Submission of Accounts to Charity Commission
Rivercourt Methodist Church
Year Ended 31 August 2020
Section One: Trustee's Report
Section Two: Methodist Church - Standard Form of Accounts
Section Three: Simplified Form of Accounts

Rii-ercoutt ilIethodist Church
Ttusrees, Report to the Ch2riti' Commission
Seprember ?019 to .lugust 2020
Church .4ddress:
King StreeL Hammersmith, LAmdon W6 9TF
Circuit
Chelse4 Hammersmith & Fulham 35/04
District
IA>ndi)n
Charity Number
1133940
Iini%tcr in Charge:
Rei.d. Icsin￿ I'unipola
Trustees at 31 ,.lug 2019 Rth"d. Iesinga 1'uni￿)la - Chair
,lfr. Stephen larnce- Tre2surer
,lfr. K￿￿k"U Tieku- Organisr
Is. jul￿ Goode
Is. Jiyan Bennett
fr. -{. -{. .Nl. Gri
Is. I'anessa Brackett
Is. 12rgaret BoEwe
BooLk-ecper
Ir. Solomon Sackei.
..luditoi
-4ntippa & Compan!. Ltd. (-4ngelo G. .Inrippa)
One trubtee rcsigned during the financial !'e2r.
The minister is al￿71"5 Chair of the Trustees 2nd is appointed to
one or morc Churches in our C￿cUlt (chatitr. 1133940). The! are
chnsen bi. the Conference and paid b!. the C.ircuii. Their leN"el of
pa)- Is deterniinLd b!. the Conference of rhe British IIethodist
Church (Chariti" number 113??08). Our currcnt minister is Rei,d.
Ie￿linga ('Singa? I'unipola.
11]e ()nl!- other trnstee paid b!. RiTr-LTCOUtt is Kwaku Tieku. He
p121-s the organ at scThices and is a rrained music therapist. He also
pla!"s for the Glass Door Homeless Ch￿7￿. night shelter which
rLins 2t Rii"ercourt on ?? Sundai" ei.enin
. durirk the winter.
'I'rustees
Pa8elof5

Congregation
X'L ￿￿rshiPped as usual from Scytember 2019 unril mid- NIarch
?O?O. ￿￿-hen the Goi"ernment and the IA)ndon District of the
Iethodist Church adiiscd us to close. With a feNv ciceptions as a
resulr of Goi-erTllnLnt poliTh'. remained closed for the rest of
the fin2ncial l'ear.
'i"ercourt is a member nf the Chelsea. Hammersmith & Fulham
Circuit. ii.hich consisrs of fil-e Ilethodisr churches: .14kew Road,
Chel%ea, Fulham Broadiva!.. Rj'i-ercourt and Shepherd's Bush
Road. In .Ipril ?O?l), the Circuit started /.oom Sernices. In general,
..Iskew Road ran their senice. The other churches. including
Rii"ercouffj had combined Zoom senryces. led b!. presb57ters 2nd
local preachers in the Circuit with occasional guest ministers.
.Ilthough being closed for so long was difficult for both lay
members and staff in the Circuio it has helped the churches
dei.elop a sense of fello￿ShIP b). being in this situation together.
Caring for members are sheltering and not computer literate
has been a challenge. Seeing somcone who has nei.er used a
computcr before smde and laugh when the). see and speak to their
friLnds on Zoom is somerhing man!" ￿ill nei'er forgei.
.4n ai"erage of ?5 people arrended Rii-ercourt seThices before the
pandemic. 'fhere 2re approYimatel1' 50 members. Our mini%tcr,
Rei"d. Singa l.un1po￿ boosts the size of our congregation through
her leadership of the Tongan FellO￿ThiP.
WalL-ins are important to Rii"ercourr as we arc a welcoming
building on the high street in H2mmersmith. There were obiqously
no w21k"_ins during lockdowo no senices.
-some older members did not ivant to do Zoom 2nd the Tongans
siartcd running their own seThices.
Once lockdo￿￿ ends completel!". we be able to have a more
recibe idea of lik-cli- numbers
oin
forward.
Iinisterial Oi'ersight
Rei"d. Singa ITunip(Jla completed her first )ear with us in .4ugust
?020. W'e share her Tninistr)" with Shepherd's Bush Road Church.
Singa happ!" to come to W'est London as it is a good Ioc2ti0n
for hLr calling tn minister to the Tongan Fellolvship in addition to
her c.ircuit re%ponsibihties. She began her role in thL' Circuir in the
last month of the ?018-19 financial !"ear, which is generally the
serrling in time for a minister. Her ￿elCOMe seTrice Ivas at the i-.ery
start ()f thc current financi211.ear
Page2of5

