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Hoddesdon Christadelphian Services

Registered Charity no. 1163488

Annual report and accounts

Year Ended 31 March 2025

Administrative Information .................................................................................................................... 2 Structure, Governance and Management .............................................................................................. 2 Objectives and Activities ......................................................................................................................... 3 Achievements and Performance ............................................................................................................. 3 Annual Conference ............................................................................................................................. 3 Production and distribution of materials for worship resources ........ Error! Bookmark not defined. Provision of grants towards attendance at conference...................................................................... 4 Financial review ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Contributions made by volunteers ......................................................................................................... 6 Appendix 1: Full Breakdown of Accounts ............................................................................................... 7

Appendix 2: Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Hoddesdon Christadelphian Services 9

Administrative Information

Name: Hoddesdon Christadelphian Services Charity number: 1163488 Principal address: 10 Wentworth Drive, Weybridge, KT13 9AJ Trustees: Mr James Bilton Mrs Jacqueline Bilton Mr David Cox Mr Redmond Peel Mrs Miranda Peel Mr James Riley Mr Keith Riley Mrs Mary Riley Dr Joy Standeven (Secretary) Mrs Alison Tarrant Mr James Whitehorn (Treasurer)

Structure, Governance and Management

The Charity and its property are managed and administered by a committee of Charity Trustees. All the Trustees of the Charity are members of the Hoddesdon Christadelphian Services Committee. They are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Charity. Members of the Hoddesdon Christadelphian Services Committee other than the Trustees are Members of the Charity.

The method of appointment of Trustees of the Hoddesdon Christadelphian Services Committee is set out in clause 10 of The Constitution of Hoddesdon Christadelphian Services (the governing document) dated 26[th] June 2015. The Trustees have taken steps to ensure that they all understand the charity’s purpose (objects) and rules as set out in the constitution and are aware of their responsibilities to comply with Charity Commission guidance as set out in ‘The Essential Trustee: What you need to know, what you need to do (CC3)’.

The Trustees met four times during the year (including the annual general meeting held on 5[th] October 2024 with an average level of attendance of 90%). Trustees receive no remuneration for their services. Reasonable expenses may be reimbursed in accordance with the charity’s expenses policy

Government and Charity regulations, together with the development of technology, now enable management meetings to be held face-to-face, virtual - on-line using Zoom, or using a hybrid format; all options we take advantage of to reduce unnecessary travel expenditure.

The trustees have reviewed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, including financial sustainability, venue contractual commitments, and safeguarding. Appropriate systems and policies are in place to mitigate these risks, and risk is kept under regular review.

Objectives and Activities

To advance Bible-based Christian faith in accordance with Christadelphian beliefs for the benefit of the Christadelphian community and anyone interested in the practical application of Christian faith through:

The holding of an Annual Conference open to anyone interested to attend for worship, spiritual renewal, to increase Biblical understanding and learn effective methods of preaching.
Producing and distributing resource materials for worship.
Providing grants to help as many people as possible, especially young people, come to a safe place at the annual conference to worship, learn, challenge and grow in their faith
Promoting Christ-like behaviour towards all

When planning our activities for the year the Trustees have considered the Commission’s guidelines on public benefit and, specifically, guidelines on charities for the advancement of religion. In particular our intention is to focus activities on varied aspects of faith in practice by:

Providing opportunities at the annual conference for learning about the Bible and effective methods of preaching including outreach work that helps individuals who wish to develop a close and positive relationship with God.
The production and distribution of materials to aid worship.
Offering as low a price as possible, with special reductions for young people and any who find the full cost of conference difficult, so as to enable as many people as possible to attend conference.

A principle underlying the conference weekend is that it should be inclusive, embracing all ages, all backgrounds, all views, all characters, those already committed to Christian belief and those still searching.

The age range at conference is wide (characteristically under 18 – 90+ years). A safe-guarding policy is applied for delegates under the age of 18 who will be present under the responsibility of their parent(s) or under the specific responsibility of another adult delegate. The under-18 booking form requires a signed declaration of care.

Whilst all those aged 25 years of age and under are automatically granted a significant two-thirds reduction in the weekend charge, any delegate can apply for, and be granted, the 50% subsidised attendance rate. Trustees’ attention is focussed on enabling conference attendance by as many as possible.

The object of promoting Christ-like behaviour towards all means that no individual or group will be treated any less favourably than any other, all will be welcome and given access to conference. By joining in activities with others it is the trustees wish that all will feel support and encouragement as everyone tries to shape their lifestyle to be the best that Christians aim for it to be.

Achievements and Performance

Annual Conference

The event, held from 14–16 March 2025, marked the 62nd celebration of the annual conference, once again hosted at High Leigh Christian Conference Centre in Hertfordshire. High Leigh continues to be an excellent venue, offering warm hospitality and the facilities required to support a conference of this scale.

