4RcHES Monmouth Marches Ministry Area Report and Financial Statements For the Year Ending 31 December 2024
Monmouth Marches Ministry Area Report and Financial Statements For the year to 31 December 2024 Index Page 34 Trustees, Annual Report Indepondent Examln•rs' Report Statament of Flnanclal Actfvrtl•8 9-10 11 Balance Shoet 12-13 Dotallod Incom• and Expendlturn Nots8 to the Flnanclal Statement 1*17 1&19
Report of tho trustses for the perlod ended 31 •1 December 2024 The Trusteés present their r8POrt trKJether with the financral statements of the charity for the period ended 31" Dember 2024. The financial ststements have been prepared in accordan with the accounting polioes set out in the notes and compty with the charities constitution and applicable law. Charlty nam• and number. Monmouth Marches Ministry Area Charlty Reglstratlon NUmr". 1203832 Addre88.' St Thomas Church Hall, St. Thomas Square, Monmouih. NP25 SES Indepèndent Examlner. Cole & Co. A¢¢ounlants 4 The Sheepcote, Monks Orchard Farm, Lumber Lana, Lugwardine, Hereford, HR14AG Introductlon On December 10th 2022. the Monmouth Marches Mlnlsty Area became a legal enlity by decree signed by Monmouth Di(eSe Registrar Timothy Russen arKI came into effect on 1 st January 2023. On July 4° 2023, registration with the Charity Commission was (x)mpleled. Structur8. govemance and management. The Representative Body of the chUh in Wales holds the land and propety of the Church in Wales. they are an exempt Charity set up under S8Ction 13(2) of the Welsh Church8s Act 1914. They act on behalf of the promnce in pawng the stipends of th8 fulktime dergy and administering the Church in Wales's scheme of gift ald. The Ministry Area Council acts as Parothial Church Council and Charity Trustees for the entire Ministy Area. It is not a body cx)rporate. and its composition, procedure and powers are regulated by the Constitution of the Church in Wales.
The Trustees have followed appropriate guidance from the Charity Commission In its operation and reporting arrangements. The Ministry Area comprises the following thurches: St Catweg Cwm(arvan St Dingat Dingestow St Oudoceus Llandogo St Michael & All Angels Uanfihangel Tor y Mynydd St Michaal & All Angals Uanfihangel Ystom Llewyn st Dennis Llanishen St Tysoi Uansoy St Michael & All Angels Mitchel Troy St Mary Monmouth St Maughan St Maughans St Thomas Overmonnow. Monmouth St Martin Penydawdd Old St Mary's Church Penatt St Cenedlon Rockfield St Michael & All Angels Tintem St Nicholas Trelle Trell8¢h Grange Chur Tr8llech Grang8 St Mary Tregaer St Wonnow Wonastow There a three further churchyards: Sl Marfs, (Tintem). St Govan {Ll8ngov8n) 8fKI Ll8ngattock whose churches are closed and th8 Ministry Area has some level of responsibilty. St Mary's church is a ruin followlng a fire wlth the churchyard belng malntalned by St Mlchael's Church ntern. LlangattcK* church Is owned and maintained by Frlends of Friendless churches. Adjacent to St Mary's Church, Monmouth is Monmouth Prlory that has an office and 3 publlc rooms while close to St Thomas, Church is the Ty Price Communty Hall with four public rooms and an office. Both centr8s are vlbrant centres used to develop Christian outreach as well as belng available for hlre. The Ty Prf¢e office is the administrative base for the Ministry Area. The MAC comprfses the Mlnlstry Area leader. sts'perKliary dergy. a lay thair, Rector's warden, treasurer, secretary and 17 oth8r church representatives elected from each church in the Ministry For 2024 the trustees were: Clergy members Rev'd rim Dack (MAL) Rev'd Dan Damon Rev'd Dr Catherine Hayn8s (to 26.09.24) Retyd Kan Dack Rerfd Liz Perry
Lay members Chris Wray (lay chair) Stephen Marb'n (treasurer) ((J>opted) Robin Gibson Charles Meldrum Sue Hughes Stephen Hunter (from 27.04.24) Richard Harbottle Pat Lacy Jane Akitt (from 25.01.24) Andy Langton Cath Godfrey (rector's warden) Liz Williams (secretary) Jill Rundle Nigel Smith Mary Roden (to 27.04.24) Heather Richards (from 27.04.24) Martha How@Ils Glyn Edmunds Ray James {copted) 27.06.24- 28.11.24) Anne Porter The followlng served on the Standing committee: Rev. Tim Dack, Chris Wray, Steve Martin, Cath Godfrey. Uz Willlams During 2024 we held five MAC meetings. and Annual Vesty Meeting and various standing committee méetings together with many other Su1COMmItte6 meetings. In mid-2024 the recorded average Sunday attendance at the churches In the ministry area was 243, a reduction of 12 from 2022-3. Publlc benefft The chariiy seeks to promote the whole misslon of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and 8cumenical within the Ministry Area in work with Childrenfyoung People, Eld8rlylold People, People with Disabilities. and the general public through the provision of.. 8uildingslfacilits.eslopen Space and Advoc*cyladvicelinfonnation. Places of worship Generally advanclng the religion Educating people about the religlon Pastoral care. outreach Mlsslonary. evangelical activty Providing or maintaining buildings used for religious practices Conducting religlous ceremonies such as the celebran of marriages or funerals Maintaining public Churchyards and other public religrous burial plaS Raising awareness of religious beliefs and practices Aim and Purposes The Monmouth Marches Ministy Area UnCIl {MAC) has the resp)nsibility to promote thé whole mission of thè Church, pastoral. evangelistic, srxial and ecumenical. The MAC officers and trustees including the Ministry Area Leader, Reverend TITnothy Dack together with two other stipendiary dergy and tsvo 'House for Duty. priests, lead the MAC and work with a team of rK)n-stip8ndiary clergy with Pemiission to Offiaate and ILral church officers and members.
The MAC is specifically responsible for the maintenance of nineteen churches and some responsibility for 3 addibonal churchyards as listed atK)ve together with Ty Price Hall. Overmonnow and Monmouth Priory at St Mary's Monmouth. We have close links with Church in Wales SclKX)I, Osbaston Primary School in Monmouth. Obje¢tlves and Activities The MAC is ¢ommitted to enabling as many people as possible to worship in our churches and to build on the exlIent work already in existence throughout our area prior to the formats'on of the Ministy Area. Tha MAC has spent much of 2024 Continuing to dévelop and implement accounting systems (Myfund8ccounting) a human rèsources policy; churchyard policy. prccedur8s for faculty applications and new systems for apportioning the $t of ministry and for clergy expenses. It has also taken over responsibility for Insuran from the churches. The day to day running of ead) church is largely delegated to individual local church councils (LCCS) with the legal responsibility for each church r8sting with the MAC. Achlevements and Porfomiance We are proud of what we have achieved. The 19 churches have come together to work cooperatively across our large rural area. Trust has been built and friendships fomied. Of particular note: The MAC and church rePSentativeS attended a series of stewardship VrkshopS to ralse awareness of engaging with our Ix)mmunities and effective fundraising. Church members have atterKled training for pastoral vislts'ng and leading worship. A full mlnistry area celebrats'on service was held at Trellech in June attended by about 140 people. New outreach activibes have tak6n place In Whitebrook and elsewhere wlth many vlllage events from brealrfast sep4ices. )nCerts. Pet services, carol services etc. St. Tysoi church at Uansoy completed a major project to replace much of the church roof, other repairs and improving paths in the churchyard. Other churches have instslled enntsctless rd re8der5, now prol8Ction equipment and made other improvements. Flnanclal R•vlew The increasing cost of Ihe 'ministry shares. that has to be paid to the Monmouth Diocese has been challenge for several churches but the Ministy Area was able to make all the quarterfy payments to the Diocese in full and on time. The Finance Committee members and all the church treasurers have helFed get systems up and running and shown a positive spirit despite the difficulty of tying to keep things Mple. After preparation by local church treasur8rs and the Ministry Area bookkeeper, the Independent Examination of Accounts for 2023 was completed without significant issues arising. Th8 insuranc8 of the Ghurches and other buildings has been transferred frorn the individual churches to the Ministry Area from Sept8mber 2024.
