2023-03-31-accounts - Good Neighbour Church England

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Aim and Purposes

Good Neighbour Church England (hereafter referred as GNCE) is dedicated to promoting the advancement of the Christian faith in the United Kingdom and the world; and to the relief of those in need, particularly those who are vulnerable and marginalised from society for reasons of age, disability, ill-health, financial or other disadvantages by the provision of funds, goods or practical support.

It is the church’s motto to – “ Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly and continue to fight together with God” .

Objectives and Activities

As a church organisation originated from Hong Kong, our primary service target is the people from Hong Kong, many of whom have just arrived in the United Kingdom in the last few years under the British National Overseas Visa Programme or have sought refuge through asylum. It is our objective that through regular worship and different kinds of gatherings, we can build a community of mutual support both spiritually and substantially. We also aim to serve those in need in the local community over time.

To achieve these objectives, our worship and service points across the United Kingdom have increased from the four existing ones - including London, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol, to the fifth one in Cardiff, Wales, providing the following services with reference to the church’s motto:

“Act Justly” – Advocacy for justice around the world;
“Love mercy” – Provision of community services to those in need; and
“Walk humbly and continue to fight together with God” – Worship and prayer; training and gatherings to preach the Gospel and develop knowledge on the Christian faith; and missionary work.

Achievements and Performance

1. Cantonese Worship Services and Bible Study Groups

As the existing services in the United Kingdom are conducted in either English or Mandarin, GNCE provides a range of Cantonese services during the week over the four worship points to serve the spiritual needs of Christians from Hong Kong in their native language. We are currently running regular evening service in Bristol every Friday; evening services in London every Monday and Saturday; morning service in Manchester every Sunday; and evening service in Birmingham every Sunday. There are also multiple bible study groups formed locally in each of the worship points.

2. Community Care

Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Welcome Programme: VCSE Year 2 (2022/2023) Regional Grant Scheme

The GNCE was awarded the second year of the regional VCSE grant scheme in London and West Midlands to support projects in line with the high-level outcomes of the Hong Kong Welcome Programme across three core areas: professional integration, social integration, community building. With our team of volunteers in Good Neighbour Church in both London and Birmingham, we worked collaboratively with local churches and local organisations to ensure wider integration across communities to cater for the needs of Hongkoners in the whole region. Our teams applied a reach-out approach to identify Hongkongers with the aim of providing early intervention for those at stake or with service needs. We also act as a gateway for multicultural individuals to get access to mainstream services and give referrals where appropriate. Through the Good Neighbour Hubs in London and Birmingham, we provided a series of centre-based programmes tailor-made for HongKongers and an outreach service within London, where we travel to different hotspots and set up street booths to promote our hub to Hongkongers. We also provide different kinds of interest classes for children, elderly and groups with special needs.

Free Meal to the Youth

Dinner at home is an important occasion in Chinese culture, where family members get together and enjoy one another’s company. This initiative creates a platform to bridge young people from Hong Kong who are facing financial difficulties and are new to the UK with established community members over a shared meal in a trusted community space (such as homes), in hope of providing not only physical but emotional support to young people in need. Over the dinner table, we encourage participants to share their stories and build relationships while enjoying home-cooked food together.

Care for the Homeless Community

In collaboration with other local churches, our teams of volunteers gather on a regular basis to distribute hot food and drinks as well as winter clothes to our homeless neighbours in various cities in the UK.

FoodAid Scheme

The FoodAid scheme by GNCE was set up to help people from Hong Kong who are facing financial difficulties. We receive donations in the form of supermarket gift vouchers, and we distribute them to those in need regularly to help them get through difficult times. The FoodAid scheme (UK) has been operating for more than a year and has supported nearly 40 cases including single-parents, family unit

of BN(O) Hongkongers, and asylum seekers who are in need, with a total support amount of over £30,000.

Advocacy for Justice around the World

In addition to community services, GNCE is keen to promote local awareness for universal human rights. Actions taken in the last year include presentations at multiple occasions, including the Parliament and European Union Council, on freedom of religion; and organisation of political assemblies in Birmingham and London to commemorate the 2019 Hong Kong protests for democracy. GNCE stays in close contact with our Ukrainian and Taiwanese friends to advocate for human rights and justice in these countries.

Volunteers

We would like to take this opportunity to extend our deepest gratitude to all the volunteers who had contributed tremendously to the daily operation and all our wide range of community initiatives across the four worship/service points in the United Kingdom.

Structure, governance, and management

GNCE is governed by an executive committee consisting of the three trustees, and supported by executive officers on finance, administrative and publicity matters. Currently, two of the three Trustees, Mr. Chun Lok Chan (Chair) and Mr Chit Shing Wu, were elected in December 2022 by members of the congregation who are on the electoral roll of the church. All those who have attended our services for more than 6 months are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to be a trustee.

The executive committee is responsible for making decisions for GNCE on all matters of importance and general concern to the church, particularly on major spending and the direction on providing various community services. The executive committee is supported by various sub-committees in the operation of the four gathering points. The full executive committee meets every other month, or when necessary, during the year to report on the progress of on-going initiatives and discuss plans in the future.

Administrative information

GNCE is currently running service/worship points in the cities of London, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol. The correspondence address is Ground Floor, 15 Risborough Street, London SE1 0HG.

GNCE is a registered Charity (No. 1195452) under the Charities Act 2011.

The core executive committee members who have served from 7th February 2023 until the date this report was approved are:

Trustees: Mr Chun Lok Chan - Chair Mr Chit Shing Wu Ms Sin Kit Kwok

To be approved by the GNCE and to be signed on their behalf by Mr Chun Lok Chan (Chair of the trustees)

GOOD NEIGHBOUR CHURCH ENGLAND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Receipts and payments accounts For the 01/04/2022 31/03/2023 To period from

GOOD NEIGHBOUR CHURCH ENGLAND

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Approved by the GNCE on 29[th] January 2024 and signed on their behalf by Mr Chun Lok Chan (Chair of the trustees)

GOOD NEIGHBOUR CHURCH ENGLAND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Independent Examiner’s Report to the trustees/ members of Good Neighbour Church England.

I report on the accounts for the year ended 31st March 2023 which are set out on pages 4 to 8.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

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

Basis of independent examiner’s report

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

Independent examiner's statement

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

accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Actor
the accounts do 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 draw.