Cornerstone Church Bridlington, CIO Trustees’ Annual Report
1[st] October 2020 to 30[th] September 2021
Aims, Purposes and Objectives
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 of the beliefs of the Christian faith and how that understanding and knowledge can have a positive, helpful and impact on their lives and community.
Activities and Achievements
Having due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance and the need to provide benefit to the public, the Trustees seek to achieve the aims and purposes in the following activities –
We have a Sunday morning service that is open to all. There is a video link between the main hall and the coffee lounge and this is useful for parents with young children and can also be used as an overflow at busy services. It has also been useful this year for social distancing purposes. Tea, coffee & biscuits are currently served after the service to allow the opportunity for people to share fellowship and friendship. In this reporting period, Sunday services were open and closed due to covid lockdowns and although churches were allowed to remain open, we decided to close from January 2021 to March 2021. We have put our recorded services on to a You-tube channel for our congregation to watch during covid lockdowns. Most of our congregation are back in church now but for those who are still isolating, they can still watch from home. We have used Zoom for chat sessions during covid lockdowns which was very beneficial in keeping us in touch. After the lockdowns, we were able to have visiting speakers again and they have been a blessing to the church. We have had a few new regular worshippers since January 2021 and we hope that they will make Cornerstone their spiritual home.
We run a Tots & Co for pre-school children, accompanied by their parents/guardians on Friday afternoons in term time. It was closed from March 2020 until May 2021 due to the pandemic but then re-opened to good and consistent numbers. The activity is run by a team of church volunteers. This is an invaluable time of social interaction for the children and parents and has been much appreciated after the isolation caused by the pandemic. Tea, coffee, juice and biscuits are available. There is no charge for this activity but donations can be made. We have a lovely garden area that is used on dry days.
We run a Fun Club for primary and some secondary school age children This is held on Friday evenings during term time from 6.30pm until 7.30pm. It was closed from March 2020 to May 2021 due to the pandemic but then re-opened to good and consistent numbers. During the lockdowns, activity packs were delivered to the homes of the children. The club is run by a team of church volunteers. Juice and biscuits are available and there is no charge for this activity. The children enjoy bible stories, quizzes, games and craft sessions. During the summer holidays in August 2021, we held Friday afternoon Fun Clubs for two hours and had up to 17 children at each session.
We ran Wednesday morning Keswick DVD mornings from 7[th] October 2020 to 4[th] November 2020 and then 2[nd] June 2021 to 30[th] June 2021. These were fairly well supported by our own church and it was open to other local churches to attend also.
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Several volunteers have completed First Aid/Epi-pen/Safeguarding/Food Hygiene courses etc to enable us to keep children and adults safe within our care. These sessions were open to organisations in the town.
We have been able to have two Men’s breakfast sessions in 2021. These are open to all men and have been supported with good numbers from the community. This is a great opportunity to make friends and to share a short message from the bible with the men who attend.
We have also been able to have two Ladies lunches in 2021. These are well supported and are a good time of conversation and to share a thought for the day from God’s word.
At the breakfast and lunch held in September 2021 we were able to do some fundraising for the Macmillan coffee morning as mentioned later in this report..
In January, we provided a hamper to the staff at a local hospital. This was a joint churches initiative.
We have a few of our members who are in permanent residential care and although visiting has been impossible due to Covid restrictions we have been able to keep in touch with newsletters, cards & phone calls etc.
In previous years we have allowed the Macular Society and a local quilting group to use the hall for their sessions but this has not been possible this last year due to covid. We agreed to allow the Hull and East Riding Immunisation Clinic to use the hall for catch up clinics because they did not have access to schools during lockdowns and this remains an ongoing arrangement.
Our usual Christmas services were cancelled this year due to covid but we were able to have a Sunday morning carol service (no singing, but using music videos on a data projector). The church purchased the Real Advent Calendar for the Fun Club children along with a gift of a Christian book for each of them and these were delivered to their homes.
We have had a good number of visitors to the church over the past year. They find us through our website and Facebook page and also through the Fellowship of Independent Churches Website, of which we are a member. Visitors remark on the warm welcome they receive at Cornerstone and about our facilities which make Cornerstone a great place to meet.
We were unable to hold our monthly informal gatherings at a local garden centre during covid but we aim to restart these soon.
We were unable to hold our AGM in November 2020 due to covid restrictions, but we prepared a comprehensive pack of details and annual accounts and these were all hand delivered to the homes of our members.
Finances
Covid-19 has continued to have its effect on the Church during the past financial year, but we
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can again give thanks for the blessing of God’s provision through the generous, faithful financial support from the fellowship, and also for all the small items supplied without charge as well as the giving of time and labour in carrying out routine general maintenance etc.
Out total income for church use amounted to £12,841.91 with the additional giving of £3,596.49 towards Missions we support, and also at outreach events we were able to collect £239.80 towards the work of Macmillan.
The expenditure amounted to £19,976.31 and included some exterior works, new Astro turf for the children’s garden/play area, and a defibrillator. This meant the expenditure was greater than the income, but was funded from Reserves. There were also the payments to Missions which totalled £3,836.29.
We also wish to express our thanks Helen Gilson for examining our accounts.
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. For the second year effected by Covid-19, this policy has served us well, and enabled us to complete necessary works.
