. The Church Meeting and Elders Meeting worked with a sense of unity and purpose that was healthy for the charity. Although there were fewer formal Church Meetings, the elders held several special Zoom meetings to keep the church members informed and to gain their feedback and input concerning the life of the church.
- 9 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
One of the major benefits of the style of governance of City Temple is that City Temple can draw upon a wider range of knowledge, experience, and expertise than many charities because the members and adherents of the charity participate in governance. This strength of City Temple has helped maintain the health and growth of the charity.
Risks and Uncertainties
The Eldership (Trustees) of City Temple has the primary responsibility for risk management, which is generally exercised through its employees on a day-to-day basis and by the Eldership monthly with its regular meetings. Periodically, the Eldership seeks to review the risks in several areas, including fire safety, health and safety, financial practices and Covid safety. The Eldership often instructs relevant staff members to conduct these risk assessments on its behalf, reporting back to the Eldership as needed.
The age and condition of the present building continues to present one of the greatest uncertainties for the charity. The Trustees are managine this major risk by seeking the redevelopment of the building, paid for through a long lease on the two lower floors (as mentioned above). The redevelopment discussions resumed in 2021 and reached substantial agreement by the end of the year. Revised agreements enabling the redevelopment to progress were signed in January 2022. Although the elders have discussed various options if the redevelopment does not occur, they are reasonably convinced that the redevelopment will now proceed in 2022.
Monitoring Achievement
In 2021, the trustees monitored achievement approximately every month by reviewing indicators of charity health, problem areas and ministry opportunities.
The solid giving by members of the charity reflects part of the health of the charity. In a time when most charities have seen a decrease in giving, City Temple has seen giving maintained in a healthy manner.
In 2021, the staff assisted the Trustees in monitoring achievement against their stated goals and objectives, especially in the absence of the minister.
Plans for 2022
Throughout 2021, the Eldership has been able to maintain health in the charity, especially in three key areas - financial policies, HR policies and good governance practices within the Eldership and the Church Meeting.
In 2022, the Eldership (Trustees/Directors) has several goals. First, the Eldership wants to finalise redevelopment plans and hopefully see the needed work on the building begin. Second, the Eldership will facilitate the move to temporary accommodation for City Temple while the building is under development. The Eldership decided to move the primary church meetings and services to the Chelsea Community Church, which gave City Temple an open invitation to use their building. Third, the Eldership will seek to re-establish the Chelsea Community Church has a viable, thriving congregation which is able to continue when City Temple returns to its building. Third, the Eldership wants to raise awareness of City Temple and the Chelsea Community Church in the areas surrounding Chelsea Community Church and the marketplace so that more people might benefit from the charitable aims of both City Temple and Chelsea Community Church. The Eldership will do this in part by an increased engagement with social media and the continuing development of its websites. Fourth, the Eldership will continue to monitor and improve the financial policies and practices of the charity with a view to supporting the aims and objectives of the charity financially and maintaining the financial welfare of the charity. In particular, the Eldership will seek to build substantial operational reserves that will enable a smooth transition back into its building following
- 10 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
the redevelopment. Fifth, the Eldership will continue its focus on advancing the ministry of the charity in accordance with its aims and objectives as a Christian church as described above. Finally, and perhaps most importantly at the time of writing, the Elders will continue to strategise and guide how the church will work through the challenges posed by Covid-19 and lockdowns now that churches have reopened. It is a testament to the health and strength of City Temple's Eldership that the church has remained strong and fully supported its staff and residents throughout the pandemic so far.
Despite many challenges in recent years, the charity has built on an ongoing sense of health and vitality throughout 2021. The Eldership expects the charity to continue its growth and development as a key community asset in the western edge of the City of London - and now in Chelsea - in the years ahead.
SIGNED SECURELY
The trustees' annual report was approved on and signed on behalf of the 10/08/2022 at 11:20:32 AM UTC board of trustees by:
SIGNED SECURELY
10/08/2022 at 11:20:32 AM UTC
Rodney Woods Trustee
- 11 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of City Temple URC
Year ended 31 December 2021
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of City Temple URC ('the charity') for the year ended 31 December 2021.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act’).