Building
Rii-ercourr is an impressii-e church (insured i.alue £11,706,757)
from both the inside and outside. It opencd in 1875. It was
coni-erted in thc lafc 19()()s ro proTride fleNibility: in a modern
orship space. This is both a blLssing and a curse.
The blessing is thar as 2 hgh street church, there 2re m2n) people
passing through the building expressing 2 genuine interest in what
is going on inbide and stopping to pray.
ThL' CL]rbe of a large church is its upkeep, which is a major cost of
time and monei" for rhe Trusrees. .It the end of the last financial
'ear, the Trustees decided to paint the inside. Prior to doing so. we
had the roof inspected to ensure there ivould be no water ingress.
Drone examination iaennfied 4igmficant roof problems, so
painring deferred 2nd p12ns for roof rep2irs were initi2ted.
We receii.cd a no,(￿ grant from the LL)ndon District for whal
:aq estimated to be a £94,701 roofing projcc¢ Nvhich began in
JanuaTh- ?()?(). The pandemic resulted in a dela!" in completion of
the i1.ork from 6 .Ipnl to 9 June ?O?O. The total cost reduced to
08,IK)O + professional fees of £6.169 = £84.169. ￿.1"erCoUrt still
ai. Ihe 5.,0 retention in
une ?O?l.
SerN'ices ProiidLd to
promote the _IiTns of the
Charin".
Rii-ercoutt proiides a great de21 of support for the Ioc21
communin. 2nd ii.orks hard tn bring the Word of God to people
both dirc'cdi" and indirecd!". Biblc S[L￿les are normall!" run during
L£nt 2nd .Idi-enL The Church supp]ics low-cosi space for other
charities to C2m' out their missions. Examples of thi¥ ate worship
space for 2 T2md group 2nd room for ,IIiddle Eastern groups to
proiide language. music. film 2nd exercise classes. Wc alts"o prosqde
the Ioc21 authoriti" I￿1th space for acuiitie% aimed ai local residents
and grc)ups such as the .1.1. The French school iwhich occupies the
entire basement %&as set up in co-operation the local authorin,
to promote the French language in the borough. Rental income
fell 2Iva!" Irom IIarch ?{)?() the i-asi majority of lettings
C2ncelled due to Coiid-19.
We run 2 homeless shelter in conjunction I￿ryth Glass Door
Homcles% Chatits (charitt. 11)83?03) feeding and / or sleeping up
to 6i people on Sund21' nighrs from earl!" Noi-ember for 22 weeks.
This came to 2 sudden cnd in .IIarch ?l}?n but thank-fuEIN' all the
guestb 11.'ere housed in hotL'ls. Xi '()rn)alli" thc last nighi of the Shelter
15 sad as guests leai'e the Church tc) return to liiing on the streets.
This time all the guests left in b12cL cabs, ithich were proiided
free of charge bi. the Drii-ers ..Issociation and t(K)k them to hotels
thr()￿hOur Inndon. Gue%t ii-ere ivai.ed ()ff to go to a comfortable
bcd, a hor shol￿Er and three mealts. a dai-.
Page3of5

