The Parish of Kllwaughter & Cairncastle with All Saints Reglstered with the Nl Charity Commission- NIC 10358 ANNUAL REPORT st For year ending 31 December 2022 For any queries arising from this report or the Parish Accounts, please contact: Parish Treasurer c/0 9 Oakdene, Larne BT40 2FD Tel: 07450 284484 Email: kca arish mail.com
The Church of Ireland, Parish of Kilwaughter and Cairncastle with All Saints includes two churches: St Patrick's Church, Cairncastle and All Saints Church, Craigyhill Objectives and Activities The principal function of the Parish of Kilwaughter and Cairncastle with All Saints is to support the advancement of the Christian religion by promoting, through the work of St Patrick's and All Saints Churches 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 the property and records, materials, and artefacts of significance to the cultural and religious heritage, the maintenance of which is undertaken by the Select Vestry of the Parish. The Select Vestry is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our churches and to become part of our parish community, fully supporting the clergy in the delivery of worship throughout the parish. To facilitate this work, it is essential that we maintain the fabric of both churches in the parish, and the church hall. Achievements and Performance Worship and Prayer- Following the departure of Rev Philip Benson in Feb 2022, regular Sunday worship at both churches; and occasional offices (baptisms, funerals} were maintained during the vacancy by various ordained clergy (mostly retired) operating under a rota administered by the Diocesan Curate, Dean John Bond, and by Diocesan Lay Readers. The arrival of the new minister was initially postponed due to covid, but the rescheduled Service of th Introduction on 18 Oct 2022 was well attended and included visitors from various denominations and clergy from the local Rural Deanery as well as family & friends of the Rev Arlene Moore. th A united 60 Anniversary servlce for All Saints, Craigyhill followed st (appropriately enough on All Saints Day- l Nov) - only a few weeks after the arrival of Rev Arlene Moore. It was a special day of celebration for the parish and included an historical display of memorabilia, old magazine5, original
building plans, a video loop of the construction of the church and clips of some key services from the past 60 years. A fingerprint painting was completed as a record of all in attendance. Preacher at the service was Rev Harold Sharp who gave an overview of the parish's development and a biblical challenge and vision for the future. A soup lunch and celebration cake was enjoyed free of charge by all in attendance in All Saints Halls following the service. Sunday School and Messy Church - Reestablishment of ministry for chlldren and young people after covid involved considerable challenges. All parishes were allocated a Diocesan Grant of £200/benefice to encourage regathering. Messy Church remained inoperative during the 2022 reporting period but discussions took place with a view to recruiting team and initiating its reestablishment in early 2023. Property- various minor refurbishments and repairs (as detailed in the Quinquennial inspection report for the Rectory dated November 2020) were carried out by the Glebe Warden during the vacancy and in advance of the new minister taking up residence. Significant work had already been carried out on the rectory and grounds in 2021. Items needing attention in both the church and halls at All Saints Craigyhill and at St Patrick's Cairncastle are detailed in the Quinquennial inspection reports dated August 2020. Due to the covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent vacancy only a few ofthe recommendations have been attempted in this reporting period. Mission Helping those in need is a demonstration of our Christian faith and activities designed with this aim in mind serve as further opportunities for fellowship and connection with the local community. Local charities benefitting included the RBL Poppy appeal, Larne Food bank and the Black Santa Sitout at Belfast Cathedral. Donations from the I ntroduction service of Rev Arlene Moore totalled £91 and were forwarded to benefit the Church of I reland Clergy Training Fund. Community engagement & benefit- During 2022 the parish sought to connect with and reach out to the local community in the following ways: th On Wednesday evenings 6 Larne Company continued to use the parish halls at All Saints, attracting 18 Rainbows and 40 Brownie Girl Guides from all across
