Newtownards/ Ball
alter
Hol Trini
Down &Dromore
Church of Ireland
Trustees, Annual re
ort and Statement of Recei
ts and Pa
ments
and Assets and Liabilitles
For the
ear ended 31st December 2023
Trustees Annual Re
ort
Chari
Number NIC 102663

Newtownards
Ball
alter
Hol Trini
Down&Dromore
Church of Ireland
Annual Re
ort for the
ear ended 31" December 2023
Contents
References and administrative details of the Charity
34
Trustees, report
5-8

Newtownards
Ball
alter
Hol Trini
Down & Dromore
Church of Ireland
References and administrative details
Charity Name
Newtownards/Ballywalter/Holy Trinity/Down &Dromore/Church of Ireland
Charity Rogistration Number..
NIC 102663
Contact Addres5.'
The Vicarage, 15 Westland Drive,
Ballywalter, Newtownard5
Co Down BT22 2TH
Trustees
Revd S Bell, Dr M Amistrong, Mr A Bell, Mr A. Brown, Mrs S. Clayton, Miss K. Corkum. Mr E. Dunbar.
Mr D. Eccles, Mrs C Fell, Mr M. Fell, Mrs C. Hall, Mrs S.Hall, Miss L Hamilton,Mr. L. Jardine, Dr K.Lacy,
Mr. M. Marshall, Mrs M.McClurg, Mr. T Proctor.
Princi
al Office-bearers
Clergy: Revd Sue Bell
Parish Lay readers: Mr David Eccles, Mrs C. Hall, Mr A.Bell, Mr T.Proctor, Dr C. Harpur, Dr.M.Armstrong
Church Secretary.. Mrs Carol Hall
Church Treasurer: Dr Marilyn Armstrong
Church Wardens- Clergy: Mr E. Dunbar (Holy Trinity Ballywalter)
Mr A. Brown (St Andrew's Balligan)
Church Warden5 - People.. Mr A. Bell (Holy Trinity Ballywalterl
People: Dr. M.Armstrong 1st Andrew'5 Balliganl

Newtownards
alter
Hol Trln"
Down & Dromore
Church of Ireland
References and administrative details
cont
Inde
endent Examiner
Mr Timothy C. Browne (Chartered Accountant)
36, Bresagh Road.
B03rdmills.
BT27 6TU
Banker
(l) Santander Business Banking
Bridle Road,
Bootle
Merseyside
LG30 4GB

Trustees, Annual Report for the year ended 315t December 2023
The trustees present the annual report for Newtownards
Ball
of Ireland for the year ended 31" December 2023.
alter
Hol Trinit
Down & Dromore
Church
Ob ertives and Artivities (the wording supplled for Charitable Objèctives and Actlvities were approved by General
Synod in 2015.1
The charitsble purpose of the Church of Ireland is the advancement of religion.
The principal function of the Parish of Ballywalter is to support the advancement of the Christian rellglon bv
promotin& through the work of Holy Trinity P3rish Church, Ballywalter and St Andrew'5 Church BalliEan. 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 activity in the pursuit of the advancement of the Christian religion, the Parish of Ballywalter 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 Parish of Ballywalter.
Achievements Performance & Public Benefit
l. Achievements and Performance
We have two churches withln the Parish of Ballywalter namely
li) Holy Trlnlty. Ballywalter bullt in 1849 and is set in beautiful natural 8rounds on the East Down coast in the
village of Ballywalter
11} St.Andre￿5 Balllgan built in 1704 and extensively restored in 2004 conserving its original design and
appearance. It is set in the countryside approx. 2.5 miles from Ballywalter
The Mlsslon Statement of Ballywalter Parish is Yo explore growing deeper together in our love. faith and our
worship to God while sharing his love with our community in Ballywalter,
We achieve this through regular public worship in both churches, and community outreach at local. national and
international level
In Holy Trinity. Ballywalter all of our church activities have resurned. In additlon to our morning servlce at
11.00am, we have two evenlng services per month at 6pm. These are called HTB6 and are services of
contemporary worship wlth an opportunlty to recelve prayer.
On Advent Sundayevenln& we had ourcarol service with the Ballywalter Flute Band welcomin8 con8regatlon
and vlsitors to both services.
At our Harvest Festlval servlce we madè a collectlon for the local food bank.
Choral evensong in St Andre￿$ Balllgan finished at the end of September due to the retirement of the Balligan
Consort. It has been replaced by monthly said Evening prayer which takes place on the second Sunday of the
month at 3.30pm
In our services on Remembrance Sunday and for the Coronatlon of King Charles 111 we specifically included
the Ballywalter Branch of the Royal British Legion. We have been building up a relationship with thi5
organisation and thev do look to us to provide services for them. Our Vicar will be providing a service at the War
Memorial next yearto commemoratethe 80thAnniversaryof D Day thus providing an example of howourchurch
is breaking into the community through this organisation. A group of British Legion members have now become
regulars at our 50up club.