inancial .Iccounts
?018-19 ivas an exception211.ear for income. The rent from the
nursen. school increased 2nd included some b2ck-dared pa)ments.
In additioo cosls ￿-ere loiN.
We anticipated higher costs for ?019-20, due to the roof and
Church p2inring, bur the pandemic resulted in income plunging
from our tent21s. including the nurseTh' school, which had to close
I for monrhs. ￿'1"ercOurr fi)rtunate to receii-e the Distticr
I granr ro soficn the cost of the rc)ofmg ivorks. The painting did not
tak'e p12ce due 10 the pandemic. The GoN-ernment Job Retcnllon
Scheme meant ike could retAtn our adminisrrator and caretaker at
20..0 of their s212n'. lkne Church also receiN'es rent from three
propenies in adjoining Rii-ercourt House. We still receii.ed rental
pal'ments from tsi-o of these prc)perties but the lease on the third
eipired during the pandcmic so renral pavment ceased. .{ new
lease should be signcd next financial l'ear.
.41rhough some of our outguings ￿￿ere reducL'd, the total was
significand!, up due to the r()ofing work. We also incurred some
ancillari" costs to ensure thc buildmg safe.
This resulted in a loss for the }'e2r of £48.519. This was absorbed
b!. accumulated saNrngs. The Tru%tees are all too awarc that we
cannot afford to hai-e similar l'ears mol￿g forward.
Resern"es
ReseTh s are the 2mount of mone!. held b}.. ￿'1'erCoUrt in case of
unforeseen circumsrances. Rii-ercourt 2ims ro keep sil months of
easil!. accessiblL" c25h 2I"2il2ble. This i"car, p21Thents (outgoings)
i(Italled £160,860. Our total s217ngs reduced t() £46,037. This
rcsulted in the Church hal￿g resen-es jusr bel￿￿ our goal of 50°/0.
Hol&'ng mone!. is not part of our mission. the 500/0 is the prudent
fiscal objecui-c of the Trustees.
-rhc Church 15 1 ?) i"e2rs old and m3inten2nce costs are i-ery, high
I INhether or not thc building is in use. WL I￿1￿ hal-e to reduce costs
and rel!. on Sai￿g$ iN"hile lettings build back up again post CoNid.
-Iluch of our ivork in the communitt- is the result of haling a space
that is exrrcmcli" usable. W'irh a small congreg2ti0n the building
has ro break- ￿-¢n. C)ur saiings ri'%Ln-cs ivill tend to flucruatc
beThveen
ust oi.er 2nd "ust under 51P,o of the out
Rii-L'rcnurt receii'ed no special grants from GoN"ernment or priN"ate
Interests. We receii.ed a grant f()r £20,(X)O from the JA)ndon
Districr i)f the Ilethodist Church. We also took adi'antage of the
Goi"L'rnmeni
ob Reteniion SchcTnc. Income was also derived
C)ther
Page4of5

from public gi1￿£, lettings and users of the Church irself. No
professional fundraisers ivere used. ,lll monies raised and spent
ere done so in Eng12nd.
.Ipart from the pandemic, no other serious incident(s) occurred
durin
the i"ear, either re
rted or unre
rted.
%teN'e La￿￿Tence - Church Treasurer
Rei.d. Singa I'unipo12 - IImister
Page5ofS

CHURCH
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS
ACCOUNTS
THE METHODIST CHURCH
STANDARD FORM OF ACCOUNTS
Rivercourt Methodist
Church
FOR THE YEAR ENDED
31 August 2020
Clrcutt
Clrcult no
3f
Règistwed Charity. Charlty Ragistration numt
If not a registered charity Her Majestys Revenue and
Customs Gift Aid number
(rhe HMRC number is equivalent to a registered chanty number in terrns of WridenC￿ of charitable
status and may be used to give to dorK)r5 or grant funders *ryshirKJ to see eviden￿ of the organisation's
Chaiitab￿ statL￿. Methodist Charities in England and Wales that are not registered charitres are
excepted from registratton under Statuty Inslrument 2014 No.242)
1174328
Minister.
Churth Stewards:
JOAJ
P-70
eJJ
T￿asUrer.
v¥

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 21)20
Rivercourt Methodlst
Church
Total• lagt
SECTION A
Fur
FundB
a1
RECEIPTS
and Tax reCOve￿d
Bank and CFB interest and
Investrnenl income
13,655
13.655
11.843
a3
491
71.514
26,681
111311
71,514
26.681
112.341
109.613
9,770
131.671
a5
Other receipts
TOTAL RECEIPTS
lan
SECTION
b1
PAYMENTS
b2
24.(KK)
1CL)
24.000
b3
Donations
11)0
558
airs and Maintenance
Uts'litBs Ilnsurdnce5, water
cha
87.351
87,351
16.087
b5
16.902
Purchasè of
Other paynwnts
TOTAL PAYMEpirs
nl
2.365
37.501
160.860
b7
37.501
160.860
42.822
100,369
Ib9)
SECTK)N C
NET RE¢EIPTSIPAYMEpirs
¢1
48.519
48,519
31,302
Total funts brought forw3rd fr￿*
1081 year
83.254
Sub total
Ic1+c2
48.519
Transfers and •l'ustments
c7
c5
TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF YEAR
I¢>￿)
(48.519)
46.037
Ic81
94.556
Ic61
SECTION D
FOR INFORMATION ONLY: IAONEY RECEIVED AND P￿SsED ON TO EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS
th•M amounts arn not to ￿ includod In tot•1 reeei
abov•
d1
Balance btt)u ht forvftrf from la*
. receNed for extemal
d3
Offering￿GIftS . Pas￿ to exlemal organi8at*)ns
d4
BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID
(d1+d2-d3}

RNercourt Methc*ltsl
•11
e12
111341
{48MgTr
(x)
TOTAL
1$
10d
15.499
f4
1Z
.434
812
8ECTh)F40
11.533.607
I1.7￿.757
131.765
138.7B8