the Larne area, with 15 volunteer leaders over all sections. To accommodate growing numbers and due to space considerations the Girl Guide {35 girls) and Rangers (15 girls) sections moved to meet in the local Craigyhill Community Hall in September 2022. Teas/coffees and tray bakes are served free of charge in the Robinson Room following Sunday morning services in St Patrick's Cairncastle. The CAMEO group continue to meet in Ballygally Castle Hotel for monthly fellowship, rebuilding numbers again following the pandemic. A Parish Christmas Lunch at The Halfway House Hotel in Ballygally proved to be a very popular new initiative attracting 15 people from St Patrick's Cairncastle. It is proposed to develop this as an annual event across both churches. Ecumenical engagement is encouraged through an Easter Dawn Service at Ballygally Slipway and various local community Christmas Carol services. Rev Arlene Moore along with many parishioners also attended the switching on of Christmas Tree lights in Cairncastle and Ballygally and enjoyed fellowsh ip with members of the respective local communities. Good relations with local businesses are maintained with personal vislts and through advertisements of local events. Visitors staying at the local hotels over the holiday periods are likewise regularly signposted to our services. At the Candlelit Midnight Holy Communion In St Patrick's Cairncastle the minister of Cairncastle Presbyterian Church was the Guest preacher, and the service was attended not only by many Presbyterians but also those of other Christian denominations. This pulpit sharing was reciprocated when Rev Arlene Moore was invited to preach at Cairncastle Presbyterian Church on New Year's Eve. Due to the vacancy (Feb-oct) no fundraising events took place during 2022 Everyone is made welcome at all parish events /services and it is our experience that all our activities are always well supported by all sectors of the community. Flnancial Review Total receipts (General Account) for the 2022 financial year amounted to £69,655.94 of which £5,640.23 was investment dividend income from Church of Ireland Trustees and RCB Unit Trusts. Endowment income may be used up to supplement clergy costs. Gift Aid to the value of £12609 was also claimed for the benefit of the parish in 2022.
Events, wedding/baptism donations, and the sale of historical books contributed towards a closing balance in the St Patrick's restoration fund of £13966. The Select Vestry has approved the use of this account for the maintenance of St Patrick's Church as well as its adjoining graveyard and grounds. The account may also be used to help maintain the rectory (if required). Donations at All Saints plus income from church hall lettings raised £625 (a decrease of £362.50 from the previous year's hall lettings of £987.50 dueto the ending of the use of the hall by YMCA and Bowlers in 2022). The 2022 closing balance for the All Saints Hall Account totalled £12227. The All Saints account is designated for the maintenance of All Saints, Church, parish hall and grounds. This account may also be used to help maintain the rectory (if required) Freewill offering through envelopes {£29691.27), Standing Orders (£17542) loose plate collections (£732.06) and annual donations (£700) totalled £48665.33 in the vacancy year of 2022. This was a decrease of £5548 on the previous year's total of £54213. Following an extensive forensic audit by qualified personnel an unaccounted for Ioss of £583.60 is included in the accounts. This was reported to the Diocese of Connor, as well as to the PSNI (CC2023022401515) and CCNI (ENQ/23/1891) who deemed no further action necessary. In 2022, £48103 was spent on the provision of Christian ministry within the parish, which includes diocesan quota contributions, staffing and superannuation costs, as well as repair5, maintenance and all other general running expenses. The net result for the year was a total decrease in expenditure of £49959 f rom the previous year's total of £98062. However, it should be noted that the previous year (2021) included £13K additional parish repairs as well as £7K rectory renovations, and would have included a Government Covid grant spend of 15K, as well as significantly greater {£15K) full time clergy (staff) costs and HMRC/Nlns payments than in the 2022 vacancy year when there was only clergy cover expenses and no major maintenance projects. st The four bank balance totals carried forward on 31 December are as follows.. General account {£98866.73) Broadford account (£4629.81) St Patrick's (£13966.00) and All Saints (£12227.00) providing an overall combined total balance of £129689.54
