**Community of Christ – Leicester**
## **Report and Financial Statements**
Year ended 31 December 2024
Charity No: 1204180
|Contents|Page|
|---|---|
|Legal and Administrative Information|1|
|Report of the Trustees|2|
|Report of the Independent Examiner|5|
|Receipts and Payments Account|6|
|Statement of Assets and Liabilities|7|
## **Community of Christ – Leicester**
## **Legal and Administrative Information**
## **Charity Trustees**
The following served as trustees for the whole of the financial year ending on 31 December 2024 and were trustees at the time of the signing of the annual report.
Janette Shardlow (Pastor) Kathryn Haines (Financial Officer) Rebecca Tilbury (Leadership Team member)
## **Address**
Community of Christ, 330 Abbey Lane, Leicester LE4 2AB
## **Independent Examiner**
Lynda Pearce
## **Bankers**
Co-operative Bank
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## **Community of Christ – Leicester**
## **Report of the Leicester Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024**
The Trustees present their report together with the Financial Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024.
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
The charity, Community of Christ - Leicester was registered as a charity with the Charity Commission on 1st August 2023. The governing document is the Leicester Constitution, last updated on 31[st] July 2023, which incorporates the World Church bylaws (“the Bylaws”). The trustees are the Pastor who is elected by the congregation, the Financial Officer who is appointed by the British Isles Mission Centre Financial Officer and the members of the Pastor Leadership Team appointed by the Pastor and sustained by the congregation.
## **Constitution and Objects**
The objects of the congregation are:
- a) the advancement of the Christian religion for the benefit of the public in accordance with the doctrine and statements of belief of the Community of Christ; and
- b) to further or benefit the residents of Leicester without distinction of gender, sexual orientation, race or of political, religious or other opinions by providing facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreational leisure time occupation with the objective of improving life for the residents.
The Community of Christ is a Christian church whose purpose and mission is to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace. The Mission Initiatives of the church are to:
Invite People to Christ, Pursue Peace on Earth, Abolish Poverty, End Suffering, Develop Disciples to Serve; and Experience Congregations in Mission.
## **Achievements and Performance**
2024 saw us offer a full programme of activities as we continued to welcome people from the community and promote our church as a community hub. We met regularly for worship on Sunday mornings with different types of worship, including Communion services, Holy Ground, Messy Church, sharing services, discussions, or simply sharing fellowship time together.
We held a number of events over the past year to reach out to our local community. The first weekend in June was a very important time for us when we had our main community event and fundraiser for the year. On the Saturday we had a Summer Fayre where we served refreshments and had stalls selling handicrafts, bric-a-brac, cakes etc. The following day, on the Sunday, we again hosted The Big Lunch, welcoming people into church to share in food, friendship and fun. As a result of the weekend’s activities, we now have two new regular attendees at our Wednesday Warm Welcome Space!
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During the year we also became recognised as a Place of Welcome. We have continued to have close links with Anne Tinbergen, and the other local Police Community Support Officers, who attend our Warm Space once a month. Their attendance is also advertised in the Neighbourhood Link newsletter each month.
We have held several games evenings during the year which have been popular and a good opportunity for families to meet together.
We continued to run fortnightly youth groups which have had mixed attendance, despite the publicity. We are planning to re-launch in the community after the 2025 summer break . Even when attendance is low we have a regular core of children and young people.
Our Women’s group continued to meet in church during 2024. We have welcomed new members to the group from the neighbourhood and further afield. We have shared in jammaking, crafts, games and more and it is always a joy to meet together.
The congregation also provides pastoral ministry to members and friends of the congregation.
Regular use of our facilities by local community groups and individuals is important and has continued to grow during the year, as more people are made aware of the improvements to the building and availability for hire.
The congregation has considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. The congregation has sought to fulfil its responsibility to advance religion for the public benefit by:
- striving to be a community faithful to the risen Christ that courageously pursues matters of peace and justice; and
- providing worship, pastoral care and spiritual, moral and intellectual development, both for its members and for anyone who wishes to benefit from what the Church has to offer; and
- encouraging use of the building by groups and individuals in the local community
## **Financial Structure**
The congregation is funded by contributions from individuals, events, hire of the building and fundraising. We have continued to receive further donations for our building project that has enabled us to repay more of the loan from the Community of Christ British Isles Mission Centre. In addition, we have received a Places of Welcome grant of £500 during the year.
The ministers of the congregation all serve on a voluntary basis.
## **Financial Results**
The Operating Fund surplus amounted to £778, Building Fund deficit £2,013 and the Other Charities Fund surplus of £1,362 giving a total of £127. The Statement of Assets and Liabilities shows cash, bank and other monetary items totalling £7,933.
Significant income from hire of our building, generous donations during the year and greater than expected gift aid receipts has enabled to pay off a further £8,000 of our loan from the Mission Centre during 2024, £3,000 more than expected. This has reduced our loan liability to £2,000 at the balance sheet date. There are no fixed repayment terms and we expect to repay the balance during 2025.
## **Key Risks**
Our key risk has been failure to secure enough income to repay our loan within a reasonable timescale. A significant part of our surplus comes from the income received from hiring the
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building, whereas regular offerings support our missional programme. Although income in 2024 was lower than the previous year, this did not prevent us from repaying the majority of the outstanding loan.
## **Serious Incidents**
There have been no serious incidents during the financial year.
