## **Killaney Parish Church** St Andrew’s ## **Trustees’ Annual report and Statement of Receipts and Payments and Assets and Liabilities** **For the year ended 31 December 2023** Charities Number: 103322 ## Contents ||Pages|| |---|---|---| |References and administrative details of the Charity||2| |Trustees’ report||3| |Independent Examiners Report to the Trustees||8| |Receipts and payments account||9| |Statement of assets and liabilities||10| |Notes to the financial statements||11| ## **Killaney Parish Church** References and administrative details Charity Name: Killaney Parish Church Charity Registration Number: 103322 Contact Address: 21 Church Road, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT27 6UP ## Trustees Regis Calard Adrian Cousins Ann McKeown Fiona Chew Gary Crothers Stephen Lowry James Chew Pamela Foreman Marie Mack Bill Connor David Gill Norman May Florence Coulter Johnny Gray Colin McClintock ## Principal Office-bearers Clergy: Rev Stephen Lowry Church Warden – Rector: Adrian Cousins Church Warden – People: Ann McKeown to 11/2023 David Gill from 12/2023 Glebewarden – Rector: Gary Crothers Glebewarden – People: Norman May Honorary Secretary: Colin McClintock Honorary Treasurer: Ruth Watson Independent Examiner: Francis Buchanan Bankers Danske Bank 62-66 Bow Street Lisburn BT28 1YS ## **TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2023** The trustees present the annual report and statements of Receipts and Payments and Assets and Liabilities for Killaney Parish Church for the year ended 2023. ## **Ministry** Throughout the year the parish seeks to provide a pastoral presence through the ministry of the rector, readers and volunteers. We pay tribute to Mrs Marlene Moore and Mr Keith Shaw, our Diocesan Readers and Mrs Jenny Montgomery and Mr Raymond Scott our Parish Readers. We thank all who read lessons, manage screens, welcome worshippers, teach Sunday Club, serve refreshments and tidy the buildings before and after worship. The Parish Magazine - CROSSROADS - is made freely available to all. It is published and printed from the church office and we are indebted to Mrs Jenny Eralp for its production. A version is added to the church website in easily readable pdf format. We thank all who contribute, edit, distribute and read the magazine. The parish continued to donate food and essentials to support people in need: We supported Ballynahinch Foodbank. We filled 30 shoe boxes with Christmas gifts for children overseas, as organised by Samaritan’s Purse. ## **Objectives and Activities** The charitable purpose of the Church of Ireland is the advancement of religion. The principal function of our parishes is to support the advancement of the Christian religion by promoting, through the work of the parishes, 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 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. ## **Achievements, Performance & Public Benefit** St Andrew’s Church is a nineteenth century listed (B2) building with simple plain and coloured glass windows surrounding a traditional worship place. With seating for up 120 people it provides the location for a weekly service for the community, as well as the location of weddings and funerals for people with and without pre-existing connections to the parish. The main service in Killaney each week reflects a monthly cycle, which includes a Parish Communion service, services of Sunday Morning Prayer and all age worship. Our services have been accompanied throughout the year by both Mr Brian and Mrs Helen Mulholland as they combine talents to worship God with us each Sunday. It has been great to have them on the team and to see a new organ installed in St Andrew's. During the year an outdoor service for Children’s Day took place. Later in the year a Community Christmas Tree was decorated and lit following a community gathering with carols and musicians. Christmas Cards produced by a worshipper were distributed to local homes in Boardmills welcoming them to a Combined Carol Service at St Andrew's. This drew a large congregation from both parishes and the surrounding district. A new small group from both parishes - the Men's Choir - sang at the service. The parish seeks to support the international Christian community in its mission wherever it serves. To this end we support local charities and have donated funds to Olo Diocese, in South Sudan, to help them provide a mill to help local people grind meal safely adjacent to their homes, so avoiding a potentially perilous journey for the women of the community to prepare food for their families. A diocesan programme enabled international members of a SOMA team, Sharing of Ministries Abroad, to spend a few days in our parish in June, and we are indebted to them for their ministry so freely given to us. God uses ordinary people in wonderful ways, as they open their lives to his unique call upon them. A visit from the leaders of the church in Olo, Bishop and Mrs Obed Andrew Tandema, was a highlight for us in 2023. It has been our intention to awaken in one another our sense of the importance of a spiritual life for people, providing teaching, preaching, encouragements to study the bible and enabling fresh experiences of worship to enliven the heart. ## **Church Halls** We use the Church Hall to encourage, efforts to build and support the local community, for spiritual education and growth. Killaney's Hall Team seeks to encourage more widespread use of the facility and has been pleased to see a small number of groups in the community using it from time to time. To defray running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning and maintenance, fees were charged for the use of halls by external groups. Other hall users contributed to the expenses as noted. For the protection of children, the Church of Ireland Safeguarding Trust regulations are applied for every instance where children or vulnerable adults are part of the church’s life. ## **Care of Property** The Bell Tower at Killaney has required some interior maintenance and the final repairs to windows have been completed. The weekly volunteer cleaning has enabled the building to be ever ready for use to assist in e.g. time of joy or sorrow. The graveyard path project reached a critical point at the end of the year and we anticipate extensive work taking place in the first part of 2024. This is for the safety, convenience and appearance of the graveyard for all users. The lighting in the church was making great demands on our electricity supply and all the lights in use have been replaced with more modern fittings and lower wattage bulbs. We are indebted to our wardens, glebe wardens and Hon secretary for managing these important projects. The programmed refurbishment of exterior windows needing such action was completed. ## **Public Benefit** The Parish has given careful consideration to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s guidance on public benefit to ensure that the actives entered into during the year have helped to achieve the Parish’s objectives and activities, as well as providing public benefit. ## **Trustee Matters** Apart from the rector, who is a trustee, no trustees benefitted financially from the work of the parish. A family member of one trustee was paid for gardening work in Killaney. During the year the person playing the role of people's church warden changed as noted above. ## **General reserves** While the parishes have no specified accounts to hold reserves, it has been our intention to keep a 'decent' sum in abeyance for any sudden emergencies. ## **Going Concern** The trustees of the parish have reviewed the anticipated expenditure for the year ahead and are satisfied that there are adequate funds in place to ensure that they can continue their activities, and that the financial statements for the year ended 2023 can be signed off as a going concern. The trustees pay tribute to our Honorary Treasurer for diligent work throughout yet another year, and for preparation of the attached accounts.