Page 1 Grappanhall Independènt Mèthodist Church REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st March 2023 This report includes infomation required by the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the Ststement of Recommended Practice for Accounting by Charities 2005 as applicable to charities entitled to prepare accounts on the receipts and payments basis. ADMINISTRA TIVE INFORMATION Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church is a local church of the Independent Methodist Association in Great Brrtain. It was registered on 20 March 2017 as Charity Number 1172160. Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church is srtuated at.. 2, Barton Avenue, Grappenhall, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4 2LE The trustees who seNed during the financial year from April 2022 to March 2023 are: Robert E Brooks (Chair) Susan J MG4rthur Allyson D H Ashcroft Anne Pridden Glenys Baguley Kathleen Middleton Timothy Jordan Godfrey Gwilliam Roy Findlay The Church building is held under trust with legal title vested in the nominated Trustees. STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT The activities of Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church are overseen by the Deacons of the Church and administrative matters are overseen by the Church Council. The goveming document of the registered tharity is a statement adopted by the Church Meeting on 9 February 2017. The Church Council is responsible for the financial administration of the Church, and the care and maintenance of Church premises. The Church Meeting (of all members Page 2 wishing to attend) gives general guidan￿ on the lrfe and work of the Church. The members of the Church Council are nominated and elected by the members of Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church at an Annual General Meeting. This meeting also nominates and elects truslees as necessary. The Church CouncAI met 9 times during the year. The Deacons met 9 times during the year and the Trustees met twi￿. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church seeks to advan￿ the Christian faith Ihrough its aclivities and the facilrties offered to the community by its building. The Deacons are aware of the Charity Commission's gU￿an￿ on public benefit in 'The Advancement of Religion for the Public Benefrt" and has regard to it in the administration of the Church. The Deacons believe that the Church provides benefrt to the public by.. providing resources and faalities for public worship, pastoral care, and spiritual, moral and intellectual development, both for the congregation and for anyone else who wishes to benefrt from what the Church ithers. promoting Christian values and service by members of the congregation to the communty, for the benefft of individuals and society as a whole. REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS Each year since the Covid Pandemic the church has been presented with new challenges and opportuntties. Who would have thought twelve months ago that we as a church would come into contact wrth so many new people. The opening of the Fir Grove Hotel as an Asylum Centre brought us into contact with people who we never have imagined would walk through our door. People from Namibia. Botswana and Iran, just to identify those who we had the most meaningful contsct with and with whom we tried to help and support as best as we could within our limitations. These individuals have now largely been settled elsewhere and we wish them well, but it is a reminder that we never know who is coming through our door next and how we should be prepared to welcome and assist whenever possible in Christian love. New contacts have not been limrted to asylum seekers and others have joined us for worship and fellowship during the year. Some have joined us for a short time whilst others are still with us and again this serves as a reminder that ￿￿ need to continue to engage with those in our local community and be seen as a church which is welcoming, engaging and has something to offer. Our regular after service tea and coffee in the hall Continues to be a positive aspect of what we do as church and is appreciated by most of Page 3 Our ability to serve the community is very much dependent on the spiritual strength and commitment of our core membership. The Deacons continue to look at opportunities to slrengthen and develop our fellowship. This year we have held a series of studies entitled 'Growing on our Frantlines,, as with all 'London Instrtute of Contemporary Christianity, (LICC) courses they are designed to put Christian theology and principles into practi￿ for everyday living. Despite holding the sessions on a Tuesday afternoon, a sizeable proportion of our membership t¢X)k part and enabled them to learn more about each other and themselves. It is hoped to hold a further series at the start of 2024. Sunday services continue to be well attended but we do suffer fluctuations due to a number of factors including holrdays, illness and those who only attend now and then. The pulpit continues to be served by a combination of our own preachers, visiting preachers and fellowship led worship. ￿Tr11st the current mix seples us well, we are mindful that our time of fellowship and worship must remain inclusive and relevant, and we continue to look for new and different opportunrties to achEve those goals. So, what of the coming year. Engagement wlth our local communty must be a priority because if we are not rooted within it, we become irrelevant and will eventually cease to exist. The cOr)￿rt and fundraiser for the community defibrillator is hopefully the first of a number of initiatives that will aid in achieving this. We would ask you to consider and bring forward your ideas on how Y￿ engage with local community and how our