## **Greenacres Congregational Church Galland Street Oldham OL4 3EU** ## **Trustees Annual Report for the period October 2021 to October 2022** ## **Charity Name – Greenacres Congregational Church Charity Registration number – 1183815** ## **Objectives and Activities** The objectives of the CIO are to advance the Christian Faith in accordance with the principles of Congregationalism for the benefit of the public in accordance with the statements of belief appearing in the Constitution of Greenacres Congregational Church. - The advancement of the Christian Faith in accordance with the principles of Congregationalism mainly, but not exclusively, by means of broadcasting Christian congregational messages of an inspirational and teaching nature. - To advance the Christian Faith in accordance with the principles of Congregationalism in the Oldham Metropolitan Borough for the benefit of the public through the holding of prayer meetings, lectures, public celebration of religious festivals, producing and/or distributing literature on Congregationalism to enlighten others about Congregational beliefs. - To provide a place of worship in the Oldham Metropolitan Borough, for the advancement of the Christian Faith in accordance with Congregational principles. ## **Looking back over 2022** It does not seem very long since I was sat down at my computer writing last year’s report and here I am again. However, when I look back at the events of the year so much has happened. Just as we thought things were getting back to normal, we found out that our Minister had decided that it was time for a change and resigned his calling. This was effective as of the 31[st] October. Since that time our worship has been led by members of our Church and visiting ministers. Our thanks to our Secretary Joy Dean for managing pulpit supply and to all of the visiting ministers for leading our worship. Our special thanks must go to Peter Butler, Rev Liz Dean and Rev Frank Wroe who have presented a degree of continuity to our worship by leading key services and filling in all of the vacant slots on such a regular basis. The year started with the AGM on 10[th] October 2021when officers of the Church were elected and the annual report and accounts were approved. These have now been submitted to the Charity Commission. Whilst social distancing rules relating to the pandemic were starting to be relaxed during the year there was a brief period of mandatory rules introduced in December 2021 these were relaxed again in the new year. The voluntary wearing of face masks and social distancing within our fellowship did continue well into 2022 and a number of our fellowship sadly contacted Covid. Thankfully we now seem to be back to normal and whilst Covid 19 is still around our worship has resumed its normal format. The livestreaming of services did continue up until July of this year but following a number of technical issues and a review of viewing numbers it was discontinued. Bible study, prayer meetings and coffee mornings have however continued by Zoom meetings as these have been very successful and mean attendees do not need to travel to be involved. The outreach work of the Church has also continued through the Friendship Centre, Table Tennis and Pilates and our thanks go to Stuart Pauley and the friendship centre team who’s hard work and commitment make these events possible. There have been a number of services and meetings of note during the year these being :- - October 31st Rev. Lampard’s final service as Minister of Greenacres. Attended by 55 people who had got to know David & Sian over the last seven & a half years. After the service coffee & cakes were served in the Church Hall & a presentation of a cheque for £350 from money donated by members & adherents was presented to David & Sian along with flowers & cards. - November 7th A special church meeting was held to discuss the future of the Ministry at Greenacres. It was agreed we should be flexible in our outlook & choose the right person for the role rather than advertise for full or part time. - 28th Nov Advent Toy Service. Led by Capt. Jonathan Pitts Roundthorn Salvation Army. The response to the appeal for gifts for