Church of Ireland Parish of Christ Church, Carrowdore Charity number: NIC 102375 Trustees, Annual Report for year ended 31 December 2023
Contents Structure, Governance & Managemenl ot Charity - Governing Document and Constitution of Charity Recruitment & Appointment of Select V• (Trustees) Organisational Structure Principal Office bearers Independent Auditor Bankers Trustees, Report & Financial Review 5-11 Objectives and Activities - Achievement, Performance & Public Benefit Public worship Community involvement & outreach Outreach & mission Public Benefit Compliance with Public Benefit Financial Review - Going Concern Pay and remuneration Statement of Trustees, Responsibilities 21 I'.ILIL
Charlty Name Christ Church, Cadwdore, Church of Ireland Charity Registration Number NIC 102375 Contact Address l The Redory 115 Kilbright Road Carrowdore Newtownards Co Down , BT22 2HQ Chapter111 of Ihe Constitution of the Church of Ireland govems Parishes and Parochial Organisation. The Select Vestry members are the Charity Trustees. All members 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 al meelings of the General V• and to stand for election to the Select Vestry. Meetings of the General Vestry are held at least once a year. The Select Vesty is elected as part of this General Vesty meeting. The Select Vesty will hold their positions for a period of one year. Selecl Vesty members rnay be re-elected annually and there is no limit on the number of teS which rnay be served. From Easter Vesty 2023 the serving Select Vesty members were: Revd. C. Davis. Mr D. Neville, Mr B. Armitage. Mr P. Adair, Miss L. Goudy, Mr J. Goudy, Mr G. Morris, Mrs H. Brown, Miss E. ]in. Mr P. Craig
The Select Vestry is responsible for the day to day management ot Ihe parish and consists of the serving member of the clergy {Rector), Ihe Churchwardens, the glebe wardens and usually not more than len other members of the General Vestry, elected at the annual meeting of the General Vestry - known as the Easter Vestry. The Select Vestry is chaired by the incumbent or other member of the clergy officiating in the parish. Select Vestry members are responsible for making decisions on matters of general concern and importance lo the parish including issues of fabric and finance. The select Vestry meets at times fixed by members or by the Diocesan Synod. special meetings may be convened at any time by the Chairperson or the Churchwardens. In 2023 the Select Vestry met 5 times with an average altendance of approx 700/0. Clergy Revd. Colin A.J. Davis Parlsh Reader8 Mr Sam Irwin (Emeritus) Mr Phil Cralg Miss Lynne Goudy Mr Paul Adair Church Secretsry Church Treasurer Church Wardens Mr Derek Neville (Rector's) Mr Brian Armitsge (People's) Slanley Woods & Company, Alexander House, 49-51 Church St, Newtownards, BT23 4AN (1) Danske Bank, High Street, Newtownards, Co Down, BT23 2HS
Trustees'Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2023 The trustees present the annual report for Newtownardslcarrowdore & Millislelchrist Church, CarrowdorelDown & Dromore/Church of Ireland for the year ended 31 December 2023 (the wording supplied for chan'table Objectives andActivities were approved by General synod in 2015) The charitable purpose of the Church of Ireland is the advancement of religion. The principal function of the Parish of Carrowdore is to support the advancement of the Christian religion by promoting Ihrough the work of Christ Church Parish Church, Carrowdore, the whole mission of the Church. pastoral. evangelislic, social, and ecumenical. Being open to and engaging with the whole society, offering support for those needing help are fundamental to the practical delivery of the benefits of Christianity. As a result of activity in the pursuit ol the advancemenl of the Christian religion, the Parish of Carrowdore has custody of property and of records, materials and artefacts of significance to Ihe cultural and religious heritage and maintenance of which is undertaken by the select vestry of the Parish of Carrowdore. Ji. There is the one church building within the parish of Carrowdore, namely Christ Church, which was built in 1842, consecrated in 1843 and set on a hill about 1 mile outside the village of Carrowdore just off Ihe Woburn Road between Carrowdore and Millisle. At the bottom of the hill, on Wobum Road is the Wobum Hall which is the Parish Hall shared between the parishes of Christ Church. Carrowdore and St. Patrick's, Millisle. The Woburn Hall was built in c 1855. The Rector is also shared with the parish of St. Patrick's, Millisle and there are a number of shared of services and activities. The objective for Carrowdore Parish is to be a worshipping community, being God's people where we live and seeking to help others to know the love of God: this is summed up in a motto.. Christ Centred - Spirit Led - Farnily Focused This is achieved through regular public worship. community outreach and involvement at local, national, and international level
