2022-12-31-accounts - St Thomas Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church London

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Trustees' Annual Report for the period

From

Period start date To Period end date

01 Jan 2022 31 Dec 2022

Section A Reference and administration details

Page 1

Charity name

ST THOMAS JACOBITE SYRIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH LONDON

Other names charity is known by

ST THOMAS JSOC LONDON

Registered charity number (if any)

1177726

Charity's principal address

2A Taunton road

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Harold hill,

Romford

Post code RM3 7ST

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name Office (if any) Dates acted if not for whole year Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any)

Page 3

Fr. Raju C Abraham (Vicar) Chair Person General Body

POULOSE KAKKASSERY Secretary General Body

BIJU JACOB Treasurer General Body

BASIL JOHN Joint Secretary General Body

Page 4

Pradeep Cherian

General Body

Binoy Jacob General Body

Santosh Alexander General Body

Ciby Yohannan General Body Sujoy Abraham General Body

Page 5

10 Mrs. Biji Siril General Body 11 E. V. Roy General Body 12 Shyam Simon General Body 13 Mrs Maria Biju General Body

Page 6

14 15 16 17 18 Page 7

Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)

Name Dates acted if not for whole year

Page 8

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) Type of adviser Name Address

NName of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

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Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document (eg. trust deed, constitution)

The Church's governing document is the Constitution that has been submitted to the Charity Commission.

How the charity is constituted (eg. trust, association, company)

CIO

Trustee selection methods

(eg. appointed by, elected by)

Elected by General Body

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:

policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
relationship with any related parties;
trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.

Our Church St Thomas Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church is an integral part of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church led by Mor lgnatius Aphrem ll who is the Patriarch and Supreme Head of Antioch and all the East, reigning on the Apostolic Throne of St Peter. The Church also owes its allegiance to his Beautitude Aboon Mor Baselios Thomas l, the Catholicos of the East (Malankara) and His successors. The Patriarchal Vicar (Metropolitan in charge of the UK) in consultation with the Patriarch governs and guides our Church in the matters of faith.

The Vicar is appointed by the Patriarch through the Patriarchal Vicar. The Annual General Body elects the Church office bearers including the Secretary, the Joint Secretary, the Treasurer, an internal auditor and the other Managing Committee members/Trustees. All administrative and financial affairs of the church are managed and administered by the Managing Committee. The tenure of the elected managing committee is usually two years.

The Managing Committee meets at least once in a month on an average, to deliberate and make decisions regarding the day to day affairs of the Church, including the approval of new applications to the membership of the church. A half yearly general body meeting is convened every six months. AII the income and expenditure is budgeted at the beginning of the church financial year and approved by the general body. Spending is regulated and misuse of funds is safeguarded by the strict adherence to the rules set out by the Trustees

Accounts and procedures are internally audited at least twice a year by an internal auditor elected at the Annual General Body Meeting (AGM). An independent examination or external scrutiny is also carried out by an independent examiner appointed by the Trustees.

Section C Objectives and activities

Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document

The prime objective of the church is to promote the Christian faith and spread the Good word.

Page 10

To conduct the Holy Eucharist, Sacraments and Services according to the faith, traditions and customs of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church.

To provide the Holy Sacrament to all its faithful members.

To establish charitable institutions for the welfare of the members of the church and the community to support these and other charitable institutions to be able to provide for the poor and the needy in a wider society.

To relieve poverty and sickness in Greater London and India.

Other charitable purposes for the benefit of the public and the Development of the community.

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)

The Holy Eucharist is celebrated every Sunday of the year at St Thomas JSO Church, Romford, London, RM3 7ST, where, on an average, more than 200 people attend the Holy Mass and other religious discourses. The service starts at 0930 hrs with morning prayers and the Holy Mass begins at 10.00 hrs.

The church strongly feels that the children of the church are the foundation of the future society and this church and hence a great deal of emphasis has been given to provide them with proper spiritual guidance in the Christian faith. We conduct Sunday School for the children for these very reasons and we instil belief, teachings of the Lord, traditions of our church and the positive moral and social values that will develop in these children. We follow a structured curriculum for these teachings which are provided by our organisations (MJSSC) based in Kerala, India in coordination with MJSSA UK. More than 80 children have registered as students of the Sunday School and regularly attend these Sunday School classes which are held currently online after the Holy Mass. The curriculum focuses on teachings from the Bible.

A Youth Association is active in our church as altar boys, choir singers and leaders in many other groups. Their goal is to leam and practices the Lord's teachings, to grow together in the faith and to build on the strong moral values and develop a social conscience as a result. They also organise various cultural, community and charity activities.

