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← Archconfraternity Of St Stephen

2025-06-30-accounts

THE ARCHCONFRATERNITY OF ST STEPHEN

ANNUAL REPORT

YEAR ENDING

30[TH] JUNE 2025

CHARITY NUMBER 803021

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THE ARCHCONFRATERNITY OF ST STEPHEN

Trustees Mr P Briers (appointed 27/11/2021) Ms C Burns (appointed 27/11/2021) Mr Q Tran (appointed 10/06/2014) Mr M Besford (resigned 2022) Mr M O Leary (resigned 27/11/2021) Mr M Malone (resigned 27/11/2021) Mr J Woodford (resigned 27/11/2021) Address PO BOX 568 LONDON WC1A 1YT Bank Barclays Bank plc Westminster Branch 2 Victoria Road London SW1H 0ND Independent Examiner John D Stratford KHS ACMA, CGMA 9 Rosehip Way Bishop's Cleeve Cheltenham Glos, GL52 8WP Registered Charity Number 803021

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THE ARCHCONFRATERNITY OF ST STEPHEN

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES for the year ended 30 June 2025

The trustees of The Archconfraternity of St Stephen present their annual report for the year ended 30[th] June 2025.

OBJECTIVES

To advance the Roman Catholic religion, in particular: -

TRUSTEES DURING THE YEAR

The trustees throughout the year were

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT

The charity is governed by a constitution which was adopted on 12 December 1988.

The Superior General of the Archconfraternity is the Archbishop of Westminster, who appoints the National Director, who is also chaplain to the Central Council.

The affairs of the Archconfraternity shall be administered by the Central Council under the guidance of the National Director.

The Central Council shall consist of the National Director, the Officers, and Members of the Council in accordance with the Rules of Procedure pertaining at the time. The Officers of the Archconfraternity are the Honorary President; Honorary Vice-President, Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Secretary.

Membership of the Guild is open to servers who have made their First Holy Communion, without limit of age, who can serve Mass, and who have shown a wish to live up to the objectives and standards of the Guild.

Servers should be given adequate training and should serve satisfactorily for a minimum of six months before being enrolled as a member of the Guild, using the prescribed form of enrolment.

THE CENTRAL COUNCIL

The Honorary President and Honorary Vice-President shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting to serve for a period of two years and may be re-elected for a second period of two years.

Three members of the Council shall be elected at each Annual General Meeting to serve for a period of two years and may be re-elected to serve for a second period of two years, after which they must stand down for a least one year, unless they are re-nominated by the National Director and/or the Officers of the Archconfraternity in order to continue with any specific task which they have undertaken. Such nomination shall be considered the beginning of a further term of four years.

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The Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Secretary, Goods Manager shall be appointed by the National Director for terms of five years and may be re-appointed for a second term of five years.

Any member, who fails to attend three consecutive Council Meetings, or to offer an apology for absence, shall be deemed to have resigned. The Central Council may co-opt a person to replace such member for the remainder of their current term.

The National Director shall be empowered to appoint up to six Honorary Councillors of the Archconfraternity who shall assist him in safeguarding the affairs of the Archconfraternity and who may attend and vote at meetings of the Central Council. Each National Director shall have the right to review these appointments on taking up his duties.

Powers of voting at any meeting of the Central Council shall be vested in all elected or appointed members and all Honorary Councillors of the Archconfraternity. The Chairperson of the meeting shall have a casting vote, ex officio. A quorum shall consist of not less than eight members of the Central Council, of whom at least four must be Officers or elected members.

GENERAL MEETINGS

The Annual General Meeting of the Archconfraternity open to all members, shall be held in London.

Other General Meetings may be organised at the discretion of the Central Council.

The Honorary Secretary shall call an Extraordinary General Meeting to discuss a specific matter, if requested to do so in writing by not less than twenty voting members of the Guild. Such a meeting must be held within three months of receipt of the request.

Notice of General Meetings of the Archconfraternity shall be given at least twenty-one days prior to the date of the meeting.

Any proposition for consideration at the Annual General Meeting must be submitted to the Honorary Secretary in writing by the end of September.

The business at the Annual General Meeting shall include the presentation of the Central Councils Report for the year ending 30 June, including the Accounts and Balance Sheet.

ALTERATIONS TO CONSTITUTION AND RULES OF PROCEDURE

Alterations to the Constitution and Rules of Procedures shall receive assent of two thirds of the members present and voting at an Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting. A resolution for the alteration of the Constitution and Rules of Procedure must be received by the Honorary Secretary of the Archconfraternity at least twenty-one days before the meeting at which the resolution is to be brought forward. At least fourteen days notice of such a meeting must be given by the Honorary Secretary to the membership and must include notice of the alteration proposed. Provided that no alteration made to Clause 2 of the Constitution (Objects), Rule 16 (Dissolution) or this Rule shall take effect until the approval in writing of the Charity Commissioners or other authority having charitable jurisdiction shall have been obtained; and no alteration shall be made which would have the effect of causing the Archconfraternity to cease to be a charity in law.

