Christ Church Lisburn Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2023 The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities.. Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of IreEand {FRS 102) (effective l January 2019). OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Objectives and aims The charitable purpose of the Church of Ireland is the advancement of religion. The principal function of Christ Church Lisburn is to support the advancement of the Christian religion by promoting, through the work of Christ Church, the whole mission of the Church. pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. Being open to and engaging with society as a whole and offering support for those needing help, are fundamental to the practical delivery of the benefits of Christianity. As a result of actlvlty in the pursuit of the advancement of the Christian religion, Christ Church Lisbum has custody of property and of records, materials and artifacts of significance to the cultural and religious heritage, the maintenance of which is undertaken by the select vestry of Christ Church Lisburn. Community: Gathering as a community of faith continued post-covid allowing more people to b¢ present but also giving them confidence to meet in a building and together. W¢ had a morning s¢rvic¢ each Sunday with at least one evening service each month. We are part of the Diocese of Connor. Technology enabled us to k¢¢p connected with people in their homes, h05Pltal, care home5 or on a staycation. The parish acknowledges the input from the AV team, our organist, choir, praise group and men's choir in shaping the services as well as items for our worship services. Our parish organisations are led by a great team of leaders and volunteers and allow people to gather in our halls but make connections into wider community life. There is the parish choir, praise group, men's choir, Hospltality Group. Bowling Club, Girl Guides. Tuesday Coffee. Bible Siudy, Badminton Club, Prayer Fellowship, Tots Together, Craft Group, GFS, CLB, Acorn Club, Messy Church, KLIC, JAM, Walking GTOUP, and Pastoral Visltors. ID particular the Tuesday Coffee morning is a 'warn] room, with up to 70 people attending each week. There is a gr¢at team of volunteers to support this ministry. We are a community that encompasses people from birth to over 100 years ol(I with people living throughout the greater Lisburn area. The clergy team brought leadership to a faith community amidst a post ovid world. the huge impact of the war ill Ukraine and the rising costs of living locally as theTe was still no local government at Stomiont. They sought to support familie5 who lost a loved one as well pastor those in hospital and nursing carc with some visiting restrictions still evident. Much of the pastoral ¢ar¢ is through regular connections at worship and parish organisations by the clergy as well as people caring for one anothei. The partnership with the local Lisburn Foodbank continued as donations were gathered at different times throughout the year. The Foodbank play5 a vital role in supporting so many peopl¢ in our city. W¢ are grateful that some of our church family are volunt¢ers at the Foodbank. W¢ hosted the PSNI Carol S¢rvice in our church with choirs from Parkview and the Live Life Wellbeing Centr¢ and heard again of the great need in the community through the ministry of the Foodbank. Page I
Christ Church Lisburn Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2023 OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Community (Cont'd): The rector is part of the city centre minister's fellowship, and they organise the Good Friday Walk of Witness as well as services for the community. We worked with the local council on thes¢ services. The clergy team are part of the church leader's faith forum for the council area with a focus on supporting one another through wellbeing. Our gatherings allowed leaders to find time for refreshment. The rector used the 'Take 5, steps to wellbeing with a large coffee morning and plenty of strawbeIe$ for parishioners and volunteers. Our curate the Rev Derek HaIngton moved to Muckamore and Killead parish to be priest-in-charge in June. In September we welcomed our new curate, the Rev Gareth Campbell and his famlly. During Holy Week we had OUT worship services that reflected th¢ story of Christ's death and resurrection. We journey¢d to the church gate and served hot dogs and refreshments to all who passed by on a spring day. On Sunday 7th May we gathered as a church family to mark the Coronation of King Charles witb a worship service, r¢fr¢sbments in the hall, activities for all ages and the cutting of a special cake. The parish office is a place of connections for parishioners and the community. Lisburn Community Dementia Care group meet monthly with a varied programme, with each person supported by a family member in attendance. Marie Curie in Lisburn held a successful coffee morning in December in our hall. The Wendy Gibson Ballet Academy use our premiscs three times a week for girls throughout th¢ community. Page 2