disadvantaged children in our area was well supported - December 5th Communion service led by Peter Butler. We also welcome five new church members & the transfer of membership for Rev. Liz Dean from Springhead Cong. - 12th Dec The Nativity Service led by Greenacres Primary School children of Key stage one. The children were well rehearsed & gave a brilliant performance of their play ‘Hey Ewe’ - 19th Dec Christingle Service in the morning led by Rev. Liz Dean. This was a lovely service with readings from various members of our congregation. Christingle candles in oranges were lit & distributed to everyone at the service. Appropriate words for a Christingle service were sung to the tune Away in a Manger with everyone standing in a circle. The afternoon, the Carol service at 3 p.m. was led by Rev. Jonathan Abernethy - Barkley of Springhead Cong. Church. Although not very well attended, Jonathan’s service was livestreamed, it was amusing & thoroughly enjoyed by everyone who saw it, especially by those in church. Afterwards refreshments were served in the Church Hall. - Christmas Day Service was led by Rev. Liz Dean & our first service in the New Year by Peter Butler who stood in at short notice for Rev. Suzanne Nockels, the President of C.F. who had succumbed to the new strain of Covid. Liz once again led the service on 9[th] Jan, stepping in for Rev. Alan Kennedy who was also recovering from Covid. - Church Profile meeting held Sat 29[th] January to discuss the contents of the profile advertising for a new minister. Attendance 24. Members were pleased with the profile which was forwarded to The General Secretary of the Cong. Fed. - 14[th] April Maundy Thursday Worship was held at Greenacres, led by Rev. Jonathan AbernethyBarkley & Rev. Audrey Lee. - 15[th] April Good Friday was poorly attended with only 12 at the service. Peter led it & did very well. - 17[th] April Easter Sunday was led by Rev. Liz Dean. Excellent service & chocolate refreshments afterwards. - 24[th] April. Service led by Capt. Jonathan Pitts of the Roundthorn Salvation Army. The last service Jonathan will lead as he & his wife Sarah & their family move to Basingstoke in June, however they will join us at our anniversary lunch. - 8[th] May Our 350[th] Anniversary. Service led by Rev. Neil Chappell, our minister from 1993 – 2013. Excellent attendance, over 90 stayed for the buffet lunch. An exhibition of photos & memorabilia was displayed around the church. - Sun 22nd May our worship was led by Rev. Peter Beaman MBE who was brought up at Greenacres & was involved in the cubs & scout movement here & also encouraged by former church members to go into the Ministry. This year, Peter celebrates 60 years in the Ministry. Sadly Peter passed away on 15th August. - It is was such a pleasure to hear services throughout our anniversary month of May from Ministers who all have their roots in our Church. - Sun 5th June Rev Dr Walter Riggans led our service for Pentecost, which was livestreamed. He was an excellent preacher & explained so clearly the origins & meaning of Whitsuntide. It was also the weekend of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee & the church hall was decorated in red white & blue bunting, balloons & flags. After the service we celebrated both Pentecost & the Jubilee with refreshments. - Sadly, this was the last time Rev Riggans would preach, he died suddenly from a heart attack on Friday 10th June. We were pleased his service had recorded well & were able to forward a copy of the service to his family. - Sun 12th June, service led by Rev Liz Dean who also conducted a christening for Charlie William Cahill, son of Katie & Mark & great grandson of a former member of our church, the late Bill Hough. - Sun 19th June A welcome return from the No Strings attached Puppet Ministry of Altrincham Methodist Church. This was a service for Father’s Day. Enjoyed by everyone who attended. We especially welcome the return of the Elvis puppet, all the way from Las Vegas. Our Social Group have continued to meet and with the help of other church members have organised both routine and special events to mark the Church’s 350[th] Anniversary. Our thanks to the Social Group team for