Reserves Policy It is the Select Vestry's policy to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds (if possible) which equates to at least three months unrestricted payments, (equivalent to approximately £21,000 to cover emergencies that may arise. The balance held on unrestricted funds at the year end is in excess of this target. Volunteers We would like to thank all the volunteers who work so hard to maintain our parish and give of their time freely to develop various activities and events. Structuresi governance and management The method of appointing Select Vestry members is set out in the Church of Ireland Constitution. Annually, during the month of February, if they have not already done so, individuals {proven to have subscribed to parish funds in a traceable form in the previous financial year) are encouraged to register as resident or accustomed members of the General Vestry (Electoral Roll). The General Vestry Register is revised annually at a public meeting which is well advertised in advance. Individuals who have moved from the parish, passed away or ceased subscribing are removed and new applications are considered (as above). All those named on the General Vestry Register are eligible for appointment to the different offices of the church and to stand for election to the Select Vestry at the next Easter General Vestry {AGM), held within a given period around Easter. In a united benefice with two churches, such as ours, a Select Vestry normally has an allocation of one appointed Rector's Churchwarden for each church site. and one Glebewarden shared between the two churches. At present the officially nominated Glebewarden comes from St Patrick's Cairncastle butan additional local Glebewarden role for All Saints ensures availability and coverage at the Craigyhill site. An Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and Two People's Churchwardens are then elected at the Easter General Vestrv along with eight other members to make up the full complement of the Select Vestry. In the case of St Patrick's Cairncastle the role of People's Churchwarden is fulfilled not by a single elected individual, but by various Select Vestry and other General Vestry members operating a monthly rota system together in pairs.
Select Vestry members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish, including deciding on how the funds under the care of the Select Vestry are to be spent. The Select Vestry met about eight times during the 2022 financial year for their regular monthly meetings. Due to the vacancy {Feb-Oct) some of these meetings were very brief indeed and dealt only with emergency matters. In the latter quarter of the year, the Select Vestry met an additional four times for extraordinary meetings to deal with urgent financial affairs. Administrative responsibilities The Parish of Kilwaughter and Cairncastle with All Saints Craigyhill is part of the Diocese of Connor, within the Church of Ireland. The Rev Philip Benson (Chair) left the parish in Feb 2022 to take up a position in the Parish of Desertmartin and Termoneeny (Diocese of Derry & Raphoel During the Vacancy period the Select Vestry was chaired by the Rural Dean, Revd Canon Mark Taylor. Meetings tend to be less frequent during a vacancy, invariably much shorter and deal primarily with urgent business or the practicalities and process of securing a new minister. The new minister (Rev Arlene Moore) officially took up the post of Priest in Charge in mid September 2022, and chaired her first Select Vestry Meeting on the evening of Wed 21 th October, following her Service of Introduction on 18 Oct 2022. st Prior to the 2022 Easter General Vestry (AGM) Mr Victor Gordon, Mrs Barbara Stirling and Mr Williarn Alexander Bell stood down. No replacements were made either durinE the vacancy, or would be made until the next AGM in April 2023, which would be chaired by the new minister. The remaining Select Vestry (Trustees) of the Parish served from their appointment/election at the AGM in April 2022 through to the end of the financial year (Dec 22) and would continue on to the next AGM in April 2023. They are listed as follows:
Ms Lorraine Craig Mrs Jennifer Stafford Honorary Treasurer Honorarysecretary Churchwarden Mr Petersamuel Kaye Mrs Mabel Gilpin Mr Hugh Craig MrTrevorAlexander Hassin MBE Mr Herbert Francis Churchwarden Glebewarden Glebewarden MrAllan Jones Mr Brian Mcllhinney Mr Colin Stafford Mr lan Mccallum Mr lan McGarel Mrs Janice Jones Mrjohn Hamilton Mr William Patton This report was approved and signed on behalf of the Select Vestry at their th monthly meetingon Wednesday 13 March, 2024 CHAIR RevArlene Moore HON TREASURER Mrs Janice Jones