Christ Church Lisburn Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2023 ACHIEVElENT AND PERFORMANCE Charitable activities Regular Sunday worship was back to being in the church building with each service online as well. The hybrid nature allowed us to get the KLIC and JAM groups up and going during morning worship for children and teenagers. The church festivals continued to be times to gather for extra services as well as thinking of oth¢rs. The seasons of LenL Easter. Harvest and Christmas gave us a clear focus amidst all the challenges in our community. Technology allowed the messages of Christ's death and resu¢Ctlon, creation. God's love and coming to us as Saviour, to be so powerful in a world of great uncertainty. As churches in the city, we had our Good Friday Walk of Witness in the open air. Our parish organisations continue to be led by parishionS 5UPPOrted by the clergy. We have a large group of volunteers that support the parish groups and activities of the charity. The groups play a significant part in gathering people together of all ages and for various purposes. The Select Vestry meet monthly in carrying out their responsibilities as trnstees in tems of the mission of the charity and supporting our worship and the ministy of the parish organisations. Our annual Edster General Vesty met in person in the hall as we reflected on the past year and looked forward in faith. A new Select Vestry were elected to serve for a year. The Trustees have put in place strong policies to mitigate any potential harni to anyone partaking in Church activities and have a child protection policy in place under the control of our Safeguarding Trust panel. Our Trustees ensure that the buildings are well maintained and meet the required safety standards. New PVC windows were installed in the hall and office block and already th¢ sense of our buildings being wamier has been felt. The clergy team continued school assemblies in Central and Old Warren PS. Transforming Lives for Good was started in conjunction with Lisburn Cathedral. We started with 2 coaches in Central PS. We welcomed the choir of Old Warren PS to sing at the Tu¢5day coffee morning with harvest songs in October and the choir for Central PS at the Tuesday coffee in December. Our curate, the Rev Gareth Campbell started taking lessons in Lisnagarvey High School. We recommenced a service in Old Manor home and worked with a few of our parishion¢rs in providing a worship service in local care hom¢5. The challenges for pastoral care continue in th¢ parish but the clergy team and pastoral visitors endeavoured to keep in contact with parishion¢TS and support them in a variety of ways. We pay tribute to all our parish staff and leaders for their commitment, faith and willingness to adapt to changing circumstances and their support in shaping worship and ministry. The Contact magazine was a means of communication and contact to the wider church family. The impact of the large nutnber of deaths in Tec¢nt years has been deeply felt in famili¢s, parish organisations and Sunday worship. The us¢ of standing orders has been fieT encourag¢d for parishioners and this has meant that giving has been more sustained over the summcr months in particular. Parishioners were geneTOUS to the work of the charity as well a5 Other mission agencies through the Harvest Appeal and th¢n at Christmas with support for the Salvation Aliny, Lisburn Foodbank and St Apollo school in Uganda. Amidst all the challenges, community and gathering togeth¢r has been so important, allowing people to b¢ together. We have sought to re-engage with families fIrstly thiough Messy Church and a Wet and Wild night in the church grounds. It was encouraging to see new people attending and valuing this worship in the hall. This complements OUT unifornied parish organisations working with children, Tots Together for pre-school children, which again draws in people from the community, to our JAM group for P7-YIO young people who went to the dioc¢san weekend at Castlewellan Castle and lived under canva5 at Summer Madness for the first time. Page 3
