2023-12-31-accounts - Barton-Under-Needwood Christadelphian Ecclesia

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BARTON-UNDER-NEEDWOOD CHRISTADELPHIAN ECCLESIA

A Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registered with the Charity Commission Charity number 1165952

www.bartonchristadelphians.org.uk

Annual Report

For the period 1 January to 31 December 2023

Annual Report of the Trustees

Charity Name

Barton-under-Needwood Christadelphian Ecclesia Also known as: Barton Christadelphian Church Charity number: 1165952

Principal Address

Christadelphian Hall, 1 Park Road, Barton-under-Needwood, Staffs. DE13 8DW

Trustees – The Arranging Committee (as at 31 December 2023)

Peter Turner (Secretary) Graeme Rudland (Assistant Secretary) David Wilkins (Treasurer) Reg Carr Paul Holt James Wilkins

Most of the trustee meetings in the period were attended by all Trustees.

Bankers: Lloyds Bank plc, Burton on Trent (309897) branch, PO Box 1000, BX1 1LT

Structure and Governance

The organisation is governed by a Constitution adopted on 3 February 2016 and is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, having previously been a Charitable Association.

The charity is the legal owner of its property and assets. The Trustees collectively are legally responsible for the day-to-day management and the financial assets of the Charity and are accountable to the members.

Trustees are appointed by the members by means of an annual ballot.

There are Health & Safety, Safeguarding, Equality, Conflicts of Interest and Financial Reserve policies in place.

All Trustees give their time voluntarily and, other than reimbursement of expenses, receive no remuneration or other benefits.

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)’.

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Objects and Activities

The charity’s purpose (‘the objects’) are

To advance the Christian faith in accordance with the Christadelphian interpretation of the Bible, for the benefit of the public in Barton-under-Needwood and surrounding villages in the East Staffordshire area.

In particular by:

holding meetings for worship, prayer, religious festivals and the preaching of the Gospel.
providing religious teaching and publications to enlighten others on the Christadelphian faith.
making our premises available for the benefit of the local community; and
promotion of charitable works including, but not limited to, supporting the homeless, easing hardship and the provision of pastoral care.

Financial Overview

We began the year with a balance of £21,213 with outstanding loans of £4,500.

Receipts from collections during the year at £13,480 were consistent with 2022.

Payments and donations of £12,307 were lower than in 2022, reflecting some reduced running costs – but maintain significant support given to worldwide and UK appeals.

We ended the year with an overall balance of £22,436, with outstanding loans of £2,500. Our financial situation is healthy.

Collections for third party charities (restricted funds) at £4,860, were higher than in 2022, reflecting the increased use of gift aid. Funds held for those charities at the end of the year were sent early in 2024. We are continuing our commitment to send donations of £50 per month to the Christadelphian Shunem Home charity to assist their cash flow, and £200 per year to the Meal-a-Day fund to assist in the funding of major projects in the developing world.

An Independent Examination of the accounts for the period was not required as total income did not exceed £25,000.

Outreach activities (including Toddler Group)

We run two activities mid-week to support members and local residents. A toddler group runs for a 90-minute session weekly in term time and is always oversubscribed, with a booking system which regulates numbers and maintains a safe environment. Members run the morning as volunteers and activities include free play, craft, story time and singing. Over the year the group has engaged 25 adults and 35 children. Bibles are presented to children who “graduate” to school settings. The fee of £1 per person per session is deliberately kept to a minimum and this is appreciated by families, many of whom struggle to make ends meet. Income supports

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refreshments for the children, and equipment, and the church provides the venue, (and heating), volunteer staffing and drinks for the adults. Small surpluses are invested in presents for children at the annual Christmas party.

Since Easter a weekly face to face coffee morning has been introduced and this provides a friendly warm space for adults. It is organised by volunteer members and provides for the needs of older members and members of the local community. Over the time it has been running, 14 non-member visitors have attended, most of them on a regular basis. Donations are encouraged and money raised is used to buy items of food and toiletries for Reconnect, the local YMCA foodbank. During the year, coffee morning raised £540 and donations are supplemented by members who regularly leave items at a collection point in the building.

Occasional Bible Talks are run on a Sunday morning, and visitors are regularly welcomed at our Communion Service on a non-participating basis. A Christmas service attracted 8 adult visitors most of whom had developed friendships with members through the coffee morning events.

