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← Trendlewood Church

2023-12-31-accounts

Trendlewood Church Annual Report 2023-2024

Including financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Charity Registration number 1170989

Contents

**1. ** Introduction 1
**2. ** Our Mission at Trendlewood Church 1
**3. ** Our Vision and Ministry 2
**4. ** What we do 2
**5. ** Financial Review 5
**6. ** Reserves Policy 5
**7. ** Safeguarding 5
**8. ** Volunteers 5
**9. ** Statement of Financial Activities and Independent Examiner’s Report 6

1. Introduction to Trendlewood Church

We are a Christian community who meet weekly at Golden Valley School, Nailsea at 10.15am. We were planted by Holy Trinity, Nailsea in 1989 but are now an independent church in our own right.

As a charity registered with the Charity Commission, the trustees acknowledge the Commission’s guidance on public benefit and the supplementary guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. In particular, we try to enable ordinary people to live out their faith as part of our local and wider community.

2. Our Mission at Trendlewood Church

We are a Gospel focused church, in the heart of the community, growing as disciples and giving glory to God in all that we do.

Or in short

Sharing CHRIST

Being COMMUNITY

Growing CHURCH

3. Our Vision and Ministry

This explains how we are trying to fulfil the mission of the church for the benefit of everyone in the church and in the community. Our objectives include:

4. What we do

Sunday services

Our weekly Sunday services and worship put our faith into practice through prayer and bible readings, music and teaching. Our services continue to involve lay people (non clergy) every week. Trendlewood Church remains a place where people can explore and use their gifts. The Church Committee are aware that fewer volunteers are available for existing roles and continue to look at addressing this, ensuring the right people, in the right place, at the right time.

Our worship is led by the music group, for whom it has been a year of challenges with people needing to take time out for personal reasons. The use of backing tracks has been a great benefit, enabling us to have a fuller sound for a lot of our worship songs. Whilst we continue to have glitches from time-to-time as we get to know the system better, the tracks enhance our sung worship.

Electoral Roll Report

All are welcome to attend our regular services. There are 45 members on the electoral roll (the list of members). In 2022 the average attendance was 28 aged 16 and over and <2 under 16. In 2023 our average attendance was 28 aged 16 and 0 under 16.

Teaching and homegroups

We continue to develop our teaching ministry and in the last year have completed sermon series on prayer, Nehemiah (unwavering in faith), the sermon on the Mount and most recently the book of Acts.

We have three homegroups which meet to encourage growth in discipleship and the ministry is led by Gillian and Morey Andrews. The Bible studies are based primarily on the week’s sermons

Children’s and Young People work

We ran two outreach events in 2023 (Easter and Christmas) for children and families and we offered all-age services on some Sundays. We co-ran pop-up children’s activities in different parks in Nailsea, Wraxall and Failand during the 2023 school summer holidays. Sarah and Morey regularly led assemblies for children from Reception to Year 6 at Golden Valley School and will continue to do so in 2024.

Along with other local churches, we prayed for and supported financially, the Connect Schools Work Project at Nailsea School.

Prayer

Prayer is at the heart of all we do as a church - praying before and during Sunday services; encouraging folks to pray at other times when the need arises and at our monthly prayer gathering. We also reintroduced prayer walking in the area in 2023 - seeking God and listening to His voice.

Pastoral Care

We have a small group of volunteers, committed to praying regularly for those facing difficult times

in their lives. This may be those within the church or those known to us. Praying for our neighbours is an important part of this. We offer visits and wherever possible practical care and support, such as meals. Wellness and wholeness are core to our group, and we remember verses from the Psalms – “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3) and “God will never forget the needy, the hope of the afflicted will never perish” (Psalm 9:18).

Social

In 2023 there were four social events. Mike and Sarah hosted a pancake evening on Shrove Tuesday for the first time since 2019. Then in April we had a cheese and wine evening at Sarah Sanderson’s house. In June we spent a lovely Sunday Afternoon at the Trinity Centre having a cream tea of scones with jam and cream and fresh fruit. The final event of the year was mulled wine and mince pies hosted by Sandie. All occasions were well attended and provide a good opportunity to spend time together.

Deanery Synod Report (summary)

Deanery Synod is our link with the Portishead Deanery and Ed Sheffield is representative for Trendlewood Church. Portishead Deanery Synod met four times, as usual, in 2023 and a full report on the year is available.

There were 2 additional meetings in 2023. One, in April, was a full Synod meeting where the only agenda item was the presentation of the Deanery Stipendiary Deployment Plan, which had been worked on by the Deanery Mission & Pastoral Group (DMPG) since May 2022. This showed how Portishead Deanery could lose 2 posts, from a total of 15 down to 13, and the final deployment plan was approved at that Synod meeting by a majority vote.

