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2023-06-30-accounts

Greenacres Congregational Church Galland Street Oldham OL4 3EU

Trustees Annual Report for the period October 2022 to October 2023

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.

Looking back over 2023

How time flies, it is September again and time for this year’s Church report. This report is not only a time to reflect on the last year but also a legal requirement of the Charity Commission to update members on the Church’s governance and financial position.

How wonderful it has been to get back to “normal” and whilst Covid has not gone away and a number of our fellowship have succumbed to it over the year, it has been a real pleasure to be able to get back to regular collective worship and fellowship events.

The year started with the AGM on 9[th] October 2022 when officers of the Church were elected and the annual report and accounts were approved. These have now been submitted to the Charity Commission.

Whilst we are sadly still without a minister and the level of applications is to say the least underwhelming, we have however been able to enjoy the varied preaching from so many visiting ministers and preachers with any vacant slots being willingly filled by Liz Dean, Peter Butler and Frank Wroe to whom we are so very grateful.

Bible study continues to be held by Zoom and face to face house meetings on alternate weeks whilst Prayer meetings have returned to a face to face format. The Friendship choir continues to grow in popularity and has presented concerts in a number of external settings as well as performing in Church. We are very grateful to the choir for their generous donation of £500 to church funds. Zumba, Pilates and Table Tennis have also been ongoing activities over the year and are well supported.

The Friendship centre has also thrived throughout the year and as well as providing great food has been a centre for outreach at our Church. As a result of the ongoing success of the Friendship Centre it has been able to make very generous financial donations totalling £1000 to Church funds due to the dedication and leadership from the team. These are included in the Church’s accounts attached to this report and our thanks go to the team for their hard work and diligence.

Following the decision last year to run an Alpha course at Church, Stuart and the support team set up and ran the course here at Greenacres. There were between four and five attendees and those who attended agreed that it had been a worthwhile exercise. The relative success of the course has led the team to request a further session in2023/24 and this has been agreed by the Diaconate subject to them achieving a minimum of five attendees.

There have been a number of services and meetings of note during the year these being :-

16th October the return of the Puppet ministry from Altrincham Methodist Church. A connection that goes back many years & always welcome at Greenacres. With a Christian message contained in each of their songs, the puppeteers entertain us, especially with their grand finale when Elvis arrives. Liz led the service & also brought Ignatius to the pulpit. This church mouse puppet has a long connection to Greenacres & to Liz.

23rd October Revd. Foday Kamara from Chinley Cong. Church came with his wife & three children, a lovely family. This was the Sunday when our friends from Springhead Cong. Church joined us as they were without a preacher that morning. Foday was well known to them as he had been Liz’s student when she was Minister at Springhead. Foday arrived at 10:45 that morning, just in time for the service & was so surprised to see many of the Springhead membership, he thought he was in the wrong church. It was lovely to share fellowship over tea & coffee after the service. First introduction to Foday

13th November Remembrance Sunday. Service led by Revd Frank Wroe, he read out the names of the men from our church who gave their lives for our freedom during the First & Second World Wars. The photographs & citations of the men who died were displayed on the banners at the front of church.

4th Dec. Advent Toy Service led by the new captain of Roundthorn Salvation Army, Tim Lennox. The response to our appeal for toys & gifts for children & young people living in deprived circumstances in our town was overwhelming. Capt. Lennox completely filled his car with the gifts & was extremely grateful.

11th Dec. The Reception & Year 1 children of Greenacres primary School enthralled us with the performance of their Christmas play ‘The Magical Christmas Journey’ The children also attended a religious education visit on 8th Dec & asked many interesting questions. They were especially interested in the parcels wrapped in Christmas paper under the tree.

18th Dec. Our carol service held in the morning of the 18th & led by Rev Liz Dean & Mr Peter Butler. Unfortunately we were without heating that morning but everyone belted out the carols, especially ‘While Shepherds’ whilst wrapped in coats & scarves. Afterwards Coffee & mince pies were served in the hall.

25th Dec. Christmas Day. The service was once again led by Rev. Liz Dean unfortunately we were again without heat. We had an excellent service with fun & humour, Liz being assisted by her daughter, Alex & granddaughter Sophie. The loose cash in the offertory was in aid of Dr Kershaw’s Hospice.

8th Jan: Liz led a Communion & Christingle Service with hymns & verses sung to carols & bible passages read by the Congregation. Candles were lit around church after each reading & at the end of the service, everyone received a lit Christingle. The lights were switched off & we stood together to sing the final verse to the tune Away in a Manger.

12th Feb: We welcomed the return of Susan Titmuss from Greenfield Methodist Church. Susan was impressed with our multimedia system & her choice of hymns & her bible reading were shown on the screens. Susan used to teach at Hulme Grammar School & would like to illustrate her sermon with pictures on the screens when she returns to lead worship again in June.

26th Feb: Rev. Foday Kamara from Chinley Cong. Church. Made a very welcome return to Greenacres. Foday is also the new Church Support Worker for our North West Area of Cong. Churches. Foday made use of our screens & multimedia system, using them to illustrate bible readings & his sermon.

5th March: Communion Service led by Rev Frank Wroe. Frank welcomed Rose Molloy into church membership in a very moving way, which impressed our fellowship who thanked him for his continued support to our church. Frank was impressed by the improved sound system & the words to the hymns on the TV screens.

19th March: Mothering Sunday. Our service was led by our own Revd. Liz Dean & as Margaret was on holiday, our music came via our multimedia system & TV screens. Bunches of daffodils were presented to all the ladies.

1st April: Our Vision Day, led by Yvonne Campbell. This took place Saturday morning 10:00 – 12noon. Foday Kamara as our church support worker attended later that morning & will be asked to take our ideas forward. Comments showing our strengths, weaknesses & thoughts for the future had been written on cards & made into a collage in the shape of a building. This will be kept in church to focus our minds on where we hope to be in twelve months & again in three years.

2nd April Palm Sunday: The No Strings Attached Puppet Ministry, led by Stephen Entwistle & the Puppeteers, assisted by Peter Butler who led the service. As usual the puppets were a great success with a Palm Sunday theme sung to modern music & included a special performance from ‘Elvis’ The puppets will make another welcome return in Nov. Palm crosses were also available for people to take at the end of the service.

6th April Maundy Thursday: Held at Greenacres & also involved our other local Cong. Churches, Ebeneezer, Hope & Springhead & was led by Revd. Liz Dean & Revd. Frank Wroe. Copies of the Daily Prayer Book to commemorate the Coronation of King Charles were distributed after the service & the closing offertory in aid of The Oldham Mountain Rescue Team raised £160. Refreshments were served in the church hall

7[th] April Good Friday: There were no services held at Greenacres and our fellowship were invited to join with Hope Congregational Church. The service was led by Christine Rainer

9th April Easter Sunday: A lovely service including Communion with a good attendance & led by Rev Liz Dean. Further donations to Oldham Mountain Recue resulted in a total of £ 225. Liz gave an Easter egg to each of the children who attended & refreshments afterwards included chocolate cake & mini chocolate eggs.

21st May: Our 351st Anniversary Service was led by Revd Barbara Bridges a former president of the Congregational Federation & former minister at Moreton in Marsh Cong. Barbara compared life today with life 350 years ago. People suffering hardship, problems with the economy. King Charles was on the throne & there was advancement with astronomy & space exploration, very much like today. Barbara stressed that unlike events in 1672 & proceeding years our church has remained steadfast in its faith, still serving the community.

28th May: Whit Sunday, led by Revd. Frank Wroe. Frank took us through the day of Pentecost & also reminisced with us, the Whit walks of years passed, a wonderful event of Christian witness to our community.

11th June: Led by our church support worker for the North West Area, Revd. Foday Kamara. Foday spoke about his early life & how he was brought up as a Muslim but after his father died when Foday was only 8 years old, his mother sent him to live with an uncle who was a devout Christian. Foday loved the various denominations

his uncle introduced him to but it was only when he began to worship in a Congregational church in London that he realised this was his calling. He trained for the ministry & became a student minister at Springhead Cong. Church under the watchful eye of Revd. Liz Dean who was minister there & encouraged Foday in his studies. Foday has been Minister of Chinley Cong Church for the last 9 years.

14th July: The funeral service of the late John Pellowe was held at our church, conducted by our former minister, Revd Neil Chappell & attended by over two hundred people. This was a lovely celebration of John’s life with hymns & music that John loved & the eulogy & readings read by Tim & Louanne Pellowe & also his grandchildren. Our multimedia system proved to be a bonus on this occasion, with hymns & pictures of John shown on our TV screens. Margaret played for almost an hour before the service & many complimentary comments were given regarding the whole service & our beautiful church building. John’s family invited everyone to join them after the funeral to continue remembering John & to take away a copy of his book & a painting, of which there were many, all painted by John. We at Greenacres will always be grateful for his support & kindness over many years.

23rd: This was led by Major Graham Barratt of Roundthorn Salvation Army. Graham preached from the floor, which he preferred to being in the pulpit. His theme was ‘Are you ready to step out of the boat’?

He kept us on our toes by asking questions & received a good response back. Graham said he had enjoyed his time with us & will be coming back in February.

6th August: Service & Communion led by Tim Hopley of Greenmount URC in Bury. Tim last led our worship back in Nov. This time he was able to illustrate his sermon using our screens. People see things in different ways, he used images i.e., a picture of an old lady, which could also be the image of a young woman or a lake scene with a young couple on a river bank, which viewed another way was the image of young baby. We very much enjoyed his service & look forward to welcoming him back in April, the first available date in his diary.

13th August: The Alpha Course leaders: This service was led by Peter Butler & Stuart Paulley who spoke about the forthcoming Alpha Course commencing in Sept. Rowena also addressed the congregation giving an insight into her experience of Alpha & encouraging people to attend. Rowena had enjoyed the last Alpha course, which had proved beyond expectation & will assist with the new course.

27th August: Service led by Revd. Frank Wroe who also conducted the christening of Esther’s baby, Ada. This was a lovely service & the first christening at Greenacres for three years. Following the service, the family joined everyone for coffee in the church hall & distributed decorated cupcakes in celebration & thanks for Ada.

24th Sept: Our Harvest Thanksgiving Service will be led by Revd. Barbara Bridges a former President of the Congregational Federation & former minister at Moreton in Marsh cong. Church. Barbara recently led our Anniversary Service& we will be pleased to welcome her back for the Harvest. We will also support the Foodbank at Roundthorn Salvation Army bringing items of non-perishable foods as well as toiletries.

Our grateful thanks to Rev. Liz Dean, Peter Butler & Rev. Frank Wroe for leading so many of our services, so willingly.

Social Group

The Social group continue to organise events for our church, this year these have included meals at local hostelries, 3 film shows, 2 quiz nights, 2 bingo sessions, a coach trip to Scarborough and a car treasure hunt. The events have all been great fun and enjoyed by those attending. Our sincere thanks to the social group team for their hard work in organising the events and raising funds for the Oldham POINT Charity which supports families of children with special needs. In addition, an external organisation the Mikron theatre group have also performed at Church.

Church Maintenance

Our Church building has had a number of items of work carried out during the last year, these have included the installation of the new Sound, Multi Media and Wifi systems, the installation of the new ceiling tiles in the sanctuary, refurbishment and painting of the external doors along with other general maintenance work. Our thanks to all of those involved in organising and implementing the work.

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 profile has been updated and refreshed to reflect the opportunity of a shared ministry in the hope of attracting some interest but sadly there seems to be very few ministers or even students looking to move to new callings.

In light of the very low level of interest the Church is resigned to continuing with our interregnum for some time and as a result of this the Quarterly Church meeting in September agreed to review the status of the Manse and agreed to the Diaconate looking at options to let the manse both to provide much needed rental accommodation and also to generate some revenue from the property rather than it being an ongoing financial burden to the Church. This is now in hand thanks to the prompt action of our Treasurer.

Structure, Governance and Management

The structure of our CIO remains unchanged with a Minister, 5 Trustees and up to 12 Deacons.

Trustees

Following last years AGM the five trustees of the Charity are:-

I Bairstow Chair J Dean Secretary M Fowler Treasurer L Dean (Rev) P Butler

In accordance with the rules of the Charity trustees need to step down in rotation every 3 years and this year the period of office for Rev Liz Dean will come to an end. There will therefore be one Trustee vacancy at the forthcoming AGM.

Following our last AGM, there was one vacant position on the diaconate since that time Yvonne Byram took a decision to step down and resigned her role leaving two vacancies which have continued throughout the year. In accordance with our constitution, deacons have to be re elected every 4 years and this year Joy Dean and Muriel Booth’s terms of office will come to an end and there will therefore be four Deacon vacancies for election at the AGM.

Deacons and Trustees

Joy Dean Until Oct 2023 (trustee until Oct 2025) Margaret Fowler Until Oct 2024 (trustee until Oct 2024) Gail Waterhouse Until Oct 2026 Muriel Booth Until Oct 2023 Stuart Paulley Until Oct 2025 Ian Bairstow Until Oct 2025 (trustee until Oct 2025) David Hopkins Until Oct 2024 Peter Butler Until Oct 2024 (trustee until Oct 2024) Yvonne Biram Until Oct 2023 (resigned Jan 2023) Gary Croad Until Oct 2025 Liz Dean Until Oct 2026 (Trustee until Oct 2023)

Roll of Honour

We sadly note the passing of John Pellowe in July of this year. John will be sadly missed by us all, our condolences to his family and friends.

.

Financial Review

a) Revenue

During the year ending 30[th] June 2023 the church had a revenue income of £43539 and running costs of £37837 leaving an in year operating surplus of £5702. 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

Offertory £19290 Cleaning/pulpit Supp £4911 Gift Aid £5029 Manse £1446 Investment Income £6421 Utilities and general exp £10726 Donations, grants, fundraising £7586 Admin and Legal £3389 Funeral/wedding Fees £600 Donations £2266 Room Hire £4593 Buildings £15099 Other £20 -------------£43539 £37837

It is worthy of note that the offertory income has decreased by more than 6% over the past year (which follows a fall of 4.5% in 2021/2022) despite many of our fellowship giving by standing order. This represents a reduction of income of over 10% in the last two years. The church is incredibly fortunate to still have a very generous but reducing fellowship and our thanks go to all of you for your kind generosity, the figures do however bring into question the sustainability of employing a full-time minister.

b) Reserves and Investments

The general position of reserves and investments remains unchanged. Adjustments and transfers are noted below.

It is worthy of note that our whilst investment valuations have grown this year, the growth follows the significant fall in last year.

Our revenue position this year continues to be distorted as we have been without the cost of a full-time minister for a long period. 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 and, despite our significant reserves, unsustainable over the long term without significant 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 with 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 30 JUNE 2023

GREENACRES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2023

2023
£
Income
Offertory income
Donations, grants and fundraising
(note 1)
Funeral and wedding fees
Room Hire
Investment income
(note 2)
Other income
(note 3)
Tax reclaimed on covenants		 2022
£
19290
20591
7586
6608
600
820
4593
3335
6421
6802
20
350
5029
5402
43539
43908
Expenses
Minister's stipend and pension
Cleaning and pulpit supply
Manse expenses
(note 4)
General expenses
(note S)
Administrative expenses
(note 6)
Donations made
(note 7)
Building and equipment maintenance
(note 8)		 0
9516
4911
4553
1446
2464
10726
10158
3389
3748
2266
2272
15099
9605
37837
42316
Excess of Income/Expenditure for the year
Accumulated deficit brought forward		 5702
1592
(49875) (51467)

Accumulated deficit carried forward

Page 1 

(44173) (49875)

GREENACRES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 30 JUNE 2023

Fixedassets
Land and Buildings
At 30 June 2019
Revaluation of Land and Buildings
Equipment - sound System and Multi Media
Investments
(note 9)
Cash at bank and in hand
(note10)
Accounts receivable
Total assets
Current liabilities
(note 11)
Total assets less current liabilities
Represented by:
Church Funds
(note12)
General Fund
Revaluation Reserves
(note13)
Deficit on income and expenditure account		 2023
£
£
129000
275000
404000
12511
315998
31221
1730		 2023
£
£
129000
275000
404000
12511
315998
31221
1730		 2023
£
£
129000
275000
404000
12511
315998
31221
1730		 2022
£
£
129000
275000
404000
331429
20838
1676
757943
2851
755092		 2022
£
£
129000
275000
404000
331429
20838
1676
757943
2851
755092
765460
1285		 757943
2851
764175
693920
8750
105678
(44173)
764175		 755092
694670
8750
101547
(49875)
755092

Page2

GREENACRES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

VEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2023

Notel
Donations, grants and fundraising
Other donations
Grants
Collections for charity
Festive coffee morning
Fund raising
7586
Note2
Investment income
£
Bank interest
Royton Trust
COIF income from units
DB Berry Trust income
K Locke Trust income
Teachers Building Society interest
Julian Hodge Fixed Deposit Interest		 2023
2022
£
£
4791
3990
725
500
1185
1313
802
0
83
805
6608
£
137
2
1356
1181
3193
3149
1079
1047
218
209
438
118
0
1096
6421
6802
£
20
0
350
20
350
Note3
Other income
£
Sale of Fridge Freezer
Collection for Minister's Leaving Present

Page3

GREENACRES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2023

Note4
Manseexpenses
Council Tax
Water Rates
Broadband
Insurance
Repairs and Renewals
EnergyCosts
Ground rent		 2023
2022
£
£
0
448
-159
507
0
278
356
297
0
407
1236
514
13
13
1446
2464

Notes General expenses

Notes
General expenses
£ £
insurance 3696 3443
Telephone 516 468
Electricity 1241 1193
Gas 4825 4713
Water 448 341
10726 10158
Note6
Administrativeexpenses
£ £
Postage 0 21
Stationery and consumables 37 70
Mileage expenses 0 122
General printing costs 108 130
Remembrance Day wreath and expenses 20 20
Catering costs 119 726
Copyright licences 302 285
Legalfees 1578 1578
Accountancy and Audit Fees 300 300
Alpha Course Expenses 617 0
Health and Safety Expenses 44 0
King's Coronation Prayer Books 100 0
Minister's Leaving Present 0 350
Miscellaneous expenses 164 146
3389 3748

Page4

GREENACRES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2023

2023
Note7
Donationsmade
Donations to affiliated associations
£
Marie Curie
Dr Kershaws
Oldham Mountain Rescue
British Red Cross
CWM Ministry and Mission
Christian Aid
Salvation Army
FrancisHouse
NW Air Ambulance
Othr Donations		 2022
591
£
509
0
so
260
0
225
15
400
400
750
600
0
235
0
285
0
193
25
0
2266
2272
Notes
Building and equipment maintenance
£
Building repairs
Landmaintenance
Window cleaning
Cleaningmaterials
CCTV andAlarm Costs
Note9
Investments
Nucleus Medium Term
Nucleus Long Term
Teachers Building Society
COIF Ethical Investment Income Shares		 £
10913
6262
2467
2910
220
240
349
133
1150
60
15099
9605
£
£
46441
47670
109502 106741
53321
72883
106734 104135
315998 331429

Pages

GREENACRES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2023

2023
Note 10
Cash at bank andin hand
Bank current account
Bank reserve account
Petty cash
31221		 2022
£
£
10295
7746
20871
12735
55
357
20838
£
1105
828
0
1883
180
140
1285
2851
£
£
3658
3658
2011
2011
2766
2766
7184
7184
1348
1348
298007 298007
360050 360050
11746
12246
7000
7000
150
400
693920 694670
£
5944
4412
99734
97135
101547
Note11
Current liabilities
£
Accounts payable
Fund raising holding account
Coffee collection holding account
Note12
Church Funds
Youth and Recreation Fund - Capital
Youth and Recreation Fund - Income
Terc. Building Endowment Fund
Waterhead Fund - Capital
Waterhead Fund - Interest
Legacy Fund
Historical Receipts Fund
Benevolent Fund
Endowment Fund
Communion Fund
Note13
Revaluation Reserves
£
Nucleus Investment Revaluation Reserve
Capital Units Revaluation Reserve
105678

Page6

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Se¢tlon A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trustotsl members of G kiiNflc&És cDN(QEqATiorlAL CHURQ On acGounts for the year gnded 30 lo13 ONE TJ gix Charlty no Ilf any) Set out on pages I report lo Ihe trustees on my examination ol the accounts of Ihe above charily Ilhe Tnjsfi for tha year ended 3DI 0112013. Responslbllltl•s and As the charity Irusle¢s of the Trust, you are ￿Sponsible for the prgparalion basls of report of Ihe accounts in accordance with the requlremenls of th¢ Charities Act 2011 {Ihe Act"). I report in respect of my examinalion of the Trust's accounts carried OLtI under seelion 145 of thè 2011 Act and in carryin9 out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charlly Commission under section 145{Sllb) of the Acl. I have completed my examination. I conflm that no material mallers have come lo my attention in eonngelion with thè examination which give8 me ¢8use lo believe that In, any malerfal respect: accounting record$ were nol kept In ac¢ordan¢• with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examiner's statoment I have no concems and have come across no other mallers in connecllon wilh Ihe examinalion lo ¥thlch attention should be drawn in order lo enable a proper understanding of the accounts lo be reached. Please lele the w in the brackets ilthey do nol apply. Slgned: Date: Name: As Relovant prof8sslonal quallflcatlonls) or body lif any): r4fi Address: SEN r k r4(LDUNt£ SERIICES LTI) E. EuooPA MOUSE . BfiEciioff ffjiEEr. M. QL9£@f IER October 2018

Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs lo highlight matter5 of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts.. directions and guidan￿ for examiners)- Glvè hère brief details of any Itèms that the examlnerwlshes to disclose. IER October 2018