2024-12-31-accounts - Exeter City Centre Chaplaincy

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Exeter High Street

2024 ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

ECCC, c/o The Mint Methodist Church, Fore Street, Exeter, EX4 3AT ; email: exeterccchaplaincy@gmail.com Registered charity Number 1160294

INTRODUCTION TO THE ANNUAL REPORT SHEILA SWARBRICK, Chair of Trustees.

Welcome to the tenth annual report of the Exeter City Centre Chaplaincy covering the calendar year 2024. National and international events continued to affect retail business in the city centre as they did across the country. Inflation meant not only often fewer sales but also an increase in theft so some stores have security staff and extra barriers while others cannot afford that. There was an increase in anti-social behaviour which has led to the creation of an extra security presence in the city. The four seasonal Fore St Flea Markets on Sundays have become a feature of city life while the Cathedral Green Christmas Market grew and there were also Christmas stalls in Princesshay.

The small team of chaplains continued to visit shops where they found a changing situation with business that had closed, others changing opening hours or with rapid staff turnover or few staff around. Expenditure during the year was minimal and again donations from churches were not required.

The ministry of prayer for the city centre and for the chaplains is essential. Regular meetings for prayer and sharing by the chaplains continued at the Mint church. The Trustees met in July and December with them.

Sadly, there were no new volunteer chaplains during the year and indeed Maureen Stoolman resigned as a chaplain but agreed to be the Mint representative on the trustee body. Paul Collins took over her visiting on Fore St where she had built up good relationships with various businesses.

Though now a small group the presence of the chaplains is valued by various businesses and pastoral encounters take place. Our strapline ‘reflecting God’s love in the city’ remains as important as when the chaplaincy was forming in 2013 before our launch in January 2014.

The Exeter City Centre Chaplaincy came into being through the financial, prayerful and people support of different churches in the city. It will only flourish if we continue to work together affirming our shared calling in Christ to care for our city. We hope that you can commit to supporting this ministry through your prayers, your giving (in the future) and through encouraging someone to become a volunteer chaplain. If you need more information, please get in touch.

Finally, my thanks to the hardworking chaplains and for the support of the other trustees, without you there would be no city centre chaplaincy.

Chair of Trustees.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Rev’d Sheila Swarbrick - Central Parish - Chair
Rev’d Simon Taylor - South Street Baptist Church
Rev’d Dr Alastair Logan - United Reformed Church
Rev’d Paul Collings - St Nicholas Methodist Church
Major Sue Camp-Richards (R) - Salvation Army
David Smith - Church of England
Hon. Treasurer - Dr Sean Swarbrick

CHAPLAINS

Lead Chaplain

Rev’d Paul Collings - Methodist Church

Volunteer Chaplains

Major Sue Camp-Richards (R) - Salvation Army
David Smith - Church of England
Maureen Stoolman - Methodist
Tim Gainsford - Vineyard Church

Aims and Purpose

Exeter City Centre Chaplaincy seeks to reflect the love of God by offering a compassionate and consistent presence in the heart of the city. We do this by:

Visiting shops and businesses regularly throughout the City Centre
Caring for the business community through active listening, encouragement, and practical support, as needed

Our ministry is rooted in a desire to serve others with integrity, kindness, and faith, wherever they are in their working lives.

Mission Statement

We seek to serve those who work in the business community of Exeter City Centre by being a practical Christian presence, offering support, encouragement, and expressing the caring love of God in all we do.

We seek to minister to their needs and to contribute to the well-being of the City Centre through being alongside them in their everyday lives.

Aims of Exeter City Centre Chaplaincy

1. To provide a regular and visible Christian presence in Exeter’s City Centre through visits to shops, offices, and places of business.

2. To offer pastoral support and a listening ear to those working in the business community, regardless of faith or background.

3. To build relationships of trust through consistent and compassionate engagement.

4. To respond prayerfully and practically to the needs and concerns of individuals and workplaces.

5. To promote the spiritual and emotional wellbeing of all those we encounter in the course of our ministry.

6. To train, support, and encourage volunteer chaplains, equipping them to serve effectively and faithfully.

7. To work collaboratively with churches and city partners in expressing the love of God in the heart of Exeter.

Exeter City Centre Chaplaincy is a team of trained volunteer chaplains who serve on behalf of the city centre churches. The chaplaincy is governed by a Board of Trustees and managed by a Lead Chaplain.