The systems for lo(21 churches payng their contributions to the ministry share. clergy and property expenses, and insurance costs are now estsblished and working w811. The Ministy Area employs a BookkeeperlAdministrator working 12 hours per week and funded through a grant from the DI0Se and the rebate on ministy share that is received for prompt payment. In addition. the Ministy Area is the employer for a cleaner for St Thomas Overmonnow, caretsker for Ty Pri Community Hall, cleaners for St Marfs, Monmouth and Monmouth Priory. a Priory Manager and the St Mary's Director of Music. W& ended the year wilh total funds of £1,542.940.82. a reduction from £1,844,559.58 at the end of 2023. Thls was largely due to the Comption of works at St Tysoi, Llansoy. The Ministry Area has beneffted from accumulated interest payments on a Church In W81es trust fund whith amounted to £28.224 received in October 2024. While some of our thurches are in a heatthy finanual posrtlon. s8veral of our churches face difficult financial situations. It is gcM)d that some have been helped by our new Ministy Shar8 allocation system and Diocesan Ministy Share Support Funds. Assets Th8 church buildings. th81r ¢tentS and the thurchyards within the Ministry Area are vested in the R8presentative Body of the Church in Wales and do not fomi part of the assets of the Ministry Area Reserves Pollcy The finandal assets of the ministy area are maintained at a local church level, wlih a central bank account belng used to receive and make payments for ministy share. dergy expenses etc. and for C8ntral administrative costs. The Ministry Area Council (trustees) retains ovèrall responsiblllty for all the finances and Investrnents of the charity. This is exercised by the trustees and the Flnance Commlttee. It Is the policy of the Ministy Area Council for churches to hold sufficient available current funds and uncommitted reseNes lo deal with any signrficant changes to income and expendlture and reasonable repair and maintenance costs Induding those arising from quinquennial building nspeclions. At present there is a significant variation in the levels of unrestricted and restricted funds at different churthes. During the coming year the Finance Committee will work with local churches to dev81op a mre appropriate policy which reo)gnises the diffent types of ¢hurch8s in both congregation numbers and size of buildlngs. Risk Review The Ministry Area Couneil (MAC) is roswngiblo for ensuring that review8 of all major ri8k8 are considered and Ihat wherever possible, systems have been established to mitigate these risks. The main risks facing the Charity indude the stste of repair of the churches. churchyards, church halls,. the financial requirements lo meet its stated activities. and the capacity of church members to maintsin and develop some of the thal thurches.
Each local church is encouraged to Conduct a review of its own risks. The Ministry Area has adopted the Church in Wales safeguarding policy and GDPR policy. Safeguarding and Health & Safety are reviewed at every meeting of the MAC. There have been no serious incidenls or other matters relating to this charity over the previous financial year that we should have brought to the attention of the Charity Commissioners. Adminlstratlve Infomlatlon: Th8 MAC employs a part time bookke8p8r who has spent much of her tlme working closely wlth the MAC treasurer and10¢81 church trèasurers to implement the Myfundaccounting system. Two individual churches have staff, employed by the Mlnlstry Area. During 2024, the ministry area had an average of sevon part-time staff. Apart from these and stipendiary clergy, all other roles are undertaken on a voluntary basis. Declarations The trustee$ declare that they have approved the trustses, report above. Slgned on behalf of th• charfty'8 tru8lees Slgnaturo(8) Full name(s) Revd. Tlmothy Dack stephen Marts'n Posltlonlog Secretary, Chalr, etc) Chair Treasurer Data 5th April 2025 5th April 2024
CHARITY COMMISSION Independent examiner's report on the FOR ENGLIND AND WALES accounts Report to the trustees Monmouth Marthes Ministy Ar8a 3141 December 2024 On accounts for the year •ndod Charlty no (If any) 1203832 Set out on pages I report to the trustses on my examInan of the acwunts of the above charity ('the Trusfi for the year ended 3111212024 Rosponslbllltle As th6 chartvs trustees. you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in • and bas[• of accordance with th8 requirements of the Charrti08 Act 2011 Ilhe Act"). report I report in respect of my examinatK)n of th8 Trust's acrA)unts ¢arried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying ¢Jut my examination, I have followed all the applicable Direcknons grn by the Charity Ccrfnmlsslon under sectlon 145{51{bl of the Independent examlnerfs statement The charity's gross incom8 exceeded £250.000 and l am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualtfied member of Association of Chartered Certlfied Accountants. I have completed my examination. I confimi that no malerial matt8rs have come to my attention in connèction with the examlnation (other than that disclosed below ') which gives me cause to beliov8 tt)at in. any material respect: the accounting rerdS were not kept in accordance with saction 130 of the Charrties Act: or • the accounts did not acrd with the a¢¢ounlng rerds. or • the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and nIent of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair, view whlch ts not 8 matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enabte a proper understsnding of the accounts to be reached.