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
-
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
-
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
-
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair' view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
-
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Joseph Robinsons FCCA ROBINSONS CONSULTING LIMITED Chartered accountant Independent Examiner
5 Underwood Street London N1 7LY
- 12 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Statement of Financial Activities (including income and expenditure account)
Year ended 31 December 2021
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | ||||
| funds | funds | Total funds | Total funds | ||
| Note | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Income and endowments | |||||
| Donations and legacies | 5 | 92,639 | – | 92,639 | 311,843 |
| Charitable activities | 6 | 14,782 | – | 14,782 | 27,890 |
| Investment income | 7 | – | 1 | 1 | – |
| ───────── | ──── | ───────── | ───────── | ||
| Total income | 107,421 | 1 | 107,422 | 339,733 | |
| ═════════ | ════ | ═════════ | ═════════ | ||
| Expenditure | |||||
| Expenditure on charitable activities | 8,9 | 180,681 | – | 180,681 | 239,118 |
| ───────── | ──── | ───────── | ───────── | ||
| Total expenditure | 180,681 | – | 180,681 | 239,118 | |
| ═════════ | ════ | ═════════ | ═════════ | ||
| ───────── | ──── | ───────── | ───────── | ||
| Net (expenditure)/income and net | |||||
| movement in funds | (73,260) | 1 | (73,259) | 100,615 | |
| ═════════ | ════ | ═════════ | ═════════ | ||
| Reconciliation of funds | |||||
| Total funds brought forward | 192,037 | 12,286 | 204,323 | 103,708 | |
| ───────── | ──────── | ───────── | ───────── | ||
| Total funds carried forward | 118,777 ═════════ |
12,287 ════════ |
131,064 ═════════ |
204,323 ═════════ |
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The notes on pages 15 to 23 form part of these financial statements.
- 13 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Statement of Financial Position
31 December 2021
| 2021 | 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | £ | £ | £ | |
| Fixed assets | ||||
| Tangible fixed assets | 14 | 3,842 | 5,354 | |
| Current assets | ||||
| Cash at bank and in hand | 130,315 | 201,617 | ||
| Creditors: amounts falling due within one year | 15 | 3,093 | 2,648 | |
| ───────── | ───────── | |||
| Net current assets | 127,222 | 198,969 | ||
| ───────── | ───────── | |||
| Total assets less current liabilities | 131,064 | 204,323 | ||
| ───────── | ───────── | |||
| Net assets | 131,064 | 204,323 | ||
| ═════════ | ═════════ | |||
| Funds of the charity | ||||
| Restricted funds | 12,287 | 12,286 | ||
| Unrestricted funds | 118,777 | 192,037 | ||
| ───────── | ───────── | |||
| Total charity funds | 18 | 131,064 ═════════ |
204,323 ═════════ |
For the year ending 31 December 2021 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Directors' responsibilities:
-
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476;
-
The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.
These financial statements were approved by the board of trustees and authorised for issue on and are signed on behalf of the board by: SIGNED SECURELY
10/08/2022 at 11:20:32 AM UTC
SIGNED SECURELY
10/08/2022 at 11:20:32 AM UTC
Rodney Woods Trustee
The notes on pages 15 to 23 form part of these financial statements.
- 14 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements
Year ended 31 December 2021
1. General information
The charity is a public benefit entity and a private company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales and a registered charity in England and Wales. The address of the registered office is City Temple Holborn Viaduct, London, EC1A 2DE.
2. Statement of compliance
These financial statements have been prepared in compliance with FRS 102, 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland', the Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) and the Companies Act 2006.
3. Accounting policies
(i) Basis of preparation
The financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis, as modified by the revaluation of certain financial assets and liabilities and investment properties measured at fair value through income or expenditure.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the entity.
(ii) Going concern
There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue.
(iii) Disclosure exemptions
The company has taken advantage of the following disclosure exemptions in preparing these financial statements, as permitted by the FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland":
(a) No cash flow statement has been presented for the LLP.(b) Disclosures in respect of financial instruments have not been presented.
(iv) Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees to further any of the charity's purposes.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular future project or commitment.
Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure declared by the donor or through the terms of an appeal, and fall into one of two sub-classes: restricted income funds or endowment funds.