Following the turmoil of the previous couple of years, by the start of 2022 the new normal seNice pattern had begun of Morning Worship each Sunday at 11.30am, wilh Hojy Communion in a carefully guided manner, using individual cups for the wine on the first Sunday each month. The music, whilst generally is ol a more organ led traditional style can also include some more contemporary hymns and songs using video or audio tracks, as well as occasional guitar led songs. Currently there is no evening service. The Church Wardens are ccynmitted to helping people feel welcome as they come into Church. The tea, coffee, squash, and biscuits which were suspended during the period of COVID19 has currently not been re-introduced, but it is hoped that it will be soon. In addition to normal Sunday worship there is a United Service of Lessons and Carols (usually the Sunday before Christmas), midnight Communion on Christmas Eve, Christmas Moming Worship, a service of Holy Communion on Ash Wednesday. services of Compline on Monday and Wednesday evenings of Holy Week, an hour of relleclion on Good Friday afternoon and a joint Dawn Service in Millisle on Easter Sunday. Harvest is celebrated on the first Sunday in October and Mothering Sunday (on the fourth Sunday of Lent). There is a seNice of Remembrance on Remembrance Sunday and a wreath is laid at Ihe memorial in church of those who served in the two World Wars. Church members occasionally participate in services with Bible Readings and the leading prayers of intercession. Services are also mostly led by the Reclor in conjunction with the active Parish Reader. The Sunday school, which had been suspended during the COVID19 pandemic re started in aulumn 2022 and continues with a varying number of primary school aged children for 3 Sundays out of 4 each month. For those who feel they would like it. a trained and commissioned Prayer Ministry Team is also available after services of worship to pray for anyone should Ihey wish to ask for specific prayer either lor themselves or another person or issue. 6 | I IIL'L
Due to volunteer shortages, our monthly Messy Church. suspended during COVID19, had not yet restarted, but will re launch in February 2024 Unfortunately, our Mother's Union branch, jointly run with St. Patrick's due lo circumstances and drop in numbers had to close in May 2017. The Rector of Carrowdore is invofved with the Primary School in terms of assemblies and other aclivities and alternate years (with Presbyterian Church) Christ church hosts the Primary School Carol service. The Rector is also a Governor and an informal Chaplain to Strangford integrated College, located in the village. The Church has played host to the College's multiple carol services in the pasl, but wth irKxeasw¥J nuMtr5 at Ihis has ncw Ixome a bit th drfftIL Pk)wever the Churth does h(t a swial evenirYJ C&ol ClxKfOrtrE CollwJe. Each Sunday there is a collection for the Food Bank in Newtownards and bags of food are taken every week to help in this vilal social ministry. The monlhly Drop In, suspended during COVID19, relaunched in early 2023 in collaboration with the Presbylerian church in Carrowdore and Peninsular Healthy Living under the new name of 'Coftee in Carrowdore,. Throughout the year there have been midweek meetings, held in the Wobum Hall, looking at Bible passages and specifically Christian themes. During the Christian season of Lent, these midweek meetings take on a Lenten theme - giving opportunity to reflect on what it means to believe in and follow Christ. 11 Each year the giving of the Parish is divided between local, national, and international organisations and charities to help support specific issues and alleviate suffering, both at home and abroad. Each Lent a weekly collection is made for Christian Aid and their work overseas. Also, back in 2016 a collection was made for Toilet Twinning and the toilets in the side room al Christ Church and in the Wobum Hall have all been twinned wilh those in other countries, enabling the communities where the toilets are twinned to have proper sanitary and water facilities. Several individuals in the parish support Crosslinks and a personal connection with the Eggshell Cambodia charity has now been established. Other local, national, and international charities are also supported. The parish also sponsors a young girl in Nepal through World Vision.
