Crediton Methodist Church
## Annual Report 2022-2023
www.creditonmethodist.org.uk _Working out God’s love in Crediton_
CreditonMethodist
**Annual Report of Crediton Methodist Church For the year ended 31[st] August 2023**
## **Administrative Information**
The Church is registered with the Charity Commission - Registered Charity Number 1178365. A copy of the accounts by way of Schedule B has been sent to the Methodist Church Plymouth and Exeter District Synod (via the Exeter Coast & Country Circuit office).
The address of the Church is Union Road, Crediton, Devon EX17 3AW. Any correspondence should be directed to the Senior Steward - Mrs Marjorie Ashley, Oake House, Tolleys, Crediton, Devon EX17 1HG
The Charity Trustees (or Managing Trustees) are the members of the Church Council. The names of the members who served as Managing Trustees in the year ended 31[st] August 2023 are:
Minister: Revd Alison Richardson
Stewards: Marjorie Ashley, Hilary Everitt, Cathy Jerrard, Christine Marshall (to 23[rd] May 2023), Pam Murphy, Christine Turner, Glenn Turner and Gill Sutton
Church Secretary: John Ashley
Treasurer: Christine Turner
Pastoral Secretary: Pam Murphy
Circuit Steward: Susan Jones
Members elected by the General Church Meeting: Meg Ellis, Elizabeth Greenslade, Wendy Homeshaw, Bronwyn Nott, Karen Theedom, John Turner
The number of members at 31[st] August 2023 was 74.
## **The Life of the Church**
The Church Council and the Stewards oversee the whole of the life of the Church. The Church Council meets three times a year. The Stewards meet eleven times a year. The Church Annual General Meeting is held in April or May.
## **Sunday Services**
10.30am Sunday Morning Worship followed by tea and coffee.
6.30pm Sunday Evening Worship _(Held once a month)_
## **Discipleship Groups**
7.30pm Twice a month on a Monday
10.30am Every Wednesday
## **Our Vision**
Our vision is of a dynamic worshipping Christian family seeking to play our part in the worldwide mission of God by constantly nurturing, encouraging and supporting one another;
disciples of Jesus Christ committed to praying and learning together;
a congregation radiating God’s love by reaching out to the community, serving the poor and vulnerable, intent on changing the world in partnership with others;
an inclusive group of believers, welcoming all, with a desire to become a living vibrant church, to the glory of God.
## **We envisage**
- exploring ways to encourage local ownership of our worship, including greater congregational participation
- offering a variety of styles of worship to enable all who come to encounter God
- aiming for excellence in all we offer to God in worship
- encouraging all members to participate in small groups for Bible study, prayer and mutual support
- providing appropriate environments for children, young people and adults to grow in the knowledge and love of God
- offering appropriate pastoral care to each individual within the church family
- learning of, and being inspired by, the work that God is doing through the church in other regions of the world.
- identifying needs in the town and surrounding area and finding ways to respond as a church community, and in partnership with others
- encouraging members to give time and money to meet the needs of others
- providing support for individuals involved in serving the community
- developing close links with a particular overseas project and finding appropriate ways to offer support
- raising awareness and taking action on justice and ethical issues
- encouraging each member to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others
- building links between the Church and the wider community
- developing groups out in the community with links back into the Church
- expecting to see Church growth and planning accordingly
- a flexible floor space in the sanctuary for exploring different possibilities for worship
- a church building that appears non-threatening and is easily accessible to all
- a multipurpose building for community use throughout the week
**Revd Alison Richardson**
## **Minister’s Report**
**Pastoral Care** is a vitally important aspect of the church’s ministry of love and care. There are many elderly church members who can no longer attend and the way our pastoral team serve God in this way is exceptional. They quietly witness their faith in action and do their very best to enable our dear members at home to feel part of the church still. They give assurance that the elderly are valued and loved. I cannot over emphasise the ongoing commitment of our pastoral team and appreciate them. More pastoral visitors are needed.