- 15 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
3. Accounting policies (continued)
(v) Incoming resources
Donations, legacies and other forms of voluntary income are recognised as incoming resources when receivable, except insofar as they are incapable of financial measurement. Income tax recoverable on Gift Aid donations is credited at the same time as the related donations and is included in debtors in the Balance Sheet until received.
Income for room hire and events is credited to income at the time of the relevant event. Any such income received in advance is carried forward as a current liability in the Balance Sheet.
(vi) Resources expended
Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is classified under headings of the statement of financial activities to which it relates:
-
expenditure on charitable activities includes all costs incurred by a charity in undertaking activities that further its charitable aims for the benefit of its beneficiaries, including those support costs and costs relating to the governance of the charity apportioned to charitable activities.
-
other expenditure includes all expenditure that is neither related to raising funds for the charity nor part of its expenditure on charitable activities.
All costs are allocated to expenditure categories reflecting the use of the resource. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs are apportioned between the activities they contribute to on a reasonable, justifiable and consistent basis.
(vii) Tangible assets
Tangible fixed assets other than freehold land are stated at cost less depreciations.
(viii) Depreciation
Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost or valuation of an asset, less its residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset as follows:
Fixtures and equipment - 10% - 20% p.a. on cost Boiler - 10% straight line
(ix) Impairment of fixed assets
A review for indicators of impairment is carried out at each reporting date, with the recoverable amount being estimated where such indicators exist. Where the carrying value exceeds the recoverable amount, the asset is impaired accordingly. Prior impairments are also reviewed for possible reversal at each reporting date.
- 16 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
3. Accounting policies (continued)
Impairment of fixed assets (continued)
For the purposes of impairment testing, when it is not possible to estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, an estimate is made of the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs. The cash-generating unit is the smallest identifiable group of assets that includes the asset and generates cash inflows that largely independent of the cash inflows from other assets or groups of assets.
For impairment testing of goodwill, the goodwill acquired in a business combination is, from the acquisition date, allocated to each of the cash-generating units that are expected to benefit from the synergies of the combination, irrespective of whether other assets or liabilities of the charity are assigned to those units.
(x) Government grants
Government grants are recognised at the fair value of the asset received or receivable. Grants are not recognised until there is reasonable assurance that the charity will comply with the conditions attaching to them and the grants will be received.
Where the grant does not impose specified future performance-related conditions on the recipient, it is recognised in income when the grant proceeds are received or receivable. Where the grant does impose specified future performance-related conditions on the recipient, it is recognised in income only when the performance-related conditions have been met. Where grants received are prior to satisfying the revenue recognition criteria, they are recognised as a liability.
- 17 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
3. Accounting policies (continued)
(xi) Financial instruments
A financial asset or a financial liability is recognised only when the entity becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at the amount receivable or payable including any related transaction costs, unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where it is recognised at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest for a similar debt instrument.
Current assets and current liabilities are subsequently measured at the cash or other consideration expected to be paid or received and not discounted.
Debt instruments are subsequently measured at amortised cost.
Financial assets that are measured at cost or amortised cost are reviewed for objective evidence of impairment at the end of each reporting date. If there is objective evidence of impairment, an impairment loss is recognised under the appropriate heading in the statement of financial activities in which the initial gain was recognised.
For all equity instruments regardless of significance, and other financial assets that are individually significant, these are assessed individually for impairment. Other financial assets are either assessed individually or grouped on the basis of similar credit risk characteristics.
Any reversals of impairment are recognised immediately, to the extent that the reversal does not result in a carrying amount of the financial asset that exceeds what the carrying amount would have been had the impairment not previously been recognised.
(xii) Defined contribution plans
Contributions to defined contribution plans are recognised as an expense in the period in which the related service is provided. Prepaid contributions are recognised as an asset to the extent that the prepayment will lead to a reduction in future payments or a cash refund.
4. Limited by guarantee
The company is a charitable company limited by guarantee.