Name of Church: RtvefCOUrt Methodist Church No...........
Declarations and Scrutiny
I confirm that these Recei￿ and Payment based accounts for the year to 31 August 2020 have been
prepared from the records of the Church and that they indude all funds under the control of the
Church truslees.
Signature of treasurer ...
Name and address of treasurer ... .
. Post Code...W.b orA
Presentation to the Church trustees
I confim that the annual report and accounts for the year erKled 31 Au9USt 2020 wereAyill be"
prv&ented to the meeting of Church truslees held on ..lIk￿Jc￿.￿￿0& I
Signature of the Chair of the n*eting
Name of the Chair of the meetiivJ
UN.l(4.LADate.. .
Independent ExamIne￿S Report to the T￿￿tee$ of the
Rivercourt Methodlst Church
Charity Number 1174328
Responsibiltties and basis of report
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Rivercourt methOd￿t Church for the
year ended 31 August 2020 set out on pages 2 to 3. As the Church's trustees, you are respjnsible
for the preparatK>n of the accounts in accordan￿ with the requirements of the Charitses Act 2011
{'the Acv).
I report in respect of my examination of the Church's accounts carrEd out under se¢lion 145 of the
Act and. in carwng out my examination, I have folh)WEd all the applicable Directions given by the
Chanty Commbssion under section 145(5)(b) of the A(
. delete or cirde as appropriate

Name of Church.. River¢ourt Methodist
Ind•W￿nt Ex￿in9￿9 Statement
I have cornwed my examination. I confim that no material matters have come to my attenti￿ in
connection with the examination gve me Ca￿ to telieve that in. any material respect:
th? accountiro records ￿re not kept in acccKdan(x *ith section 130 of the Act.. or
the a(Lounts do not ac￿rd ¥%ith the accounti￿ records.
I have no CO￿emS and have come aryoss no other matters in conne(lion ¥*ith the examin*ion to ¥¥fiich
attention shouky be drawn in this rep(xt in order to enable a woper wKlerstandwvJ of the acwints to be
ached.
I have obtained inde￿ndent V￿lon of all investrnents wtlh the Tnjstees for Methodist Church Purposes
or herd in other trusts, bank balances arKI fwKls at the Central Finafbce Board of the Methodist ChurGh which
are indNidually in excess of £10,000 {ten thousand pounds) at the batance sheet date.
Name of inde&￿d8rrt examiner: Antippa. Director
Relevant professional qualificAbon of in(*pendert examiner. FCA. CTA
Name of firn (where approwiate): kntippa & Company Ltd, Chartered Accountants
Address: 17 Copthall Garderts, Twd(enham, TW14HH
Oate: 29 oeC￿nbOr 2020

Rivercourt Methodist Church
Accounts
Year ended 31 August 2020

Rivercourt Methodist Churcb
Receipts and payments summary
Year ended 31 August 2020
2020
2019
Receipts
Volunta
income:
Collections, donation5 and Gift Aid
Rental income:
Shops and flai
Church basement
Church hall lettings
13.655
11.843
18.626
31.5
21,388
26,323
41,733
41,557
71.514
491
20,0(KJ
6,371
310
109,613
445
Bank interest
Grant for roof repairs
HMRC Job retention scheme grant
Contribution towards costs from Le Herisson
Loan repayment - Hamm.& Fulham Circuit
770
9.000
131.671
112.341
Payments
Circuit assessment
Staff salaries and Naiional Insurance
Organist
Property maintenance
Insurance
24,0(M)
26.991
2.4(K)
87.351
3,8
24,000
27,337
4,160
16,087
9.381
6.483
.038
2,736
1,129
3.375
977
Light and heating
Water rates
Cleaning and refuse colleciion
Telephone and internei
Profession31 fees and engineerin8 rep)rt
Postage and S￿tionery
Travel
Gifis and donations
Other payments
Purchase of equipment
837
.372
933
3,651
812
70
490
558
1,937
681
1,272
2,365
-160.860
-100.369
Deficit of receipts over payments
-£48.519
£31J02

Rivercourt Methodist Church
Balance Sheet
As at 31 August 2020
2020
2019
General Fund
Accumulated surplus at I September 2019
Less.. Deficit for the year 2020
Aeeumulated surplu5 Xt 31 August 2020
94.556
48,519
£46.037
63.254
31.302
£94,556
Bank and cash
Central Board of Finance bank dep)sit account
HSBC bank current account
30.434
15,499
86,012
,529
15
Petty cash
Total funds at 31 August 2020
£46,037
£94J56