Trustees’ Annual Report for the Period 1[st] October 2019 to 30 September 2020 Cornerstone Church Bridlington CIO
Aim and Purposes
The main aim and purpose of Cornerstone Church Bridlington is to advance the Christian faith by preaching the message of the Bible and the central tenets of faith, forgiveness, love, and care for others in our community. By doing this the church educates its members and those of the local community as to the tenets of the Christian faith and how that understanding and knowledge can have a positive, helpful impact on their lives and their community.
Objectives and Activities
Having due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance, and the need to provide benefit to the public, the Trustees seek to achieve our aims and purposes by: holding a Sunday morning service open to all where there are facilities for families with children. The video link between the Main Church room and the Coffee room where parents can take children to play and still be able to hear the main service, has been a useful addition to our facilities.
Tea, coffee and biscuits are served before and after the morning service to allow opportunity for members and visitors to share fellowship and friendship and to get to know one another better.
Our work with children and young families centres around Tots and Co, and Fun Club, both of which operate on a Friday during term time. Tots and Co is held in the afternoon and we have a consistent number of parents and carers with their pre-school children enjoying play, singing and story time. This is an invaluable time of social interaction for many of the parents as they, as well as the children, enjoy tea, coffee, juice and biscuits. Fun Club for 5-11 year olds meets early on the Friday evening, and again we have a regular growing core of children who enjoy a mix of Bible stories, quizzes, singing, games and craft sessions.
During the August holidays we had planned a Holiday Club every Friday afternoon, rounding off the Holiday club with a Family BBQ on the final weekend. But Due to the Covid-19 pandemic all our planned outreach came to an abrupt holt after the 15[th] March as in line with Government instructions all the churches closed
The closure also impacted our outreach to men in the town as our Men’s Breakfast, program had to be cancelled, and several Ladies Lunches, the Ladies outreach due to be held on the 5[th] December was also cancelled in light of the spread of the virus as Winter approached. Unfortunately our low key outreach coffee sessions at Eastfield Garden centre have also been put on ice until we see a relaxation of the rules on social gatherings.
Also our coffee morning in support of the Macmillan Cancer “big coffee morning” due to be held on the 25[th] September had to be cancelled when the government introduced the “6 rule” which made running the event impractical. But due to the generosity of the congregation of Cornerstone church we were able to send a donation of £300 to Macmillan Cancer Support.
An inevitable part of life is growing older, perhaps facing serious illness, and end of life, and we have experienced these situations within our Fellowship.
We have been able to support members in these situations with prayerful, caring and also practical support for those individuals and their families.
This support has in several cases included conducting funerals of which we conducted six funeral services between January to June. Again due to the government restrictions on numbers these services were not as we would have liked them to be but the families were most appreciative of the care and service given by Cornerstone
Summary of the main achievements during the year ( pre- Shut down)
In the run-up to Christmas, we continued our studies on a Sunday morning looking at the 10 Commandments and their relevance in the life of a 21 century Christian. In November we held a believers adult baptism service when two men from the fellowship were baptised.
The church purchased a supply of Advent study books for each church member so that in the run up to Christmas we could together prepare our hearts as we look forward to celebrating Christmas. A supply of Advent Calendars was also purchased and distributed to all our young people
On the 15[th] of December we held our all age Christmas service in the morning and this service was packed out with around 15 children and their parents besides all the regular church members our Carols by Candle light Service in the evening was also well attended.
Covid 19 pandemic Shut-down
As touched on earlier Cornerstone Church closed it’s doors on the 15[th] March when our Government imposed a lock down on the whole country.
In an attempt to keep in touch with our congregation the Church Newsletter, which was a by-monthly publication was increased to a weekly double sided A4 sheet distributed by e-mail and by hand to those without the technology to receive it electronically, we also signed up to the “Zoom” platform to enable a good number of the church to meet virtually once a week on a Tuesday morning for an informal time of fellowship.
Each of the trustees were assigned a number of the Cornerstone fellowship to keep in touch with by phone and provide any help required by individuals.
A weekly service was recorded and published on YouTube , and a good number of our fellowship were able to watch the service each week, It was encouraging to see some of our older folks getting to grips with new technology and discovering a whole new world!
When the lock down was lifted were able to re-open the church for Sunday morning services with a reduced capacity making sure the our meetings were Covid safe, observing social distancing and hand sanitization.
At the time of this report we were not able to have refreshments before or after our services.
Our children’s work is still on hold and we plan to review this at the end of the year and look forward to being able to restart this work safely, as soon as possible.
Cornerstone Church has been blessed financially during this shut down by the continued giving of the fellowship and by individual gifts that have been received, to the extent that we have been able to help others who have perhaps not been in such a fortunate position as us.
Due to the Covid restrictions our AGM this year will not be a face to face meeting but information packs will be sent round with opportunities for comments and suggestions to be fed back to the support team.
We long to get back to normality, whatever that may look like in the days ahead.
Finance
We are still experiencing difficult circumstances due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but we still have much cause to thank God, and the fellowship, for the faithful, generous financial support which has continued. During ‘lockdown’ we could not receive the usual cash donations, and although some expenses were reduced, others continued. However, due to the regular standing order receipts, we were able to continue without having to use our Reserves. Our total income for church use amounted to £21,764.38 which included a legacy of £5,000; and there was further giving for missions of £4,134.85 which included our regular grants. The expenditure which included £8,792.46 of continued refurbishment and essential works, amounted to £22,391.31; and there were regular payments to missions of £4,104.36. Although the usual church activities have been restricted during this financial year, because the giving to missions which we regularly support has been maintained, and additional grants also made, we have in some part helped these missions to continue to benefit people in real need in practical and caring ways, showing them the love of Jesus, and hopefully making a real difference to their lives.
