The Church of St. John the Bapt5st, Agherton Parish. Portstewart (PORTSTEWART/AghertonlSt. John the BaptisVConnor/Church of Ireland) Annual report and financial statements For the year ended 31 De￿mber 2023 Reglstered Charity Number: NIC 102532 The Church of St. John the Baptist. Agherton Parish, Portstewart Annual report and financia5 statements for the year ended 31 De￿rnber 2023 Contents Pages References and administrative details 34 Trustees, annual report Independent examinerfs report to the Trustees Statement of financial activities io 8alance sheet li Notes to the financial statements 12-21 21Page The Church of St John the Baptist. Agherton Parish, Portstewart References and administrative details Charity Name: The Church of St John the Baptist, Agherton Parish. Portstewart IPORTSTEWART/Agherton/St. John the Baptist/Connor/Church of Ireland) Charity Registration Number: NIC 102532 Contart Address: The Parish Office 19 Church Street Portstewart BT77 7AH Trustees (Selert Vestry) Frank Dobbs, Rev. Malcolm Ferry• Rosemary Peters Gallagher, Davld Gamble, Kim Gillan, Maureen Glover, Alicean Handforth, Alison Huffington. Garry Huffington, Lucy Huffington, John Lindsay, Heather Lockhart, David Moore, Danny Platt, Wilf Ridge, Rae Scott Principal Office bearers/Parish team Cler8y: Rector- Rev. Malcolm R. K. Ferry Ordained Local Minister: Brian Shaw Mlnlstry Team: Frank Dobbs (Outreach. Diocesan Reader). Brlan Shaw (Diocesan Reader), Wendy Floyd IPa5toral. Parish Reader), Jacqui aark (Sunday Surfer51. Wilf Ridge (Administration) Honorary Secretary: Honorary Treasurer: Church Warden- Rector: Church Warden - People: Glebe Warden- Rector: Glebe Warden- People: Sacristan: Parochial Nomlnators: Supplemental Parochial Nominators Diocesan Synodspersons Supplemental Diocesan Synodspersons Richard Mills. Liz Hanlon Honorary FWO Recorders: Rosemary Peters Gallagher/Wilf Ridge/Heather Lockhart Honorary Gift Aid/Buildin8 Fund Recorder: Wilf Ridge Maureen Grover Rosemary Peters Gallagher Alison Huffington David Gamble David Moore (until November 20231 Danny Platt Diana Hall Paul Girvan, Frank Dobbs. Wendy Floyd, Alison Huffington Rosemary Peters Gallagher, David Moore, John Lindsay, Alicean Handforth Frank Dobbs, Diana Hall, Lucy Huffington (under 35s) 31Page The Church of St John the Baptlst, Agherton Parish, Port5tewart Reference5 and administrative details {Continuedl Parish Panel Isafeguarding Trust): Organist.. Assistant Organist: Parish Nurses.. Parish Webmaster As51Stance with online services Sexton: Office Administrator: Rector. Vera Graham, Loraine Gamble. Jacqui Clark, Richard Mills Louis Fields Wilf Ridge Eileen Irwin. Noelle McNinch Garry Huffington David Huffington Derek Scott Leisa Duffy Independent Examiner W G Martin FCA Moore INII LLP Waterford House 32 Lodge Road Coleraine BTS2 INB Bankers Danske Bank 18 Ballymoney Road Ballymena BT43 5BY The Church of St. John the Baptist. Agherton Parish. Portstewart Trustees, Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2023 The trustees present the annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023. Objectives and Activities The charitable purpose of the Church of Ireland is the advancement of religion. The principal function of The Church of St John the Baptist, Agherton Parish is to support the advancement of the Christian religion by promoting, through the work of the parish 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 Chri5ti3nity. A5 a result of activity in the pursuit of the advan￿rnent of the Christian religion, The Church of St John the Baptist, Agherton Parish has custody of property and of records, materials and artefacts of significance to the cultural and religious heritage and maintenance of which is undertaken by the select vestry of The Church of St John the Baptist, Agherton Parish. Achievements, Performance & Public Benefit A5 well as providing services of public worship and prayer, the Parish provides pastoral care, mission and outreach work and supports various parish groups, including Sunday Surfers, Mothers Union, Parent and Toddler Group, Knlt & Natter, Men's Society. Gardening Club and Craft Club. These are all open to the general public and the various activities are the means by which Christian witness and outreach are delivered. Parish activities provide benefit to the beneficiaries benefits of public worship will include contributing to spiritual well-being of participants and the reinforcement of Christian values. The select vestry have mitigated any potential harm from the artivlties by implementing Safeguarding Trust and we have child protection and fire safety policies in place. Parlsh Statistics Number of re8lStered households in the Parish-467 Registered vestry persons - 133 We have outlined below some of the special initiatives and activities whlch we undertook during the past year:_ Unlock We launched our Unlock initiative at Easter 2022. Instigated by Rev Malcolm, this helped to restore a sense of fellowship as we emerged from various lockdowns. Parishioners are able to enjoy a cup of coffee and a chat before the 11am Sunday Service and this has proved to be very popular. Harvest Appeal We ralsed £10,250 in late 2022/early 2023. These funds are being used (over a period of 3 years) to train and support clergy and farmers to set up sustainable coffee growing in Sudan. The parish has had a long association with the Diocese of Yei in Sudan. 