The other meeting, in November, was one arranged by Bishop Michael to which clergy, DMPG, readers and churchwardens were invited, and was intended to introduce the Deanery to the Bishop and encourage attendees by giving examples of mission initiatives within the Deanery.

Working with other Churches locally

We share an incumbent and curate with the next door parish of Wraxall with Failand. We are building on this positive relationship this gives us, whilst maintaining our own distinct nature; in 2023 we held joint courses, joint services and joint prayer meetings, learning from each other’s traditions.

On a wider level we are part of the Churches Together in Nailsea and District (CTINAD). The leaders met monthly for prayer and support and as churches, worshipped together twice in the year (Ignite). We held joint services during 2023 around key times, eg Remembrance, Good Friday.

Evangelism and outreach

Our desire remains to make Jesus known in our community. We are always open to opportunities as they arise, whether it is in the school, at other events, welcoming newcomers into the district. We endeavour to offer a Christianity course each year - either The Start Course or Alpha; we are looking in greater depth at how to be “with” community and building relationships.

Service in our Community

Golden Valley Junior Parkrun (a free, fun and friendly 2km run for those aged 4-14) was set up in September 2023 following work by Sarah Sanderson and Morey Andrews. It runs every Sunday

morning on Golden Valley Field. Nailsea Town Council gave Parkrun the £4000 grant needed to register and start the event. Nailsea School provides the venue (Golden Valley field) free of charge every Sunday morning. 4 people from the community (with Morey and Sarah) trained to be run directors, many people (from the community and church) come and volunteer each week. Even parkrun enthusiasts love the atmosphere! It has been amazing to see God’s hand in Golden Valley playing field junior parkrun. We’re having some great conversations about God and faith and are looking forward to seeing it continue to grow physically and spiritually.

Trendlewood Community Festival, started by Trendlewood Church in 2013, celebrated its 10[th] Anniversary event this year. More than 1800 local people enjoyed this day-long Festival to bring the community together on Saturday 26[th] August 2023. Now run by a Committee and with its own bank account, many church members still continue to volunteer at this event. Trendlewood Church had a stand this year, offering prayer and a place to sit and rest, for those attending.

In 2023 we continued to make regular monthly collections for our local food bank and deliver homemade cakes to households who have newly moved into the area.

Mission Partners

It is our practice to give a tenth of our income as Trendlewood Church, to support four partner organisations and support them regularly in prayer. Trendlewood Committee receives regular updates from the partners and completed a full review in 2022. The next review is 2025.

Hope for Life Katanga,
Uganda		 Vision: To enable families in Uganda to realise their potential towards
living a self-sufficient life. HLF offer livelihood training, education,
healthcare services and communitydevelopment
Mercy Ships,
Worldwide		 Vision: By improving healthcare delivery in every country it visits, Mercy
Ships is working to eradicate the diseases of poverty and effectively do
itself out of ajob.
West End Impact,
Morecambe		 Reacting to crisis and rebuilding lives. Christian charity, West End Impact
supports people in one of the most economically deprived areas of
England
Jenny and Elifadhili
Ayo		 Jenny and Elifadhili are founders of Zuia Trafficking Tanzania. The
charity’s mission is: Together, we can prevent human trafficking from
happening to the most vulnerable. We use an integrated approach that
focuses on building social and economic capacity for those at risk of
becomingtraffickingvictims

Fabric, Goods and Ornaments (Warden’s report)

Our Letting Agreement with Golden Valley School will run until August 2025. There is a clause in that Agreement for a rent review annually and for the first time the school decided to exercise that option in 2023 and increase our rent by 5%. We maintain our Terrier (list of goods and ornaments owned by Trendlewood Church) and added to it a new sound desk this year, with the old sound desk being sold and money from that offset against the new one. There have also been some digital backing track purchases during the year within budget.

5. Financial Review

Total receipts for unrestricted funds were £50,568, including gift aid reclaimed.

Total expenses came to £52,079.

We made an operating loss of £1,510 in 2023.

The largest expense is the Diocesan Parish Share of £33,948. The Parish Share is used in part by the Diocese to meet salary and related costs, such as housing, of clergy.

We allocate a minimum of 10% of giving to Mission Support and in 2023 gave £6,400 to our Mission Partners.

We also support several local outreach projects and gave £1,704 to these in 2023. These projects will be reviewed in early 2024.

6. Reserves Policy

It is our policy to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds of at least 6 weeks of operating expenses. This equates to £6,010 based on 2023 expenditure. At the end of the year, our total assets stood at £75,110.

7. Safeguarding

Trendlewood Church Council (TWCC) has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have due regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults). TWCC has ensured that all safeguarding policies have been followed. During the year, one concern was raised, for which procedures were followed and advice sought.

Regular children’s groups have not run during this year. We have run 2 families activity days where all children are supervised by parent/carer they came with.