Trustees, Annual Report for the year ended 31" December 2023 (continued )
Sunday Club Our Sunday club for children of primary school age children has taken place regularly all year with
increasing numbers of children returning. In August Sunday Club held a Teddy Bearfs picnic. Children had a
picnic. games, stories. and brought their teddies!
Youth for Chrlst Youth Club. Since October 2019 we have partnered with Youth for Christ in hosting a drop-in
club in the Parochial Hall, open to all 11 to 18 year olds from the village and district. We kept going thioughout
COVID with meetings outside in the grounds. Unfortunately our Youth for Christ leader left at the beginning of
October 2022 and YFC has not yet found a replacement. Meetings continued for a while but have now ceased
until a new leader is found.
Our Mothers Union Evening meetings continue on the second Monday of the month starting in
October and is going from strength to strength. We were delighted to welcome 5 new members at
this meeting making our total membership 22.
Fundralslng Activities include our Big Breakfast for Christian Ald in May raising much needed funds1£814} for
this very worthwhile charity. On four Saturday mornings in July and August we held our market stalls which
raised £4.731 for church funds. Both events were very social occasions much appreciated by the local
community. We also had very successful collections in church for Libya (£850) and the Earthquake
I£IOOO). We also held a Big Quiz for Tearfund {£1551 Through Youth wlth a Mlsslon IYWAMI we were
partlcularly pleased to be able to contribute £2000 to support the conversion and fitting out of a Naval vessel
into a medical ship renamed 'lsland Reach. which wlll provlde medlcal services around the island of
Madagascar
Community Outreach In 2022 we started a Soup club which ran from November from 12-2pm in the parochial
hall. This was open to everyone and provided homemade 50up, fresh rolls, coffee and traybakes free of charge.
It continued into 2023 and changed to a coffee morning with home baked scones and traybakes in April and
May 2023. We held the soup club again startlng in November 2023 through to end of March 2024. It was very
well attended and provided much needed social interaction for those living alone. We also held a Holy Splrit
themed day of talk5, prayer and contemplation led by Mrs Glynnis Matchett.
The Coronatlon Our church was also represented on the planning committee for the Ballywalter village
celebrations for the coronation of Kin8 Charles 111.
Publlc Benefit
The charitable purpose of Ballywalter Parish is the advancement of rellglon. Thi5 is achieved through Chrlstlan
witness and outreach, supported by our mission statement to exploregrowln8 deeper together in our love.faith
and our worship to God while sharing His love with our community. It is delivered through the provision of
public worship, and our outreach programme described above. These activitie5 benefit all age groups in our
community from children throuEh to our senior cltizens, by contributing to the spiritual well-bein8 of the
participant5 and the reinforcement of Chris(iarTr values. They also provide pastoral support and Social intercourse
for families, individuals and those who live alone.
There Is an ecumenical benefit in that many of our events are supported by all sectlons of the communily. In
addition. our HTB6 service provides benefit by providing support for those who are ill or who have farrFily or
friends who are ill, and incorporates an opportunity for individuals to benefit from laying-on of hands and
anointlng with oil. It a150 provide5 an opportunity for individual prayer ministry for illness and spiritual need.
Our international outreach benefits the hungry. the homeless, and those in educational need in other parts of
the world. Our soup club and contributions to the food bank benefit those who are hungry and in need in our
community.
Restrictions: The burial of ashes lin biogradable containers) in the Garden of Remembrance in Ballywalter is
restrirted to parishioners or former parishioners. The Graveyard at St Andrews Balligan 15 closed.