A Women's forum has been set up and very active in the Church. The main purpose is to grow spiritually in Christ through prayers, devotional songs of worship and Bible study sessions.

Four fellowship units have been created based on the geographical spread of the member's residences. Regular prayer meetings are held in each unit once every month. Such meetings give the families a nice opportunity to come together, interact and worship together and strengthen the fellowship.

Christmas Carol services are held in the traditional way where a group of singers including ladies, children, the Vicar and Santa Claus visit member's residences singing and proclaiming the glorious news of the Saviour's birth and the everlasting hope offered to mankind.

We believe that one of the important benefits of attending the Holy services on a regular basis is that it changes people. lt purifies the soul and gives a finer perspective on life and brings out the best in each individual. lt prompts us to consider others' needs as equally important as ours.

Helping the poor and the needy forms an important part of our Worship to God. We also believe that helping the poor is one of the ways of contributing towards building a better world. A portion of our income is spent each year to provide financial assistance to sick patients, disabled and the poor.

Grants are given to the eligible applicants, only after proper verification of the genuineness and their existing financial status and this is discussed in detail in the committee meetings of the Trustees. lt is also here that the amount to be given is decided and this is sent directly to the beneficiary with no third parties involved.

Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:

Page 11

policy on grant making;
policy programme related investment;
Contribution made by volunteers.

Section D Achievements and performance

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Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

Our Church is registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with effect from 27th Mar 2018. Our new Charity Registration Number is 1177726.

St Thomas Day: On 3[rd] and 4[th] , our Church celebrated the feast day of St Thomas which was blessed by a Perunnal message from HG Mathew Mor Antheemos, Gospel retreat by Rev. Fr. Joshy Vettikattil and Rev. Fr. Philip Thomas. The special Holy Mass was conducted with Rev Fr Jebin Iype as main Celebrant and Vicar: Fr Raju C Abraham and Rev.Fr. Philip Thomas.

Youth Association: With the theme Spiritual nourishment and personality development, many activities such as Food for community charity food distributions, meet and greet, Youth retreat and Holy Mass in English are successfully undertaken this year.

Other community and charity activities undertaken during the year 2019:

Charity Food Pantry; community charity food distribution and deliveries in Romford community on every 4[th] Sundays.
Garden of Love veg. Green garden project and tree planting within the church compound.
Regularly support by providing food items to needy neighbourhood area, Abercrombie house and local sheltered homes at Harold hill.

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Section E Financial review

The Church reserves are held to fund its current and future Brief statement of the activities. charity’s policy on reserves

Details of any funds materially in deficit

There are no funds in deficit.

Further financial review details (Optional information)

The principal source of income is voluntary donations and monthly subscription fees from our members.

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:

The major expenditure is the mortgage being paid to Charity Bank for repaying the loan.

the charity’s principal Bank for repaying the loan.
sources of funds (including any The Church is run by volunteers who are not entitled to any fundraising); remuneration, except the Vicar's allowances being paid to the
Priest for pastoral services.
how expenditure has supported the key Other expenses are in proportion to the needs of the
objectives of the charity; congregation.
investment policy and objectives including any The Church does not have sufficient funds currently to invest in ethical investment policy long term investments. Funds available are held as cash in a adopted. mainstream bank,

Public Benefit:

The Trustees have considered the guidance produced by the Charity Commission on the provision of the l

public benefit and they confirm that the public benefit has been provided by:

1) Promoting the whole mission of the church through activities for individuals, parents and toddlers.
2) Providing regular Christian Worship open to all.
3) Teaching Christianity through sermons, courses and small groups.
4) Instituting Christian values in children.
5) Extending the charity works of the Church to other communities around us.
6) Voluntary and Charity activities to relieve poverty and sickness in Greater London and India.

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

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Signature(s)

Full name(s)

Poulose Kakkassery

Position (Secretary)

Secretary

Date

13.10.2022

Page 15

Charity Name No (if any) ST THOMAS JACOBITE SYRIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH 1177726

