2024-2025 Lancaster Methodist Church Annual Report for The Charity Commission
Lancaster Methodist Church (LMC) is a church with two sites: Scotforth Road and The Cornerstone on Sulyard Street. Our Minister is Rev Linda Catlow.
Sunday morning worship takes place at LMC Scotforth Road and has an average attendance of 70 people. We are a church of all ages: over 90 years old down to under one year old. We hold a hybrid Service so that those who are unable to attend in person can still join us on Zoom – this is much appreciated. Our Sunday evening worship is held at the Cornerstone. The average attendance is 12 and again a wide range of ages. This is a more informal and interactive service, regularly welcoming reflections and contributions from the congregation. We also hold a midweek evening service on Zoom called Reflect in the City and a monthly lunchtime Holy Communion at the Cornerstone.
We are registered with the Inclusive Church Network. To reflect our inclusivity we are registered for both same sex and mixed marriage. We also hold a monthly afternoon LGBTQ+ Sunday at the Cornerstone. This started in August 2024 and is an ecumenical led service which has been welcomed by the LGBTQ+ community and their allies. It is a safe place where all are welcome and openly share in discussion, prayer and Holy Communion. We have an average attendance of 15 people.
The church runs a number of activities on both our sites during the week.
We have a toddler group called Little Pebbles which is run by a lay employee. In July 2025 we appointed a new leader therefore when the School Term began, the day moved from Thursday to Tuesday morning at Scotforth Road and continues to be popular with the local community. For our children and youth we run a Sunday Junior Church and also a monthly Youth Fellowship. There are a number of groups where people are nurtured and faith conversations take place: Monday Meeting Point attended by older members of our congregation; an evening fortnightly Housegroup.
This year our Mission Plan was to focus on Pastoral Care. Our new adventure was starting up BASE Groups: Belong, Accept, Support, Enable. Three groups started up in April 2025. Each has two facilitators who are there to coordinate the meetings. The aim is to provide spaces where friendships can grow as we share, laugh and perhaps occasionally cry together. BASE Groups are offered as places for both compassion and celebration. We have also set up a Pastoral Team who organises visits to those who are struggling through illness, bereavement or a difficulty in life.
We believe in reaching out to offer help to our community. On both our sites we run weekly Warm Spaces for those looking for a safe place to keep warm in a friendly, comfortable environment. Free refreshments are available as this activity is funded by Lancashire County Council. This year we opened our Cornerstone Café on a Tuesday for lunches, with a snazzy name of ‘Chewsday’! It is run by volunteers and attracts a variety of customers who come for light bites.
At the Cornerstone our full-time Chaplain’s work continues to grow: caring for those who are bereaved by offering a counselling service and support café; working with those who have addictions; leading spiritual groups for those with or without faith. There is also a team of volunteers who assist the Chaplain with the various groups. This year the Church Council made the decision to employ a part time Cornerstone Centre Manager. They began work in August 2025. We still have volunteer Receptionists to be ‘front of house’, a welcoming friendly face as people enter the Cornerstone. The Management Team ensure the Cornerstone is open for special events like Lancaster Music Festival, when we are a Busk Stop; Light up Lancaster; Fairtrade Fair; Lancaster Pride.
We value our community partners who either lease office space at The Cornerstone or use our premises for community activities. At Scotforth Road these range from choirs or bands holding regular rehearsals to fitness and well-being groups like Pilates.
At the Cornerstone, our key long-term partners (licensed hirers) are Lancaster District Community and Voluntary Solutions, Lancashire Youth Challenge and RAIS Lancaster (Refugee Advocacy, Information and Support). Other ‘partner’ organisations include those who provide food: Global Village Café - Wednesday lunch and using our kitchen to prepare food; Lancaster Men’s Hub - Friday lunch; Tara Centre - Friday evening drop-in and food for Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Other partner groups who provide a community service include The Making Place - craft café, Let’s Be Friends - support for street homeless people, Smoke Free Lancashire and Lancaster Larder - food club.
Lancaster Methodist Church continues to have a global perspective and a heart for justice. The Justice, Peace and Environment Group have continued to raise awareness of campaigns and also identify appropriate charities for our fundraising activities. We have a Foodbank Collection Point which folks support from church and community. We have an annual collection of toys and food at Christmas supporting the City Council’s organised distribution to those in need.