Trustees. Annual Report for the year ended 31st December 2023 (continued)
Health and Safety: We comply with the Church of Ireland Safeguarding Trust Child Protection Policy. In
accordance with the law, we also have a Fire Safety Policy and hold regular trainings for our trustees and
parishioners on Fire Awareness, First Aid, and Hygiene for Food handling.
Com
liance with Public Benefit
The Parish has given careful consideration to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland's guidance on publi
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.
Financial Review
Our finances in 2023 continue to be adequate with Free Will Offerings remaining steady with our increased
church membership, plate collections ar@ still lower because summer visitor numbers still have not really
returned to normal. We are continuing our fundraising for church rewiring at Holy Trinity. We were particularly
pleased to continue our Big Breakfast for Christian Aid and our summer market stalls.
As a result, all of our unrestrirted, designated and restritted funds remained solvent and no cash transfers were
required.
Our fixed assets. ie church buildings. halls and vicarage, are kept in good repair by a dedicated team of
parishioners Wlth the necessary expertise, thus expenditure in this area was for materials only, We also have a
team of volunteers who clean the churches and the minor hall.
The parochial hall is currently looked after by a dedlcated volunteer. Our organist at St Andrew's Balligan retired
in September due to ill health and we continue with said services
Holy Trinlty currently does not have an
organist and we have prerecorded musical accompaniment for the hymns and worship son8S.
Goin
Concern
The trustees have reviewed the budgets 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 flnancial statements for the year ended
ST
31 December 2023 can be signed off as a going Concern.
Strurture Governance and Mana
ement
Governin
Document and Constltution of the Charl
Chapter111 of the Constitution of the Church of Ireland govern5 Parishes and Parochial Organisation. The Select
Vestry members are the Charity Trustees
Recruitment and A
ointment of Select Vest
Trustees
All members of the Church of Ireland who are over the age of 18, either resident within the parish or living
elsewhere but have been accustomed members of the congregation for at least three months, and pay a
traceable free will offering to the parish. 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.
Meetings of the general vestry are held 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. Select Vestry members may be re-
elected annually and there is no limit on the number of terms which may be served.
Pa
and remuneration
The stipend of the Incumbent is paid directly by the Parish. The stipend is in accordance with figures approved
by the General Synod of the Church of Ireland for Group E parishes. In 2023 this was £35.124 per annum less
national insurance. income tax and employee's pension. The ofFice allowance was a reimbursement of monthly
expenditure and totalled £532.83.

Trustees. Annual Report for the year ended 31# December 2023 (contlnued)
The locomotory allowance paid was a reimbursement of monthly mileage as submitted by the Vicar and
calculated at 45p per mile. For 2023 total cost for the year was £765.69.
anisational Structure
The select vestry is responsible for the day to day management of the parish. The select vestry consists of the
member of the clergy serving in the parish. the churchwardens, and generally not more than twelve other
members of the general vestry elected at the General Vestry.
consequently does not have Elebe wardens or parothial nominators.
Ballywalter Parish is a patrona8e and
The select vestry is chaired by the incumbent or. in her abseno. by the Area Dean. 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 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 in the Minor
hall. They met nine times during the year and the average attendan￿ was 90%.
Statement of Trustees, Res
onsibillties
The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees. Report and the statement of receipts and payments and
statement of assets and liabilities in accordance with appllcable law and re8ulations. The law applicable to
charities in Northern Ireland with Income of less than £250,000 requires the trustees to prepare a statement of
receipts and payments and a statement of assets and liabilities for each financial year.
The trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Parish's
transactions and dlsclose 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 irregularities.
Statement a5 to disclosure to our inde
endent examiner
In so far as the trustees are aware at the timing of approvin8 our trustee5' annual report:
There is no relevant audit information of which the parish's independent examlner is unaware
The trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any
relevant audit information and to establish that the parish's independent examiner is aware of that
information
Inde
endent examiner
We are verygrateful to Mr Timothy C. Browne FCA for taking on the responsibility of External Examiner and for
examining the 2023 accounts for us.
Slgned on Behalf of the Trustees
Trustee I . Revd Sue Bell
Date
10- 2oZ*
Trustee 2: Dr Marilyn Arnistrong
Date