There has also been involvement with Youth for Christ and supporting their workers who are involved in outreach and mission specifically on the Ards Peninsula, where the Parish is located. In addition to the midweek meetings, each autumn we have previously held an Alpha Course, giving anyone an opportunity to come and find oul more about the Christian failh and the Christian life. This is reviewed annually and altemalive studies that are 'seeker friendly, and that deal with Christian basics are also under consideration On Ihe last Saturday of each monlh a Men's Breakfast is held, open to anyone and giving an opportunty for social gathering in relaxed atmsphere, a good Ulster Fry and often a guest speaker will come and share their story or lalk about a topic of interest, generally with a Christian theme, The charilable purpose of the Parish of Christ Church, Carrowdore is the advancement of religion and Ihis is achieved through Chrislian witness and outreach and an encouragement to be a caring and loving Christian community and fellowship, trying to be Irue to our object of being Christ Centred, Spirit Led, Family Focused. This is delivered through the provision of public worship and the various activities as descrlbed above and is of benefit to all in the community who wish to participate from the very young to the elderly. There is pastoral support and visits for those in need and would like them or cannot make it to public worship or other activities. Our support of the local Foodbank charity benefits numerous families in the local area as does our support of various charities for those IcKally, nationally, and inlernationally.
Christ Church, Carrowdore - Annual Report for year ended 31.12.23 Services at specific times of year. such as Christmas, Easter, Harvest and Remembrance also enable those who wish to celebrate and think about these evenls to do so in an appropriate and beneficial way. Being a locally based church sel in a rural and scenic location it is often used for marriages by those with a connection to the church and community. Christ Church has a large and open graveyard and so is often used for funeral services and burials, but also is available for burials lor those from another church or non-church background. The Graveyard also includes a Garden of Remembrance specifically set aside for the burial of ashes if required. Reslrictions in respect of burials are necessary and are twofold: {1) there is a two-tier system for subscribing church members and those who do not re costs of graves and burials which lollows a similar system in place in Local Authority cemeteries for residents and non-residents. (il) there are Guidelines for Headstones which need to be followed and new headstones approved in order to keep them appropriate to the churchyard and for ease of rnaintenance of the same. Health and safety checks are regularly made, the Wobum hall is inspected and has an authorised Entertainment Licence issued by the Local Authority. The Parish complies with the Church of Ireland Safeguarding Trust Child Protection Policy (also covering vulnerable adults) and also those involved in working with children either through Creche. Junior Church, Messy Church and also the Prayer Ministry Team have been through Enhanced checks with Access Nl. The Parish has given careful consKleration to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland's guidance on public benefit to ensure that the activities entered into during the year have helped to achieve the Parish's objectives and activities, as well as providing public benefit.
Christ Church. Carrowdore - Annual Report for year ended 31.12.23 Full detail of the receipts and expenditure can be found in the charity accounts submitted. The Freewill offering was in line with the previous year. The overall income was up on the previous year, buoyed by an increase in investment income, St Patricks contribution, Funeral and Burial fees and one-off donations. Overall the income was up £15949 on 2022, this gives a degree of normality back to our Parish. Expenditure was up in 2023 but in line with expectations, with increases in Rectors Salary costs, Energy costs and Charltable giving. Repairs and maintenance were in line with previous year again with increased costs due to work not being done during the pandemic. Overall, the church has a decreased bank balance as at the end of the financial year, due to expenditure exceedlng income. The TNstees have reviewed the budgets for Ihe year ahead and are satisfied that there are adequate funds in place to ensure that the Parish can continue its aclivities and the linancial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023 can be signed off as a going concern, The stipend of the Incumbent is paid directly by the Parish with remuneration for their portion of Incumbenl costs coming from St. Patrick's, Millisle who share the Incumbent. The stipend is in accordance with figures approved by the General Synod of the Church of Ireland for Group D parishes. In 2023 was £36,309 per annum. The off ice allowance of £800 per annum and Ihe locomotory allowance of £6,591 per annum for the Incumbent also followed approved guidelines. The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustee's Report and the statement of receipts and payments and statement of assets and liabililies in accordance with applicable law and regulations. The law applicable to charities in Northern Ireland with income of less Ihan £250,000 requires the trustees to prepare a statement of reiptS and payments and a statement of assets and liabilities for each financial year. 10 | l £lLC
Christ Church, Carrowdore - Annual Report for year ended 31.12.23 The Trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records that are suff icient to show and explain the Parish's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the assets and liabilities of the Parish. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Parish and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularitie8. Signed on behalf ol the Trustees Trustee: Rev Colin A.J. Davis Trus e Goudy 11th March 2024