We already are an Eco-Church and have a Silver Award. In 2025 we had Solar Panels fitted to our roof and this is already making a difference our energy costs but, most importantly to the environment. We continue to look at how we can become a net-zero church by 2030, as encouraged by the Methodist Church in Britain (MWiB).
This year our finances have remained in a healthy position and we are able to continue our Reserve policy of retaining six months’ typical expenditure. At present the church employs the full-time Cornerstone Chaplain, the part-time Cornerstone Centre Manager, the part-time LMC Bookings Officer, the part-time Little Pebbles leader. The external funding for our Chaplain ended in November 2024 but the Church Council (Trustees) agreed this is a priority and are able to fund the position for another year. We are therefore now seeking funding for both the Chaplain and Cornerstone Centre Manager so that these positions can continue to care for the Cornerstone and all those who use the building.
Lancaster Methodist Church continues to seek God’s will in all we do and to reflect the love of Jesus Christ to all people.
Rev Linda J Catlow Superintendent Methodist Minister/Chair of Trustees of Lancaster Methodist Church:
Signature:
Date: 04/04/2025
CHURCH RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS
THE METHODIST CHURCH
STANDARD FORM OF ACCOUNTS
Lancaster Methodist Church
FOR THE YEAR ENDED
31 August 2025
| Circuit North Lancashire |
Circuit no. | 0125 |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Charity - Charity Registration number | ||
| 1170840 |
If not a registered charity His Majesty's Revenue and
Customs Gift Aid number
(The HMRC number is equivalent to a registered charity number in terms of evidence of charitable status and may be used to give to donors or grant funders wishing to see evidence of the organisation's charitable status. Methodist charities in England and Wales that are not registered charities are excepted from registration under Statutory Instrument 2014 No.242)
Minister: Revd Linda J Catlow Church Stewards: Paul Bowden Lesley Brookbanks Andy Lund Alison Love Joseph Hicks Treasurer: Dr Ian Love
ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025
Lancaster Methodist Church
| SECTION A | Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds |
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds |
£ 43,387 6,400 69,591 14,446 Totals this year |
£ 43,387 6,400 69,591 14,446 Totals this year |
Totals last year |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||||||
| a1 | RECEIPTS | Note | |||||||
| a2 | Offerings and Tax recovered | 43,387 | 43,387 | 43,460 | |||||
| a3 | Bank and CFB interest and Investment income |
6,400 | 6,400 | 6,759 | |||||
| a4 | Lettings | 69,591 | 69,591 | 64,072 | |||||
| a5 | Other receipts | 7,336 | 7,110 | 14,446 | 33,573 | ||||
| a6 | TOTAL RECEIPTS | 126,714 | 7,110 | **133,824 ** | (a7) | 147,864 | |||
| SECTION B | 40,000 320 17,835 19,836 87,335 |
||||||||
| b1 | PAYMENTS | ||||||||
| b2 | Circuit Assessment or Share | 40,000 | 40,000 | 37,800 | |||||
| b3 | Donations | 320 | 320 | 270 | |||||
| b4 | Repairs and Maintenance | 17,835 | 17,835 | 18,691 | |||||
| b5 | Utilities (Insurances, water charges,heating& lighting) |
19,836 | 19,836 | 20,345 | |||||
| b6 | |||||||||
| b7 | Otherpayments | 66,952 | 20,383 | 87,335 | 80,983 | ||||
| b8 | TOTAL PAYMENTS | 144,943 | 20,383 | **165,326 ** | (b9) | 158,089 | |||
| (31,502) | |||||||||
| SECTION C | |||||||||
| c1 | NET RECEIPTS/PAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR (a6-b8) |
(18,229) | (13,273) | (31,502) | (10,225) | ||||
| c2 | Total funds brought forward from last year |
206,230 | 21,038 | **227,268 ** | (c6) | 237,417 | |||
| 195,766 | |||||||||
| c3 | (c1+c2) Sub total |
188,001 | 7,765 | 195,766 | 227,192 | ||||
| c4 | Transfers and adjustments | (78) | **(78) ** | (c7) | 76 | ||||
| c5 | TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF YEAR (c3+c4) |
187,923 | 7,765 | **195,688 ** | (c8) | 227,268 | (c6) |
| SECTION D | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| d | £ FOR INFORMATION ONLY: MONEY RECEIVED AND PASSED ON TO EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS (these amounts are not to be included in total receipts/payments figures above) |
£ |
|||
| d1 | Balance brought forward from lastyear | (7) | (3) | ||
| d2 | Offerings/Gifts - received for external organisations | 4,427 | 4,562 | ||