Any question concerning the interpretation of these Rules shall be decided by the National Director.

DISSOLUTION

The Archconfraternity may be dissolved by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of those present and voting at a Special General Meeting convened for this purpose, of which twenty-one days notice shall have been given to the members. Such resolution may give instructions for the disposal of any assets held by or in the name of the Archconfraternity, provided that if any property remains after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities such property shall not be paid to or distributed among the members of the Archconfraternity but shall be given or transferred to such other charitable institutions having objects similar to some or all of the objects of the Archconfraternity as the Archconfraternity may determine and if and in so far as effect cannot be given to this provision then to some other charitable purpose.

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REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS, ACTIVITIES, PUBLIC BENEFIT AND ACHIEVMENTS

In considering the activities and grants made during the year, the Trustees have paid due regard to the published Charity Commission guidance on the operation of the Public Benefit requirements of the Charities Act 2006.

TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

Law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the charity’s financial activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year. In preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view, the trustees should follow best practice and

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the trust and which enable them to ascertain the financial position of the trust and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with Charities’ law and the requirements if the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the trust and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

FINANCIAL ACTIVITES

The financial activities of the charity during the year are set out in financial statements of this report.

SIGNED ON BEHALF OF THE TRUSTEES

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Mr Paul Briers

President

Dated. 30/06/2025

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ARCHCONFRATERNITY OF ST STEPHEN

REPORT OF THE CENTRAL COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR ENDING 30[th] JUNE 2025

It is with great pleasure, as Chair of the Central Council, to present our Annual Report for 2025. I would like to thank all who continue to strive at Parish and Diocesan levels to uphold the ideals of the Guild and to thank God for the many blessings He has bestowed on all of us.

Numbers attending Mass are gradually increasing but still down compared to before the pandemic which also reflects in the number of Altar Servers, but rebuilding is in progress, and this is reflected in the increased numbers attending the national & diocesan Altar Servers Masses each year and it is hoped the number of servers will eventually return to pre pandemic levels.

The Central Council has continued to meet online using Microsoft Teams and it is hope that eventually some face-toface meetings can resume in a place with WIFI facilities so that members who live outside the London area can still take part.

Oliver Reutter from St Elizabeth’s Parish in Richmond was appointed Hon. Secretary in May 2025. For the past year the Secretary’s role has been undertaken by both the Hon. President, the Hon. Vice President and the former Hon. Secretary Michael O’Leary.

Clifton is the only diocese without a Diocesan Director and efforts are being made to remedy this situation. The Archdiocese of Cardiff and the Diocese of Menevia have merged and will now been known as the Archdiocese CardiffMenevia. Both Diocesan Directors will remain in post looking after their respective parts of the diocese.

Miss Nicola Chrismas (South Chingford) has been appointed Diocesan Director for Ordinariate parishes.

The Central Council thanks all diocesan directors for the work they do in promoting the Guild in their dioceses.

It is important that the Guild avails itself of modern media to communicate its activities and promote its aims and objectives. Paul Woodhouse from Lancaster Diocese is the Communications Officer and since his appointment regular postings have been published on the Guild’s Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr and Threads pages which have been warmly received by those who follow the pages.

The new website went live in July 2024 and has many features containing all information in relation to the Guild. It was designed and developed by Skald and is looked after by the webmaster Paul Woodhouse. One new feature of the website is that goods orders may now be made online and it was an immediate success. Approximately 95% of orders are now placed online which has resulted in less preparatory work for the goods packing team. Eventually silver and gold medals will be able to be applied for online.

The previous webmaster Stefan Wicek has stood down after several years looking after the previous website and communications. The Central Council thanks Stefan for all his hard work and wishes him well for the future.

As was mentioned in last year’s Annual Report the accounts for 2023-2024 were delayed following Barclays Bank closing the Archconfraternity’s current account in October 2023 and the reopening it in January 2024. The Hon. Treasurer Quoc-anh Tran was expected to complete the 2023-2024 accounts by May 2025 and an Extra Ordinary General Meeting was arranged for 17[th] June to approve those accounts, but they had still not been completed. Arrangements will have to be made to finalise those accounts and the 2024-2025 accounts by other persons.

In June 2024 Vincent Shalvey stepped down as Goods Manager and Nicola Chrismas was appointed to succeed him. The Central Council thanks Vincent for all his hard work during his time in post.