worship can be enhanced. FINANCIAL REVIEW 1 Summary This report is for the period to 3110312023. In the previous year our income we had started to recover from the restrictions of Covid and this was the year in which we saw that recovery continue. Our offertory continues to hold steady despite falling numbers. Donations to the church increased significantly by around £6000. sadly, this was largely a result of bequests. Room rental is a valuable source of income but requires management. We are currently in the process of reviewing the costs of letting the room out. We currently charge a relatively nominal figure but need to review it to ensure thal we are covering the cost of the utilities and V￿ar and tear. We received grant income of £2225 towards the cost of the soundproofing of this room. Our total income was £30457.52, an increase of just under £12,000 on the previous year. However. with increased activity comes increased expenses. Our utility Costs overall have not increased dramatically but we have seen sjgnificant increases in our electricity bill, and we have been monitoring the meters carefully this year to ensure that we are not overcharged. Our broadband costs are high for the level of our usage, and we are in the prO￿sS of reviewing altemative suppliers. Our Insuran￿ costs increased to £2305 this year, an increase in the region of 100/0 and Page 4 We painted the window frames and soundproofed the hall as major works but there are small jobs underway most of the time. We made donations of £1920 which Included the money collected for Ukraine. Our total expenses were £21821.55, an increase of approximately £7000 on last year and which is mostly reflected in the works on the building. The balan￿ in the general fund at the 31st of March was £19050.26, an increase of just under £9000 on the previous year. The current position - we have £18613 in the bank. and l anticipate a gift aid refund from HMRC ofjust under £2000. Addttionally. we have been notified of a grant of £4000 from Connexion but it has not yet been received. We have commitments of £1200 in respect of repairs to the chimney and the roof and potential expenditure of £4299 for pew cushions if that is decided and £1200 for the defibrillator (£600 of which was raised at the recent con￿rt). 2 Reserves Policy Unrestricted funds: Ideally, the Deacons would wish to have in hand an amount equal to at least 6 months, regular expenditure as'yree" reserves, to meet future shortfalls in income or unexpected expenses. The balan￿ at 31 March 2023 represents 12 months of budgeted expenditure for 202312024. Designatsd Funds: There are Cu￿entlY no designated funds. This report was approved by the Annual General Meeting on 25 September 2023 and is signed on its behaff by Robert E Brooks, (Minister). Robert E Minister ## **Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church Income and Expenditure Account Period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023** |**Income**
Offertories:
Donations:
Keep Fit Group
Coffee and Conversation
In memory of Ruth and Ken Gulson
In memory of Doreen Ashcroft
In memory of Norman Gamble
Sonali and Kar Ming Lei
Anonymous Donation
Room Rental:
HMRC Gift Aid Refund
Grant Income
Soundproofing
Events & Collections:
Hot Pot Supper
Ukraine Donations
Recipe Book sales
Christmas Income
Fees (Weddings and Funerals)
Sundry Income
Total Income
Balance Fwd @ 31/03/2022
Expenses
Balance @ 31/03/2023|**2022/2023**
**2021/2022**
10150.04
9740.75
1400.00
300.00
5000.00
1000.00
800.00
300.00
250.00
9050.00
2910.50
3620.00
2095.00
4086.93
0.00
2225.00
2165.97
370.00
347.01
5.00
175.86
897.87
1182.40
325.00
0.00
102.68
479.99
30457.52
18574.61
10414.29
40871.81
21821.55
**19050.26**| |---|---| ## **Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2023** Lloyds TSB £ 19,050.26 Less cheques not presented at 31/03/2023 £ - Cash in hand £ - £ 19,050.26 General Fund Ledger £ 19,050.26 |**Expenditure**
Utilities:
Water Plus (United Utilities)
Business Gas
Scottish Power
British Telecom
Caretaker and Cleaning Costs
Insurance
Property Costs
Window Painting
Soundproofing Hall
Miscellaneous small jobs
Repairs and Replacements
Miscellaneous items
Boiler Servicing
Organ Service
Filters
Equipment
Mugs
Stationary/Publicity:
Connexional Dues
Donations:
G & D Castro
Overseas Missions
David Robinson
Red Cross - Ukraine
Room at the Inn
Refugee Support
Visiting Ministers Expenses
Sundry Expenses|**2022/2023**
**2021/2022**
349.97
361.47
1424.00
1599.00
1633.60
762.00
796.49
725.93
4204.06
3448.40
2466.40
2461.92
2305.37
2096.83
2145.00
4279.20
785.00
7209.20
216.32
581.10
263.00
324.00
141.66
1309.76
209.69
127.92
2476.47
1089.96
400.43
1071.00
1599.50
600.00
270.00
100.00
400.00
350.00
200.00
1920.00
1600.00
100.00
150.00
17.88
171.69
**21821.55**| |---|---| ## **Audit report to the trustees of Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church** I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Grappenhall Independent Methodist Church for the year ended 31[st] March 2023. ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** As the charity trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the _Charities Act_ 2011 (‘the Act’). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under s. 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under s. 145(5)(b) of the Act. ## **Audit statement** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: (1) accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or (2) the accounts do not accord with those records; or (3) the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the _Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations_ 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have come across 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. Signed Name: Janet B. Barnes Date: 17[th] July 2023