**Sunday Morning Worship** continues to be within the church worship area and Sunday evening worship in a smaller room during the colder months. Average attendance at morning worship is thirty-five with a membership of seventy. Sadly, several members have died during the year, leaving both physical and emotional loss to us all. Individual Spiritual formation is encouraged and courses are available
**Café Church** has been introduced and is enjoyed, the style and content varies with stewards meeting regularly to discuss new ways of sharing the Gospel. The monthly **Church for All** continues to promote participation with quizzes, drama and activities. The twice monthly more **Traditional** is appreciated, as is the monthly **Holy Communion.**
There is a weekly Bible study and a twice monthly House group. I have been happy to provide seasonal Bible Studies, introducing Christian art and Celtic Christianity. Bible reading and study is promoted.
There is an early morning Prayer Meeting on Mondays for the employed members of the church.
Big Top youth sessions on Mondays after school are busy and well attended, meeting a need of school years six and seven.
The Monthly Friday focus is very popular with interesting topics discussed and good fun too. This is proving to be a modern way of fellowship which is greatly appreciated.
The ‘Big Top’ after school club for years ten to eleven (free and at church) is a great success and very popular. Sadly, a lack of volunteers prevents the church from increasing this service, but it is being considered.
Friday morning ‘Warm Spaces’ provides free refreshments and conversation to anyone passing by. It is well attended.
The regular Saturday coffee morning is very well attended and attract welcomes passersby. Occasionally activities are also provided.
To conclude the church offers a variety of activities during the week and acknowledges its limitations. Given that most of the congregation is affected by age and frailty, the church extends quality not quantity. Although members would like to offer more of their time and energy, this is not possible.
Revd Alison Richardson
## **Stewards’ Report**
Café Church has run its trial period with much positive feedback. The stewards have considered the congregational comments and have been focusing on mission and various styles of worship.
To draw people into our church building and offer hospitality, we have organized events such as Christmas Cracker in December, February Fun Evening, Beetle Drive in March, Diabetes Roadshow in April, Cream Teas in July and Picnic in the Garden in August. We have continued with our Coffee4All on Saturdays and Coffee and Chat on Fridays and this has attracted regular attendees who do not come to our services regularly. The Music Group has continued occasional input to Morning Worship and this has been well appreciated by most of the congregation.
The monthly Friday Focus sessions continue to flourish and the Lunch Club appreciate their gathering each month. Our two Discipleship groups continue to meet either weekly or fortnightly and provide a means of bringing people together in fellowship and learning as they share their faith.
Our weekly Youth Club (Big Top), for school years 6 and 7, has brought together youngsters from both Primary Schools and the 1[st] year at Queen Elizabeth’s. The addition of extra equipment given by Silverton MC has provided some extra physical activities and are well used.
We have continued our support for Christians Together in Crediton (CTiC) with prayers for unity and Walk of Witness. CTiC has started a monthly service ‘Held Together’ for people with memory loss and their carers and some of our congregation join regularly. We have supported Christian Response to Eastern Europe with shoeboxes. Also, we have supported CORE by supporting our District partnership with North India. We support Connect Mid Devon too. Through our Saturday Coffee Mornings and fundraising activities we have raised funds for World Missions, CHAT, CODE, Methodist Women in Britain, All We Can and the Disaster Emergency Fund.
The monthly services held at Hillbrow Care Home have continued and are very well received.
## **Safeguarding**
There have been no safeguarding problems during the year.
The Church reviews its safeguarding policies annually in November.
The Church has reviewed the training records and identified those who needed to update their training. Those needing additional training have attended either the basic or advanced courses.
## **Financial Information**
The accounts have been examined by an independent examiner: Mr Terry Bridle The Church’s bank is NatWest, 59 High Street, Exeter EX4 3DL
## **Crediton Methodist Church**
Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31[st] August 2023
## **General Fund Income and Expenditure**
|**General Fund**||**Balances**
**B/f**||**2021-2022**|**2021-2022**||**Balances**
**C & B/f**||**2022-2023**|**2022-2023**||**Balances**
**C/f**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||Income|Expenditure||||Income|Expenditure||Income|
|**Church Activities**||£9,673.48|||||£14,005.43|||||£17,221.62|
|Offertory||||£23,536.05|||||£25,178.22||||
|Gift Aid Tax & GASDS||||£7,955.96|||||£7,381.16||||
|Gift Day||||£9,700.22|||||||||
|Flow er Fund||£181.36||£30.00|£17.36||£194.00|||£23.95||£170.05|
|Fund Raising||||£2,758.99|||||£4,609.95||||
|Printing& Stationery||||£12.45|£181.30||||£4.15|£98.17|||
|Pastoral|||||||||||||
|Sundries||||£3,481.96|£1,423.38||||£1,523.93|£1,116.21|||
|Bank Interest||||£119.84|||||£1,062.75||||
|Assessment|||||£30,000.00|||||£25,820.00|||
|Subscriptions / Licenses|||||£1,786.46|||||£1,774.24|||
|YoungPeople(inc Ark etc.)|||||£135.46||||||||
|Transfer to/frm Negative funds|||||||||||||
|_Connect_|||||£80.00||||||||
|**Closing Balance (Sub Total)**||||£47,595.47|£33,623.96||||£39,760.16|£28,832.57|||
||||||||||||||
|**Property Costs**|||||||||||||
|Hall Bookings||||£2,351.00|||||£4,050.00||||
|Weddings & Funerals||||£700.00|||||£402.50||||
|Repairs and Renew als|||||£7,818.81|||||£6,702.82|||
|Electricity|||||£776.00|||||£1,028.38|||
|Gas|||||£1,333.74|||||£1,271.17|||
|Telephone / Broadband|||||£474.00|||||£495.20|||
|Insurance|||||£1,684.36|||||£2,063.82|||
|Water|||||£591.01|||||£626.46|||
|**Closing Balance (Sub Total)**||||£3,051.00|£12,677.92||||£4,452.50|£12,187.85|||
||||||||||||||
|**Closing Balance**||£9,854.84||£50,646.47|£46,301.88||£14,199.43||£44,212.66|£41,020.42||£17,391.67|
||||||**£4,344.59**|||||**£3,192.24**|||
## **Summary of Restricted and Charitable Funds**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Balances Balances Balances
Restricted Funds 2021-2022 2022-2023
B/f C & B/f C/f
Income Expenditure Income Expenditure
Benevolent Fund £64.89 £176.23 £7.65 £233.47 £204.85 £0.00 £438.32
Friday Fellow ship £404.09 £180.00 £224.09 £180.00 £44.09
Friday Focus £0.00 £174.70 £174.70
Property / Refurbishment £4,076.15 £56.81 £4,132.96 £302.82 £4,435.78
Schools Out Family Café £210.12 £210.12 £210.12
Youth Worker £21,273.73 £5,932.45 £2,335.30 £24,870.88 £2,258.96 £2,116.29 £25,013.55
Toddler Group £265.16 £265.16 £0.00
Total Balances held £26,294.14 £6,165.49 £2,788.11 £29,671.52 £2,941.33 £2,296.29 £30,316.56
Balances Balances Balances
Charitable Fund 2021-2022 2022-2023
B/f C & B/f C/f
Income Expenditure Income Expenditure
Action for Children £2.98 £224.14 £227.00 £0.12 £390.92 £390.00 £1.04
All We Can -£0.15 £70.80 £70.00 £0.65 £87.85 £88.00 £0.50
Christian Aid £0.75 £43.85 £44.00 £0.60 £128.01 £128.00 £0.61
Causew ay £94.76 £23.05 £115.56 £2.25 £2.25
Chat £17.55 £71.45 £90.00 -£1.00 £95.40 £94.00 £0.40
CODE £40.00 £119.20 £159.20 £110.45 £227.50 £42.15
Connect £0.00 £80.00 £80.00 £0.00 £0.00
Diaster Emergency Fund £426.34 £426.34
Edukid £6,039.11 £300.00 £5,739.11 £300.00 £5,439.11
Foodbank -£1.07 -£1.07 -£1.07
Francisco Rojas School-David £508.63 £373.20 £600.00 £281.83 £243.91 £300.00 £225.74
Meth. Home for the Aged -£1.02 £368.39 £367.00 £0.37 £299.34 £300.00 -£0.29
Missions in Britain £0.10 £140.55 £140.00 £0.65 £74.95 £75.00 £0.60
MWiB £156.08 £247.71 £401.50 £2.29 £308.38 £300.50 £10.17
MWiB Local Netw ork £1.85 £1.85 £0.00
Repair Café £861.57 £861.57 £861.57
World Missions £0.27 £73.60 £74.00 -£0.13 £136.60 £135.00 £1.47
Other £294.05 £65.00 £294.05 £65.00 £65.00
Total Balances held £8,015.46 £1,900.94 £2,804.96 £7,111.44 £2,302.15 £2,338.00 £7,075.59
Bank Balances 2021-22 2022-23
Current Account £19,044.44 £16,156.25
Central Finance Board £24,523.73 £30,966.48
Central Finance Board 2 £7,275.29 £7,528.11
Cash in Hand £138.93 £132.98
Totals £50,982.39 £54,783.82
**----- End of picture text -----**
**Restricted and Church Group Funds 1[st] September 2022 – 31[st] August 2023**
## **Benevolent Fund**
||**Opening balance**||£
233.47|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||
||Income||||Expenditure|||
||Sunday Coffee||£
193.85|||||
||GiftAidTax||11.00|||||
||Total||£
204.85||Total||£
0.00|
|||||||||
||**Closing balance**||£
438.32|||||
||**er Fund**|||||||
||**Opening balance**|||||||
||Flower FundAccount||£
147.61|||||
||Cash in Hand||£
46.39|||||
||Total||£
194.00|||||
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||||||Oasis Foam||£
18.00|
||||||Candles||£
5.95|
||Total||£
0.00||Total||£
23.95|
|||||||||
||**Closing balance**|||||||
||Flower FundAccount||£
129.61|||||
||Cash in Hand||£
40.44|||||
||Closingbalance||£
170.05|||||
## **Flower Fund**
## **Friday Fellowship**
||**Opening balance**|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Bank Account||£
181.55|||||
||Cash in hand||£
42.54|||||
||Total openingbalance||£
224.09|||||
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||||||Plan International||£
180.00|
||Total||£
0.00||Total||£
180.00|
|||||||||
||**Closing balance**|||||||
||Bank Account||£
1.55|||||
||Cash in hand||£
42.54|||||
||Total closing balance||£
44.09|||||
|**a**|**y Focus**|||||||
||**Opening balance**|||||||
||Bank Account||£
0.00|||||
||Total openingbalance||£
0.00|||||
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||Donations||£
174.70|||||
||Total||£
174.70||Total||£
0.00|
|||||||||
||**Closing balance**|||||||
||FridayFellow Account||£
174.70|||||
||Cash in hand||£
00.00|||||
||Total closing balance||£
174.70|||||
## **Friday Focus**
## **Property Fund**
||**Opening Balance**|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Designated Fund||£
1440.93|||||
||Restricted Fund||£
2,692.03|||||
||Total openingbalance||£
4,132.96|||||
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||Bank Interest||£
252.82|||||
||Donation||£
50.00|||||
||Total||£
302.82||Total||£
0.00|
|||||||||
||**Closing balance**|||||||
||Designated Fund||£
1,743.75|||||
||Restricted Fund||£
2,692.03|||||
||Total closingbalance||£
4,435.78|||||
## **Schools Out Family Café**
||**Opening Balance**||£
210.12|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||Total||£
0.00||Total||£
0.00|
|||||||||
||**Closing balance**||£
210.12|||||
|**t**|
**h Worker Fund**|||||||
||**Opening Balance**|||||||
||PettyCash Float||£
50.00|||||
||Designated Fund||£
9,050.99|||||
||Restricted Fund||£15,769.89|||||
||Total openingbalance||£ 24,870.88|||||
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||Donations||£
1,455.00||StaffingCosts||£|
||Gift Aid Tax||£
395.75||Youth Café Sweets||£
113.87|
||Gift Day||£
348.00||Budget to work||£
2,002.42|
||Youth Cafe||£
60.21|||||
||Total||£
2,258.96||Total||£
2,116.29|
|||||||||
||**Closing balance**|||||||
||PettyCash Float||£
50.00|||||
||Designated Fund||£
9,399.20|||||
||Restricted Fund||£ 15,564.35|||||
||Total closing balance||£ 25,013.55|||||
## **Youth Worker Fund**
## **Charity Funds 1[st] September 2022 – 31[st] August 2023**
## **Action for Children**
||**Opening Balance**||£
0.12|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||Coffee - Collection||£
377.67||CharityGiving||£
390.00|
||Gift Aid Tax||£
13.25|||||
||Total||£
390.92||Total||£
390.00|
|||||||||
||**Closing Balance**||£
1.04|||||
||**e Can**|||||||
||**Opening Balance**||£
0.65|||||
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||SaturdayCoffee||£
84.60||CharityGiving||£
88.00|
||Gift Aid Tax||£
3.25|||||
||Total||£
87.85||Total||£
88.00|
|||||||||
||**Closing Balance**||£
0.50|||||
## **All We Can**
## **Causeway**
||**Opening Balance**||£
2.25|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||Total||£
0.00||Total||£
0.00|
|||||||||
||**Closing Balance**||£
2.25|||||
|**r**|**ity Other**|||||||
||**Opening Balance**||£
65.00|||||
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||Total||£
0.00||Total||£
0.00|
|||||||||
||**Closing Balance**||£
65.00|||||
## **Charity Other**
## **Christian Aid**
||**Opening Balance**||£
0.60|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||SaturdayCoffee||£
17.00||Annual Giving||£
128.00|
||Christian Aid Fund Raising||£
110.26|||||
||Gift Aid Tax||£
0.75|||||
||Total||£
128.01||Total||£
128.00|
|||||||||
||||£
0.61|||||
## **CHAT**
||**Opening Balance**||£
(1.00)|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||SaturdayCoffee||£
93.90||Annual Giving||£
94.00|
||Gift Aid Tax||£
1.50|||||
||Total||£
95.40||Total||£
94.00|
|||||||||
||**Closing Balance**||£
0.40|||||
## **CODE**
||**Opening Balance**||£
159.20|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||SaturdayCoffee||£
105.70||Annual Giving||£
227.50|
||Gift Aid Tax||£
4.75|||||
||Total||£
110.45||Total||£
227.50|
|||||||||
||**Closing Balance**||£
42.15|||||
## **Disasters Emergency Fund**
||**Opening balance**||£
0.00|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||Donations||£
70.00|||||
||Sat/Sun coffee||£
72.96|||||
||Fundraising||£
270.00|||||
||Gift Aid Tax||£
13.38|||||
||Total||£
426.34||Total||£
0.00|
|||||||||
||**Closing balance**||£
426.34|||||
## **Edukid**
||**Opening Balance**||£
5,739.11|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||||||Oscar K. Sponsorship||£
300.00|
||Total||£
0.00||Total||£
300.00|
|||||||||
||**Closing Balance**||£
5,439.11|||||
## **Food Bank**
||**Opening Balance**||£
(1.07)|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||
||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
||Total||£
0.00||Total||£
0.00|
|||||||||
||**Closing Balance**||£
(1.07)|||||
|**Francisco Rojas School**
**Opening Balance ‘David’**
£
281.83
**Income**
SundayCoffee
£
231.66
Gift Aid Tax
£
12.25
Total
£
243.91
**Closing Balance**
£
225.74
**MHA**
**Opening Balance**
£
0.37
**Income**
SaturdayCoffee Morning
£
37.10
SundayCoffee
£
238.74
Gift Aid Tax
£
23.50
Total
£
299.34
**Closing Balance**
£
-0.29
**Methodist Women in Britain**
**Opening Balance ‘MWiB’**
£
2.29
**Income**
Easter OfferingEnvelopes
£
134.00
Gift Aid Tax
£
31.13
SaturdayCoffee
£
143.25
Total
£
308.38
**Closing Balance**
£
10.17
**Mission in Britain Fund(Home Missions)**
**Opening Balance**
£
0.65
**Income**
SaturdayCoffee Morning
£
69.20
Gift Aid Tax
£
5.75
Total
£
74.95
**Closing Balance**
£
0.60
**Repair Café**
**Opening Balance**
£
861.57
**Income**
Total
£
0.00
**Closing Balance**
£
861.57
**World Mission**
**Opening Balance**
£
(0.13)
**Income**
SaturdayCoffee
£
131.10
Gift Aid Tax
£
5.50
Total
£
136.60
**Closing Balance**
£
1.47|**Francisco Rojas School**
**Opening Balance ‘David’**
£
281.83
**Income**
SundayCoffee
£
231.66
Gift Aid Tax
£
12.25
Total
£
243.91
**Closing Balance**
£
225.74
**MHA**
**Opening Balance**
£
0.37
**Income**
SaturdayCoffee Morning
£
37.10
SundayCoffee
£
238.74
Gift Aid Tax
£
23.50
Total
£
299.34
**Closing Balance**
£
-0.29
**Methodist Women in Britain**
**Opening Balance ‘MWiB’**
£
2.29
**Income**
Easter OfferingEnvelopes
£
134.00
Gift Aid Tax
£
31.13
SaturdayCoffee
£
143.25
Total
£
308.38
**Closing Balance**
£
10.17
**Mission in Britain Fund(Home Missions)**
**Opening Balance**
£
0.65
**Income**
SaturdayCoffee Morning
£
69.20
Gift Aid Tax
£
5.75
Total
£
74.95
**Closing Balance**
£
0.60
**Repair Café**
**Opening Balance**
£
861.57
**Income**
Total
£
0.00
**Closing Balance**
£
861.57
**World Mission**
**Opening Balance**
£
(0.13)
**Income**
SaturdayCoffee
£
131.10
Gift Aid Tax
£
5.50
Total
£
136.60
**Closing Balance**
£
1.47|**Francisco Rojas School**
**Opening Balance ‘David’**
£
281.83
**Income**
SundayCoffee
£
231.66
Gift Aid Tax
£
12.25
Total
£
243.91
**Closing Balance**
£
225.74
**MHA**
**Opening Balance**
£
0.37
**Income**
SaturdayCoffee Morning
£
37.10
SundayCoffee
£
238.74
Gift Aid Tax
£
23.50
Total
£
299.34
**Closing Balance**
£
-0.29
**Methodist Women in Britain**
**Opening Balance ‘MWiB’**
£
2.29
**Income**
Easter OfferingEnvelopes
£
134.00
Gift Aid Tax
£
31.13
SaturdayCoffee
£
143.25
Total
£
308.38
**Closing Balance**
£
10.17
**Mission in Britain Fund(Home Missions)**
**Opening Balance**
£
0.65
**Income**
SaturdayCoffee Morning
£
69.20
Gift Aid Tax
£
5.75
Total
£
74.95
**Closing Balance**
£
0.60
**Repair Café**
**Opening Balance**
£
861.57
**Income**
Total
£
0.00
**Closing Balance**
£
861.57
**World Mission**
**Opening Balance**
£
(0.13)
**Income**
SaturdayCoffee
£
131.10
Gift Aid Tax
£
5.50
Total
£
136.60
**Closing Balance**
£
1.47|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Opening Balance ‘David’**||£
281.83|||||
||||||||||
|||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
|||SundayCoffee||£
231.66||Annual Donation||£
300.00|
|||Gift Aid Tax||£
12.25|||||
|||Total||£
243.91||Total||£
300.00|
||||||||||
|||**Closing Balance**||£
225.74|||||
||||||||||
|||**Opening Balance**||£
0.37|||||
||||||||||
|||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
|||SaturdayCoffee Morning||£
37.10||Annual Giving||£
300.00|
|||SundayCoffee||£
238.74|||||
|||Gift Aid Tax||£
23.50|||||
|||Total||£
299.34||Total||£
300.00|
||||||||||
|||**Closing Balance**||£
