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2024-03-31-accounts

Hardwick Evan elical Church g

Trustees' report 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name Hardwick Christian Fellowship Other name the charity uses Hardwick Evangelical Church Registered charity number 1163049 Charity’s principal address Unit 17, Broadway House, 149-151 St. Neots Road Hardwick, CAMBRIDGE, CB23 7QJ Email address HardwickEvangelical@gmail.com Website HardwickEvangelicalChurch.co.uk

Structure, Governance and Management

The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation governed by constitution.

Every appointed charity trustee must be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a general meeting of the members of the CIO

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name Office (if any) Dates acted if not for whole year
1 Revd K Gaze Minister
2 Mrs E Instone-Brewer Secretary
3 Mrs S Thomson Treasurer
4 Dr S Gaze Trustee

Objectives of the charity

The objectives of the charity are the advancement of the Christian Faith and other charitable work focusing mainly on Hardwick and nearby villages, to the public benefit as defined in guidance issued by the Charity Commission.

Summary of the main activities of the charity

The church undertook the following activities and encouraged ordinary people to live out the faith as part of a local church through:

Details of the charity's activities

Financial review

At the end of the financial year 2023-2024, the net current assets on 31st March 2024 were £146,210

Receipts in the financial year 2023-2024 were £36,922 whilst payments amounted to £51,483. Full accounts have been prepared and submitted to the Charity Commission.

Receipts consisted predominantly of charitable giving from members and others who attend the church along with the Gift Aid tax recoverable on them. There were no significant gifts from individuals this year.

Payments include the salary of one part-time minister.

The charity seeks to maintain a minimum reserve of six months’ salaries and related costs and committed expenditure for rental of the office.

The trustees have no concerns regarding the charity as an ongoing concern.

Leadership Team

The Leadership Team is responsible for discerning the spiritual direction of the church and facilitating growth and development in Christ of church members and the wider community. The Leadership Team comprised the minister and three lay members. In addition the Trustee Team comprised the minister ( ex officio ), secretary and treasurer, with an added elected trustee.

Trustees

The general duties of the trustees are to ensure that the church continues to fulfil its aims as a charity by being included in the hands-on management of the church, and submitting an annual report to the Charity Commission. The trustees aim to meet together every month, sometimes with the leadership team to plan church business meetings and other practical matters, and sometimes alone to review the church’s policies.

Sunday morning services

We continued to meet regularly on Sunday mornings in Hardwick School for a church service 10.30am-12noon for worship, fellowship and teaching, and for Young Church and youth group.

We also ran Allsorts four times during the year, which is a sensory church service for children and families.

We continued to have communion regularly, usually on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month.

We met in November with other churches west of Cambridge for our annual Joint Church Service.

Weekday Groups

Weekday groups have continued to meet during the year with a combination of online and in-person meetings for Bible study, prayer and mutual support.

Preaching

Preaching topics during the year included Galatians, Relationship with God, Colossians, Songs in the Bible, and Israel. Podcasts of talks can be accessed via the church website.

The Living Room

The Living Room has been useful for hosting various small group meetings, the Community Hub, the Wednesday Bible Study, the Alpha course, and regular craft mornings. Many thanks to those who host and help at these groups. The room has also been used for other groups, and has become the preferred meeting place for the Joint Church Service planning group and the West Cambridge Christian Youth Ministries (WCCYM) Executive Committee.

Community events

We held an Easter jigsaw café at Easter 2023.

In May 2023 we showed the King’s coronation on the big screen in the school hall. There were refreshments, and a fish and chips lunch. It was a free event, funded by Stagecoach. There was an open invitation for people in the village to come, especially those who would otherwise be on their own but would rather watch the coronation with other people. About 40 people came, and much appreciated the event.

At Christmas time, we once again built a Life-Size Nativity scene outside Hardwick School, together with others from the community who helped with the construction and maintenance. There were about 280 people at the Carols on Christmas Eve at the Nativity scene. We also organised carol singing around the village with people from St Mary’s church.

In December, we also, with some other community groups, provided 35 Christmas hampers for families in the village who needed them. These are administered through the school, who identify families who would benefit from them. We do not know who the families are.

During term time, we facilitated the Baby and Toddler Group. This is not specifically a church activity (i.e. there is no Christian content), and remains a community group in its own right.

Kate Gaze re-established the allotments at Hardwick School, which had been abandoned for a few years, and runs an allotment group weekly with students from year 3 / 4.

Over the Easter weekend 2024, we put up Easter reflections. Usually, this is done jointly with St Mary’s at St Mary’s church. However, this year, St Mary’s were unable to be involved because of the repair work being done on the church, so we used the green outside the school, and have had positive feedback about it.