Volunteers
During covid, we have kept the use of our volunteers down to a minimum and the Trustees have undertaken most of the work to keep risks down. Since restrictions have been lifted, we have been able to open up some of the tasks to others and we are very grateful for this support.
Administration Information
Cornerstone Church Bridlington CIO St Johns Walk Bridlington East Yorkshire YO16 4JH
Registered Charity Number 1173459
Structure, Governance and Management
Cornerstone Church has a CIO Foundational Constitution whose Trustees are selected by its Charity Trustees only.
The Charity Trustees have the general control of the administration of Cornerstone Church and may for that purpose exercise all the powers of the church. They also 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.
We have an up-to-date Safeguarding Policy in place and have recently done on-line safeguarding training through the NSPCC. DBS checks have been updated as necessary. Cornerstone is an associate member of the FIEC (Fellowship of Independent Churches).
Names of the Charity Trustees who managed the charity in this reporting period were –
Sophia White, Rosemary Gilliland, David Collier, Sue Collier, Stuart Howarth, Sara Dean
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Rodger & Pat Armitage stood down in this reporting period.
Approved by the Trustees on 10[th] November 2021 and signed on their behalf by Stuart Howarth.
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PRÉMISES Repairs AddttlOll5 CleaThng Refurfoishments £10.656.87 £870.73 £4.327S3 ElS94.9) £130.46 £8.094.67 £14.147.96 GtftA•J Tax reIpts £784.70 £45.61 Interest Use of rM raini event io.( 474.wj £484.) £12.841.91 ununES GB5 Electtittty Water £19.92 E399.40 £144.89 U594.21 Mi55Tharygv•ryng INI dMKth grat 3.413.99 Bamabas Christrnas AFWI 162.50 239. 20.INJ £3,836.29 Insurance Totsl Premises C4>sts .68> Carirgfor Life. Harvest Fun Club Tots& Co £16.678.20 £73.79 £275.91 Church Events Oiiireath Catering General £168.67 E2fp3.43 £378.10 Trainln8 Outreach and Publickty nces/subscrfptions Sundries Isee attached sheet) Isiting Ministry Grants to Missions £223.Cil £214.09 £816.12 £185.27 £135.(Kl £1.[5.67 Regular Mlsswjns intl Trthed Grants Macmillan collection Chri5tma5 Bamabas Appeal £3551.94 £239A) £162.50 £3 47252.35 GIIAND TOTAL OF PAYMENT5 Brouzht Forward LIO.2020 Tots Cash held as at l (ktober 2020 Fun Club Cash held 3s at l October2020 Bank Attount as at l Octokr 2020 Savings Account as • i October2020 £129.58 E60. £17,933.74 £30.464.22 £41335.27 Tots Cash In hand as at30Sept 2021 Fun aub hand as at 30 Sept 2021 Bar&knrNJrtasat 30 Sept 2021 E55.79 £o.rA] £10.769.65 £30.509.83 £41,335.27 Uabililit5.' http.'/ www.cornerstonechurchbrid.co.uk Charity Registration Number 1173459 Page 5
CHARITY COMMISSION Fok ENGiAND AND WALES Receipts and payments accounts CC16a To 01MtY2020 Section A Rece5Pts and payments Total fur A1 Ra¢•1 1QX5 ZM7 246 71 141 10.740 1.79B Y(Xthwk 214 214 1.14• 1•5 13S &104 26•S 11 A6 Cash lunds last>w4d 17mrJ http.'/ www.cornerstonechurchbrid.co.uk Charity Registration Number 1173459 Page 6
SectioN B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period C¥tsgoTt B1 C4¥h fvnd¥ nd• Delails tktads Dotsils 84 Assets r8tsln8dtsrtho ch•rfY$u*n u8• Detsils 17mrx http.'/ www.cornerstonechurchbrid.co.uk Charity Registration Number 1173459 Page 7
Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of The Cornerstone Church Re5pDttsibilitits and basu of report As the charity trustees of the Tnt you re4A)nsible for the Preparation of the accounts in &cordatKe with the requirements of the Charities Aei 2011 IThe Act}. I report in Testrt ofmy examination of the TnT5t's accounts catried out under Section 145 of the 2011 Ac( and in canying out My examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of The A. Independent ex4miTreW5 Statement I have completed my examination. l ¢onfimi ihai no materiat matters have com¢ to my attention in cotvteciion with the cxamirmtion giving me cause to Etlieve thai tn any materiaJ respect.. l. Accounting records were noi kept itl resrttt of The T]ust as required by section 130 of The ACL or 2. The accourjts do not accord wifh those recoIds, or 3. The accounts do not comply with the applicable requirernents con¢erning the fomi and contenl of accollnts sei out in The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts Btve & Irve 2nd f&ir view whiclj is not a matter considered 8s part of an indeF¢ndent examination. I have no concerns and have come acmss no othermatrets ia connection with the examination to which attention should b¢ drawn in this T¢Wt io order to enable a proper understsnding of thc accounts lo E¢ re4ched. Helen Gi150n Qualification Association of Accouniing Technicians 9 Main Street Buckton BRIDLINGTON Y015 IHU 29 NovemEw 2021 http.'/ www.cornerstonechurchbrid.co.uk Charity Registration Number 1173459 Page 8