Slgned". Name: Michael Cole Relevant professlonal quallfication{s) or body (If any): Addrnss: ACCA Cote & Co. 4 The SheeFwte. Monks Ihhard. Lumber Lane, Lugwardina. Hereford HR14AG Section B Disclosure Onty Complete rf the examiner needs to highlight material matters of conc*m (see CC32. Independenl examination of charity aoUnts. direcuons and guidance for examiners). Glve here brlef detalls of any ttems that the •xamlner wlshas to dlsc108•. 10
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ACCOUNTING POLICIES Basls of preparing the financial statements The financial statements of th@ charity. which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Ststement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019),, Financial Reporting Standard 102'The Flnancial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ir81and' and the Charitles Act 2011.The financial statem8nts have been prepared under the historical cosl convention with the exception of investments which are included at market value. Income Recognltlon of Incomlng resources These are included In the Stst8m8nt of Flnancial Actlvltles (SOFA) when: The charity becomes entitled to the resources. The trustees are virtually certain they will receiv8 the resources. and The monetary value can be measured with reliability. Grants and donatlons Grants and donations ar8 only Induded in the SOFA when the charlty has uncondltlonal entitlement to the resources. Tax roclalms on donatlons and glfts Incomlng resources from tax reclalms are Induded In the SOFA at the same tlme as the gift to which they relate. Inva8tm•nt Income Th18 Is Includéd In th8 accounts when recelvabla. Invostmont galn8 and108S08 This includes any gain or loss on the sale of investments and any galn or loss resulting from revaluing investments to market value at the end of the year. Expendlture Liabilities are recognised 88 exp8nditur8 as soon as there is a legal or con8tructiV8 obligation committing the charity to that expenditur8, it is probable that a transfer of economio benefils wlll be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is a¢¢ounted for on an accruals basis and has been dassified under headings that aggregate aa cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings, they have b88n allo¢aled to activities on a basis conslstent with the us& of sourCes. 18
Tanglble fixed assets The churGh buildings, their contents and the churchyards within the Ministy Area are vestéd in the Representstive Body of the Churth in Wales and do not fomi part of the assets of the Ministy Area. Relatsd Party Transactlons No remuneration was paid to any of the Trustees in théir capacity as Trustees In this perfod. Investment assets The investments w8re introduced to the trust at their cost price which had b8en the practice of the trustees before the amalgamation into the Ministry area. They have, however, been valued at market value at the end of the period and any gainsl{losses) arising during period from that starting polnt have been induded as movements during the ojrrent period. Fund accountlng Unrestricted funds can be used In accordance wlth the charitable objectives at the discretion of th8 trust88s. Deslgnated funds have been set aslde by the trustees of general funds for partlcular purposes. They may be withdrawn from designated funds at the dlscretSon of the trustees to b8 used in the general charitable objedives of the trust Restricted funds can onty be used for particular restricted purposes wlthin the objects of the charty. R8Strictions arise when speafied by the donor or when fund8 are ra*ed for particular restricted purposes. Details of the nature and purpose of each fund is induded In tholr nomendature In the financlal statements. 19