We also held a short Easter Sunrise service on Easter Sunday. We met at Frankie’s car park at 6am, walked over the blue bridge part way to Dry Drayton, held a brief Easter reflection, and returned to enjoy breakfast together at Frankie’s at 7am. Those unable to join the walk met at The Living Room for an Easter reflection before breakfast at Frankie’s.

Churches working together for Hardwick

Since the start of Hardwick Evangelical Church, we have sought to be in good relationship with the congregation and leadership of St Mary’s Church, Hardwick, recognising that some of what we do is done more effectively as two distinct churches but there are also areas where it is more effective to work together. We continue to enjoy a good relationship, and Village Prayers continue to run as a joint venture on Wednesday mornings usually on Zoom but in-person in St Mary’s Cabin on the first Wednesday of the month.

In collaboration with WCCYM, we also presented “It’s Your Move” booklets to Year 6 students at the Hardwick campus of our local primary school.

Pippins (Community Café) has continued to run on the first Saturday of the month in the school hall. This is a joint venture between the two churches and the Community Association. This has proved immensely popular in the village – and beyond – and in June 2024 will celebrate its 10th ‘birthday’.

Working together for nearby villages

Through WCCYM and the annual Joint Church Service, we have many links with churches and Christians in nearby villages, across denominations. A lot of these contacts are centred around youth work but there are other very useful conversations that emerge from the relationships that are built.

As part of the Eastern Baptist Association (EBA), we have additional links with local Baptist Ministers who meet up every 2-3 months for prayer and support. We also meet as cluster churches three times a year for tea and a Service.

Online presence

For some years now, the church has had a website, YouTube channel and a Facebook page. We continue to publish news online for the local community and record our weekly sermons which are made available in podcast form for streaming or download.

Young Church

This year Young Church has continued to be co-ordinated by a skilled volunteer. From AprilSeptember Tiny Church and Young Church continued as before but by September all the children from our regular church families had reached primary school age. There are no longer any children in Tiny Church on a regular basis although there have been visitors. We now have all the children from age 5-10 years together in Young Church. The children managed this change well and although the sessions can be challenging at times, due to the children’s differing needs, we have been enjoying our sessions together.

We meet for Young Church in the Community Room from 10.30am-11.40am and then join together with the rest of church for a time of worship and prayer. We usually have 5-6 children in Young Church each week with 3-4 leaders. The high adult to child ratio helps us to provide 1:1 support for those children who may need it. We also have a ‘cosy corner’ set up in the room with a variety of fidget toys and sensory items, and offer movement breaks for the children who may need them.

A typical Young Church session includes a welcome activity, ‘God Spot’ (a time for everyone to share with others and thank God for the things he has done that week), a Bible story and snack, a song, a related game, craft or other practical activity, discussion and time for prayer and reflection. From April to January we continued following the ‘Connected Hearts’ curriculum for our sessions. These sessions had an emphasis on the Holy Spirit and helping children to develop their own personal relationship with God, taking time to listen to what He wants to say to them. Later in the year we completed a series on The Armour of God and a mini-series on the events around the Easter Story and Pentecost.

Baby & Toddler Group

Hardwick Baby and Toddler Group has continued to take place on a Thursday morning in the Community Room, facilitated by Hardwick Evangelical Church. We usually have 3 members of the church to help run the group each week with many others from the church helping by baking cakes. The group has continued to be really appreciated by those who come along, from the village and within the local area. We have had many new families join recently and the group is always well attended, usually with over 12 families. We provide a range of toys and activities for the children to enjoy with their parents/carers as well as providing an opportunity for people to meet together and enjoy each other’s company over a cuppa and cake. Although there is no Christian content at the group, it has been a great opportunity to get alongside those in the community and share God’s love in a practical way. We have also seen a number of our toddler group families join us at Allsorts.

Youth Work

We continue to run youth sessions on most Sundays during the main service. We have recently had two new young people join, and still have a small group of up to four young people. We have sometimes followed the sermon series, and sometimes done a separate series of sessions.

At the end of the last academic year in July, in conjunction with St Mary’s Church and WCCYM, we ran a session for Year 6 pupils in Hardwick Primary School, to give out the ‘It’s Your Move’ Scripture Union books and do some activities to help prepare them for secondary school. We have the same session planned for later in July this year.

Our partnership with WCCYM has continued, providing additional regular youth work activities for young people to get involved in. These activities have included:

The WCCYM Summer Party later this July will be hosted on the field at Hardwick Primary School, as it was two years ago.

Safeguarding

The church has two experienced Safeguarding leads, one having a focus on children and young people, and one having a focus on adults. No additional leaders have been trained this year. DBS checks and updates are carried out through Thirtyone:eight (previously known as CCPAS – Churches Child Protection Advisory Service). The leads are also responsible for updating the policy and any associated Safeguarding procedures for the church.

In September 2023 we held a Safeguarding meeting for anyone in church to understand more about Safeguarding procedures, where we looked in detail at parts of the policy.