As a parish we use the safeguarding dashboard, which prompts us with reviews of policies. There are 3 levels of this and as a church ours is now at level 3. This means we have kept up to date with all the policies and checks. Safeguarding training has been completed by all members who needed to do so. We now have access to the safeguarding hub which has made the task of keeping up to date with checks and training much easier.

8. Volunteers

We are grateful to all our volunteers for their week by week support to cover the many, many roles at Trendlewood Church. They all make our Church what it is; a welcoming community in the service of God. Anyone who wants to learn more about a role in Trendlewood is encouraged to ask the Duty Warden or service leader on a Sunday.

Thank you to all those who have served on our Church Committee this year and particularly a huge thank you to Lindsay Hutchinson who is standing down as Church Warden. She has worked tirelessly on behalf of us all and we are so grateful for her efforts.

Administration and Governance

Trendlewood Church is a Conventional District, situated in Nailsea. It is part of the Diocese of Bath and Wells within the Church of England. The correspondence address is 41 Vowles Close, Nailsea, BS48 1PP.

Trendlewood Church Council members who have served from April 23 until this report’s approval are:

Ex Officio members:

Elected members:

Induction and ongoing training is offered to all members of the Trendlewood Church Council. Often this training is provided by the Diocese of Bath and Wells.

  1. Statement of Financial Activities and Independent Examiner’s Report (on next page)

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

for the year ended 31 December 2023

Cash Funds £
Bank current accounts 75,110
Liabilities
Creditors -
Net Assets 75,110 2
Bank Accounts 2023 2022
Giving 1,027 4,045
Expenditure 5,841 22,514
Reserves 68,242 50,036
75,110 76,595

Trendlewood Church's Receipts & Payments Account

for the year ended 31 December 2023

2023 2022
Incoming resources £ £
Planned giving 39,286 46,009
Income tax recovered 9,474 11,362
Legacy Gifts - -
Donations from Fundraising 19 35
Grants - 750
Interest income 1,233 103
Other income 556 -
Reserves transferred in as opening balance - -
Total incoming resources 50,568 58,259
Resources expended
Charitable activities:
Parish Share 33,948 42,416
Clergy expenses and Training 796 3,329
Outreach 1,704 1,679
Youth, Children's and Families Work - -
Rent, Property & Sunday Services 8,184 6,208
Administration costs 915 835
Mission Support 6,400 6,338
Giving from Fundraisers 133 -
Other - 27
Total resources expended 52,079 60,832
Net (outgoing)/ incoming resources (1,510) (2,573)
Net movement in funds (1,510) (2,573)
Funds brought forward at 1 Jan 2023 76,621 79,194
Funds carried forward at 31 Dec 2023 75,110 76,621

Notes

for the year ended 31 December 2023

  1. The financial statement of the TWCC have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 using the Receipts and Payments basis

  2. All of Trendlewood Church's funds are Unrestricted or General Funds and can be used to fulfill our aims and objectives. However,TWCC has agreed to put aside up to £1,000 per year as a hardship fund to be spent at the discretion of the Minister in accordance with our Finance Policy. This represents a Designated Fund as per charity reporting requirements.

Net assets as at 31st December 2023 £75,110 Less Ministers Hardship Fund -£1,000 Balance available £74,110

Independent Examiner's Certificate for the PCC Accounts

Reprt to the trustees of:
I Trendlewood Church Council
On accounts for the year ended:I 3111December 2023
Charity Number {if applicable)·
1170989		 Reprt to the trustees of:
I Trendlewood Church Council
On accounts for the year ended:I 3111December 2023
Charity Number {if applicable)·
1170989		 Reprt to the trustees of:
I Trendlewood Church Council
On accounts for the year ended:I 3111December 2023
Charity Number {if applicable)·
1170989		 Reprt to the trustees of:
I Trendlewood Church Council
On accounts for the year ended:I 3111December 2023
Charity Number {if applicable)·
1170989
Set out on pages r er " c i,c 1, p
Respective rsponsibllltles of
trustees and examiner		 The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The
charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section
144 of the Charities Act 2011 {the Charities Act) and that an independent
examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
•
examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
•
to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the
Charity Commission {under section 145{5){b) of the Charities Act, and
•
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the
examiner's statement Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records
kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records.
It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts,
and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The
procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an
audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a
'true and fair' view and the repor is limited to those matters set out in the statement
below.
Independent examiner's In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention {other than
statement that disclosed below*) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any
material respect,
•
accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities
Act or
•
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which
atention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to
be reached.
* Please delete the wors in the brackets if they do not apply.
Signed:
Name:
Relevant professional
qualiication(s) or body (if
any):		 Date:~~1~~26t Januar 2024
. ~~I__ ~~
Je n n y_H_olmes ______ _
I
,_______
Address: