2022-12-31-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period from 1[st] January 2022 to 31[st] December 2022 Charity name: CAREY BAPTIST CHURCH HEMEL HEMPSTEAD Charity registration number: 1188844 SECOND ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE CHARITY COMMISSION

INTRODUCTION

Carey Baptist Church has existed as a charity for over 40 years since the amalgamation of Boxmoor and Marlowes Baptist Churches, as an unincorporated association affiliated to the Baptist Union of Great Britain, which permitted us to act independently according to guidelines provided by BUGB.

In response to UK government legislation requiring small Church charities to register with the Charity Commission, the church agreed at a special Church Members’ Meeting in July 2019 to establish a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) for itself. The unincorporated association transferred all its assets, debts, and liabilities across to the CIO on the 1[st] May 2021 and Carey Baptist Church Hemel Hempstead CIO became fully functional as of that date. At the Church’s first Annual General Meeting as a CIO, on 9[th] March 2022, the Trustees/Deacons resigned en bloc and were re-appointed as Charity Trustees for the CIO.

This is the second Annual report by the CIO to the Charity Commission and the inspected accounts cover the period 1[st] January to 31[st] December 2022.

AIM

The Church aims "TO KNOW JESUS BETTER AND TO MAKE HIM BETTER KNOWN" It does this by being open to all members of the local community joining the activities on the Church premises in Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1LD, elsewhere in the town and online.

Our Mission Statements are: -

Nurture faith - provide scripture-led, Christ-centred ministry for all members and generations of the church family, supporting growth in our faith and encouraging one another to live as Jesus would, in peaceful relation to God, to our community and to the whole of creation.

Outreach - identify opportunities within Hemel to reach out and build relationships with young adults (2545), showing the message of Jesus is relevant to them today, through prayer and action, including prayer and action in response to our global environmental emergency.

Children & Young People - share knowledge of the love of Jesus and bring them to know Jesus personally, helping them to feel valued within God's family and the church family at Carey and encouraging them to play their part in God's purposes for all creation.

OBJECTIVES

Our objectives are: -

• ➢ to promote the pastoral, evangelistic, social, and ecumenical mission of the Church

• ➢ to enable as many people as possible to worship at our Church and encourage membership

• ➢ refurbishment/redevelopment our building for benefit of congregation and community

• ➢ have due regard to the commission’s public benefit guidance

ACTIVITIES

Evangelical/Pastoral

Mask wearing and social distancing at services continued at the start of the year, but conditions were relaxed as it progressed. Although congregation members do occasionally catch Covid-19, social interaction is now almost normal. Carey returned to in-person services followed by tea and coffee, as well as other Church activities, but has continued to share these via Zoom for those who are either less mobile, needing to isolate temporarily, medically at risk, or even away from the area. We have continued to use Zoom to provide spiritual support and teaching through virtual prayer meetings, Bible Studies, and coffee mornings. Joan Bruce has resumed weekly prayer meetings in person at her home.

The resumption of our monthly Hymn Café has been widely appreciated by people within and beyond our church. Robert Hoare continued to support this on the piano. In May, he celebrated his 90[th] birthday with

an organ recital at Carey in the presence of his family. Although he retired from being our regular organist at services on 28[th] August, he continues to play on special occasions such as the Church Anniversary. We welcomed Andrew Pennycook as organist once a month, and, later in the year Andrew Cheale. On occasions when neither of them was available, the Music Group has supported services.

Carey runs a Children, Youth and Family church to share knowledge of the love of Jesus and to lead young people into a growing relationship with Him. Also later in the year, a play area in the Church foyer was provided for parents/carers with babies, where they could listen to the service.

A welcome opportunity for us was that part of remaining funds arising from the closure of Trinity Baptist Church in Chesham, the previous church of our Minister Colin Cartwright, were offered to Carey for financing a Children’s, Youth and Family Worker. Following agreeing the Job Description, advertising the post and interviews, Carey member Tamzin Phillips was appointed for the year starting 1st September 2022. An informal induction on Sunday 4th September welcomed her to this new role.

Belmont Road and Carey Camp, having restarted in 2021 at Prestatyn, was held in 2022 for the week of 13th August on the Isle of Wight. We again thank the Camp Officers, Warren, Rhiannon, and Martin, and all the staff for all the hard work that has gone into organising Camp. Rev Tim Keightley was chaplain.

In 2022, Carey introduced the opportunity for individuals to share prayers for healing and help with a prayer team after communion services; this can now be requested after all services.

We again arranged day visits to Stanton House, a retreat centre near Oxford in July and August.

We had no Baptisms, but welcomed into membership Rosemary Hall, as well as our Ukrainian friends Andrey and Iryna Blahyi. We had three dedications: - in March, Augustina Forkuo’s daughter Afriyie; Olivia Mansfield brought Lucas in May; Prince and Prisca Nwosli brought their baby daughter, Amy Amara.

We organised carol singing early in December outside the church, in keeping with our mission statement objective of sharing the good news of the Christian message with our community.

Carey actively supports both local and global charities through donations and dedication of communion offerings. We also support the BMS World Mission and continue to partner with mission workers in Bangladesh. We also have a World Development and Relief Fund (nominally 1% of our income) which in 2022 was divided equally between Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Pakistan flooding via the Disaster Emergency Committee.

Helping those in need is a demonstration of our faith. To this end, individuals’ donations and offerings at Communion Services supported Christian Aid, Operation Agri, Christians Against Poverty, Bibles for Schools, amongst others. At Christmas we collected donations for Spurgeon’s Child Care.

Social and Community

Throughout the week the church buildings are used by several groups including Baby & Toddler Group, Table Tennis, National Federation of Occupational Pensioners (NFOP), and Hemel Wargamers. Dancing classes also began again. Carey Ladies’ Group met for lunches either at Carey or occasionally elsewhere. Reflecting our diverse community, we held some after-service lunches: ‘Food from around the World,’ although we needed to remind people that that included UK. Obed & Rifat Sardar also offered us breakfast and a time of fellowship at their home.

Two valuable community services restarted: Heather Club, which provides support to Vulnerable Adults, and the Child Contact Centre offered opportunities for separated parents to meet their children, as well as providing legal advice to them. Alas, removal of funding and reduced support by families caused the latter to close at the end of 2022.

The Baby & Toddler Group had run in a small way on Zoom, which was appreciated by those parents and children who could regularly attend. In-person meetings resumed when permitted, initially with limited numbers, pre-booking, and measures to reduce virus transmission. Olivia Mansfield left her role of leading the Toddler Group at the end of March. She was succeeded by Debbie Forty, who helped out until mid-July. Tamzin Phillips has led this work from September.

Large developments of flats are being built opposite the church and Carey has been instrumental in reaching out to the community by including our church details in the developers’ purchaser information packs. We hosted directions on our front noticeboards to Bellway Homes development opposite the church in exchange for new boards.

We collect items for DENS at Harvest and for the local Food Bank throughout the year.

Donations and grants have funded the purchase of a defibrillator, which has now been received. Its installation awaits other electrical jobs, which will be combined. Once installed, volunteers will be trained in its use.

We recorded Herts Historic Churches Bike and Hike participants in September, providing them with refreshment and a chance to see the church building. Their sponsorship is shared between participating churches, including ours.

Early in the year, Colin and Chris Cartwright had taken in Andriy, a Ukrainian Baptist working locally who had become homeless. His wife Iryna and their two children joined him in April having left Ukraine in March. After some time in the Manse, they have now found a house of their own, thanks to another church member.

Ecumenical

Carey is a member of Churches Together in Hemel Hempstead, which holds two forums per annum, engage in occasional events and have a public Easter Service of Witness, which followed our own Quiet Service on Good Friday.