Alpha

The church ran an Alpha in the autumn of 2023. We had 2 guests and number of people from the church attend. There were generally between 8 and 10 people each week. We met in The Living Room on Wednesday evenings, where magnificent cake was provided by both people from the church and the guests. We used the Alpha videos with question breaks which was good for stimulating discussion. We held an away day one Saturday at Childerley Hall Chapel, with people from the church not involved in Alpha joining us for lunch and the afternoon. Whilst Alpha aims to introduce the basics of the Christian faith, it also facilitates building relationships with people in our community, and I think both of these were accomplished.

Mission Links

Our current Mission Links are:

The church supports these Missions by annual financial giving.

Last year saw the introduction of issuing emails to provide more up to date needs for specific prayer. It is planned to increase these Mission Links emails, hopefully on a weekly basis.

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the above report.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:

Susie Thomson Treasurer 15 August 2024

Enid Instone-Brewer Secretary 15 August 2024

HARDWICK EVANGELICAL CHURCH

INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

For the year ending 31 March 2024
1
Income
A
Gifts - Regular giving
B
Gifts - Youth Work (R)
C
Gift Aid tax refund
D
Outreach
D1
Outreach - community hubs
B7
Charitable Activities - toddler group
E
Interest
F
Online fundraising
Total Income
2
Expenditure
A
Payroll:
Minister
Children & Families Worker
Youth Worker
B
Church Activities:
1
Church leadership
2
Children & Families' work
3
Youth work (R)
4
Pastoral
5
Welfare
6
Outreach (D)
6a
Outreach - community hubs
6c
A428 Pioneer Work (R)
6d
Charitable activities - Toddler Group
7
Event costs
8
Sunday services
9
Mission giving
C
Administration:
1
Fees & affiliations
2
Property Costs
3
Equipment (D)
4
Training & resources (D)
5
Sundry
6
Bookkeeping
7
Recruitment
Total Expenditure
Net expenditure over Income		 2023-24
ACTUAL
BUDGET
VARIANCE
£
£
£
31,613
28,000
3,613
240
240
0
0
5,900
(5,900)
670
900
(230)
2,106
2,106
977
0
977
1,208
1,100
108
108
150
(42)
36,922
36,290
632
25,747
25,827
81
0
15,614
15,614
0
5,000
5,000
25,747
46,441
20,695
613
600
(13)
287
600
313
65
300
235
0
300
300
60
250
190
1,544
1,500
(44)
824
(824)
0
0
977
(977)
2,021
2,100
79
335
500
165
6,700
4,500
(2,200)
13,426
10,650
(2,776)
1,173
1,850
677
8,925
8,700
(225)
17
500
483
673
500
(173)
50
1,400
1,350
1,198
500
(698)
275
0
(275)
12,310
13,450
1,140
51,483
70,541
19,059
(14,560)
(34,251)
19,691

CHARITY (OMMISSION Independent examiner's report on the FOR ENGLAND AND WALES accounts Sedlon A Independent Examinerfs Roport Report to the trustees Hardwick Evangelical Church On accounts for the year ended Charity no lif any) 31 March 2024 1163049 Set out on pages 1 4 of the Financial Statements I report lo the Iruslees on my examinal. :" charity I'the Trust, I lor the year ended _41 l I the above Responsibilities and basis of report As the chariiy's Iruslees you are respoiisible lor the prepa,. alion ol the acooLnls In accortiance Nvilh th.e requirements of thè Chai"Iliès Act 2011 I'lhe Acl'l. I report In respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and In carrying Dul my examination I have follo￿,ed all the applicable Direction5 given by the Charity Commission under section 14515llb! of ihe Act Independent examiner's statement of 11. Del&le I l if 170t clppIIG<lble I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material mallers have '.I',è"iion In connection witli the examin.8tlOl-: i fy.11&{-4*￿￿I4l which gives me cause lo believe th311ii, J:-,i ".ial.- i.Jl the accounting record5 were not kept in accordance with Section 130 of the Charities Act. or the accounts did not accord vrfilh the accounlino rectsrds." or the accounts did not comply will the apDlicable requirements concerning the form ancs conlenl of accouii15 sel out In the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts Give a 'ti"ue and fair view vrfhich Is not a matter considered as part of an Independent exarllinalion. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters In connedion with the examination ID which, attention should be draw) in this report In order lo enable a proper under51and1ng of the accounts lo be reached. Plp.8.op rtplplp thp Ivoirl,p ifr? fthp l)iackels if Ihgy do iiol 81?£)Iv Signed: T- Date.. Name: Relevant professional | qualificationlsl or body IER Oct 2018

lif anyl- Address.. Li 02c4 C62S 60 Sectlon Dl$clo8ure (see CC32 Independent examination of charity accouiils" directions and guidance for examiners). Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose IER Oct 2018