51Pa" The Church of St. John the Baptist. Agherton Parish. Portstewart Trustees, Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2023 (continued) Asylum Seeker5 Malcolm, our Rector, first reached out to the residents of the OYO Ramblers Hostel in 2022, to offer fellowship and support. Parishioners have contributed to a special restricted fund to assist with buying clothing and other nece5Slties for these refugees. Many ofthem now regularly attend and help out at church. Several were baptized at Easter and more will be baptized this year. Coronation Weekend We enjoyed a special coronatlon picnic to celebrate the coronation of King Charles111 in May. Some of our Persian friends made the magnificent Coronation Cake which we all enjoyed. Causeway Foodbank We have again made a financial contributlon of£500 to the Causeway F¢)od Bank, Publlc Benefit The Parish has given careful consideration to the Charlty Commlssion for Northern Ireland's guidance on public benefit to ensure that the actives entered into durin8 the year have helped to achieve the Parlsh'5 objectives and activities, as well 35 providing public benefit. Flnanclal Revlew The Statement of Financial Activities ISOFAI show total net expenditure. before losses on investments, of £13,26412022 net income £14,217). Gains on investments amounted to £2,83712022- Loss of £18,105). Given the increase in interest rates, the Select Vestry agreed to Use funds from our Buildin8 Fund to pay off the outstanding loan on the Curatage. We recognise our assets including the Rectory, the Curatage and the exten51on to the Church. As the church itself is a heritage asset, it Is not intluded on the balance sheet as information on the cost or valuation is not available and such information cannot be obtained at a cost commensurate with the benefit to the users of the accounts and to the parlsh. In addition, the Parish Centre was built in 1960 and there are no reliable records of the cost of this constructionl acquisition and va5uation approach for such a building lacks sufficient reliability. As a result, this building 15 not recognised in the parish balance sheet. Just over 60Yc of funds invested relate to endowments from parishioners and whereby the capital must be invested and the Parish may only spend the income. A significant proportion of parish funds are restricted for specific purposes or tied up in fixed assets. The Trustees continue to keep a tight control of costs. Going Concern The Trustees have reviewed the btsdgets for the year ahead and are Satisfied that there are adequate funds in place to ensure that the Parish can continue its activities and the financial statements for the year end 31 December 2023 can be signed off as a going concern. 61Paoe The Church of st. John the Baptist, Agherton Parish. Portstewart Trustee< Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2023 {continued) Structure, Governance and Management Governing Document und Constitution of the Churity Chapter 111 of the Constitution of the Church of Ireland governs Parishes and Parochial Organisation. The Select Vestry members are the CharityTrustee5. Recruitment andAppointment of Selert Vestry All subscribing 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 vestry of the parish, allowing them to attend and vote at meetings of the general vestry and to stand for election to the Select Vestry. Meeting5 of the general vestry are held at least once a year. The Select Vestry is elected as part of this General Vestry meeting. The Select Vestry will hold their positions for a period of one year. Selett Vestry rnembers may be re-elected annually and there is no limit on the number of terms which may be served. Pay and remuneration The Rector is paid directly by the Parish and receives a stipend in accordance with fi8ures approved by the General Synod of the Church of Ireland together with office and locomotory allowances. None of the Trustees (Selert Vestry) receive any remuneration or daim any expenses from the Parish. Organi5ational Structure The Select Vestry is responsible for the day to day management of the parish. The Selert Vestry consists of the Rector, the churchwardens, the glebe wardens and twelve other members of the general vestry elected at the General Vestry. The Select Vestry 15 chaired by the incumbent or other member of the clerbry officiating In the parish. Select Vestry members are responsible for making decisions on matters of general concern and importance to the parish including deciding how parish funds are to be applied. The Select Vestry meets at times fixed by the members usually 9/10 time5 per annum. Special meetings may be convened at any time by the chairperson or the churchwardens. In 2023 the Selert Vestry met 9 times during the year and the average attendance was 91%. Statement of Trustees, Responsibilities The trustees are responsible for preparingtheTrustees' Report and the financial statements In accordance with applicable law and regulation5. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to: select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; state whether the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable Accounting Standards and identify the standards in question, subject to any material departures being disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Parish will continue as a going concern. The Church of St. John the Bapt15t, Agherton Parish. Portstewart Trustees, Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2023 (continued The trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Parish's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Parish and enable them to ensure that the financial statement5 comply with the Charitie5 Acts {Northern Ireland} 2008 and 2013, the Charitv (Accounts and Reports) Regulations (Northern Irelandl 2008 and the provision of the Constitution of the Church of Ireland. They are also responsible for safeguarding the a55ets of the Parish and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. statement as to disclosure to our Independent examlner In so far as the trustees are aware at the timing of approving our trustees, annual report: there is no relevant information of which the charity's independent examiner is unaware,. and the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant Information and to establish that the charity's independent examiner is aware of that information. Independent Exam5ner The examiner, W G Martin FCA, has indicated his willingness to continue in offlce, and a resolution concerning hls reappointment will be proposed at the Annual Easter Vestry Meeting. On Behalf of the Trustees Mrs M Glover. Honorary Secretary 9.Rkn