## **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 2024**
## **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 2024)
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 £22,436 with outstanding loans of £2,500.
Receipts from all collections during the year at £16,161 were slightly higher than 2023. Including Gift aid tax refunds and donations, our total income was £23,289 in the year.
Payments and donations of £20,315 reflected some reduced running costs – but maintained significant support given to worldwide and UK appeals.
We ended the year with an overall balance of £25,410 and having fully repaid our outstanding loan. The Ecclesia is now debt-free and our financial situation is healthy.
Collections for third party charities (restricted funds) at £4,860, were higher than in 2023, reflecting the increased use of gift aid. Funds held for those charities at the end of the year were sent early in 2025. 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 many local adults and children and is over-subscribed each week. Bibles are presented to children who “graduate” to school settings. The fee of £1 per person per session is
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deliberately kept to a minimum and this is appreciated by families, many of whom struggle to make ends meet. Income supports 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.
A weekly face to face coffee morning 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 year, 12 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 £839 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 7 adult visitors some 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 will be re-starting Sunday School in 2025. 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 2024 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
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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.
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 2024 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
- Ladder inspections
During 2024 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 £4,307 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
Signed:
Date: 11 June 2025
Peter Turner Secretary (at 31 December 2024)
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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** 01/012024 12/31/2024
Period end date
## **Section A Receipts and payments**
|**to nearest £**
**A1 Receipts**
Collections and Donations
**11,721**
Tax Rebate on Gift Aid Contributions
**7,128**
Interest Earned
**-**
Grant
**-**
Loan
**-**
**18,849**
**A2 Asset and investment sales**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**_Total receipts_ 18,849**
**A3 Payments**
Donations to external charities
**800**
Preaching/Outreach expenses
**-**
Buildingexpenses
**5,029**
Pastoral & runningcosts
**3,700**
Utilities
**2,418**
Other external Donations
**3,236**
Youth Activities
**151**
**-**
**_Sub total_ 15,335**
**A4 Asset and investment purchases**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**_Total payments_ 15,335**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_ 3,514**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**-**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**20,766**
**_Cash funds this year end_ 24,280**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_|**4,440**
**4,440**
**-**
**-**
**4,440**
**4,980**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**4,980**
**-**
**-**
**4,980**
**- 540**
**-**
**1,670**
**1,130**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest**
**£**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest**
**£**|**Total funds**
**16,161**
**7,128**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**23,289**
**-**
**-**
**23,289**
**5,780**
**-**
**5,029**
**3,700**
**2,418**
**3,236**
**151**
**-**
**20,315**
**-**
**-**
**20,315**
**2,974**
**-**
**22,436**
**25,410**
**to nearest**
**£**|**Last year**
**to nearest**
**£**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**13,480**|
|||||**3,457**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**18,782**|
||||||
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
||||||
|||||**18,782**|
||||||
|||||**4,370**|
|||||**40**|
|||||**3,233**|
|||||**2,297**|
|||||**2,304**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**63**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**12,307**|
||||||
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
||||||
|||||**12,307**|
||||||
||**- 540**|**-**|**2,974**|**6,475**|
||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|
||**1,670**|**-**|**22,436**|**21,213**|
||**1,130**|**-**|**25,410**|**27,688**|
**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** 01/012024 12/31/2024
|**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 31/12/2024)
**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**
None
Signature
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and
payments account(s))|**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**24,165**
**1,130**
**115**
**-**
**-**
**24,280**
**1,130**
OK
OK
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**Cost (optional)**
unrestricted
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
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)**|
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||Date of
approval|
|||Peter Turner|6/11/2025|
|||||