OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2024-04-05-accounts

SALENDINE NOOK

BAPTIST CHURCH

Moor Hill Road, Salendine Nook, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire HD3 3SF

Registered Charity 1201300

ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024

CONTENTS LEGAL AND ADMINISRTATIVE INFORMATION

AIMS, AFFILIATION, GOVERNANCE

ACTIVITIES, OUTREACH & MEMBERSHIP

ACHIEVEMENTS, PERFORMANCE & CONCLUDING REMARKS

FINANCE STATEMENT FOR YEAR ENDING 5[TH] APRIL

SALENDINE NOOK BAPTIST CHURCH

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER

1201300

DATE OF REGISTRATION

12th December 2022

START OF FINANCIAL YEAR

6th April 2023

END OF FINANCIAL YEAR

5th April 2024

LEGAL STATUS

Registered Charity

CUSTODIAN TRUSTEE

The Baptist Union Corporation Limited

TRUSTEES WHO SERVED DURING THE YEAR TO 31st DECEMBER 2023

Rev. Ian Lovell (Minister) Mrs. Susan Thornton (Treasurer & Chair) Mrs. Karen Kent (Assistant Secretary) Mrs. Linda Aspinall Mr. Peter Fairbank Mrs. Pamela Hebblethwaite Mrs. Joyce Moorhouse Mr. John Swift

TRUSTEES APPOINTED AFTER THE BALANCE SHEET DATE

None

GOVERNING INSTRUMENT

Constitution adopted on 31st July 2022

CHARITABLE OBJECTS

The principal purpose of the church is the advancement of the Christian Faith according to the principles of the Baptist Denomination. The church may also advance education and carry out other charitable purposes in the United Kingdom and / or other parts of the World.

CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS

Salendine Nook Baptist Church

Moor Hill Road Salendine Nook Huddersfield West Yorkshire HD3 3SF

PRIMARY BANKERS

HSBC

2 Cloth Hall Street Huddersfield West Yorkshire HD1 2ES

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Anthony Taylor

Salendine Nook Baptist Church

Aims and Purposes

The principal purposes of the Church at Salendine Nook Baptist Church, Huddersfield are the advancement of the Christian Faith according to the principles of the Baptists Together (Baptist Union of Great Britain).

The Trustees of Salendine Nook Baptist Church, Huddersfield (Minister, Officers & Deacons) work together to promote the mission of the Church. This is done through worshipping God and promoting the Christian Gospel through evangelistic, pastoral, social and ecumenical activities. The Trustees are also responsible for the maintenance of the church building and for two other properties: The Manse at 4 Gatesgarth Crescent, Lindley, Huddersfield HD3 3LG and The Caretaker’s Home at 91 Moor Hill Road, Salendine Nook, Huddersfield HD3 3SF.

Affiliations

Salendine Nook Baptist Church, Huddersfield is a member church of the Yorkshire Baptist Association (YBA) and Baptists Together (Baptist Union of Great Britain). We regularly send delegates to the YBA assemblies and occasionally to the BUGB annual assembly. We regularly support the initiatives of both BMS World Mission and the BUGB Home Mission.

The church has continued to connect with neighbouring churches in the local area and is a member church of Churches Together in Huddersfield North West (CTHNW).

Governance and Management

The Minister, Church Officers and Deacons form a Leadership Team that is responsible for the oversight and management of the church. The Secretary and Treasurer are appointed annually at the AGM. There is an annual election of Deacons each year. Each deacon serves for a 4 – year period being eligible to stand for another 4 – year term if they so desire. The Leadership Team meet monthly (except August) where issues pertaining to the church both in terms of maintenance and worship/outreach are discussed and prayed for.

Although this is the Trustees’ report, Rev. Ian Lovell who is Minister of the Church wants to record his gratitude and the gratitude of the church for the way in which the Church Officers and Deacons as Trustees have guided and moved the church forward in the last several years. Each of the Church Leadership Team makes a vital contribution to the life of the church and their strength is in what they do together so that the church may continue in the coming days.

The church has an established Safeguarding Policy which is overseen by the Leadership Team and is reviewed annually at the church’s AGM. Three of the church Leadership Team make up a dedicated Safeguarding Team and is available to deal with any safeguarding issues that may arise in the life of the church.

The Church Meeting forms the Governing Body of the church. This meeting is open to every member and attendee of the church, and it is here that the members look to find the common consensus as they seek together ‘the mind of Christ’ so that major decisions about the overall life and strategic direction of the church can be made.

Many people in the life of the church volunteer and make their gifts available for the furtherance of the mission that the church is called to undertake in its purposes as a Christian Community. This is demonstrated through acts of kindness, good will and wonderful generosity. Some of this is done in a very public way and some of it is done in a quieter and behind the scenes way. Some of it is formal and some of it through informal networks within the church and local community. The Trustees want to express their real gratitude and heartfelt thanks to everyone who does this for the benefit of the church.

The church also employs a Church Caretaker who lives within the church grounds and who maintains the cleaning of the church premises and other various roles within the church.

Church Activities & Outreach

Salendine Nook Baptist Church has a variety of activities that are part of the church’s life and mission. We meet regularly on a Sunday morning for about an hour and a half to worship and praise God. We follow this with refreshments and encourage people to stay and have fellowship with each other. On the first Sunday of each month (except August) we have what we call ‘Fellowship Lunch’ and this is a meal that we invite anyone to join in with. Currently there are on average about 20 people who stay to the lunch. This event was started over two and a half years ago and was begun to alleviate the loneliness of living alone. As a church we see this as a great opportunity to meet the needs of individuals who might spend time on their own, especially on a Sunday.

Since January 2023 we have also introduced an event on the third Sunday evening of each month which we call ‘Refresh’. This is a very informal meeting, where refreshments are made available throughout the event, and a time of Praise, Worship and Discussion is had.

Other church activities that happen within the life of the church consists of: Homegroups, Women’s Fellowship, Tuesday Circle, Coffee Mornings etc. These meetings are not always weekly but may happen several times during the month.

We are blessed as a church to have a large building that can and is used regularly by community groups. During term – time a Playgroup rents our church hall, and this generates an additional income into the church. During the week, several other groups meet in the church, such as Slimming World, An Art Group, Huddersfield Wind Band, Beavers, Cubs, Brownies, Scouts, and Explorers. The church tries to maintain an active involvement with these groups and some of the members of the church either help run or are involved with the various groups.

The church also provides facilities for, and conducts, Weddings, Dedications for parents of babies and young children, Adult Believers Baptism, and Funerals and prepares people spiritually for these occasions.

Church members also give of their generosity through donations of food and finance to the local ‘Welcome Centre’ Foodbank. Our harvest produce this year will be given to this worthy cause.

In terms of our attempts to outreach into the community that we find ourselves part of, the church has a monthly link through our Minister, conducting a small reflection and Communion service at the ‘Mortons’ which is a Retirement Living Complex across the road from the church. There are approximately 10 residents who share in this activity and many of the residents attend our monthly coffee morning, and some have begun to attend our Sunday morning services. The Manager of the Complex and the residents now refer to our Minister as their Residential Minister, a term of warmth and affection for all that he does for them.

During 2023 / 2024, we have sought to outreach into the surrounding area so that we can share the love of Jesus with others. We have done this through several events. In December 2023 Huddersfield Wind Band held a concert at the church to which about 70/80 people attended. Also, they will be holding a Christmas Concert at the church in December 2024. The church in November 2023 held an outreach event in the form of a Fish and Chip Lunch with a Quiz which proved to be very successful, and it is envisioned that another event like this will be held in November 2024.We will be doing this in the hope of continuing to build our ongoing relationship with the community that we are part of.

One of our biggest outreach events is during the season of Advent when Huddersfield Wind Band share a Christmas Concert with us as a church, as we have mentioned above. This event easily attracts over 100 people, and this give us the opportunity to invite others to our Christmas services. Our Coffee Morning during Advent is also a major part of our outreach program as it sees many people come into the church building for a time of fellowship, friendship, and festivities around Christmas. Another outreach opportunity that we have during Advent is our yearly Carol Singing at Salandine Nook Shopping Centre. At this event we sing outside Sainsbury’s and share through Carols and Bible Readings the wonder of what Christmas is all about.

Membership

During 2023*24 we have sadly lost several church members who have passed away or moved away to other parts of the country. We remember them with heart – felt thanksgiving for all that they have done for Salendine Nook Baptist Church down through the years, their contribution to the life of the church, and their dedication to the ongoing legacies that they have given to future generations.

It has been a privilege for us as a church to have baptised 2 people on Christmas Eve 2023, all who have come into church membership, and who have begun and are able to contribute to the life of the church.

We are a predominantly elderly congregation, but we find ourselves in good spirit, with a positive outlook for the future. We are a church that has a heart for people, and we believe that our vision statement endorses this as it says: ‘As a church we seek to be disciples of Jesus in an ever – changing world’.

The church is committed to the love and inclusion of all people, the Leadership Team and the wider church body having affirmed the diversity in sexuality of same – sex marriages. We are also committed to the love and inclusion and affirming different ethnicity, age, physical ability, learning disability, neurodiversity, and mental health.

Achievements & Performance

The church measures the success of all that it does through its programmes and provision to some extent in the numbers of people attending services and events. However, the Trustees would want to say and feel that more important by far are the less quantifiable aspects of church life, such as:

Concluding Remarks

Throughout the course of 2023/24, Salendine Nook Baptist Church has had several low points as well as high points in its journey to fulfilling its purpose – to be the people of God in this part of his kingdom – that we call our spiritual home.

The future is unknown, and we are glad in many ways that we cannot know what the future really holds. However, throughout the rest of 2024 and as we move into 2025, this needs to be a time for us as a church here at Salendine Nook to explore whether we want to be a church that prosper and grows or whether we are content with the status quo and hope to carry on just the ways we are. This we believe is good for us, but extremely daunting. The areas that God will move us into is not something that the Pastor alone can do, it takes a whole team to achieve it. It will take all of those who see themselves as being part of the Church at Salendine Nook Baptist Church to be loving towards one another, working together with one another and seeking the heart and mind of God together. Maybe the question needs to be – are we prepared to be part of what God wants to do with and for us as a church in the future.

It is with these words in mind that we want to encourage each other and not to discourage each other as a fellowship. Christ has won a victory for us, and we are reminded in Romans 8 : ‘If God is for us, who can be against us’. We can’t do this without each other, and we certainly can’t build for the future without God guiding us.

This last year has seen some amazing things happen for us as a church family and we are eternally grateful for the way in which each individual have supported one another and that God supplies all of our needs in the most extraordinary ways possible.