Alderman’s Green Free Methodist Church Trustees Report for the period 1[st] November 2023 to 31[st] October 2024
We believe ……
In Christ crucified, dead and buried; raised from the dead on the third day, who sits at the right of God the Father in heaven.
We worship and serve the risen Christ!
Administrative Information
Alderman’s Green Church is situated on Alderman’s Green Road, Coventry.
The church is governed by the Board of Trustees which abides by the Trust Deed set up on 5[th] January 1909. The Trustees are the guardians of the doctrine and have a legal responsibility to ensure the church complies with the prevailing laws in England and Wales.
The Trustees are the employers of all paid employees (no paid workers during this period).
Every Trustee is a church member.
Objectives
The Trustees and Church Members are committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship the living God, through the Scriptures, prayer, the Sacrament, and music, at the church, and for the church to be known in our community.
We seek to serve the living Creator God, his Son Jesus – the Saviour of the World, - and through the Holy Spirit.
Wesleyan Reform Union
The Church is a member of the Wesleyan Reform Union of Churches, based at Church Street, Jump, Barnsley. The Church adheres to the doctrine of the Union as set out in their publication ‘Faith and Practice’ .
Governance and Management
Trustee’s responsibilities are shown above. The Church Members are responsible for decision making on matters of general concern and decide how the church funds are to be used. Church meetings are held quarterly.
Church Membership
Anyone who desires, through the profession of their faith in the One Creator God and his Son Jesus Christ, as Saviour of the world, will have their name presented to the church meeting. Once accepted the nominee will be welcomed into full church membership at the next available service of Holy Communion. The new member takes on the full responsibility of financial support, attendance at worship, to use their God-given gifts and talents to further the work of the church and to ensure that it continues to serve the needs of the people of Alderman’s Green and beyond.
The Minister
We currently have no minister and rely on visiting preachers to lead our Sunday Services.
Worship
Our services of worship are normally held on Sundays at 11:00 am, where the truth of God’s Word is preached at all our services. These services are open to all. Additional services at Easter, Harvest-time, Advent, Christmas and as announced.
The Church Anniversary is celebrated on the last Sunday in October every year.
Holy Communion
We celebrate Holy Communion on the first Sunday in the month and invite all those who love the Lord to join us at His table.
Children and Youth Work – Sunday School AKA Worship Warriors
We have a small Sunday School with a varying number of pupils, two Sunday School Staff and other helpers. We welcome children to the Sunday School from the age of a few months to sixteen years of age.
The aim of the Sunday School is to bring to life the Bible stories, to know Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour and to prepare the young people for church membership.
Church Safeguarding
We use the services of Thirty-one eight, an organisation which provides support and guidance for our Church Safeguarding. We have appointed a Lead Recruiter for the Church Safeguarding process and appointed two Child Protection Officers.
A Child Protection Policy is in place.
All the Church Trustees, Sunday School staff, and everyone who has regular contact with children and vulnerable adults have undergone DBS checks – all of whom have clear records. The need for new DBS checks is continually monitored and existing DBS checks are either renewed, or updated via the DBS Update Service, at least once every three years.
Prayer Meetings
These meetings are held weekly on Wednesday evenings via Zoom. We welcome anyone who may wish to join this group.
Home Group Bible Study
These meetings are held monthly in people’s homes and are open to all who may wish to join the group.
Missions Work
The work of home and overseas missions is actively encouraged and supported with regular gifts and specific fund-raising activities. We thank everyone who supports this work in so many ways.
The Trustees
The Trustees holding office for the period of this report are:
Rodney Harvey (Chair) David Lee Stuart Porter Robert Preston Rita Price James Porter Neil McIntyre Martin Ashton
Buildings
The church premises and a nearby house are owned by the church. As we currently have no minister the house is being rented out.
Finance
The church accounts are shown below. Some of our church members are part of the HMRC Gift Aid Scheme covering their weekly gifts for the work of the church. We gratefully acknowledge the weekly giving of all those who attend our worship services.
General Data Protection Compliance
We have a GDPR Officer who ensures that we are fully compliant with the guidelines of this issue.
Church Café
The café is held on Fridays from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon, with the aim of forming and maintaining links with our local community, and a ‘warm space’ in the winter months.
Volunteers
We thank all the volunteers who have worked hard to make our church vibrant, lively and welcoming, and for fulfilling maintenance tasks to keep our property in good order. Our volunteers do so knowing that they are fulfilling God’s calling for them and our church.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge:
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The support of visiting preachers who lead our Sunday Services.
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The work of our accountant for the preparation of our annual accounts.
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Those who have continued to donate remotely to support the work of our church.
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The support of our church members and adherents week by week.
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The work undertaken by our volunteers.
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Those who take on responsibility, behind the scenes, to further the Lord’s work in our church.
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Those who lend their unfailing support for the provision of drinks following our morning services.
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The work of the Board of Trustees.
Aldermans Green Free Methodist Church
Receipts and Payments account for the year ended 31st October 2024
| RECEIPTS Weekly offerings Church funerals - fees Use of hall Donations - Donation WRU Grant - Church Hall Groundwork UK - Grant Donations - Building Fund Donation Messy Church Donations - Funerals Interest Craft Club Youth Club Celebration Workshop Rent Income - The Manse Total Receipts Total Payments Net receipts/(payments) for the year Balance Lloyds Bank as 31st October 2023 Cash at Building Society at 31st October 2023 Balance Lloyds Bank at 31st October 2024 Cash at Building Society at 31st October 2024 Total Cash at 31st October 2024 |
2024 £ 20,822.09 300.00 1,276.00 - 22,469.80 500.00 1,545.00 40.00 - - 1,616.72 - 13,280.00 61,849.61 38,965.46 22,884.15 176.54 59,035.69 82,096.38 3,923.63 78,172.75 - 82,096.38 |
2023 £ 20,116.74 - 250.00 4,000.00 - - - - 85.73 210.00 394.48 1,000.00 120.00 11,000.00 |
|---|---|---|
| 37,176.95 19,850.33 |
||
| 17,326.62 | ||
| 1,987.94 39,897.67 |
||
| 59,212.23 | ||
| 176.54 59,035.69 - |
||
| 59,212.23 |
| PAYMENTS £ Church maintenance (A) Manse maintenance (B) Pulpit Supplies Membership subscriptions Gift to independent auditor Christian Copyright licencing Loveitts Fees Stationery/postage/ink cartridges Church website Safeguarding Organ tuning Miscelleanous Zoom ThirtyOne Eight Fire Extinguisher Maintenance Year books Conference fees First Aid Supplies Food Hygiene Training Miscelleanous Total Payments |
2024 2023 £ £ £ 29,537.44 6,511.55 1,882.08 7,659.26 1,750.00 1,440.00 1,817.10 1,260.75 - 200.00 443.72 413.30 1,334.88 1,400.53 117.96 44.62 175.00 175.00 12.25 - 366.00 174.00 226.11 - 155.88 143.88 145.00 145.00 487.56 - - 13.08 420.00 200.00 - 45.36 - 24.00 94.48 - 38,965.46 19,850.33 |
|---|---|