Christ Church Lisburn Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2023 ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE Global connections: We continued to pray and support our partnerships in Uganda and Burundi in particular. However, the highlight was the 4th parish team travelling to St Apollo school in Uganda in February. There were 13 parishioners who travelled for an amazing trip to be with the staff and pupils at the school. We all enjoyed the programme at the school from bible lessons, I AM Girl, a women's gathering, painting the school buildings, a sports day and being with the church community on the Sunday. Many memories were made but to b¢ with this community and see the leadership of the staff and the joy in the lives of the children is inspiring. The staff at Fields of Life were so supportive during our time there and we all expeiienced good health and were so blessed. 'God is Good, is a saying w¢ heard so many times and it rings true through this paitnership. Parishion¢TS continue to sponsor childr¢n at St Apollo in Uganda and through Fields of Life. Our Harvest Appeal supported the local foodbank, clergy training in Uganda as well as supporting charities and agencies locally and globally. Compliance with public benefit: The Parish has given careful consideration to the Charity Commission of Northern Ireland's guidance on public benefit, to ensure the parish's objectives and activities provide public benefit. FINANCIAL REVIEW Financial position Our unrestricted income for the year was £156,119 and our unrestricted expenses for the year were £206,194. This resulted in an overall loss of £50,075 once adjustments are made for revaluation gains and transfers between funds. This leaves us with unrestricted net current assets of £189,457 on 3 1st December 2023. These results are reasonable considering the work that has been done around the church, including n¢w window5 in the church hall, which have been needed for a long time now. Most major repaiTS have now been carried out and we hope to have a period of lower expenditure on our buildings and Tepairs for the next few years. Trustee's Policy on Holding Reserves. The Truste¢s' are aware of the importanc¢ of keeping sufficient reservcs of money in our general account to enable good control of cash flow and to meet the demands of the day-to-day running of the church. Going concern The trnstees have r¢vi¢w¢d the budgets for the year ahead and are satisfied that there ar¢ adequate funds in place to ensure that the parish can continue its activiti¢s and the financial statement for the 2023 yeai can be signed off as a going concern. STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Governing document Chapter I I l of the Constitution of the Church of Ireland governs Parishes and Parochial Organisations. The select Vestry m¢mb¢rs are the Charity Trustees. Page 4
Christ Church Lisburn Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2023 STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Recruitment and appointment of select vestry (trustees) All membeTS of the Church of Ireland who are over the age of 18 and are either resident within the parish or live elsewhere but have been accustomed members of the congregation for at least three months, may register as members of the general vesty of the parish, allowing them to attend and vote at meetings of the general vesty and to stsnd for election to the select vestry. Meetings of the general vesty are held at least once a year. The select vestry is elected as part of the General Vestry meeting. The Select Vestry will hold their positions for a period of on¢ year. Select Vestry members may be Te-elect¢d annually and there is no limit on the number of tern]s that may be served. Organisational structure The select Vestry is responsible foT the day-to-day management of the parish. The select vestry consists of the members of the clergy serving in the parish, any curate assistant, the churchwardens and generally not more than twelve other metnbers of the general vestry elected at the Easter Vesty meeting. The Select vestry is chaired by the incumb¢nt or other member of the clergy officiating in the parish. Select vesty members are responsible for making decisions on matters of general concern and importance to the parish including how parish funds are to be applied. Th¢ select vesty meets at times fixed by members or by the diocesan synod. Special meetings may be convcned at any time by the chairp¢rson or the churchward¢ns. In 2023 the select vestry met 12 times during the year REFERENCE AIND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Charity number 101245 Principal address Parish Office Church Lane Lisburn Co. Antrim BT28 IJL Page 5
Christ Church Lisburn Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2023 Trustees Archdeacon Paul Dundas Mrs Beth Harris Mr Stephen Long (Hon. Secretary) Mr Ivan Anderson Mr Johnston Boyle Mrs Valerie Christy Mr Thomas Ringland Mr Eric Thompson Mr Mervyn Dougherty R¢v Derek Harrington (Left June 2023) Mr Alex Henderson Mrs Vera Hewitt Mr David Bodell (Hon. Treasurer) Mr Jack Craig Mr Kevin Thompson Independent Examiner John Mccleary FCA Mccleary & Company Ltd Chartered Accountants Garvey Studios 14 Longstone Street Lisburn Co. Antrim BT28 ITP Bankers Danske Bank 62-66 Bow Street Lisburn Co. Antrim BT28 IYS Approved by order of the board of trnstees on 16 April 2024 and signed on its b¢half by.. Mr St¢ph¢n Long - Trustee Page 6