Charity Commission Report for Financial Year 1 April 2022-30 March 2023
Name of Trust : Dunmurry Christian Trust NIC Number : 103151
Principal Address : 192 Kingsway, Dunmurry, BT 17 9AD Current Trustees :
Professor K D Brown (chair): Ms T Beal (secretary): Mr S Appukuttan: Mr S Chandrakumar: Mr Andrew Mearns: Mr R Mortimer: Mr L Nolan: Mrs H Rodgers: Ms M Stewart
Others who served as trustees in the reporting year : None
Appointment of new trustees :
A Deed of Appointment and Retirement of Trustees, dated 8 September 2011, vests the power of appointing new trustees in a named Appointer, currently listed as Professor Kenneth Brown. In the course of the year no new trustees were appointed and none resigned.
Summary description of the charity's purposes:
The primary purpose of the Trust is the advancement of the Christian religion in Dunmurry and elsewhere, together with the provision of instruction in basic domestic skills. The public benefits arising from this include help in the formation of a moral framework to enhance public and private behaviour: the provision for individuals of a sense of identity, belonging and community support, an understanding of community reconciliation, a greater sense of self reliance and self confidence and, in some cases, a reduced dependence on public support.
Charity's Constitution and Governing Document :
The purposes and rules governing the Trust's operation are set out in a Declaration of Trust Deed dated 11 January 1982 and a further Deed of Appointment and Retirement of Trustees, dated 8 September 2011. The administration of the Trust, its properties and funds is the responsibility of the named trustees.
Summary of main activities:
Cross community weekly services for worship, including dedicated meetings for children, young people, and adults;
Weekly instruction classes in the Christian religion;
Weekly free coffee bar open to the public; Monthly friendship club for members of the local Indian community;
Monthly worship services run by and for members of the Northern Ireland Asian community;
Main achievements:
The year saw the full restoration of public Sunday services, Sunday School, youth group and the Tuesday and Wednesday “Open Door” coffee sessions. Sunday services were made available on-line utilising the trust’s previous significant investment in transmission equipment and a number of curry nights were organised as an outreach to local ethnic minorities. The counselling service also resumed its use of the premises on a regular basis.
Activities such as prison visitation, keep fit classes, and ministry in local care homes which had been undertaken prior to the Covid pandemic remained in abeyance but the Trust agreed to fund the delivery of a class in GCSE mathematics. Intended primarily for adults lacking a formal qualification or those wishing to help their children, the one-year course is scheduled to start in September 2023, with the trust providing premises, tuition, text books, and where necessary the entry fee for the GCSE examination.
In line with previous years, regular financial donations were provided to support an orphanage in Myanmar; the construction of church and school buildings in Malawi together with contributions for teachers’ salaries; and to a missionary family working amongst ethnic Romany groups in Macedonia. A senior member of the church leadership team spent two weeks in Malawi and ten days Macedonia to oversee the use of these regular gifts.
A one-off gift was sent to a missionary couple in Switzerland, £500 distributed to Romany families in Macedonia, and a smaller sum given to a local family in need. Total giving to mission and social care was £30, 275, approximately 29 per cent of the Trust’s income for the year.
Finance:
Total income over the year rose marginally while total outgoings fell more significantly, leaving a surplus of £16,813, compared with the previous year’s £1842. At the end of the financial year the accounts showed a positive bank and cash balance of £138,354 compared with £114,753 for the previous period.
Having made appropriate provision for the anticipated increases in the cost of basic utilities the Trust also agreed to set aside a budget of £50,000 for a significant refurbishment programme for its premises involving the construction of a sound booth, relocation of main hall doors, the installation of new, larger windows, modernisation and rewiring of the lighting system, remedial work on outside drains, repair and repainting of exterior walls, roof maintenance, and a full repaint of the entry lobby and main hall. An experienced project manager was appointed as a temporary consultant to oversee this programme which commenced in January 2023 and was expected to finish sometime after the end of the current reporting period.
Statement :
This report is compiled with full regard to the Charity Commission's public benefit statutory guidance
Signature of authorised trustee:
K D Brown (Chairman) 30 October 2023