TRUSTEES REPORT AND UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS
1 April 2020 – 31 March 2021
Charity Registration: 1173974
Charity Reference and Administration
Registered Number: 1173974 Registered: 27 July 2017 Location: Kirklees, West Yorkshire Contact: Kevin Ball, 57 The Drive, Batley, West Yorkshire, WF17 8EG; office@spenvalleychurch.org
Trustee Board: Name Appointed Position Graham Thomson 27-Jul-2017 Chairman and Pastor Kevin Ball 29-Apr-2020 Elder Mark Frost 28-Mar-2021 Acting Trustee Note of Record: Kevin Ball joined the Eldership (and hence also became a Charity Trustee) on 29-Apr-2020. Luke Jenner resigned his Trustee position on 18-Aug-2020. Daniel Grimwade resigned his Trustee position on 09-Mar-2021. Mark Frost resigned from Church Membership (and hence also from Eldership/Trusteeship) on 31-Dec-2020 to take up a role of Trainee Pastor at Dewsbury Evangelical Church, and was subsequently appointed as an external Acting Trustee (which has a fixed 6-month term) on 28-Mar-2021.
Bankers: CAF Bank, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ
Note: public benefit In compiling this report and in exercising their powers and duties, the Trustees have had due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Commission and, in particular, on charities for the advancement of religion.
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Structure, Governance and Management
Purposes of Spen Valley Church
The church Constitution Section 3 has the following:
“The purposes of the Church are:
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the advancement of the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith primarily but not exclusively within Cleckheaton and the surrounding neighbourhood; and
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such other charitable purposes as shall, in the opinion of the charity trustees, put into practice the Christian faith in accordance with the Basis of Faith, including but not limited to: the prevention and relief of need, hardship and sickness; the advancement of education; and the provision of facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age infirmity or disability, financial hardship or social circumstances with the object of improving their conditions of life.”
Trusteeship of Spen Valley Church
There must be at least three trustees at all times, and non-paid trustees of the charity must be in the majority for Spen Valley Church to function, and appointment and duties must be as per sections 13– 20 of the church Constitution.
The charity trustees are the Officers of the Church, as defined by the Constitution. The criteria and qualification for being elected as a Church Officer are defined in the Church Handbook.
If the number of Church Officers falls below three, the Constitution makes provision for the church members to elect temporary Acting Trustees who are Pastors of like-minded local churches to fulfil the legal required minimum number of trustees.
Governance and Management
The Trustees meet at least four times a year as stated in section 19 of the church Constitution. Extra meetings can be arranged for urgent matters if the chairman or two trustees call a meeting. Ten days’ notice must be given to all trustees unless the trustees all agree on an earlier date. An agenda is sent out for each meeting and proper minutes are taken as per section 19.4 of the Constitution.
Meetings can be held by suitable electronic means as per the guidelines set out in 19.5 of the Constitution.
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Activities and Achievements
Trustees Report 1 April 2020 - 31 March 2021 :
2020/2021 is a year that saw the Covid-19 pandemic affect the life of Spen Valley Church, as it did all of us across the UK and wider world. The church membership was 13 as of 01-Apr-2020, and 10 as the year closed on 31-Mar-2021.
For much of 2020 the church could not meet physically due to either national lockdowns, or local tiered restrictions, which seemed to hit Kirklees (our council area) particularly hard compared to some other places in the UK. Nevertheless, due to rigorous risk assessments, and a cooperative school leadership, we were able to hold in-person Sunday morning public worship services (with the appropriate mitigations) on every Sunday the regulations permitted during the various restricted periods, starting from 19-Jul-2020. For this we are very grateful, and it was an obvious blessing and a contributor to positive mental health for those who attended, as most weeks most members attended these services.
The church has been a beneficiary of the government’s furlough scheme this year, as much of the usual community and outreach work of our staff (the Pastor and the Outreach Worker) has been impossible to do during the lockdowns and restrictions
Graham Thomson, the Pastor, was furloughed one day per week for much of the winter.
Dawn Thomson, the part-time Outreach worker, was furloughed 100% of the time for much of the winter, and her employment was reduced to 2 days per week from Feb 2021.
As the restrictions were lifted, the flexibility of the extended furlough scheme also allowed them to do a phased transition to community work once more.
We were very excited to welcome two new members during the lockdowns (although one has since departed). When new people become Christians and join the church family we see the real power of the Gospel making a difference to the community.
During the lockdown periods the church Elders arranged for church-wide gatherings multiple times during each week via Zoom, and encouraged individual church members to meet up one-to-one also using Zoom. In this way we were able to sustain the church family and community, and help create a safe space to offer and receive support for our members during a very challenging period.
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Financial Review
Spen Valley Church began the year with cash in the bank of £7,991.35
During the financial year, total receipts amounted to a further £64,910.38
During the financial year, total expenditure amounted to a further £47,117.00
The year closed with a balance of £25,784.73
Spen Valley Church has two paid employees, and relies on internal and external giving throughout the year. We are pleased to be able to report that our income exceeded our expenditure for this reporting period, thanks to both the furlough scheme and also some additional generous external givers. The trustees continue to explore additional avenues of external giving to enable the church to function for the coming years.
Declaration
The Trustees of Spen Valley Church declare that they have approved the above Trustees’ Annual Report, and the following has signed on behalf of the Trustees:
Kevin Ball Trustee (Elder) 26 January 2021
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Statement of Financial Activities
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Statement of Assets & Liabilities as at 31-Mar-2021
| 2021 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Current assets | ||
| Cash in Bank | 25,784 | 7,991 |
| Total assets less current | ||
| liabilities | 25,784 | 7,991 |
| Income funds | ||
| Unrestricted funds | 50,341 | 55,564 |
| Restricted funds | 14,569 | |
| Total income | 64,910 | 55,564 |
Approved by the Trustees on 22-Nov-2021 and signed on their behalf by Graham Thomson (Chair) and Kevin Ball (Secretary)
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Independent Examiner’s Report
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