The Work of the Chaplaincy:

Operates under the initiative of the Christian churches, while maintaining respectful connections with other faith communities across the city.
Offers a professional, confidential service, with confidentiality only breached where there is concern for someone’s safety or wellbeing.
Functions independently of commercial, union, or statutory bodies, maintaining impartiality and integrity in all relationships.
Provides pastoral care and support to the business community of Exeter City Centre, offering compassion and presence without preaching or proselytising, and regardless of an individual’s faith or belief.

Structure and Governance

Exeter City Centre Chaplaincy is registered with the Charity Commission as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), registration number 1160294.

The chaplaincy is overseen by a Board of Trustees, comprised of representatives from local churches. The trustees:

Provide strategic governance and oversight of the chaplaincy’s work and development.
Serve as a vital link between the chaplaincy and the wider church and civic community in central Exeter.
Support the Leadership Team, helping to shape the chaplaincy’s vision, uphold its values, and champion its mission within the city.
Lead and encourage initiatives that ensure the effective delivery of the chaplaincy’s purpose: to bring the love and presence of God into the heart of Exeter’s working life.

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Responsibilities of the Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees plays a vital role in guiding and supporting the work of Exeter City Centre Chaplaincy (ECCC). Its core responsibilities include:

Promoting the integration of pastoral and spiritual care into the mission, activities, and daily operation of ECCC.
Building and maintaining relationships that strengthen the chaplaincy’s presence and effectiveness in the city.
Championing a clear understanding of chaplaincy values, culture, and systems within the organisation and wider community.
Encouraging and upholding ethical practice , particularly in decision-making and the delivery of care.
Fostering collaboration with Christian denominations and other faith communities in Exeter.
Leading efforts to secure funding , ensuring the financial sustainability of ECCC’s work and enabling the chaplaincy to grow and thrive year by year.

RESERVES POLICY 2024 – 2025

Governance and Financial Accountability Statement

We submit this annual report in accordance with the aims and objectives of Exeter City Centre Chaplaincy (ECCC) and in line with the Charities SORP (Statement of Recommended Practice).

The trustees have set the mission priorities of the chaplaincy with careful consideration of the resources available—both in terms of personnel and financial capacity. All mission initiatives and projects have been costed, or future projections have been made, based on identified needs, as discerned by the Lead Chaplain and the Trustees.

A Reserves Policy has been agreed and is outlined below. This policy is also formally recorded in the trustees' minutes and included in this Annual Report.

As trustees, we are fully committed to financial transparency and accountability, recognising our responsibility to manage all funds entrusted to the chaplaincy with integrity. We are willing to provide further financial information if requested.

The Chaplaincy holds a General Fund, which, as of 31 December 2024, stood at £4790. This reserve is maintained to ensure the sustainability of the chaplaincy’s ongoing ministry and mission commitments.

General Funds Reserve

The chaplaincy’s funds are held on deposit with the Co-operative Bank.

Our aim is to maintain reserves sufficient to cover at least six months of typical expenditure, which equates to approximately £500 under normal operating conditions. These reserves serve as working capital—enabling us to meet regular running costs, manage fluctuations in spending, and provide a contingency for the continued development of our ministry in Exeter’s city centre.

Looking ahead, our priorities for the use of funds include:

Expanding our training programme to equip newly recruited volunteer chaplains.
Widening our outreach, engaging with shops and businesses not yet covered by the current team.
Enhancing the ongoing development of our chaplains, enabling them to offer more effective and compassionate support to those they serve.

This Reserves Policy is reviewed and updated annually to ensure it continues to reflect the chaplaincy’s needs and vision.