## **Future Activities**
Since the church re-opened in May 2022, we have been trying to build up our activities, welcoming children, families and adults back to regular activities such as youth groups, Messy Church, Sunday worship services and coffee morning. We have replaced our Wednesday coffee morning with a “warm welcome space” since the start of 2024 and have started to attract new members of the local community for free drinks and biscuits. We hope to expand our offering each Wednesday morning to include other activities. We are also promoting the availability of the building for hire and hope to encourage more groups and individuals to make use of it in the coming years. We are grateful to the Stay and Play group and the childminders who continue to use the building every week.
Children’s birthday parties and other family events continue to be the main reason why individuals hire our building and these have continued into 2025, with both new and returning customers. We have also been pleased to welcome Day Care Nest during 2025, an organisation offering a day care programme for elderly and disabled people.
## **Reserves**
In the opinion of the trustees, the reserves of £7,933 are adequate but not excessive. During the year we made loan repayments of £8,000, ensuring that we retained sufficient reserves to continue our planned operations.
## **Volunteers**
Community of Christ is primarily a volunteer organisation, with all priesthood and leadership roles being filled by self-sustaining personnel. The church could not function without such dedicated service. The congregation is blessed by the availability of dedicated persons who give of their time and skills to facilitate the achievement of the mission of the church and the functions of the congregation. We thank all who willingly serve in leadership roles or give their time in other ways.
## **Donors**
We are grateful to all members and friends who have donated towards our building project and those who regularly give to support the congregational activities. We are also thankful to the Church Urban Fund for the Places of Welcome grant that we received during the year.
Approved by the Community of Christ - Leicester Trustees on 6[th] July 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
Janette Shardlow (Pastor)
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## **Community of Christ - Leicester**
## **Independent Examiner’s Report**
To the members of Community of Christ - Leicester.
I report on the accounts of Community of Christ - Leicester for the year ended 31 December 2024. In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention which gives reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act 2011 have not been met.
In my opinion there is nothing to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts.
Signed
Date: 6th July 2025
Lynda Pearce
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## **Community of Christ – Leicester**
## **Receipts and Payments Account for the year ended 31 December 2024**
|**Receipts**
Offerings and donations
Grants
Gift aid tax refunds
Youth groups
Hire of building
Fundraising
Oblation support from Mission Centre
Sundry income
Bank interest
**Total receipts**
**Payments**
Programme resources
Licences
Outreach and community projects
Rise Magazine
World church donation
Mission Centre and Dunfield donations
Cleaner and cleaning supplies
Utilities
Insurance
Repairs and maintenance
Furniture and equipment
Professional fees
Fundraising and marketing
Offering Envelopes
Stationery/Postage
Gifts
Sundry Expenses
Payments to other charities
Loan repayments
**Total payments**
**Net receipts/(payments)**
Transfer between funds
Balance brought forward at 1 January 2024
**Balance carried forward at 31 December 2024**|**Unrestricted Restricted Total 2024 Total 2023**
7,560
13,139
20,699
20,158
-
500
500
1,848
2,836
1,391
4,227
17,999
171
-
171
122
2,200
-
2,200
3,100
12
285
297
475
-
635
635
45
-
45
50
145
-
145
68|
|---|---|
||12,969
15,950
28,919
43,820|
||136
-
136
92
351
-
351
342
1,501
712
2,214
490
15
-
15
-
750
-
750
750
1,500
-
1,500
500
1,060
-
1,060
813
1,109
-
1,109
924
1,053
-
1,053
978
277
-
277
928
2,565
289
2,854
312
-
-
-
1,350
240
183
424
60
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
19
-
19
-
66
-
66
163
-
8,965
8,965
9,672|
||10,641
10,150
20,791
17,374
-
8,000
8,000
22,000|
||10,641
18,150
28,791
39,374|
||2,328
(2,201)
127
4,446
(1,500)
1,500
-
-
5,161
2,645
7,806
3,360|
||5,989
1,944
7,933
7,806|
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## **Community of Christ – Leicester**
## **Summary of Funds**
|**Summary of Funds**||
|---|---|
|Operating Fund
Building Fund
Other charities Funds|**Unrestricted Restricted Total 2024 Total 2023**
5,989
250
6,239
5,461
-
332
332
2,345
-
1,362
1,362
-|
||5,989
1,944
7,933
7,806|
## **Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31 December 2024**
|**Cash funds**
Cash balances
Bank current account
Bank deposit account|**2024**
65
82
7,786
7,933|**2023**
17
97
7,691|
|---|---|---|
|||7,806|
## **Church Building and Contents**
The church building and contents were insured for:
|Building
Contents|**2024**
**2023**
281,158
273,500
26,900
26,900
308,058
300,400|
|---|---|
The land and buildings are held in trust for the Presiding Bishopric as trustees for the World Church. In accordance with church policies any decisions by the congregation in respect of the purchase or sale of properties must be approved by appropriate Mission Centre and World Church leaders with final approval being given by the Presiding Bishopric.
## **Liabilities**
|Loan from the Mission Centre|**2024**
2,000|**2023**
10,000|
|---|---|---|
The congregation received a loan of £50,000 during 2021 to assist with major repairs and renovation of their building. The loan is interest free and there are no fixed terms of repayment.
Approved by the trustees on 6[th] July 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
Kathryn Haines – Trustee and Financial Officer
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