| d3 | Offerings/Gifts -passed to external organisations | 4,422 | 4,566 | ||
| d4 | BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID (d1+d2-d3) | (2) | (7) | ||
| 2 of 6 |
LMC SFA 2025.xlsx
Lancaster Methodist Church
SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL
SECTION E Please follow the Guidance Notes to complete this page Summary of the Church accounts for the year ended 31 August 2025 and Internal Organisations reporting to the Church Council/Church Meeting. Note that the funds of an Internal Organisation would normally be Restricted funds unless it could be clearly shown that they could be used for any Methodist purpose. This section must be completed to arrive at the gross income and expenditure totals of the Church. If gross income exceeds the Accruals threshold, then the Accruals method of accounting AND A DIFFERENT FORM must be used to report the accounts (see Methodist website). Please refer to the guidance notes regarding transfers between the District and connected District Organisations.
| SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL | SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL | SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL | SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL | SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL | SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL | SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL | SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL | SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL | SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL | SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL | SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL | SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SECTION E Please follow the Guidance Notes to complete this page |
|||||||||||||
| SECTION E | |||||||||||||
| Summary of the Church accounts for the year ended 31 August 2025 and Internal Organisations reporting to the Church Council/Church Meeting. Note that the funds of an Internal Organisation would normally be Restricted funds unless it could be clearly shown that they could be used for any Methodist purpose. This section must be completed to arrive at the gross income and expenditure totals of the Church. If gross income exceeds the Accruals threshold, then the Accruals method of accounting AND A DIFFERENT FORM must be used to report the accounts (see Methodist website). Please refer to the guidance notes regarding transfers between the District and connected District Organisations. |
|||||||||||||
| INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS |
Receipts | Payments | Net Receipts/ Payments |
Adjustments | Opening balances |
Closingbalances | |||||||
| e1 | |||||||||||||
| e2 | |||||||||||||
| e3 | |||||||||||||
| e4 | |||||||||||||
| e5 | |||||||||||||
| e6 | |||||||||||||
| e7 | |||||||||||||
| e8 | Sub total of Internal Organisations funds |
(e11) | (e12) | ||||||||||
| e9 | Church accounts (totals brought forward from page 2 - totals column) |
**133,824 ** | (a7) | **165,326 ** | (b9) | (31,502) | **(78) ** | (c7) | **227,268 ** | (c6) | 195,688 | (c8) | |
| e10 | TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD BY CHURCH |
133,824 | 165,326 | (31,502) | (78) | 227,268 | (x) | 195,688 | (y) | ||||
| TOTAL RECEIPTS | TOTAL PAYMENTS |
SECTION F
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
| STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES | STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHURCH - CASH FUNDS HELD at 31 August 2025 f1 f2 f3 f4 f5 f6 f7 f8 f9 Central Finance Board Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes Other funds Total funds held by Internal Organisations (the closing balance total from above) (e12) SUB TOTAL - Church accounts TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD BY CHURCH Bank Current Account Cash in hand Bank Deposit Account |
OPENING BALANCES 383 79,578 48,506 98,801 227,268 (c6) (e11) 227,268 (x) |
CLOSING BALANCES |
|||
| f1 | Cash in hand | 383 | 317 | ||
| f2 | Bank Current Account | 79,578 | 62,663 | ||
| f3 | Bank Deposit Account | ||||
| f4 | Central Finance Board | 48,506 | 47,083 | ||
| f5 | Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes | 98,801 | 85,625 | ||
| f6 | Other funds | ||||
| f7 | SUB TOTAL - Church accounts | 227,268 | (c6) | 195,688 | (c8) |
| f8 | Total funds held by Internal Organisations (the closing balance total from above) (e12) |
(e11) | (e12) | ||