ANNUAL Review for January to December 2024

By Chaplain – David Smith

Witness Through Presence and Prayer: The Ministry of Chaplains in ECCC by chaplain David Smith

The chaplains of Exeter City Centre Churches (ECCC) embody a witness that combines both relationship and representation—just as many Christians do in their everyday faith. Their ministry begins with their relationship with God, and to sustain this, chaplains gather for prayer every other Tuesday at the Mint Methodist Church. While not all can attend every time, we believe that prayer is foundational to everything we do.

Our mission is simple yet profound: to represent Jesus Christ in the shops and shopping streets at the heart of Exeter. We do this in partnership with Him, meeting people where they are, in the everyday rhythms of their working lives.

The city centre is richly varied in character and community. On Sidwell Street, a stretch of smaller and charity shops, there is a vibrant ethnic mix and a frequent need for reassurance and presence. Incidents of shoplifting and threats to staff are sadly not uncommon, and our regular chaplaincy visits have been especially appreciated in this context.

Fore Street, at the other end of the city, is home to a variety of independent shops. It too has seen its share of challenges, including occasional hostility and security concerns. Again, the consistent presence of a chaplain offers both comfort and support.

Closer to the Cathedral, areas like South Street and Cathedral Yard also feature smaller shops, though chaplain visits here are currently less frequent. Even so, we remain available and open to ministry in these spaces as opportunity arises.

At the city’s centre, Exeter High Street presents a different set of dynamics. With larger national retailers and many part-time staff, our role becomes one of prayerful presence—we visit, listen, and support without disrupting busy schedules. Occasionally, individual stores have declined visits, and while we respect those boundaries, we continue to hold the staff and premises in prayer.

In Princesshay, the Guildhall Centre, and Gandy Street, relationships often develop with individual staff members, and we offer encouragement and support where it’s welcome. In these busier environments, simply being present becomes a quiet but powerful form of ministry. We also extend this support to cleaning, maintenance, and security teams, who are integral to the life of these centres.

We remain attentive to national news and economic trends, especially as they impact local retail. We pray specifically for how these pressures affect the Exeter branches of national chains.

Throughout the year, we have also engaged with pop-up shops across the city. Even when their stay is brief, we make the effort to connect—sometimes meeting the proprietors only once, but always seeking to offer a word of blessing or a listening ear.

In all of this, our ministry is rooted in God’s love, expressed through consistent presence, compassionate listening, and faithful prayer.

Recruitment of new chaplains

Toward the end of 2023, plans were put in place to recruit additional chaplains in 2024 to fill vacancies created by the retirement of several long-serving team members. Although a number of individuals expressed initial interest in the chaplaincy, none have yet committed to taking up the role.

Further recruitment efforts are planned for 2025, with a renewed focus on invitation, discernment, and training for those who feel called to serve as city centre chaplains.

The Chaplains Training Programme Includes:

Pre-training observation and investigation

Self-directed independent exploratory study on visible presence
Module 1: Exploring visible presence together in a taught module
Module 2: Chaplaincy skills – taught session and exploration
Shadowing experience – a taster experience guided by a lead or volunteer chaplain
Module 3: The chaplaincy community – learning how the volunteer fits and relates within the chaplaincy team
Module 4: The chaplaincy toolkit – different models of practice, policy and expectations
Preparation assessment for commissioning
In between some modules all new volunteer chaplains are expected to undertake some ‘homework’ as preparation for the next one. Lead Chaplain provide mentoring and coaching support throughout the whole process.

Chaplaincy Prayer

Loving God, we give you thanks for those who work in the businesses and shops at the heart of Exeter. Pour out your Spirit on the City Centre Chaplaincy which serves them. Day by day may we celebrate your presence in our life together; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Exeter City Centre Chaplaincy Financial Statement

Summaryfor 2024

In hand on	4790.16

Income		Expenditure

Mint Methodist Church	500.00	Insurance	448.00
		Chaplains' expenses	92.67
		Administration	35.00

Total income	500.00	Total expenditure	575.67

		In hand on	4714.49
		includes £1000 in reserves

Through the streamlining of operation and less demands upon funds, trustees did not seek sponsorship from a number of Exeter partner Churches for the fiscal year ending December 2023.

Website https://exeterccchaplaincy.blogspot.com