their hard work and support. In addition to the routine quiz night, games sessions and car treasure hunt, special events of note were - 30th April Band Concert, advertised throughout the community for up to 100 people to attend. Good concert by Dobcross Silver Band & well attended. - Sat 21st May Concert by Hope Singers raised £507 for church funds. We were impressed by the musical talents of the pianist Michael & the fifteen years old bass baritone, Harry both trained by Chetham’s school of Music. - Anniversary buffet lunch and exhibition with over 90 attendees. A tremendous display of our churches history and memorabilia was out on display along with a series of display boards denoting the church’s role of honour generously donated by Malcolm Dean ## **Church Maintenance** Our Church building has had a number of items of work carried out during the last year, these have included improvements to the Ceiling ion the Church Hall, replacement of old fluorescent lighting with LED lights and repairs to the church roof to try to sop the ingress of water at the valley gutter. The Church also recently taken a decision to pursue the installation of a multi media system, this will involve upgrading the Church wifi and sound systems and should be installed later this year. ## **Other Matters** The Church advertised for a new minister early in the year and has had very little interest from suitable candidates. During this time the minister at Springhead Church has also moved on and as such both churches are now seeking new leadership. Whilst both Churches have a preference for their own minister the difficulties in calling ministers cannot be overlooked and the options for a joint ministry and helping each other out during the interregnum(s) has also been considered positively by both churches. The Church has decided this year to take the lead in running the Alpha Course at Greenacres. This is being by a team of our members and a friend from another church. ## **Structure, Governance and Management** The structure of our CIO remains unchanged with a Minister, 5 Trustees and 12 Deacons. ## **Trustees** Following last years AGM there were only 4 trustees in post and the trustees appointed Mr Peter Butler to join them until the agm this year. I Bairstow Chair J Dean Secretary M Fowler Treasurer S Paulley P Butler (Appointed) In accordance with the rules of the Charity trustees need to step down in rotation and this year the period of office for I Bairstow, J Dean come to an end. There will therefore be three trustee vacancies (P Butler was appointed and therefore this will also be vacant) at the forthcoming AGM. Following our last AGM, there were two vacant positions on the diaconate and the Deacons duly appointed Rev Liz Dean and Mr Peter Butler to join the diaconate for the rest of the year and our diaconate is currently made up of 11 members as there is one vacancy following the sad passing of Mrs Audrey Whitemean. Vacancies for the diaconate are shown below. ## **Deacons** Joy Dean Until Oct 2023 (trustee until Oct 2022) Margaret Fowler Until Oct 2024 (trustee until Oct 2024) Audrey WhitemanUntil Oct 2022 – Now Vacant Gail Waterhouse Until Oct 2022 Muriel Booth Until Oct 2023 Stuart Paulley Until Oct 2025 (trustee until Oct 2023) Ian Bairstow Until Oct 2025 (trustee until Oct 2022) David Hopkins Until Oct 2024 Peter Butler Until Oct 2022 (appointed) (trustee until Oct 2022) Yvonne Biram Until Oct 2023 Gary Croad Until Oct 2025 Liz Dean Until Oct 2022 (Appointed) ## **Role of Honour** We must sadly note the passing of our Church member and Deacon Mrs Audrey Whiteman, Rev Peter Beaman MBE and Mrs Joyce Turner. They will all be sadly missed and our condolences go out to their families. ## **Financial Review** ## **a) Revenue** During the year ending 30[th] June 2021 the church had a revenue income of £44k and running costs of £42k leaving an in year operating surplus of £1592. A summary breakdown of income and expenditure is given below. The full detailed audited accounts are attached at the end of this report. ## **Income** ## **Expenditure** |Ofertory|£21k||Salaries|£14k|| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Gift Aid|£5.5k||Manse|£2k|| |Investment Income||£7k|Utilities||£10k| |Grants|£0.5k||Admin and Legal|£4k|| |Donations|£4k||Donations|£2k|| |Funeral Fees||£1k|Buildings||£10k| |Room Hire|£3k||||| |Other|£2k||||| ||--------|||--------|| ||£44k|||£42k|| It is worthy of note that the offertory income has decreased by 4.5% over the past year despite many of our fellowship giving by standing order. The church is incredibly fortunate to still have such a generous fellowship and our thanks go to all of you for your kind generosity ## **b) Reserves and Investments** The general position of reserves and investments remains unchanged. Adjustments and transfers are noted below. - £5k transferred from Julian Hodge Fixed Deposit to Reserve Account on maturity - £2.5k from Reserve Account to Current Account - £5.8k Investment decrease in Medium Term Investment Fund (30[th] June 22) - £7.9k Investment decrease in Long Term investment Fund (30[th] June 22) - £0.3k Investment increase in Ethical Investment Income Shares at Congregational Federation It is worthy of note that our investment valuations have fallen but this should not be a surprise given the current financial climate. Our revenue position this year is unusually distorted as we have been without the cost of a full time minister for a long period and as such our overall balance sheet is positive. Nevertheless, we should be mindful that utility costs are increasing rapidly and these along with the cost of a full time minister will make future years very challenging without additional sources of revenue. Despite the above negative positions, I can report that given the relatively high levels of reserves our Church is still in a strong financial position. Our buildings and grounds are in a good state of repair and we have no foreseeable exceptional expenditure that threatens the overall viability of our fellowship. God willing the positive impact of social events, fund raising and room rentals and the ongoing support of our fellowship we will be able to sustain worship at Greenacres for many years to come. A full copy of our audited accounts is attached for information below. These will be presented to our AGM for approval prior to submission to the Charity Commission. Ian Bairstow Chair of Trustees GREENACRES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 30JUNE 2022 GREENACRES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH INCOME AND EXPENDITURE AccOu￿r YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022 2022 2021 Income Offertory Income DonationS* grants and fundraising Funeral and wedding fees Room HI 205911 66081 820 3335, 68021 3501 5402, 43908 22361 11394, 1476, 8SO' 56111 (note l) Investment income Other income {note 2) (note 3) Tax reclaimed on covenants 6359 48051 Expenses Mlnisterfs stipend and penslon Cleaning and pulpit suppty Manse expenses General expenses Administrative expenses Donations made 9516, 4553, 2464, 10158, 3748, 2272, 9605, 42316 27744 1998, 2877, 7577, 27311 19641 8321, 53212 {note 4) lnote 5) (nots 61 (note 7) (note 8) Building and equlpment maintenance Excess ot IncomelExpenditure forthe year 1592 (51611, Ac￿m￿lated defi¢lt bvought forward 1514671 (463061, Accumulated deficlt ¢arried fonvard 49875 GREENACRES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH BALANCE SHEET AS AT 30 JUNE 2022 2022 2021 Mx•d wJets Land and Bulldlngs At 30June 2019 Revaluatlon of Land and Bulldln85 1290(h) 27501i0 129CMX) 275000 404000, 404000 Investments 1not• 9) 331429 349704 Cash at bank and In hand (not¢ 10) 20838 14487 ' Accounts welvable 1676 1646 Total •ss•ts 757943 769837 Current Ilabllltles (note 11) 2851 2173 Total assets less Current Ilabllltles 755092 767664 Repr•Mnted by. Church Funds General Fund Revaluatlon Reserves (note 131 Deftcit on Income and expenditure account Inots 121 694670 8750, 101547 149875) 69S442 8750 1 114939 15146711 755092 767664 Page 2 GREENACRES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022 2021 Nots l Donatk>ns. 8rnnts and lundrni5i Other donatlons 3365 Grants frorn Con8re8atlon•l Federatlon Collectlons for charlty Festlve coffee mornlng Fund ralsln8 6760 1313 209 11394 Not• 2 Investment Intorne Bank Inte￿t Royton Trust COIF Income from unlts DB Berry