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2020-12-31-accounts

The Gathering - Cardiff A Charitable Incorporated Organisation Registered Charity 1168154 Company Number CE007824 Established as a Church Community 20[th] November 2011. Registered as a Charity 11[th] July 2016

Annual Report 2020

For the period between 1[st] January 2020 and 31[st] December 2020

Welcome from our Pastoral Leaders

Croeso! Welcome! We are so thrilled to be here celebrating the ninth year of our existence as a growing Church community here in Cardiff, and thank you for taking the time to read this report which celebrates all that has been achieved during 2020 (even amidst the pandemic), and looks forward to what we aim to achieve together in 2021.

The Gathering started as a seed of an idea, some people with common values and principles, and a longing for the church to be accepting of all, who just wanted to be able to worship together in a safe space without fear of judgement. And that’s just what we did, on 20[th] November 2011 we met for the first time at City United Reformed Church in Cardiff, and we enjoyed our safe little gathering so much that we decided to come back the following week, and then the following week… you get the jist!

From that seed, our little Gathering has grown into a church with strong roots which is recognised across South Wales, the UK and even beyond. As well as being an LGBTQI+ focussed and inclusive church that meets on a weekly basis, we are also known as being a key partner LGBTQI+ organisation within South Wales, as well as being recognised by leaders from multiple faiths from across the UK.

We have a growing online presence, with some of our YouTube content having some significant audiences, and are proud that our website has become a resource for LGBTQI+ Christians across South Wales and beyond.

The Gathering has 5 volunteer Pastoral Leaders from various Christian backgrounds. We lead The Gathering’s weekly acts of worship, and are also available to our congregation to provide pastoral support.

Thank you for being a part of this journey with us!

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L-R: Revd. Delyth Liddell, Samuel Johnston, G Tanswell, Iain Scott, Dr Nici Lintern-Gittens.
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The Gathering - Cardiff. Annual Report 2020 www.thegatheringcardiff.org

Who are our trustees?

Our trustees at the beginning of the financial year (1[st] January 2020) were (in order of date of appointment) :

*RG’s identity has been omitted from this report following granting of a dispensation by the Charity Commission.

The following additional trustees were appointed following a consultative open vote with the congregation of The Gathering at our Annual Church Meeting/Annual General Meeting on Sunday 18[th] October 2020: Rosie Peters, Fred Till, Alison Lintern-Gittens

As at 31[st] December 2020 our trustees are (in order of date of appointment) :

Our charitable objects

The objects of The Gathering (The CIO) are for the public benefit in South Wales, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, ability, age, faith or ethnicity, with a particular focus on the LGBT+ community by providing a secure and safe environment for them:-

Nothing in our constitution shall authorise an application of the property of The Gathering for the purposes which are not charitable in accordance with Section 7 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and Section 2 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008.

The Gathering - Cardiff. Annual Report 2020 www.thegatheringcardiff.org

What did we do during 2020?

The first part of 2020 was business as usual. We met weekly on a Sunday evening for worship at City United Reformed Church, Cardiff, to whom we are extremely grateful for allowing us to use the space at no cost. These acts of worship were open and accessible to all, using inclusive language, and encouraging free discussion and interpretation of Christian principles and biblical texts. With a growing congregation, we were pleased to baptise a further three of our members in a service held in __.

The Gathering were excited to again partner with St Teilo’s Church in Wales High School to deliver a week of assemblies for their ‘Pride Week’ which coincided with LGBT History Month in February 2020. This gave us the unique opportunity to be heard by young people and for them to understand that there is acceptance for all within the wider Church, and crucially, that it is ok to be LGBTQI+ and Christian and that safe spaces such as The Gathering do exist.

We featured in a BBC Wales News item in February 2020 about gay Christians. Members of the Gathering were interviewed about their beliefs and their experiences of being LGBTQI+ and in church. This was a great opportunity to highlight the work that we are doing within the Church.

In March 2020, the UK went into lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This necessitated a different way of working and we began to meet weekly on Zoom on a Sunday night. These gatherings on zoom remained open and accessible to all, as we invited anyone who wished to join us to contact us for the zoom code. Over the course of the year, we continued to meet and worship on zoom, following our usual format of sung worship (using streamed music videos), prayer and discussion on Christian principles and biblical texts. The benefit of meeting on zoom meant that we were now able to welcome people to join from their own homes, wherever they live, and we now have attendants of the Gathering who live across the UK, and Europe.

We realised the need to support the Gathering community pastorally during this time, and were able to organise weekly zoom quizzes as well as pastoral conversations with individuals over zoom at the height of the first lockdown.

We had big plans for 2020, including organising an Inclusive Conference which was due to take place in person, in Cardiff, in July 2020. We had secured Lottery Funding and other grants for this Inclusive Conference, which was designed to help churches and other faith communities to make their organisations more accessible and inclusive to the LGBTQI+ community. In June 2020, we made the decision to postpone the Inclusive Conference due to the continued pandemic lockdown, and to arrange an online Inclusive Conference on the 24[th] October 2020. The Conference featured speakers from our partner organisations including One Body One Faith and Dignity and Worth, workshops on how to become an inclusive church and a panel discussion featuring members of The Gathering talking about what it means to be LGBTQI+ and Christian. The sessions, including live Q&A’s, were posted onto our Facebook page and had thousands of views. We were very excited about this conference which falls within our aims to bridge the gap between churches and the LGBTQI+ community.