5. Donations and legacies
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total Funds | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | Funds | 2021 | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Donations | |||
| General donations | 84,139 | – | 84,139 |
- 18 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
5. Donations and legacies (continued)
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total Funds | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | Funds | 2021 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | ||
| Grants | ||||
| Government grant income | 8,500 | – | 8,500 | |
| ──────── | ──── | ──────── | ||
| 92,639 | – | 92,639 | ||
| ════════ | ════ | ════════ | ||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total Funds | ||
| Funds | Funds | 2020 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | ||
| Donations | ||||
| General donations | 298,299 | 14 | 298,313 | |
| Grants | ||||
| Government grant income | 13,530 | – | 13,530 | |
| ───────── | ──── | ───────── | ||
| 311,829 | 14 | 311,843 | ||
| ═════════ | ════ | ═════════ | ||
| Charitable activities | ||||
| Unrestricted | Total Funds | Unrestricted | Total Funds | |
| Funds | 2021 | Funds | 2020 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Conference income | 207 | 207 | 4,121 | 4,121 |
| Rental income | 14,575 | 14,575 | 23,769 | 23,769 |
| ──────── | ──────── | ──────── | ──────── | |
| 14,782 ════════ |
14,782 ════════ |
27,890 ════════ |
27,890 ════════ |
6. Charitable activities
7. Investment income
| Restricted | Total Funds | Restricted | Total Funds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | 2021 | Funds | 2020 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Bank interest receivable | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| ════ | ════ | ════ | ════ | |
| Expenditure on charitable activities by fund type | ||||
| Unrestricted | Total Funds | Unrestricted | Total Funds | |
| Funds | 2021 | Funds | 2020 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Church activities | 21,077 | 21,077 | 21,459 | 21,459 |
| Conference activities | 38,589 | 38,589 | 39,593 | 39,593 |
| Support costs | 121,015 | 121,015 | 178,066 | 178,066 |
| ───────── | ───────── | ───────── | ───────── | |
| 180,681 | 180,681 | 239,118 | 239,118 | |
| ═════════ | ═════════ | ═════════ | ═════════ |
8. Expenditure on charitable activities by fund type
- 19 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
9. Expenditure on charitable activities by activity type
| Activities | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| undertaken | Total funds | Total fund | |||
| directly | Support costs | 2021 | 2020 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Church activities | 21,077 | 105,830 | 126,907 | 163,326 | |
| Conference activities | 38,589 | 15,185 | 53,774 | 75,792 | |
| ──────── | ───────── | ───────── | ───────── | ||
| 59,666 | 121,015 | 180,681 | 239,118 | ||
| ════════ | ═════════ | ═════════ | ═════════ | ||
| 10. | Net (expenditure)/income | ||||
| Net (expenditure)/income is stated after charging/(crediting): | |||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||
| £ | £ | ||||
| Depreciation of tangible fixed assets | 1,512 | 1,327 | |||
| ═══════ | ═══════ | ||||
| 11. | Independent examination fees | ||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||
| £ | £ | ||||
| Fees payable to the independent examiner for: | |||||
| Independent examination of the financial statements | 1,200 ═══════ |
1,920 ═══════ |
12. Staff costs
| The total staff costs and employee benefits for the reporting period are analysed as follows: | The total staff costs and employee benefits for the reporting period are analysed as follows: | The total staff costs and employee benefits for the reporting period are analysed as follows: |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Wages and salaries | 54,414 | 62,033 |
| Social security costs | – | (5,979) |
| Employer contributions to pension plans | 5,723 | 5,872 |
| ──────── | ──────── | |
| 60,137 | 61,926 | |
| ════════ | ════════ | |
| The average head count of employees during the year was 4 (2020: 9). The average number of | ||
| full-time equivalent employees during the year is analysed as follows: | ||
| 2021 | 2020 | |
| No. | No. | |
| Number of staff | 4 | 9 |
| ════ | ════ |
No employee received employee benefits of more than £60,000 during the year (2020: Nil).