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Charity Name No (if any)
ST THOMAS JACOBITE SYRIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH 1177726
Receipts and payments accounts
For the period Period start date Period end date
To
from 1/1/2022 12/31/2022
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Total funds
funds funds funds
to the nearest
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
£
A1 Receipts
SUBCRIPTIONS 34,380 - 34,380
OFFERINGS 24,926 - 24,926
DONATIONS 29,820 - 29,820
BUILDING FUND - -
INTEREST 45 45
GIFT AID 45,154 45,154
134,325 - - 134,325
Sub total (Gross income for AR)
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total - - - -
Total receipts 134,325 - - 134,325
A3 Payments
ACCOUNTANCY FEES 720 720
PAYMENTS TO VICAR 15,800 - 15,800
VISITING BISHOPS/PRIESTS/SPEAKERS - -
MISSION OF CONGREGATION 31,946 - 31,946
INSURANCE 1,960 1,960
CHARITY CONTRIBUTION 5,414 - 5,414
FOOD & REFRESHMENT 5,485 - 5,485
MSOC CONTRIBUTION 1,050 1,050
LEGAL & PROFESSIONAL -
CHURCH LOAN REPAYMENT -
LOAN INTEREST PAYMENT 23,492 23,492
CHURCH UTILTIES 1,579 1,579
CHURCH BUILDING EXPENSES 3,123 3,123
MAINTANANCE -
BANK CHARGES 218 60 - 278
Sub total [ 90,787 ] 60 - 90,847
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - - -
Sub total [ - ] - - -
Total payments 90,787 60 - 90,847
Net of receipts/(payments) 43,538 - 60 - 43,478
A5 Transfers between funds - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 180,534 20,488 - 201,022
Cash funds this year end 224,072 20,428 - 244,500
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Section B Statement	of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
			Unrestricted	Restricted
Categories	Details		funds	funds
B1 Cash funds	CURRENT SAVING PETTY CASH BUILDING FUND	*Total cash funds*	to nearest £ 142,800 81,271 - - 224,072	to nearest £ - - 20,428 20,428
	(agree balances	with receipts and payments account(s))	OK	OK
			Unrestricted	Restricted
			funds	funds
B2 Other monetary assets	Details		to nearest £ - - - - - -	to nearest £ - - - - - -
B3 Investment assets	Details		Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional) - -
B4 Assets retained for the	Details CHURCH BUILDING		631,387 Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional) -
charity’s own use				- - - - - - - -
			Fund to which	Amount due
B5 Liabilities	Details BANK LOAN ( THE CHARITY BANK LTD )		319,224 liability relates	- - - - - (optional)
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees	Signature		Print	Name
			Mr. Poulose Kakkassery
			Mr. Biju Jacob

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CC16a
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Last year

to the nearest £

33,646 14,129 20,134 1,200 3 49,729 118,841

118,841

720 14,900 600 5,254 - 1,225 894 350 4,210 20,779 - 2,773 1,448 101 11.03 53,266

53,266 65,575 - 135,447 201,022

Endowment funds

to nearest £ - - - -

Endowment funds

to nearest £

Current value (optional)

When due (optional)

Date of approval

Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusleesl members of ST THOMAS JACOBITE SYRIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH On accounts for the year ended 31 sl DECEMBER 2022 Charity no lif any) 1177726 Set out on pages Respective The charity's trustees are responsible lor the preparation ol the accounts. The responsibililies of charity's trLJslees consider that an audit is not required lor this year under section trustees and examiner 144121 ol the Charities Act 2011 Ilhe 2011 Acll and that an independent exarninalion is needed. 11 is my responsibility lo= examine the accounts under section 145 01 the 2011 Act, lo follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Cofnmission lunder section 14515llbl ol the 2011 Act, and lo stale whether particular mallers have come lo my allenlion. Basis of independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the examiner's statement Charity Commission. An examination includes a review ol the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison ol the accounts presented with those records. 11 also inclLJdes consideration ol any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking &xplanalions from the Iruslees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidenc& that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is oiven as lo whether the accounts present a 'Irue and lair, view and the report is limited lo those mallers sel out in the statement below. Independent In connection with my examination, no maller has come to my attention (other than examiner's statement that disclosed below ') 1. which gives me reasonable caijse lo believe that in, any material respect, the requirements.. lo keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 01 the 2011 AGI., and lo prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements ol the 2011 Act have not been mel ', or 2. to which, in my opinion, allenlion should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding ol the accounts lo be reached. Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply. Signed: Dale: 1710612023 Name: Sebastian Machukaltu Devasia Relevant professional qualiticationls) or body (if any): Association ol Chartered Certified Accountants Address: 17 NEALS CORNER. BATH ROAD, HOUN MIDDLESEX doa nt8nt=. ie Balh Bi lijliddlese.? ed Certi Neals Co TW3 3HJ IER TEL.. 020 3I'

Section Disclosure Only complete if the exarniner needs lo highlight material problems. Give here brief detalls of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER