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2025-08-31-accounts

The Trustees of Poppleton Methodist Church present their Annual Report & Accounts for year ended 31st August 2025

Charity Commission: Registered Number 1179142

Official address: The Green, Upper Poppleton, York YO26 6DP

The governing documents of the Methodist Church are the Deed of Union (1932) and Methodist Church Act (1976).

Section 4 Methodist Church Act 1976 states

The purposes of the Methodist Church are and shall be Purposes deemed to have been since the date of union the advancement of --

The Mission Statement of Poppleton Methodist Church - based on “Our Calling” from the Methodist Church

Pillar 1: Worship

Vision

Our worship will be appealing and relevant to all age groups and people will really want to join in.

Mission

  1. To enhance the worship experience by exploring various styles of worship.

  2. To be more modern and forward-looking and make services more relevant and related to daily living.

  3. To endeavour to have greater visibility of worship: if it looks interesting people will be more inclined to think it is interesting and come in. Strap line - “ Open the Church, see in, Come in”.

Pillar 2: Learning and Caring

Vision

Our Church experience is enriched through a variety of learning and caring opportunities that will allow us to grow in faith and share God’s love.

Mission

  1. To build on the range of groups that meet on a regular basis.

  2. To develop pastoral care, adopting a “Loving neighbour” approach, based on “ Visit and Ask and Watch ”.

  3. To aspire to be a Powerhouse of Learning, Caring, Mission, Prayer and Deepening Faith.

  4. To ensure our activities are truly inclusive.

Pillar 3: Service

Vision

Through our service to the community, we will make God’s love real to those around us.

Mission

  1. To address unsatisfied needs in the community using our gifts to develop our engagement with those around us.

  2. To use the redeveloped premises to offer additional options to the community enabling us to engage and build relationships with more people.

  3. To use the improved facilities to further develop our catering ministry.

Pillar 4: Evangelism

Vision

Our engagement with the community, and a varied programme of outreach, will encourage more people to explore the Christian Faith.

Mission

  1. To ensure we use the new facilities and our landmark location to make people feel comfortable coming on to the premises.

  2. To encourage a whole Church welcome and enthusiasm for families and children.

  3. To be more confident in sharing our faith.

  4. To show the community our faith by our actions.

  5. To communicate more effectively with the local community.

All this to be undergirded by a commitment to prayer and every-member ministry.

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The Administration of Poppleton Methodist Church

The Church is held on the 1976 Model Trust by the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes, and the Church Council act as Managing Trustees.

Managing Trustees at 31st August 2025

aging Trustees at 31st August 2025
Chairman Rev Elizabeth Cushion
Secretary Chris Boothman
Treasurer Christine Stephenson
Pastoral Secretary Marilyn Ingle Representatives elected by the Church Meeting:
Church Stewards Sandra Bailey Lyn Johnson
Marian Beck Brian Latto
Chris Boothman Alan Wright
Moira Dacker Judith Wright
Wendy Heap
Sheila Latto
John Middleton
Chris Scholtz
Trish Ripley [Fm May 25]
Plus, Members elected by the Church Council
Jenny Cookson Mission Committee
Sue Cushing Coffee on the Green
Sheila Middleton Circuit Council Representative
Peter Scholtz RUACH
David Priestnall Room bookings
Ecumenical Rep Lynda Salmon(not aTrustee)

The Church Council appoints annually all Church Officers as determined from time to time by the Council whether on the nomination of a committee or otherwise; all such appointments being for the year commencing 1[st] May, apart from the Church Treasurer, whose appointment commences on 1[st] September. The Council will also appoint the committees of the Church, again, as from 1[st] May each year. Elected Church Council members are appointed by the Annual Church meeting at which all Church members are eligible to vote.

Minister’s Report

We have had a good year as a congregation at Poppleton with worship continimg in our regular services and groups. At 31[st] August 2025, Phase 2 of the RUACH project continues, and the various fundraising efforts have provided events for people to share fellowship and entertainment as well as reach out into the wider community. My thanks go to everyone involved in this important element of our Church life.

We have looked at getting to know groups who use our premises better, and have taken part in village events. Coffee on the Green is going well and over summer offered children’s activities. Worship has taken us through the seasons, and we have included more creativity such as café services. There has also been an Emmaus course exploring the fundamentals of our faith and growing in Christ.

We look forward to the redevelopment of the Church building under Phase 2 and opportunities that it will bring.

a) STEWARDS REPORT: The team of 9 continue to work together, meeting regularly to plan and review services. Special services for Harvest, Christmas and Easter were all well attended as was a special course held during Advent. Own arrangement services are organised and we are trying to introduce varying styles of services to keep worship fresh.

b) MISSION COMMITTEE: Outreach is regularly maintained through Coffee on the Green, craft group and fundraising events. Christmas outreach activities included distribution of plants to elderly, lonely, and bereaved in the village, gifts of toiletries for local prison inmates and the posada around the village businesses. Committee members are involved with the Youth Club, Under 5s and After School Club.

c) FUND RAISING Successful events over the year include Village Show, Scarecrow weekend, Harvest lunch, Quiz and supper, Christmas Fair, Mothering Sunday afternoon teas, Children’s Sports Day, choir concert and Strawberry Tea.

d) RUACH PROJECT: We continued fund raising and refining our requirements between September 2024 and May 2025. By early summer we had raised £303,000 which was in line with our most recent estimated cost and so were able to undertake a tender exercise. By the 31st August 2025 we had selected a preferred bidder for the main building work and a separate one for the Audio Visual work and were in advanced contract negotiations with a view to start the work in September. The completion date was expected to be before the end of December 2025. While the work is being done worship will be moved into the new hall. Storage space has been agreed in Lidgett Grove Methodist Church for large items from the chapel which can't be accommodated on sire while the building work is being done. We will apply for a Methodist Chapel Aid loan to the value of £30,000. This is a contingency and will only be drawn down only if unexpected costs arise during the work which means we exceed the funds we have available for the project.

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e) PROPERTY STEWARD : Periodic maintenance throughout the premises is undertaken by members of the property team. This includes, Fire alarm testing, descaling and water treatment to the dishwashers and water boilers, replacing defective light bulbs, weed killing of paths, emptying the dehumidifier and ensuring the toilets and kitchens are cleaned and re stocked.

Of note and more significant items over the last 12 months: During the Summer months the exterior woodwork to the covered lobby between the church and old hall was sanded down and repainted. We had a number of false activation's of the fire alarm system in the new hall - which eventually turned out to be dust in the sensors, which are now cleaned annually.

Water ingress into church on the South wall continued to be a significant problem. A stone mason, suggested by Circuit, came to inspect and report on issues found. However, on inspection the Apex stone at the very top of the church was found to be cracked. Following emergency work to secure the stone, it was recommended that a new one was carved and put in place along with re grouting of the coping stones and re pointing of the South wall exterior. This was completed and the Church is now water tight again. The hot water boiler in the old kitchen was replaced after it failed. Multiple tripping of the light circuits in the new hall was eventually traced back to exterior wall lights being full of rain water. These were replaced and no more failures occurred. Patch repainting was completed in the old hall where plaster and paint was flaking off the walls. In preparation for the building work in the church, a new lockable cabinet was purchased and installed in the lobby area. This will be a secure location for items which would have been locked away in the church.

f) COFFEE ON THE GREEN: Continues to operate on Mondays and Tuesdays with increased takings and many new customers. Once a month Saturday morning opening has this year raised in excess of £2,090 for various local and national charities. The Coffee on the Green volunteers also support outreach and fundraising at the Village Show, Christmas Fair, Mothering Sunday teas, Children’s Sports Day and the Strawberry Tea.

G) FRIDAY FELLOWSHIP : Meets on the second Friday of the month and maintains membership numbers. Judith Wright who has led the group for 18 years is to step down after the AGM and the group hopes to continue with shared leadership.

h) ECO CHURCH: Work continues towards achieving the silver award with both the refill stall and children’s clothes swap still proving popular. The work of Eco Church is now well documented on our website and will in future feature on our Facebook page.

i) CAMEO : Come and Meet Each Other is an informal monthly meeting attracting approx. 35 members from the church and the wider village community. The group enjoys a programme of varied talks and demonstrations in a relaxed, friendly, informal atmosphere.

j) EBOR COURT SERVICES: Services are held at a local Care Home on the second Saturday afternoon of the month led alternately by our church members and local Anglicans. These services are always greatly appreciated by the residents and their families.

k) ALL WE CAN: The church continues to support this charity by organising an annual breakfast and a barbecue, plus donating the proceeds from the Christmas post delivery service.

Financial Report

1. General Unrestricted Church Receipts and Payments

Receipts

Total receipts are down overall by around £5,100 (2.6%) on the previous year. Increases were booked to ‘Offerings and Gift Aid Recovered’ by £3,800, ‘Interest & Investment Income’ by £4,100 and ‘lettings of the Halls’ by £11,000. These have been offset by decreases to ‘Grants and Voluntary Income’ for RUACH by £26,700. On behalf of Church Council, thank you to all who give to the Church so generously both in time, prayers and financial giving which greatly helps our Mission.

The new hall completed it’s third year of rental income. Overall income from rentals including from the Under 5s has increased - the overall letting income is up by nearly £11,000 (34%) on 2024. Coffee on the Green annual receipts have increased to £24,600 (2024: £18,900) with good overall cost management of expenses of £7,900 (2024: £8,700) and also over other ongoing hall running expenditure.

Payments

Total expenses were £123,601, an increase of £26,600 (27%) on an adjusted 2024 payments figure of £97,000. The circuit assessment increased by 3.2% to just over £56,400 for the year. Our regular donations of £2,500 to Methodist charities have continued in 2025. Increases have been seen in ‘Repairs & Maintenance’ of £2,200 and some £1,700 in ‘Utilities’. Other Payments for 2025 have increased by £20,600 being significant one-off repairs to the Chapel roof and South Wall Apex.

Unrestricted Fund Balances at Year End

The final figures for the year show a surplus of receipts over payments of £19,601 for church activities , not including RUACH, which in the present situation continues to be positive.

The balance on the General Unrestricted Fund at the year-end is recorded as £143,126 and we are pleased that our unrestricted reserves are continuing to re-build to cover normal payments for the Church’s activities as well as potential support for RUACH Phases 2 & 3.

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2. RUACH (Restricted) Fund

The RUACH Building Project Restricted Fund holds dedicated monies for the project and is in addition to monies held in the Unrestricted Fund which might be allocated to support this specific project. During the year ended 31[st] August 2022 it was agreed to transfer £236,414 from unrestricted funds to RUACH Funds – no such transfers have been made since then.

Since the Fund commenced 8 years ago, a wide variety of fundraising activities have been held, individual generous donations made, gift aid recovered and grants from third parties received. Thank you so much to everyone who has taken part in the wide ranging activities. The following summarises the current position on 31 August 2025 and includes the total amount paid in respect of Phase 1 of this programme. Although no grants were received in 2025, during 2024, grants of £42,000 were received, including £40,000 from Methodist Insurance.

Phase 1 is complete and there has been some minor spend on Phase 2 for various preparatory site surveys. The balance of £148,456 (2024: £107,414) is carried forward towards Phases 2 & 3.

RUACH RESTRICTED FUNDS MAKEUP (CUMULATIVE)
Totals to
31:8:25
Donations Fund Raising & Gift Aid 281,608
Grants Received 291,850
Interest 4,298
Total Receipts 577,756
Transferred from Unrestricted Funds (2022) 236,414
Total Payments (Phase 1) -658,160
Total Payments (Phase 2) -7,058
Net Movement 148,952
Fund Balance B/Fwd 0
FUND BALANCE C/FWD 148,952

3. RUACH Project

Phase 1 of our RUACH building project, to build a new church hall, completed in y/e 31 Aug 2024 and this new facility is greatly appreciated by Church members as well as other users from Poppleton and nearby. Phase 2 involves the chapel refurbishment (levelling the floor and removal of pews and better insulation and heating). During the year to August 2025, some site survey fees were incurred but the main work on Phase 2 was started and completed in late 2025. Phase 3 will then be the revamping of the old hall. It was felt this would allow continuity of premises use during the work, as well as being preferred by the church going members.

The Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts on pages 1 to 7 were approved by the Trustees on 16[th] June 2026 and signed on their behalf by:

Revd Elizabeth Cushion (Chairman of Trustees and of Church Council) and Christine Stephenson (Treasurer)

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POPPLETON METHODIST CHURCH

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

1 RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT

RECEIPTS Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted
Funds		 Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted
Funds		 Totals:
2025		 Totals:
2025		 Totals:
2024
£ £ £ £
Offerings andTax recovered 56,018 497 56,515 52,714
Bankand CFB interest andInvestmentincome 9,275 0 9,275 6,433
Lettings 43,514 0 43,514 32,528
Other receipts 27,337 48,100 75,437 98,127
TOTAL RECEIPTS 136,144 48,596 184,740 189,802
PAYMENTS
CircuitAssessment orShare 56,408 0 56,408 54,636
Donations 2,500 0 2,500 2,350
Repairs andMaintenance 13,034 0 13,034 10,851
Utilities (Insurances, water charges, heating & lighting) 16,789 0 16,789 15,112
Otherpayments 27,812 7,058 34,870 8,947
TOTAL PAYMENTS 116,543 7,058 123,601 91,896
NET RECEIPTS/PAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR 19,601 41,538 61,140 97,906
Total funds broughtforwardfrom last year 123,525 107,414 230,939 133,032
Sub total 143,126 148,952 292,079 230,939
0
Transfers and adjustments 0 0 0 0
TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF YEAR 143,126 148,952 292,079 230,939
Totals:
2025
Totals:
2024
Charity & Mission Funds:
A number of Church activities give rise to funds being donated for specific designated charities and missionary
funds, which are paid over directly to those organisations. Such receipts and payments are not included
elsewhere in these financial statements. The following summarises this activity.		 Totals:
2025
Totals:
2024
Charity & Mission Funds:
A number of Church activities give rise to funds being donated for specific designated charities and missionary
funds, which are paid over directly to those organisations. Such receipts and payments are not included
elsewhere in these financial statements. The following summarises this activity.		 Totals:
2025
Totals:
2024
Charity & Mission Funds:
A number of Church activities give rise to funds being donated for specific designated charities and missionary
funds, which are paid over directly to those organisations. Such receipts and payments are not included
elsewhere in these financial statements. The following summarises this activity.		 Totals:
2025
Totals:
2024
Charity & Mission Funds:
A number of Church activities give rise to funds being donated for specific designated charities and missionary
funds, which are paid over directly to those organisations. Such receipts and payments are not included
elsewhere in these financial statements. The following summarises this activity.
Balance broughtforwardfrom last year 0 0
Offerings/Gifts- receivedforexternalorganisations 4,008 1,566
Offerings/Gifts -passed to external organisations (4,008) (1,566)
Balance still to bepaid 0 0

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POPPLETON METHODIST CHURCH TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

2 STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
NET ASSETS
Cash in hand
Bank Current Account
Bank Deposit Account
Central Finance Board
Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes
Other funds		 Closing Balances
31st Aug 2025
40
54,975
39,026
194,529
0
3,509
292,079		 Opening Balances
1st Sept 2024
40
21,961
38,058
167,468
0
3,412
230,939
Represented by:
Unrestricted Funds
143,126
Restricted Funds
148,952		 123,525
107,414

The value of land and buildings forming the Methodist Chapel and Church Hall are not included in these financial statements as they are included in the financial statements of York Methodist Circuit Charity No. 1134381. They are however insured for the sum of £2,648,367 (2024: 2,581,246). Additional specialist insurance is taken out for the RUACH works.

3 STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Incoming Resources
Voluntary income
Grants received
Activities for generating funds
Income from investments
Church activities
Total Incoming Resources
Total Resources Expended - Church Activities
Net Movement in Funds
Balances b/fwd 1st September 2024
Transfer from General Fund to RUACH Fund
Balances c/fwd 31st August 2025		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Totals:
Totals:
Funds
Funds
2025
2024
£
£
£
£
56,018
47,846
103,864
85,436
0
750
750
42,000
43,514
0
43,514
32,528
9,275
0
9,275
6,433
27,337
0
27,337
23,405
136,144
48,596
184,740
189,802
-116,543
-7,058
-123,601
-91,895
19,601
41,538
61,139
97,907
123,525
107,414
230,939
133,032
0
0
0
0
143,126
148,952
292,079
230,939

4 INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL

There are a number of organisations that are linked to Poppleton Methodist Chuch and make reports to the Church Council. The accounts for these organisations are held separately from the Accounts of Poppleton Methodist Church and are not included in Accounting Tables 1, 2 or 3 above. Where money is paid over to Poppleton Methodist Church these amounts are included in Payments in Table 4 below and as Receipts in Table 1. Results of these organisations are however reported in the Annual Financial Return to the Methodist Circuit and are noted here for completeness only.

INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS Receipts Payments Net Receipts/
(Payments)		 Adjustments Opening
balances 1st
Sep2024		 Closing
balances 31st
Aug 2025
£
£
£
£
£
£
Drama Group 1,708 (2,056) (348) 1,161 813
Tuesday/Friday Fellowship 426 (975) (549) 793 244
Cameo 549 (495) 54 60 114
Coffee on the Green 100 (100) 0 0 0
Internal Organisations funds 2,783 (3,626) (843) 2,014 1,171

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POPPLETON METHODIST CHURCH TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st AUGUST 2025

5. NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st AUGUST 2025

5.1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparation

The Accounts of Poppleton Methodist Church ('PMC') have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011, The Methodist Church Act 1976 and principles in 'The Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church', using the Receipts & Payments basis. Receipts and Payments include income as received and expenditure when irrevocably paid. The Accounts include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which PMC is responsible in law. They don't include accounts of Internal Organisations (Table 4) nor those of informal gatherings of Church members.

Funds

Unrestricted funds represent the General Funds which are not subject to any special restrictions regarding their use and are available for application to the general purposes of PMC. These may include funds potentially designated for a particular purpose by PMC eg, the RUACH Project.

Restricted funds represent a) income from trusts or endowments which may be expended only on those restricted objects provided in the terms of the trust or bequest, and b) donations or grants received for a specific object or invited by PMC for a specific object. The funds may only be expended on the specific object for which they were given. Any balance remaining unspent at the end of each year must be carried forward as a balance on that fund. The Trustees do not always invest separately for each fund. Where there is no separate investment, interest is apportioned to individual funds on an average balance basis.

Restricted funds entirely comprise the RUACH Building Project. In addition, funds raised specifically for designated charities or missionary work (as per section 1) are segregated and paid over directly to the charity or mission. There are no endowment funds.

Fixed assets

The value of the land and buildings forming the Methodist Chapel and Church Hall are not included in these financial statements as they are included in the financial statements of York Methodist Circuit Charity No.1134381.

Fixtures and fittings as well as enhancements to the buildings forming the Methodist Church and Church Hall are fully expensed in the year the invoices are settled.

Cash Assets

Cash is held in banks, with the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church and in a deposit account with Methodist Chapel Aid Ltd.

In addition, certain legacies received by PMC are affected by Section 15(2) of the Methodist Church Act 1976. These monies are held in trust for the benefit of PMC, under the direction of the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes. These trust monies are interest bearing and subject to administration charges. The balance at 31st August 2025 is £0.

5.2. RESERVE POLICIES

For Unrestricted General Funds:

Reserves for General Funds for non-RUACH expenses are above 50% of our normal annual expenditure. In addition to meeting our normal expenses, this allowed some flexibility when the decision was made to start the next phase (2) of our RUACH building project and will allow us to make payments as and when called to do so.

For Restricted Funds:

The Restricted Fund represents our savings for the next phase (2) of our RUACH Building Project, with no minimum reserve.

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POPPLETON METHODIST CHURCH TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st AUGUST 2025

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Poppleton Methodist Church ('PMC')

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the Trustees' Annual Report and Accounts of Poppleton Methodist Church for the year ended 31 August 2025, set out on pages 1 to 7.

Respective Responsibilities of Trustees and Independent Examiner

The Charity's Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the Trustees' Annual Report and Accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011, as amended by the Charities Act 2022 ('the Charities Act'). They consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act and that an Independent Examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

i) examine the Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act.

ii) follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act; and

iii) state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of Independent Examiner’s Report

My examination was carried out in accordance with General Directions given by the Charity Commission.

An examination includes a review of the accounting records and other information kept by the Charity and a comparison of the Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the Accounts and the Trustees' Annual Report and seeking explanations from the Trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in a full audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair' view, and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent Examiner’s Statement

In connection with my examination, no matters have come to my attention:

1) Which give me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 130 of the Charities Act; or to prepare Accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act, have not been met; or

2) To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts to be reached.

Signed: ANDREW GL WORDIE

Andrew GL Wordie RD BSc FCA

Independent Examiner 12 Easthorpe Drive Nether Poppleton York YO26 6NS

16[th ] June 2026

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