-0.29|||||
||||||||||
|||**Opening Balance ‘MWiB’**||£
2.29|||||
||||||||||
|||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
|||Easter OfferingEnvelopes||£
134.00||Annual Giving||£
154.00|
|||Gift Aid Tax||£
31.13||Easter Offering2023||£
146.50|
|||SaturdayCoffee||£
143.25|||||
|||Total||£
308.38||Total||£
300.50|
||||||||||
|||**Closing Balance**||£
10.17|||||
||||||||||
|||**Opening Balance**||£
0.65|||||
||||||||||
|||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
|||SaturdayCoffee Morning||£
69.20||Annual Giving||£
75.00|
|||Gift Aid Tax||£
5.75|||||
|||Total||£
74.95||Total||£
75.00|
||||||||||
|||**Closing Balance**||£
0.60|||||
||||||||||
|||**Opening Balance**||£
861.57|||||
||||||||||
|||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
|||Total||£
0.00||Total||£
0.00|
||||||||||
|||**Closing Balance**||£
861.57|||||
||||||||||
|||**Opening Balance**||£
(0.13)|||||
||||||||||
|||**Income**||||**Expenditure**|||
|||SaturdayCoffee||£
131.10||Annual Giving||£
135.00|
|||Gift Aid Tax||£
5.50|||||
|||Total||£
136.60||Total||£
135.00|
||||||||||
|||**Closing Balance**||£
1.47|||||
## **Reserves Policy**
The Charity’s Reserves Policy deals with:
- (a) Our General Fund
- (b) Central Finance Board
Other funds also held which are NOT required to be included in our reserves are:
- (c) Central Finance Board 2 (Property)
- (d) Central Finance Board 2 (Youth Worker)
## **Our Reserves**
(a-b) Our General Fund
We aim ideally to hold in reserve sufficient money to cover six month’s expenditure - £25,000 (excluding costs of building use)
The reason for this is twofold:
(i) The church needs around one month’s average expenditure in reserve as working capital to cover normal running costs.
(ii) Maintenance of church buildings and special outreach events are mainly funded from fundraising efforts and money is regularly spent in advance of being raised. To cover this, the Church needs a further five months in reserve.
As there are insufficient funds in the current account to cover this amount, at the present time we can also draw upon monies held in the Central Finance Board. There is a shortfall of £7,608 in our general reserve.
Other Funds held for specific purposes
(c) Central Finance Board 2 (Property Fund)
We maintain a Property Fund (held by Central Finance Board) for the upkeep of the premises. and for large projects on the property.
The Property Fund will continue to be held by Central Finance.
(d) Central Finance Board 2 (Youth Worker Fund)
To cover the cost of our Youth Work which was able to restart after the lockdown finished. While we look at the future needs of the Youth within the town.
Youth Worker Fund will continue to be held by Central Finance.
**Minutes of the Annual General Church Meeting held on Saturday 13[th] May 2023 at 3.00pm**
Present: Revd Alison Richardson, John Ashley (Secretary) and 15 members and friends. Apologies: Received from 12 members and friends
The Minister welcomed all those present and opened the meeting with a prayer.
## Annual report
The Annual Report for 2021/22, which includes the financial statements for the year ended 31[st] August 2022 and the minutes of the meeting held on 27[th] April 2022, had been circulated having been previously reviewed and approved in draft by the Church Council.