Trust income K Locke Trust Income Teachers Bulldin8 Soclety Interest Jullan Hodge Flxed Deposlt Interest 1181, 3149, 1047, 209, 118, 1090 1 1026, 205, 241, 5611 Not• 3 Other hKom• Greetln85 advertisin8 Income Collectlon for Ministe￿$ Leavlne Present 350 350 GREENACRES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022 2022 2021 Note 4 Manse expenses Councll Tax 448 1546 Water Rate5 8roadband Insurance Repalrs and Renewals Energy Costs Ground rent 507 278 297 459 616 243 407 514 13 2464 13 2877 Not• 5 General expenses Insurance Telephone Electrlcltv Gas Waler 3443 3263 468 1193 4713 341 10158 445 1014 2549 306 7577 Note 6 Admlnlstrntlw expenses Postage Ststlonery and consumables Mllea8e expenses General prlntlng costs Remembrance Day expenses Caterlng costs Copyrlght licen￿$ Legal fees Accountancy and Audit Fee5 Prizes for ChIld￿n Mlnlstees Leaving Present Miscellaneous expenses 21 70 122 130 20 726 15 171 113 125 20 285 263 1578 1578 96 350 146 50 2731 3748 Page 4 GREENACRES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022 2021 Note 7 Donatlons made Donatlons to affiliated associations Marie Curle CWM Ministryand Mi55ion Christian Aid Salvatlon Armv Francls House 509 50 760 235 31X) 285 NW Alr Ambulance 193 2272 1964 Note 8 Buildlna and equipment maintsnance Building repairs Land maintenance Window cleanlng Cleaning materials PA system and microphones Alarni Costs 6262 928 2910 240 133 7125 200 9605 8321 Note 9 Investments Jullan Hodge Two Year Bond Nucleus Medium Term Nucleus Long Term Teachers Building Soclety COIF Ethlcal Investment Income Share5 35000 53480 1 114641, 72883 42765 1041351 1038181 331429 349704 476701 1067411 PaEe S GREENACRES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022 2021 Note 10 Cash at bank and In hand Bank current account Bank reserve account Petty cash 7746 12735 1 357 20838 5228, 9137 1 1221 14487 Not• 11 Cuff•nt Ilabllltl Accounts payable Flower fund Fund ralslng holdln8 account Coffee collectlon holdln8 account 8281 4341 20S' 15111 231 2173 140, 2851 Not• 12 Churth Funds Youth and Recreatlon Fund - Ca￿tal Youth and Recreatlon Fund - Income Terc. Bulldin8 Endowment Fund Waterhead Fund- Capltal Waterhead Fund- Interest Le8aci Fund Hlstorlcal Recelpts Fund Benevolent Fund Endowment Fund Communion Fund 3658, 2011, 2766, 7184, 3658 1 2011, 2767, 7184, 298C107' 298Ci17 360050, 36Q)50' 12246 13017, 694670 695442 Ilote 13 Revaluatlon Reser¥es Nucleus Investment Revaluatlon Reserve Capital Units Revaluation Reser 4412, 97135, 101547 18121, 9681 114939 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner'5 Report R•port to tha tru8tee81 mombor• of RSNA¢tÉs crJt4C£ÉCAri AL ChUICH Charfty no (W any) On a¢¢ounts for the y•ar 30 SuNf 3•t oul on pages DNE ro Sl I rgport to lh8 trust988 on my examlnatton ol the accounts of tho above charity (Iho Tru8f) for the year anded Ro•pon8lblllllo• and A8 the charlty tru8te8s of tho Trust, you arn rn8pon8fole for the praparatK>n bash of rnport of the accounts In accordance wlth tho requlrements of the Chorltl88 Act 2011 (Ihe Acr). I report In resp8Ct of my exam5natlon of tho Tru8t'8 accounts carrfed out under 80ctlon 145 of the 2011 Act and In carrylng out my examlnatlon. I have followed the appllcable DIrec￿on8 glven by th8 Charfty Comm188k+n under 8edlon 145(5)(b) ol the Act. Indop•ndont I hava Mrnplgtsd my examlnatlon. I corrflmi that no mat8rlal mattern havo examln•rf¥ statom•nt come to my attentlon (*#•￿.> In conn8dlon wth tho examln8llon whlth glve8 mo cau88 to bolleve that In. any matarlal weBp8cL' acmuntlng records waro not kopt In accordanco wlth i•ctlon 130 of tho Act or th• account8 do not accord wSth Ihe accountlng record8 I no COn￿m6 and havo come acro38 no other rnatt8rn In connectton wlth the 8xamlnatlon to vthlch attentlon should b8 drawn In ¢yder to •nabla a proper undorstandlrKJ of tha accounts to be reached. ' Plea3e delate the words In tho brnckets Mthey do not apply. 81gn•d: Dat•: Nam•: R•l•vant prol•8•lonal quallllcallon(•) or ljody (If any): SYEP AddrnBs: IER October 2018 Sectlgn B Disclosure Only c(* rf the examiner needs to higNight mattérn of UXKXM (898 CC32, horn brfof dotall8 any It•m8 that th• gxamlnerwlghes to dlscloso. IER Odohr 2018