In common with many conference venues, High Leigh has had to make significant changes to its contractual terms in response to the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis on

the hospitality sector. While these changes have presented challenges, the committee has been able to meet them thanks to the generosity of conference delegates.

A total of 224 delegates attended the 2025 conference, with ages ranging from 16 to over 90 years. Participants travelled not only from across the UK but also from Europe, Canada, and the USA. Several attendees were joining the conference for the first time, and many benefited from subsidised places, including all delegates aged 25 and under.

As has been customary for many years, the programme was structured to offer a choice of group activities on Saturday, followed by plenary sessions for the remainder of the weekend. On Saturday, seventeen focus groups were offered, covering a wide range of aspects of Christian life. Of these, three were delivered in masterclass format, eleven as interactive workshops, and three as practical sessions. The masterclasses were delivered live and also recorded for later access, enabling delegates unable to attend in person to benefit from these sessions in their own time. Each delegate selected two focus groups to attend, with plenary praise and social sessions taking place on Saturday evening.

On Sunday morning, the main study for this year’s conference, “Finding Meaning in an Anxious Generation,” was led by one of our members. This was followed in the afternoon by a Celebration Communion Service, which provided a fitting conclusion to the weekend.

In keeping with a tradition maintained for more than sixty years, delegates were invited to complete a detailed questionnaire covering all aspects of the conference. The response rate of approximately 80% was very encouraging. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, offering strong validation of the committee’s work, alongside thoughtful suggestions to inform future planning. The comments and ideas received will be invaluable in shaping future events, including an innovative new venture planned for the forthcoming summer: Family Hoddesdon.

The Worship Team coordinated music throughout the weekend, with several delegates participating in the band. Their contribution was widely praised and added significantly to the quality of worship.

In addition to the structured programme, a prayer room was available as a quiet space for reflection and prayer. Delegates also had opportunities to purchase additional resources, including copies of the conference worship books and a small selection of other titles relevant to topics of current interest within the Christian community. The venue provided many comfortable indoor social spaces for relaxation and conversation, as well as extensive, well-maintained gardens for walking and informal fellowship.

The conference collection, together with donations made during and since the event, has been instrumental in enabling the committee to meet the requirements of the revised venue contract while maintaining the subsidy fund. This fund remains essential in ensuring that delegates, young and old, can attend the conference regardless of personal financial circumstances.

Overall, the 2025 conference was judged to be a great success, with both delegates and committee members expressing high levels of satisfaction and optimism as planning begins for 2026.

Production and distribution of materials for worship resources

The primary worship resource produced by the committee is Praise the Lord (PTL), a hard-backed compilation of 300 hymns, containing full musical scores and lyrics. This publication serves first and foremost as a hymnal drawn from both Christian and Christadelphian traditions, and is widely used

throughout the Christadelphian community, as well as by a small number of related groups. During the year, 92 copies of the PTL hymnbook were sold.

To complement this core resource and to support a broader and more contemporary range of worship, the committee also maintains a supplementary collection titled Praise the Lord 2016 (PTL 2016). First released in 2016, this smaller volume contains 37 more contemporary hymns. During the reporting year, 60 copies of PTL 2016 were sold.

In addition to the ongoing provision of printed worship materials, electronic versions of both PTL and PTL 2016 continue to be made available for use on personal devices. Sales of these digital editions also took place during the year, enabling wider and more flexible access to these worship resources.

Provision of grants towards attendance at conference

In last year’s report, the trustees highlighted the need to review the impact of significantly increased conference charges, particularly in relation to maintaining high levels of attendance among young people. Following this review, and having regard to Charity Commission guidance, the trustees confirmed, that supporting conference attendance by young people should be prioritised as a core funding objective of the charity.

As a result, grants providing a 66% reduction in conference charges were awarded to all applicants aged 25 and under who wished to attend. This approach has enabled continued strong youth participation despite rising costs.

As costs continue to increase across all areas of conference provision, conference charges for all delegates will remain under ongoing review, with adjustments made where necessary to ensure both financial sustainability and accessibility.

Financial review

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Hoddesdon Christadelphian Services financial situation for the year ended 2025. The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis

	31.03.24	31.03.25
Conference Account	£0.00	£8,485.91
On Going Services	£18,820.62	£20,140.84
Subsidy Fund	£17,949.46	£31,560.91
Youth project Fund	£0.00	£0.00
Legacy Fund	£11,752.65	£11,752.65
Total	£48,522.73	£71,940.31
Movement in Year		£23,471.58

Note: All funds shown are unrestricted, with internal designations applied by the trustees

Year ending 31 March 2025

(Full financial breakdown provided in Appendix 1 )

Total receipts on unrestricted funds for the year amounted to £69,181.85 , comprising the following:

£52,250.43 in net delegate fees received, together with £36.47 interest income.
£3,283.50 from sales of the committee’s publication Praise the Lord during the financial year.
£13,611.45 in donations and Gift Aid reclaimed, representing one-off donations made to Hoddesdon Christadelphian Services by members of the public, together with associated Gift Aid receipts.