We hosted the CT AGM in June. The availability of First Saturday mornings, freed up by the closure of Contact Centre will again allow us to host CT ‘Pray Hemel.’ Carey produces a monthly magazine ‘Grapevine’ in conjunction with two other churches; this is distributed to the congregations and visitors.

Worship

Initially, when the church was closed, weekly recordings of Sunday morning worship were put on our website. We progressed to home-based Zoom worship, including quarterly Communion services, while continuing to put the sound recordings on the church website.

This reached a larger audience, although those who were not able to access this technology were still sent printed copies of the Sunday talks and the weekly newsletter. Although recordings of services continue, we also publish on our website the texts of Colin’s sermons and talks.

This hybrid form of worship ensured our objective of providing spiritual and practical support to those both within and beyond the church.

We are able to combine a Music Group playing more modern songs with accompanists playing traditional hymns on piano, keyboard, or organ. On those Sundays when our Minister is elsewhere, visiting preachers’ different preaching styles can be appreciated and their choice of music accommodated.

For New Year, when finding a preacher has been a challenge, we instituted a ‘Songs of Praise’ Service in the Memorial Hall with New Year and Epiphany themed hymns/carols/songs, prayers, and readings, with refreshments available.

ACHIEVEMENTS & PERFORMANCE

Our CIO had a membership in January 2022 of 67 people, while being in regular contact with 124 adults, 4 secondary school age young people and 26 children through its weekly activities. Typical attendance at the main service of worship: 47 adults, 4 secondary school age; 2 children.

As part of his continuing ministerial development, our Minister Colin Cartwright, was released by Carey for a time of sabbatical study in 2021, which was curtailed by Covid; in 2022 he has continued to research the life of William Carey.

Eco friendly.

In keeping with a vital aspect of within our new Mission Statements, Creation care, Carey attained a Bronze Eco Church Award in June 2021, having registered as an Eco Church in September 2020. Our Green Team continues to work towards further reducing our carbon footprint and to achieve Silver. Recycling bins are now provided for a wider range of items, including old spectacles, pens, printer cartridges, and wrappers for pills.

Last year, on our surveyor’s recommendation, we ran the Sanctuary heating in winter continuously at a low level, raising the temperature for services. The recent failure of one of our boilers has prevented us continuing this, although we are maintaining low-level heat on those nights and days during the week, when other areas do not need heating.

When replacing lighting, we do so with more efficient light bulbs; as well, complete lighting units are also due for upgrading.

We strive to ensure that the building remains as energy efficient as possible. To that end we have had an energy audit undertaken and our knowledge of the current heating load should point us to the most effective solutions, either in more efficient heating or better insulation, such as double-glazing.

Mission

Last year’s discussions on how the church could further develop aspects of our new Mission Statement, under the headings of Nurture, Outreach, and Children’s and Youth work were completed by a review of the opportunities in Nurture.

Outcomes from these included the following.

• The launch of a new and improved website for our church, which is already seeing higher numbers of visitors to it.

• Greater involvement of our young people in Sunday worship, particularly the monthly all-age services.

• Increased input by members to Sunday worship, to ensure that the cultural diversity of our church is more recognised and celebrated.

• More prayer meetings organised on Zoom, to deepen the prayer life of our church, as well as Bible studies to encourage our spiritual growth in Christ and to develop deeper fellowship.

• Prayers for help and healing at the end of monthly communion services (now extended to all services).

• Appointment of a Children’s, Youth and Families Worker.

Refurbishment/Redevelopment

We keep on top of the refurbishment of the church and rear buildings.

We now have internet within the church premises, providing coverage in the majority of the meeting rooms. A new digital projector with better illumination has improved legibility of songs and video on screen.

We continue to keep expenditure on the buildings at a minimum, while dealing with critical repairs. Finding craftspeople to do the work has been challenging.

The number of organisations using our buildings has still not returned to pre-Covid levels, which has lowered our income and limits our budget for maintenance.

