CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIANffY (NORTHERN IRELAND) LlhllTED TRUSTEES, REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 The trustees present their Pffjnual Directofs report and independentty examined financial statem8nts for the year ending 31st March 2024, which also complies with the requirements for a directt>rfs report and accounts under the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements o)mply with the Charities Act {Northem Iland) 2008. the Companres Act 2006 and the company's Arttcles of Associab'on. They comply with the Accounting and Reporting by Charities Ststement of Recommended Practicè (SORP) applicable to ¢h8rthes preparing their accounts in 8ccordan¢e Vth the Financial Reporting Standard FRS 102 applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Report from the Cholr of tho Board i wnte these notes shortly 8ft4Y the riots that convulsed so many towns and cities 8cro&8 the UK knowing fh8t the impact will b& twnemb8red and feft fora v8ry long lime. Ong ofthe big challenges for both the faith $8Ctor generallyas well as crit andpolitical188d8rs is to el8vat8 the quality and reach of publK disGouf8e on rh& manyissues rais8d bythe demonstratnS and counterdemonstrations. There IS 8 huge need for w, mbust yet s&nsitiv8 governance both locally and nationally in Stormont and Westminster. In our work in Contempornry Christianify, wé aim to elevat8 und8rstanding and convers8tAM 88 best we can on these and othercomplex issues I8ng oUrsocty. It is & grgatpersonal privtsge to be abl& to play som8 sm&ll part in this worf(. but it also fairto say that tha support ofothers is also grnauy ne8d8d rfwe are to do our work well. In th8 coming yearwe will be doingsome b9h1nd-thewneS wort( on the changing fac8 of reconciliation in ourl8ndas w811 as looking to have some more publK events to which you arn very w8lGomo ind&ed. Ourwgbwte will be updated as ourpl8ns dèvelop. If you think you might be abl8 to help us In any way, wo would b8 d6lhtsd to h8ar fmm you. We arn in particular need of some 8UPPOrtin the wortd ofsoGial media, and in the Organisatit of some events By definthon. the more we do, the MO we need to strengthen our capacity to do it property. Our E- mail contart detaus are." info contem ora Christianit .net and hamillon.norman mail.com Finally. I do want lo thank our indef8tig8ble Honorary Secrnt8ry Stephen Adams, and all the members of the Board who contribute th8ir God given time 8nd wisdom to help us. Working wilh them rnally is a dellghtl The Trustees are Pleaged to 8ubmit this fomial report as requId under the relevant legl$latlon. Oble¢Uvo8 and Aetlvltle• The Purpose of Contemporary Christianty {Northem Irelend) is.. 'lo promote the Chrtsttan rellgion In particular (but not exclusively) to bring biblic8V principles to be8r on the outsvorking of faith in Northem Iland In planning our activities, we keep our Aims and Objectives under reviewand our ststed public benefit as approved in our N S Charits'es Commission registration. Wth its roots in the Evangelical community. Contemporary Christianity (Northern Ireland) Limited WOTk8 across the Christian traditions to address the challenges of.... living out biblical faith in a changing wortd. We seek to draw on the lessons learned through nearly 40 years of community conflict. Both a concem for the faithful understarKling of the biblical text. and an Ouorkl9 of the mission of God as the reconciliation of all things in Christ, are critical in enabling Christians to challenge their communal loyalties and engage with the work of peace building and community relations. Contemporary Christianity (Northem Ireland) Limited is committed lo help churches and failh-based communttses engage with challenges of a rapidly changing society. We work with a range of organisations across the Christian tradltions and se&k to provide a relevant prograrnrna of activities.
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIANITY (NORTHERN IRELANDI LIMITED TRUSTEES, REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 The benefrts that flow from this purrKJsg include challenging people of faith across Northem Ireland to think about their faith and ils implications in their communlb'es. Contemporary Chrlstianity provides "safe sp. for conversations, which might be more drfU1t to organise on a church or denominational basis. Some of this work is don8 by the organisatlon and some is done by working in partnèrshlp with other organisations. Through this, the local Christian Community can be challenged, disturbed 8TrJ en¢ouraged to refiect theologically on real issues and VIeW thelr lifestyle and practice. These beneffts a evidenced through opportunilies to open up and consider contemporary real IKe issues, which affect how people live out their faith in our divided communllies. These beneffits are advanced through a range of evenls. meetings and conversat¢ons cryanised to chall&ng8 Christians across our communities. The benefficiaries of this purpose are primarily those involved in church and community relations across N Ireland who are willing to enUrage engagement wlth these typ8s of Issues to enhance thelr cibzenship. 8lructurn, gov?rnan¢o and managèment During 202&24 w8 held five hybrid Board meetings. We have onong work to improve and refresh our website, as a resource to promote engagèment on the issues we are working on. Jr Memorandum and Articles ofAsso¢iation were approved in November 2009. In October 2014, we registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland {NIC1005851. We have been a member of NICVA since 2016. We communicate to our databasè of friends by email, by our website, and by social media. Through these, we have endeavoured to maintain meaningful ¢ontacl. We appreciated having personal contact this year with the Covid 19 restrictions now well behind usl Alongside our public activities, the Board has been developing a work-plan for the next 24 years and thb has involved dTscus$tons and negotiations with several partner organisations. En8urfng our work dellvor8 our akns Vl•lon: We desire to see the Christian communty in Ireland nurture a radrcal biblical faith in God, who in Jesus Christ reconciles the world, $t0$ human relationships and redeems all of life and ¢atrOn. Ml8slon: We are committed to develop the knowledgfr and personal ski115 needed among Chrislians and churches to serve their communities at critical points of cultural wntention. communal nflICt and social change, by becoming a plxe where thoy can access biblical resources and practi1 SUPFQrt. The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Chity Commsssion in deciding what activitses the charity should undertake. The Board is so grateful to God for the continued support of a faithful small group of regular donors, who underwrite our WOTk. We keep them infomied of the direction of travel as we develop a 2-3 year work-plan. We continue to be Mgilant in effecting economies and maintaining a reasonable cash flow and reseprfes. Achvemgnts and porformane• We work entirely as a volunteer organisation and we are lortunate to h8ve a highly Committed Board. We rent an offi¢e In the Inter-church Centre of the Irish Council of Churches and we benefit greatly from being located wlth the Irish Council of Churches and other organis8tion$.