Reserves Policy
Cornerstone continues to have an agreed Reserves Policy of £35,000 to cover cash flow, possible loss of income from elderly members, and funds to cover large repair and maintenance bills which would not be possible from our regular income. This policy has served us well during the current pandemic, but as we had exceeded our ‘target’ we were in a position to continue with the agreed refurbishments and essential works, and in addition, give additional grants to the missions we support, to help and encourage them to continue during these unprecedented times.
Cornerstone Church would not be able to function were it not for the valuable work of its many voluntary workers who undertake tasks ranging from administration, preaching and teaching to practical building maintenance. We would like to thank all these volunteers who work so hard to make Cornerstone the lively warm and welcoming community that it is. In particular, our Church Secretary who works tirelessly on the administration of the church along with the Support Team. Also our Church Treasurer who keeps the church finances on track and helps the Support Team understand the church accounts and finances.
Administrative information
Cornerstone Church Bridlington CIO, St Johns Walk Off Brett Street BRIDLINGTON East Yorkshire YO16 4HJ Registered Charity Number 1173459
Structure, Governance and Management
Cornerstone Church has a CIO Foundational Constitution whose trustees are selected by vote of its Charity trustees only.
The charity trustees have the general control and management of the administration of Cornerstone Church and may for that purpose exercise all the powers of the church.
The trustees have a duty of care to perform their function as trustees of the church in a manner that would most likely further the purposes of Cornerstone Church.
Guidance on the above has been taken from our church Solicitor, the Charities Commission web site, Stewardship and the Association of Church Accountants and Treasurers (ACAT).
The trustees have purchased a Risk Assessment Tool Kit to help them keep abreast of potential problem areas.
We have an up-to-date Safeguarding Policy in place and we conduct regular training sessions and DBS checks on all relevant workers.
Cornerstone Church is an associate member of FIEC (Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches).
Names of the Charity trustees who managed the charity from the 1[st] October until the 30[th] September 2020 are:
Mrs Sophia White Mrs Rosemary Gilliland Mr Rodger Armitage Mr David Collier Mrs Pat Armitage Mrs Susan Collier Mrs Sara Dean (Secretary) Mr Stuart Howarth (Chair)
Approved by the Trustees on and signed on their behalf by Stuart Howarth
Charity Name No (if any) Cornerstone Church Bridlington CIO 1173459 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period Period start date Period end date To from 01/10/2019 30/09/2020
| Section A Receipts and payments | Section A Receipts and payments | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Receipts | Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 10,555 340 35 5,000 2,878 246 2,710 # - 21,764 - - - 21,764 10,740 1,798 916 1,490 199 1,146 393 660 30 3,555 1,464 22,391 - - - 22,391 - 627 - - - 627 |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ - - - - - 3,307 828 - 4,135 - - - 4,135 - - - - - - - - 4,104 4,104 - - - 4,104 31 - - 31 |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds to the nearest £ 10,555 340 35 5,000 2,878 246 2,710 3,307 828 - 25,899 - - - 25,899 10,740 1,798 916 1,490 199 1,146 393 660 30 3,555 1,464 4,104 26,495 - - - 26,495 - 596 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
|
| General Offerings | 10,555 | 11,329 | ||||
| Other Income | 340 | 868 | ||||
| Fun club receipts | 35 | |||||
| Legacy | 5,000 | 14,018 | ||||
| Gift Aid | 2,878 | 2,329 | ||||
| Interest | 246 | 192 | ||||
| Gifts in memoryof 3 members | 2,710 | |||||
| Missionaryincl Tithed Grants | 4,152 | |||||
| Special Purposes | 87 | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) |
21,764 | 32,975 | ||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). |
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| - | ||||||
| - | - | |||||
| Sub total | - | - | ||||
| Total receipts A3 Payments |
||||||
| 32,975 | ||||||
Premises |
10,740 | 23,464 | ||||
| Utilities | 1,798 | 2,048 | ||||
| Insurance | 916 | 996 | ||||
| Licences/Subcriptions | 1,490 | 497 | ||||
| Youth Work | 199 | 177 | ||||
| Outreach/Publicity | 1,146 | 420 | ||||
| Catering | 393 | 507 | ||||
| Sundries | 660 | 679 | ||||
| VisitingMinistry | 30 | 635 | ||||
| Grants to Missions | 3,555 | 2,537 | ||||
| Training | 1,464 | 490 | ||||
| Missionary/Special Purposes | 4,244 | |||||
| **Sub total ** | 22,391 | 36,694 | ||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases (see table) |
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| , | - | |||||
| - | ||||||
| **Sub total ** | - | - | ||||
| Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
||||||
| 36,694 | ||||||
| - 627 | 31 | - | - 596 | - 3,719 | ||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||
| - 627 | 31 | - | - 596 | - 3,719 |
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
04/12/2020
1
| 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 Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets |
Signature Missionary Gifts Details Details Tots/Fun Club Cash Current Account Savings/Reserve Details Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 189 - 16,802 1,132 30,464 - 47,455 1,132 Agreement Error Agreement Error Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) Restricted 1,101 - - - - Print Name |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
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| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| OK | |||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
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| Current value (optional) |
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| Current value (optional) |
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| When due (optional) |
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| October | |||
| Date of approval |
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CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
04/12/2020
2