| f9 | TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD BY CHURCH | 227,268 | (x) | 195,688 | (y) |
| SECTION G | At | At | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 September 2024 | 31 August 2025 | |||||
| OTHER ASSETS and LIABILITIES | ||||||
| g1 | Investments(include Endowments) | |||||
| Land & Buildings (see notes re Insurance | (please refer | |||||
| g2 | value) | to Note 1) | 6,069,961 | 6,217,571 | ||
| g3 | Other Assets | |||||
| g4 | Loan(s)- show amount outstandingatyear end | |||||
| g5 | Other Liabilities |
f4 Include only Funds held at the Central Finance Board
f5 Include only Funds held at Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes
g1 Include any other investments (not the cash element of TMCP trusts accounts this is included in line f5
ofchunth...... . Nts...012522 Declarations and Scrutlny Stylvre oftreasurw........... ................................................... Name ond •lrnss oftre&8ureT..................Drlan Lo¥... ......... 10 J0hrOn Close. Lar1er............................ Post Code LA1 SEU rtirj of the Chwth twstees held M 14 Ocl 2ff25 Sionaiure of the Chawofthe rnellig ......... Name ofthe Chairofthe Mee11 ............Rev LiTh1aJ Cal(Mt............... DA I Y Ch•rKy •kniber 1170840. Ropon?Iblllli•8 and bbkn al r•port I report to the tNst¢es on my oxaryanatton otthe ofthe . frjr the yar ended 31 Aiiwsl 2025 set Ofrt on pages J. to .3. As the CM1'S IfLLstses, you ale A(12011 Cthe Act?. I report h res of my exambnatKJn ofth8 Church's acthunts eaftied out UfKSersection 145 ofthe Aci Commi88Kffi undw8ed¥Jn 1445Xbj ol the ' d•lolp or clrcEg 85 WOFY 4a18
Name of Church ......Lan¢aster Methodist Church............ No...012522 Independent Examlnevs Statemert I have completed my examinatson. I confinn that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examinab'on ) which give me cause to believe that in, any material respect. the accounting rerdS not kept in accordan with section 130 of the Act., or the attounts do not accord *ith the accnunting records. I have no concems and have rne auoss 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. I have1h8¥wl. obtained independent venfication of all investments with the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes or held in other trusts, bank balances and funds at the Central Finan Board of the Methodist Church vthid) are indimdually in excess of £10,000 (ten thousand pounds) at the balance sheet date. Signature of independent examiner Name of independent examiner OWAER Relevant professional qualification of independent examiner Name of fimi (where appropriate) Address 23 31 R uRfofvJ Post Code 61Nf Date 03 16 delete or ¢irde as appropriate 5of6 LMC SFA 202SlsX
Name of Church …Lancaster Methodist Church……… No…211622
Notes to the Accounts
Note 1:
The Church buildings are entered at their insured value, as is standard Methodist practice. However, they are not realisable by the local church (by sale or mortgage, for example) and so the church does not have the right to dispose of the buildings, or to gain from their disposal.
The two properties for which we are responsible enable the charity to carry out its objectives, and to generate income by hiring facilities to outside bodies. TMCP (Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes) is the custodian trustee.
LMC SFA 2025.xlsx
Page 6 of 6
Name of Church ......Lanc8sigr Methodist Church............ No...012522 Indepgndant Examlne¢$ Stat•mgnt I have CA)mpleled my examination. I confinn that no material matters have cnme to my attention in connection wth the examination ) which give me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act., or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records. I hava no concems and have come across no other matters in Gonnects'on wth the examinats'on to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understsnding of the accounts to be reached. I havella¥' obtained independent verification of all investments wlh the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes or held in other trusts, bank balances and funds at Ihe Central Finance Board of the Melhodisl Church whith are individually in excess of £10.0 (ten thousand pounds) 8t the balance sheet date. Signature of independent examiner Name of independent examiner Relevant prOfesonal qualification of independent examiner Name of firni Iwthere appropriatel Address u Rfofvj Post Code LA6 Ihje Date 03 26 delete or arde as appropriate Sof6 LMC SFA2025.xL%x