Sunday School and Youth activities

Our Sunday School has not met for some time due to the lack of children of the appropriate ages, but this is kept under constant review, and we would like to re-start Sunday School when the need arises. When Sunday School is active, classes are open to church members' children and to children from the surrounding area. Lessons follow a flexible plan of Bible-based teachings and stories from both the Old and the New Testaments. Our teachers are volunteers from within our church membership and hold DBS certificates.

Welfare

Welfare-based activities continued over the period, the majority of which fall into our objective of providing pastoral care. As a group of Trustees, we discuss matters of welfare concerning our membership, their families and, normally, visitors to our church as a regular agenda item at our meetings.

Welfare activities in 2023 have included sending cards and flowers to the unwell and providing a regular communication channel to our membership where matters of welfare are concerned. Much of the welfare within the church is carried out by our members, working behind the scenes, showing love to those around them, for which we are all grateful.

A safe environment

We take our Safeguarding responsibilities seriously and have two appointed members who act as Designated Safeguarding Leads and are responsible for ensuring DBS checks are completed, training members and publicising their role so that they are widely known as points of contact in the event of safeguarding issues arising.

In terms of physical safety in using the building, again we take the safety of members and visitors seriously. Members are aware of the shared responsibility for all to notice and report risks and hazards. Concerns are reported to the member responsible for Maintenance, who takes appropriate action and reports to Trustees' committee meetings, with a plan designed to remove or minimise risks not immediately resolved. Regular inspections are made to the hall to ensure it remains secure and safe, in accordance with advice from our insurers.

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The maintenance of the building is of key importance to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the users of the building and its surrounding land. Regular maintenance includes:

Annual Gas servicing of the boilers, carried out according to the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations and is undertaken during the months of December and January.
The Electrical Installation of the building, which was tested in March 2014 in accordance with the British Standard 7671 – Requirements for Electrical Installations by a domestic installer registered with NICEIC. This is certificated for 10 years.
Emergency exits and emergency light fittings which are tested monthly for correct operation.
Fire Extinguisher testing and replacement
Portable Appliance testing, in line with good practice
Annual ladder inspections

During 2023 other maintenance issues were resolved as and when they arose.

The building and its surroundings are subject to a programme of refurbishment which is reviewed by members, and projects are prioritised according to necessity and funding availability.

A public benefit

During the period, we collected £4,080 for external charities, which included donations to the Christadelphian Meal-a-Day fund, supporting those in most need in many parts of the world, Christadelphian Care Homes throughout the UK, and Bible Mission work in Europe and Africa, among other funds.

We ran a weekly Toddler Group for the local community, with an average weekly attendance of 20 children with their parents or carers. All our volunteers hold DBS certificates.

Declaration

The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ annual report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s Trustees

Date: 31 March 2024

Signed:

Peter Turner Secretary (at 31 December 2023)

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Charity Name

No (if any) 1165952

Barton Christadelphian Ecclesia

CC16a

Receipts and payments accounts

Period start Period end date For the period date To from 01/012023 12/31/2023

Period end date

Section A Receipts and payments

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds

Total funds Last year

4,860 4,860 - - 4,860 4,240 - - - - - - - 4,240 - - 4,240 620 - 1,050 1,670 to nearest £	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - to nearest £	13,480 - - - - - 13,480 - - 13,480 4,370 40 3,233 2,297 2,304 - 63 - 12,307 - - 12,307 1,173 - 21,263 22,436 to nearest £	to nearest £
			15,325
			3,457
			-
			-
			-
			-
			18,782

			-
			-

			18,782

			6,202
			321
			7,628
			1,754
			1,654
			-
			63
			-
			17,621

			-
			-

			17,621

620	-	1,173	1,161
-	-	-	-
1,050	-	21,263	21,213
1,670	-	22,436	22,374

Charity Name Barton Christadelphian Ecclesia

No (if any) 1165952

CC16a

Receipts and payments accounts Period start Period end date For the period date To from 01/012023 12/31/2023

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities (as at 31/12/2022) B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees	Details Lloyds Bank Cash Details None Details None Details Ecclesial Premises Details Loan for New Ceiling/Lighting Signature Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))	to nearest £ to nearest £ 20,652 1,670 115 - - 20,766 1,670 OK OK to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - Cost (optional) - - Cost (optional) unrestricted - - - unrestricted 2,500 - - Print Name Peter Turner Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional)	to nearest £ Endowment funds
			-
			-
			-
			-
			OK
			to nearest £ Endowment funds
			-
			-
			Current value (optional)
			-
			-
			Current value (optional)
			-
			-
			-
			When due (optional)
			2025




			Date of approval
		Peter Turner	3/31/2024