Minutes of the meeting held on 27[th] April 2022
On the proposal of Bronwyn Nott, seconded by Marjorie Ashley, the minutes of the meeting held on 27[th] April 2022 were approved by the meeting.
## Annual report review
The Minister gave a brief review of the Annual Report. This has been a good year generally with many aspects of church life restarting post covid, and some new initiatives. There have been several deaths of church family members which brings both sadness and the need for a time of grieving. These dear people have been faithful to our Lord, and to the local church. They leave a gap which cannot be filled and challenges for the church regarding membership and attendance..
Tina Turner gave a brief review of the finances. The financial situation of the Church has not improved during the year. Offerings in Church and by bank transfer are no longer covering the Circuit assessment and, as a result, the Church is not maintaining its financial position. However, some have increased their regular giving and the Gift Day has helped. Our Church is not alone in this difficult period of high inflation.
It was noted that Tina Turner has taken over responsibility for Gift Aid claims from Christine Marshall
The Minister thanked Tina Turner and Glenn Turner for maintaining the financial records and also all those involved in the preparation of the Annual Report.
On the proposal of Tina Turner, seconded by Bronwyn Nott, the Annual Report for 2021/22 was approved and signed by the Minister.
## Church Stewards
The Minister sincerely thanked the church stewards for their continued commitment. Christine Marshall has resigned as a steward following her move to Torquay. The appointments of Marjorie Ashley, Hilary Everitt, Cathy Jerrard, Pam Murphy, Gill Sutton, Tina Turner and Glenn Turner as church stewards for 2023/24 were approved. Marjorie Ashley made a request for new stewards to support the team.
## Church Council
The Secretary reminded the meeting of the responsibilities of the members of the Church Council who are the managing trustees of the charity. This includes encouraging and helping new potential members of the Church when folk choose to worship at or Church on a regular
basis. He would encourage all members and other adherents to involve themselves in the life of the Church. Routine meetings of the Church Council are held three times each year; some matters discussed are routine in nature while others involve more important decisions.
During the year Bob Richardson resigned from the Church Council.
The Minister thanked those who have served on the Church Council during the year and reminded the meeting that up to fifteen members of the Church can be elected to represent the church family. Those willing to serve and be re-elected as representatives to the Church Council for the next year are Meg Ellis, Elizabeth Greenslade, Wendy Homeshaw, Bronwyn Nott, Karen Theedom and John Turner.
The Minister invited further nominations for the Church Council as there are a further nine vacancies. As there were no additional nominations the Minister, seconded by Marjorie Ashley, proposed that the six nominees be elected to serve on the Church Council for 2022/23. This proposal was approved.
The Church Council members for the coming year are:
|Ex officio members
The Minister
John Ashley
(Church Council Secretary)
Sue Jones (Circuit steward)|Church stewards
Marjorie Ashley
Hilary Everitt
Cathy Jerrard
Pam Murphy
(Pastoral Secretary)
Gill Sutton
Tina Turner (Treasurer)
Glenn Turner|Elected members
Meg Ellis
Elizabeth Greenslade
Wendy Homeshaw
Bronwyn Nott
Karen Theedom
John Turner|
|---|---|---|
The Minister gave an introduction to the (2021) new Strategy for Justice, Dignity and Solidarity or EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion).
Being Christian, according to this strategy, means:
- celebrating God who made each person in God’s own image
- being disciples of Jesus who treated each person with dignity
- rejoicing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit given to all people.
Some of us are more likely to experience prejudice and discrimination than others if we are affected by loss of sight and hearing, if we have a physical disability, are struggling with mental ill health, experiencing memory loss, if English is not our first language, if we were born into a different culture or set of beliefs and if our sexuality/gender is considered unacceptable.
All managing trustees will be required to attend a training course on this subject before the end of 2023. This will be arranged by the District and held within the Circuit.
The meeting closed with a prayer at 4.00pm.