The Gathering - Cardiff. Annual Report 2020 www.thegatheringcardiff.org

Our Church Link Worker, Helen Capelin, was responsible for organising the Inclusive Conference as a part of her role in bridging the gap between the LGBTQI+ community and the wider church. Helen’s role is part-time; she was appointed in 2019 and continues to be funded by the Lottery Grant and donations to the Gathering. We are very grateful for Helen and her talents in film-making and graphic design skills, particularly given the move from an in-person conference to an online conference.

As a community working across intersectionality, we made a statement in June 2020, in the light of the murder of George Floyd. As a leadership, we posted a video on our Facebook page, that highlighted the need to confront racism wherever we see it and committed us to exploring issues of black identity within our own community, including celebrating Black History Month in October.

We partnered with LGBTQymru to provide a Wales wide virtual Pride in July 2020 and took part in panel discussions. With Pride Cymru moving to a Big Online Weekend in August, The Gathering again partnered with Pride Cymru and the Diocese of Llandaff to provide online material for the event. This included a short film about the Gathering and an act of worship.

Looking forward to 2021

With the success of our Inclusive Conference, we are working towards holding more online conferences, focussing on different aspects of inclusion. We hope to hold a “Pride in Marriage” conference, with films about our members’ experiences of being LGBTQI+, married and Christian. We hope that these films will become a resource for those churches and faith organisations considering the marriage of same-sex couples. This venture falls within our aims to bridge the gap between churches and the LGBTQI+ community.

The Gathering - Cardiff. Annual Report 2020 www.thegatheringcardiff.org

Ways you can contribute to our work

We are always glad of any support that people can offer us, whether that be through prayer, fellowship, joining in with us on a Sunday evening, or giving financially to help to fund our work. Here are a few methods that you can contribute to our work financially.

You can give by Standing Order or bank transfer to our bank account. Sort Code: 20-18-15 Account: 70801062 The Gathering - Cardiff

We have a PayPal account which can receive payments by sending the payment to

mail@thegatheringcardiff.org

Or we are partnered with PayPal Giving Fund who also claim Gift Aid through their donations. https://www.paypal.com/gb/ fundraiser/charity/3233746

We are registered on the Facebook Donate platform, and so anyone can begin a fundraiser there to raise money for The Gathering – Cardiff.

Or a handy way to contribute towards the work of The Gathering without costing you a penny is to use the Amazon Smile link when shopping with Amazon. Just go to https://smile.amazon.co.uk and select ‘The Gathering - ’ Cardiff as your chosen charity.

The Gathering - Cardiff. Annual Report 2020 www.thegatheringcardiff.org

The Gathering Cardiff
Charity Name		 The Gathering Cardiff
Charity Name		 The Gathering Cardiff
Charity Name		 1168154
No (if any)		 1168154
No (if any)		 1168154
No (if any)		 CC16a
For the period
from		 01.01.20
Period start date		 To 31.12.20
Period end date
Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest £
2,649
1,150
25
1,011
-
-
50
120
-
5,005
-
-
-
5,005
-
38
-
-
92
630
80
-
-
32
-
-
872
-
-
-
872
4,133
-
3,124
7,257		 Restricted
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
1,060
7,590
-
-
-
8,650
-
-
-
8,650
-
-
-
-
-
2,309
-
-
730
-
256
-
3,295
572
-
572
3,867
4,783
-
-
4,783		 Endowment
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Total funds
to the nearest £
2,649
1,150
25
1,011
1,060
7,590
50
120
-
13,655
-
-
-		 Last year
to the nearest £
Direct Giving 2,649 838
Donation 1,150 1,610
Clothing 25 168
Facebook 1,011 329
LGBT+ Future Intersections Fund - -
National Lottery Grant - -
Amazon Smile Donations 50 -
Miscellaneous 120 -
- -
Sub total(Gross income for
AR)		 5,005 2,945
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
None -
- -
Sub total
Total receipts
A3 Payments		 - -
13,655 2,945
-
38
-
-
92
2,939
80
-
730
32
256
-
4,168
572
-
572
4,740
8,915
-
3,124
Faith Tent - 401
Website Fees 38 84
Gathering Clothing - 655
Barry Pride - 20
PAYE Software Fees 92 14
Salary 630 1,100
General Gathering Expenses 80 455
Miscellaneous - 60
Gathering Online Conference - -
Donations for Aids Ribbons 32 -
Streaming Licences - -
- -
**Sub total ** 872 2,789
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)

Mevo Live Camera &
Accessories		 - -
- -
Sub total
Total payments
Net of receipts/(payments)
A5 Transfers between funds
A6 Cash funds last year end
Cash funds this year end		 - -
2,789
4,133 4,783 - 8,915 156
- - - - -
3,124 - - 3,124 2,032
7,257 4,783 - 12,039 2,188

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Categories Details funds funds funds
CCXX R1 accounts (SS) 1 31/10/2021

The Gathering - Cardiff. Annual Report 2020 www.thegatheringcardiff.org

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