Having repaired the street frontage retaining wall of our property, a recent car collision has damaged a different section, but these repairs will be covered by the motorist’s insurance.

To make safer parking of cars and to reduce trip hazards, the loose paving to the side of the Memorial Hall has been removed and replaced with a plastic grid filled with shingle. This also gives better drainage and reduces water run-off against the buildings’ walls. We are grateful to Heather Club for contributing part of the cost.

We also continued to maintain the Manse for our Minister, with some redecoration, replacement of ineffective radiators, and shrub trimming in the garden. The Belmont Road manse in Newell Road is being let through an agent to tenants. Maintenance needs will be the front garden wall foundation, and kitchen refurbishment.

FUTURE PLANS

It is intended that we continue with refurbishment and increasing the energy efficiency of the church in order to make it more comfortable and appealing to both the congregation and community.

We will look to increase the use of the sanctuary and other rooms by community groups. The availability of Internet facilities should be an attraction. We will publicise the facilities we offer on our website.

We are working to improve our large Memorial Hall, specifically to replace the heating system in time for Centenary in 2025.

These works will be financed by a combination of fund raising and grants for the larger projects.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

(The inspected Statement of Financial Activities 2022 is published in a separate document)

VOLUNTEERS

We would like to thank all our volunteers who work so hard to make our Church the lively and vibrant community it is.

STRUCTURE GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Carey Baptist Church is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, and we adopted the Baptist Approved Governing Document as our Constitution.

The method of appointment for Trustees is set out in our Constitution. Each of the Trustees has been appointed by a vote of the membership at our Annual General Meeting. All those who attend our services are encouraged to become members of the Church.

The Trustees are responsible for making decisions on all matters of importance and general concern on behalf of the Church whilst ensuring that, where necessary, members’ votes are required to decide important issues.

The Trustees have met face to face and on Zoom 13 times during the 12-month period of this Report, with an average level of attendance above 80%. Six Church members’ meetings were held on Zoom during the same period.

All Trustees give their time freely with no remuneration being paid.

Administrative Information

The named Charity is Carey Baptist Church, Hemel Hempstead Address: Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1LD, which is the correspondence address. Charity Registration number 1188844.

The following members have served as elected Trustees through the reporting period: Gill Blunden Hilary Donovan Raphael Femi-Ola Colin Hughes Aquila Leeniyagoda Bhagya Leeniyagoda Margaret Lye Kathleen McLeod Obed Sardar Shirley Sebuliba Reverend Colin Cartwright (as minister)

Approved by the Trustees on (date) and signed on their behalf by (Chairman).

Carey Baptist Church Hemel Hempstead Statement of Financial Activities (Income & Expense) January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022

Income Income and Endowments Total Income Expenses Expenditure Total Expenses Net Resource Movement Net Movement in Funds Total Funds Brought Forward Total Funds Carried Forward	Unrestricted 118,017.86	Restricted 1,500.00	Endowment	Total 119,517.86
	118,017.86 108,437.38	1,500.00 4,430.00	0.00 8,000.00	119,517.86 120,867.38
	108,437.38	4,430.00	8,000.00	120,867.38
	9,580.48	-2,930.00	-8,000.00	-1,349.52
	9,580.48	-2,930.00	-8,000.00	-1,349.52
	8,498.00	41,370.00	1,300,000.00	1,349,868.00
	18,078.48	38,440.00	1,292,000.00	1,348,518.48

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30/10/2023

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees Carey Baptist Church Hemel Hempstead On accounts for the year 31/12/2022 Charity no ended (if any) Set out on pages

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/12/2022.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

• the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or

• the accounts did not accord with the accounting records

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: Date: 12/07/2023 Name: ANNROSE OLIMA Relevant professional Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualification(s) or body (if any):

Address: 39 Dowling Court Hemel Hempstead Herts HP3 9NF

Oct 2018

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