Total expenditure for the year amounted to £ (45,764.27) . The principal movements are explained below.

Costs relating to the use of High Leigh Conference Centre totalled £42,888.00 in respect of the 2025 conference. A further £10,262.40 relating to the same conference was paid after the year end and is therefore not included in this report due to the accounting treatment applied. Inclusion of this post year-end cost would have inflated the period-end expenditure and placed the conference account into a loss position, consistent with previous accounting periods.

Additional costs of £2,556.77 were incurred in relation to the general running of the conference and administrative expenses. These included costs associated with the Praise the Lord and Praise the Lord 2016 songbooks, such as postage, storage, and handling.

An amount of £319.50 was also incurred for event hall hire to facilitate the Summer Family Day, a new initiative aimed at supporting all-age worship and activities. This event took place on Saturday 21 June 2025, and further details will be included in the 2026 annual report.

In line with the trustees’ decision to prioritise young people’s attendance at conference, in line with Charity Commission guidance and consistent with the charity’s objects, no separate grants were made to youth work during the year. Support for young people was instead delivered directly through subsidised conference attendance, as reflected in the charity’s stated objects.

In October 2024 the Committee agreed to change the objects of the charity to focus our grants on supporting youth attendance at conference rather than through dedicated youth projects. For this reason the Youth Project Fund is now closed .

The trustees consider it prudent to maintain reserves sufficient to meet conference-related contractual commitments, support subsidised attendance, and provide financial stability in the event of unforeseen circumstances. At 31 March 2025, unrestricted reserves were considered adequate for these purposes, considering additional payments made after the year end. The trustees will continue to review reserve levels annually.

Contributions made by volunteers

We are grateful for the many volunteers who contribute so much to the running of our Conference and the production of our music resources.

In running our Conference

Focus Group leaders

Incidental session leaders
All plenary session leaders
Media technicians

all give their services voluntarily.

In the production of music resources:

those who seek copyright permission
those who type set the music and words
those who develop Apps

all give their services voluntarily which means that our costs are minimised in the production of our publications and together with digital media are made available at well below real cost.

Appendix 1: Full Breakdown of Accounts

HODDESDON CHRISTADELPHIAN SERVICES

Year ended 31 March 2025

	BALANCE SHEET				31.03.25
	Lloyds Current				31,061.48
	Lloyds Investment				3,306.25
	Lloyds Bookings				37,572.58
					71,940.31
	*Represented by:*
	Conference Account				8,485.91
	On Going Services				20,140.84
	Subsidy Fund				31,560.91
	Youth Project Fund				0.00
	Legacy Fund				11,752.65
					71,940.31

	CONFERENCE ACCOUNT				31.03.25
	Gross Delegate fees				57,929.88
	Refunds				-788.00
	Subsidised places incl students				-4,350.00
	Service charges				-541.45
	Net Delegate fees received after refunds & donations				52,250.43
	Bank Interest				36.47
	INCOME				52,286.90
	High Leigh Centre				-42,888.00
	Liability insurance				-538.49
	Copyright & Direct Expenses				-55.00
	Family Day				-319.50
	EXPENSES				-43,800.99

	SURPLUS for the year				8,485.91
	Transfer to subsidy fund				0.00
	Brought forward balance				0.00
	Carried forward balance				8,485.91

	ON GOING SERVICES				31.03.25
	Sales incl. postage repaid				3,283.50
	INCOME				3,283.50
	Admin, Committee expenses & Other				-1,963.28
	Movement on the year				1,320.22
	Transfer to subsidy fund				0.00
	Brought forward balance				18,820.62
	Carried forward balance				20,140.84

	SUBSIDY FUND				31.03.25
	Brought forward				17,949.46
	Collection and Donations (inc Gift Aid)				13,611.45

Transfer to Conference Account	0.00
Transfer from On going services	0.00
Carried forward	31,560.91

YOUTH PROJECT FUND	31.03.25
Brought forward	0.00
Grants awarded and paid	0.00
Transfer from Legacy Account	0.00
Carried Forward	0.00

LEGACY FUND	31.03.25
Brought forward	11,752.65
Donations	0.00
Transfer to YPF	0.00
Carried Forward	11,752.65

Appendix 2: Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Hoddesdon Christadelphian Services

Report to the trustees/ Charity Name members of Hoddesdon Christadelphian Services On accounts for the year 31/03/25 Charity no 1163488 ended (if any)

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/03/25.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination, which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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.

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.

Signed: Name: Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any):	Christian Carter	17/12/2025

	Christian Carter

	Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

Address:

2025-03-31-accounts