Dunseverick Parish Church Trustees Annual Report.
1[st] January 2023 – 31[st] December 2023.
Dunseverick Parish Church. (NIC101976). Contact. 223 Whitepark Road, David Kerr. ( Select Vestry Member). Dunseverick, 153 Causeway Road, Bushmills. Dunseverick, Co. Antrim. Bushmills. BT57 8SY. Co. Antrim. BT57 8SX.
Trustees.
Rev. Patrick Barton, Barbara Brogan, Anna Kerr, Valerie Wilkinson, Jennifer McCurdy, David Kerr, Ivor Ramage, Hugh McCurdy, Maurice McCurdy, Ivan Smyth, James Wilkinson, Frank McCaughan, Uel Ramage, Ivan Kerr. James Ramage.
Finances.
Dunseverick Parish Church
Had a total income of £ 43,363.00 and expenditure of £ 49,943.00 . The closing balance in each of the church accounts at 31[st] December 2023 was, --
( No 1 Charity Account ). £10,817.27.
( No 2 Building Fund ) £ 91,767.10.
The No1 Charity Account is used to cover costs relating to the daily running of the church.
The No 2 Building Fund Account is for all fund raising monies which can be used in a number of ways. The Church held a fund raising Coffee morning event during the year, received donations in lieu of flowers following the death of a long standing parishioner and received interest from funds invested with Danske Bank. Total funds raised from these events during the year was £ 2,794.78.
Management.
The Finances are managed by a Parish Treasurer with reports submitted monthly to the Trustees at Select Vestry Meetings and on other occasions when necessary. Vestry members are elected on an annual basis at the Annual Easter Vestry meeting.
Purpose.
The principle function of the organisation is to support the advancement of the Christian religion by promoting, through the work of the parish, the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelical, social and ecumenical.
Being open to and engaging with society as a whole and offering support to those needing help is fundamental to the practical delivery of the tenets of Christianity. As a result of activity in pursuit of the advancement of the Christian religion, the Parish has custody of a large body of records, materials and artefacts of significance to the cultural heritage, the maintenance of which is undertaken by the parish as a secondary charitable purpose.A number of methods are used to display this heritage, both within the church and externally. For example, a timeline display is located in the porch covering the almost 200 years of the church’s existence, display screens are available on selected occasions featuring the characters and events which have helped to shape the parish over the years., and a graveyard map has been positioned next to the entrance footpath, displaying all the family names buried there over its recorded period. This is extremely beneficial to those people carrying out genealogical research.
Public Benefit.
The Charity Trustees have complied with their duties in line with the Commission’s Public Benefit statutory guidance. Regular worship and reaching out into the community via community carol singing, youth clubs, as well as activities such as charitable, social and fundraising have been carried out successfully throughout the year to fulfil our statement of Public Benefit. Significant funds have been donated to other organisations such as the Northern Ireland Air Ambulance, Christian Aid, the Turkish Earthquake Appeal and the Friends of Dunseverick School.
The Church has been used by other community organisations.
David Kerr, Select Vestry Member.
Jim Wilkinson.
Parish Treasurer.