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIANITY (NORTHERN IRELANDI LIMITED TRUSTEES, REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Conver¥atlon Recognising that our ECONI roots. were essentially people with passion volunteering to work together to challenge the church, society and also l¢)¢al political leaders ,Ihis approach has inspired occasional "convèrsations" on current and relevant topics. The series we comm8nc8d last year is known as "In These Times. events. Two evenings were held in Ulster University Belfast Campus on York Street. In May 2023, Dr John Kyle spoke on ....The Scourge of Loneliness and suggested how ChTislians and Churches might begin to address this problem. His lalk was supplemented with a presentation from Ryan Karayjannis who gave a particular and disturbing perspective on loneliness amongst young people, and the effects of Covid. In November 2023, we tk a further look at the issue of povety around the theme ... Foodbanks.. stsnding in the way or in the gap? Lynda Gould led on the subject and then Chris Leech and Louise Ferguson gave their perspectives from their experience of foodbanks in thè Craigavon area and from the Wofk of the Larder in East 8eWasL Recordings of these events are available on our website. Publications of ...PS...blog5 was our regular activrty for engagement over the year. . Most months we were able to post iwo . .PS...Blogs. We are gratefvl to a wide range ofwriters who make this possible. Each blog was on a topical theme and there 1$ scope to shar8 reactions. Other Activities: We hosted virtual monthly meetings of the Churches Initiative Group {C.l.Gl. and welcomed some new members to that group. We has worked in pathership with other organisations and Evangelical Alliance (Nll in discussions leading lo the fomation of a Coalityon of Christian Voices against Povety. Communications: We rely heavily on evcommunutions as the only o)st effective way of informing and dissemination of infoThation and notice of evenls to our supporters and wider contacls. Email: info contem ora christianit .net Webstte.. www.conlem ora christiani .net We have both Facebook and Twitter social media connections. Flnanclal revl•w The Board Is so grateful to God for the continued support of a faithful small group of regul8r donors. We are encour8ging new supporters to help us with a small monthty donation. Re8erve8 poII¢y It is the policy of the charity that unrestrthd funds, whlch have not been designated for a specific use, should be maintained al a level equivalent to behyeen three and six month's expenditure. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure tha[ in Ihe event of 8 significant drop In fundln9, they will be able to continue the ch8rity'$ Current 8clivitles whlle consideration is glven to ways In which additional funds may be raised. Thls level of erVeS has been malntained throughout the year. Changes to thè Board Dlreetorn Mr PeteT Crory joined on M8y 2024, Mrs H KfW (nee Taylor) stepped down from the Board on 51h August 2024. and Mr J M¢Grath stepped d¢)wn from the Board 11th September 2024.
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIANITY (NORTHERN IRELANDI LIMITED TRUSTEES. REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Rl•k Maftagom•nt The trustees have assessed the major risks to whlch the thartty is exposed and are SatiSfd that a system is in Pla to mibgate exp)sure to the major risks. Roforenco and admlnl8tAllvè detal Company registration number Charity registration number.. NI 37038 NIC 100585 Registered OffirR- 48 Elmwood Avenue Belfast BT9 6A1 Strueture• governance and m•nagemenl The charity is a comp8ny limlted by guarantee. The trustees, who are also Ihe d1clor$ for the purpose of company law, and who 88rved during the ye8r and up to the date of Signatu of the financlal statements were- Mr S Adams Ms C B0118ert MrJ Currie Rev Dr M White-Dundas Rev Or N Hamilton OBE Dr J Kyle Miss H Taylor until 5th August 2024 Mr J McGTath unti111th September 2024 Dr L Whitten Mr P Crory from 2rwJ May 2024. The Trustees, report was appmved by the Board of Tfustees. From December 2024, the Reglstered Office and postal address changes to: Intsr chUh Centrfj. Sulte 1. Cathedral Contre, Donegall 8tr•eL BELFAST. BT12H8 Mr S Athms Trusteg Dated.. 5th November 2024 Rw Dr N Hamllton Trustse Dated'.51h November 2024