Goods orders and the income of the Guild have again improved compared to the past couple of years with over 400 orders during the past year. As mentioned above the majority of the orders were placed online with more being made by overseas branches. A new design for the Enrolment Souvenir was approved, and a new supplier will be used.

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Tasselled cords that can be used for Silver and Gold Medals are available for sale and have proved very popular. Other new items available are pens and keyrings with a light attached.

The price of silver continues to increase which meant a price increase for Solid Silver Medals and Medals of Merit. Smaller price increases were also made for other goods items.

The Guild tie was redesigned with the updated logo in place and was available for sale in time for the National Mass in May.

Eighteen Gold Medals and six Gold Medals of Merit applications were approved during the year which is one less for each medal compared to the previous year.

Nicola Chrismas and Fr. Keith Stoakes together with the goods packing team have ensured that any orders received have been processed and posted for the which the Central Council extends their thanks.

The Central Council takes safeguarding seriously and has published a Guild safeguarding policy on its website.

The Central Council is very mindful of safeguarding at events it organises such as the National and Westminster Masses, Annual Dinner and Annual General Meeting. Central Council members will wear lanyards to identify them at events organised by the Guild.

The Guild continues to be affiliated to CYMFed. The President and Vice President attend their AGM and the Guild was well represented at Flame 2025 by a delegation of Central Council members and servers at Wembley Arena which took place on March 15[th] . Everyone who attended felt it was a great success. The Central Council will continue to be involved with other projects organised by CYMFed.

This year two National Masses took place during the year. The first was on Saturday 5[th] October 2024 at Westminster Cathedral with Cardinal Vincent Nichols as Principal Celebrant. Approximately 400 servers were present from dioceses far and near and the singing was led for the first time by the Schola Cantorum of All Saints Catholic College. Thanks are extended to Cardinal Vincent and Mr. Bick, the Director of Music and the Schola.

The 2025 National Mass took place on Saturday May 17[th] 2025 at St Peter’s Cathedral, Lancaster with Bishop Paul Swarbrick, the Bishop of Lancaster as the Principal Celebrant .and over 200 servers attending from a wide range of dioceses. 2025 was the celebration of the Diocese of Lancaster’s centenary of its formation and it was a wonderful Mass. Thanks are extended to the Dean of Lancaster Cathedral, the musicians, singers and Ian Mulholland and his helpers who organised this Mass.

Thanks are extended to Catherine Burns, Hon. Vice President who chairs the subcommittee arranging the Masses.

Anthony Ogunseitan is overseeing the long-term project “Moving the Guild Forward”. A working/communications group meet regularly and are working on several initiatives. Setting up the website was managed by the group and now that is completed the main project is main project is setting up the Servers Certificate Diploma. It will be a mainly online modular course for senior Altar Servers and is being organised together with The Maryvale Higher Institute of Religious Studies and St Mary’s University in Twickenham. It is hoped the course will be launched in October 2025 and more information will be published on the Guild’s website and social media platforms when available.

A freelance Administrative paid Secretary will be appointed whose primary role will be to manage the Servers Certificate Diploma. He/she may also be asked to be involved in other aspects of the work of the Central Council. The role will be part time and the person appointed will be expected to look after their own income tax, National Insurance payments etc.

Other projects the Moving the Guild Forward group will be looking at will include additional awards for servers including those who have been enrolled in the Guild for 60 years or more and certificates to be presented with silver and gold medals.

Thanks are extended to Anthony and all the Communications and Working Group for their very productive work.

The first annual Guild Dinner for over four years was held for the first time outside London in Liverpool at the Liner Hotel next to Lime Street Station on Friday 6[th] September and was a great success. It was organised locally by Rose Curry and the Guest of Honor was the Archbishop of Liverpool, Archbishop Malcolm McMahon. Everyone who attended commented what an enjoyable evening it was. Thanks are extended to Rose and everyone who was involved for all their hard work.

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There was an increase in diocesan events for Altar Servers during the past year and Central Council members were pleased to attend Masses in Arundel and Brighton, Brentwood, Birmingham, Hallam, Nottingham and Southwark plus social events organised by Lancaster. It is hoped that more dioceses will hold Altar Server Masses and they will be publicised on the Guild website and social media platforms.