- 20 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
13. Trustee remuneration and expenses
Included in wages and salaries are the following amounts paid to trustees for services provided to the charity:
| Rodney Woods | £15,843 (2020:£15,843) | £15,843 (2020:£15,843) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marcos Ravelo | £893 (2020: £Nil) | |||
| 14. | Tangible fixed assets | |||
| Equipment | Boiler | Total | ||
| £ | £ | £ | ||
| Cost | ||||
| At 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021 | 14,932 | 6,222 | 21,154 | |
| ════════ | ═══════ | ════════ | ||
| Depreciation | ||||
| At 1 January 2021 | 11,931 | 3,869 | 15,800 | |
| Charge for the year | 890 | 622 | 1,512 | |
| ──────── | ─────── | ──────── | ||
| At 31 December 2021 | 12,821 | 4,491 | 17,312 | |
| ════════ | ═══════ | ════════ | ||
| Carrying amount | ||||
| At 31 December 2021 | 2,111 | 1,731 | 3,842 | |
| ════════ | ═══════ | ════════ | ||
| At 31 December 2020 | 3,001 | 2,353 | 5,354 | |
| ════════ | ═══════ | ════════ | ||
| 15. | Creditors: amounts falling due within one year | |||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||
| £ | £ | |||
| Accruals and deferred income | 1,200 | 1,920 | ||
| Other creditors | 1,893 | 728 | ||
| ─────── | ─────── | |||
| 3,093 ═══════ |
2,648 ═══════ |
16. Pensions and other post retirement benefits
Defined contribution plans
The amount recognised in income or expenditure as an expense in relation to defined contribution plans was £5,723 (2020: £5,872).
17. Government grants
The amounts recognised in the financial statements for government grants are as follows:
| 2021 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Recognised in income from donations and legacies: | ||
| Government grants income | 8,500 ═══════ |
13,530 ════════ |
- 21 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
18. Analysis of charitable funds
Unrestricted funds
| Unrestricted funds | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At | At | |||
| 1 January 20 | 31 | December | ||
| 21 | Income | Expenditure | 2021 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| General funds | 187,365 | 107,421 | (180,681) | 114,105 |
| Designated Fund 2 - For organ repairs | 4,672 | – | – | 4,672 |
| ───────── | ───────── | ───────── | ───────── | |
| 192,037 | 107,421 | (180,681) | 118,777 | |
| ═════════ | ═════════ | ═════════ | ═════════ | |
| At | At | |||
| 1 January 20 | 31 | December | ||
| 20 | Income | Expenditure | 2020 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| General funds | 86,764 | 339,719 | (239,118) | 187,365 |
| Designated Fund 2 - For organ repairs | 4,672 | – | – | 4,672 |
| ──────── | ───────── | ───────── | ───────── | |
| 91,436 | 339,719 | (239,118) | 192,037 | |
| ════════ | ═════════ | ═════════ | ═════════ | |
| Restricted funds | ||||
| At | At | |||
| 1 January 20 | 31 | December | ||
| 21 | Income | Expenditure | 2021 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Deacons Fund | 2,126 | – | – | 2,126 |
| Refugee & Woolbank Fund | 223 | – | – | 223 |
| COLHOP Fund | 9,937 | 1 | – | 9,938 |
| ──────── | ──── | ──── | ──────── | |
| 12,286 | 1 | – | 12,287 | |
| ════════ | ════ | ════ | ════════ | |
| At | At | |||
| 1 January 20 | 31 | December | ||
| 20 | Income | Expenditure | 2020 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Deacons Fund | 2,123 | 3 | – | 2,126 |
| Refugee & Woolbank Fund | 222 | 1 | – | 223 |
| COLHOP Fund | 9,927 | 10 | – | 9,937 |
| ──────── | ──── | ──── | ──────── | |
| 12,272 | 14 | – | 12,286 | |
| ════════ | ════ | ════ | ════════ |
- 22 -
City Temple URC
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
Year ended 31 December 2021
19. Analysis of net assets between funds
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total Funds | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | Funds | 2021 | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Tangible fixed assets | 3,842 | – | 3,842 |
| Current assets | 118,028 | 12,287 | 130,315 |
| Creditors less than 1 year | (3,093) | – | (3,093) |
| ───────── | ──────── | ───────── | |
| Net assets | 118,777 | 12,287 | 131,064 |
| ═════════ | ════════ | ═════════ | |
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total Funds | |
| Funds | Funds | 2020 | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Tangible fixed assets | 5,354 | – | 5,354 |
| Current assets | 189,331 | 12,286 | 201,617 |
| Creditors less than 1 year | (2,648) | – | (2,648) |
| ───────── | ──────── | ───────── | |
| Net assets | 192,037 | 12,286 | 204,323 |
| ═════════ | ════════ | ═════════ |
- 23 -