The Council welcomes and congratulates the following newly affiliated parishes during 2025:

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----- Start of picture text -----
St Joseph Whitnash, Leamington Birmingham
Spa
Mary Immaculate Parish Mountain Ash Cardiff-Menevia
Our Lady and St Joseph Parish Sheringham East Anglia
Our Lady of Czestochowa and St Leeds Leeds
Stanislaw Kostka
St John Rigby Parish Atherton Liverpool
St Bede Clayton-Wood Liverpool
St Chad Whittle-le-Woods Liverpool
Holy Cross Cottingham Middlesbrough
St Hilda Whitby Middlesbrough
St Aeried York Middlesbrough
Our Lady of Lourdes and St Dominic Farnborough Portsmouth
Savio
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish Whalley, Clitheroe Salford
Good Samaritan Parish Burnley Salford
St Chad Cheadle Shrewsbury
St Basil and St Gwladys Rogerstone, Newport Ordinariate
St John Paul11 Youth Centre Kumbo Kumbo, Cameroon
St Margaret of Scotland San Angelo, TX, USA San Angelo
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During the year the Council approved the award of the Archconfraternity’s Gold Medal to the following for completion of 50 years of serving as enrolled member of the Guild:

Emmanuel Adebiyi Our Lady of Good Counsel & St Gregory the Great,
Bearwood		 Birmingham
Gregory Hughes Our Lady of Good Counsel & St Gregory the Great,
Bearwood		 Birmingham
David Russell Our Lady of Good Counsel & St Gregory the Great,
Bearwood		 Birmingham
Francesco Ostrowski Immaculate Conception, Bicester Birmingham
Andrew Was St Marie, Rugby Birmingham
Alan Bresnan Olton Friary, Solihull Birmingham
Michael Bibbey St Joseph, Cardiff Cardiff-Menevia
Ian O’Brien Blessed Sacrament, Gorseinon Cardiff-Menevia
James Wall Blessed Sacrament, Gorseinon Cardiff-Menevia
Bryan Talbot St Mary, Ipswich East Anglia
Herbert Slaughter Our Lady and St Thomas of Canterbury, Wymonfham East Anglia
Edward Hawley Holy Rood, Barnsley Hallam
Paul Stuart Sacred Heart and St Joseph, Moorthorpe Hallam
Peter Stanley St Luke the Evangelist, Whiston Liverpool
Andrew Lee St John of Beverley, Beverley Middlesbrough
Andrew Proctor St John of Beverley, Beverley Middlesbrough
John Lazenby St Francis of Assisi, Hull Middlesbrough
Andrew Watson St James, Spanish Place, London Westminster

The Gold Medal of Merit was awarded to the following for completion of 50 years of serving but not necessarily all that time as member of the Guild:

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Daniel Wright
Bernard Hicks
Joseph Dean
Michael Smith
Stephen Slack
Anthony Baker		 St Mary, Brierley Hill
St Margaret of Cortona, Canning Town, London
St Patrick, Liverpool
St Anselm, Pembury
St James, Reading
St Theresa of the Child Jesus, Headstone Lane		 Birmingham
Brentwood
Liverpool
Ordinariate
Ordinariate
Westminster

The Council extends its congratulations to recipients of the Gold Medal and Gold Medal of Merit and to all those who received other special awards.

The Central Council continues to be greatly appreciative and supportive of the many servers, priests and parishes throughout the country. Their tireless dedication in upholding the ideals of the Archconfraternity is to be applauded, especially during the time of lockdown restrictions. These high standards of serving, which are a primary objective of the Guild, can only be achieved through daily prayer, encouragement and ongoing training.

Paul Briers

Chair of the Central Council 30[th] June 2025

Archconfraternity of St. Stephen, P.O. Box 568, London WC1A 1YT

Emails: secretary@guildofststephen.org goodsmanager@guildofststephen.org Website: www.guildofststephen.org Facebook Page: @GuildofSaintStephen Registered Charity No. 80302

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THE ARCHCONFRATERNITY OF ST STEPHEN

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Archconfraternity of St Stephen, Charity number 803021, for the period 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 .

RESPONSIBILITIES AND BASIS OF THE REPORT

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”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS STATEMENT

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

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records.

The only concern I would raise is inactivity of the then Treasurer who has now been replaced.

Otherwise, I have no other concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed:

Name: John Desmond Stratford K.H.S., A.C.M.A., C.G.M.A. Qualifications: Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA)

Address: 9 Rosehip Way Bishop’s Cleeve Cheltenham Gloucestershire, GL52 8WP Home: 01242 676780 Mobile: 07934 744944 Email: johnstratford10@hotmail.com Date: 12 November 2025

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THE ARCHCONFRATERNITY OF ST STEPHEN

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 30 June 2025

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities published on 16/07/14, the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective

January 2015) and the Companies Act 2006. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of the designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Income

All income are included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Charitable expenditure

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been included under expense categories that aggregate all costs for allocation to activities. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular activities, they have been allocated on a basis consistent with the use of the resources.

Stock

Stock is valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost is based on the cost of purchase on the first in first out basis.

Liability recognition

Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources.

2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

Donations received under Gift Aid have been grossed up by the amount of income tax recoverable.

3. EMPLOYEES AND TRUSTEES

The charity has no paid employees. None of the trustees received any remuneration from this charity for their services for the year ended 30th June 2025.

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