2023-12-31-annual-report - Whitehouse Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

WHITEHOUSE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

A Congrega*on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (NIC104435)

WHITEHOUSE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

A Congrega7on of The Presbyterian Church in Ireland

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT For the year ended 31 December 2023

The Trustees present their Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023 including a Balance Sheet as at that date.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Charity Name: Whitehouse Presbyterian Church

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland No.: NIC104435

Contact Address: 143-145 Shore Road Newtownabbey Co Antrim BT37 9SY

CHARITY TRUSTEES:

The Charity Trustees who served during the year or who were trustees at the date of this report were: -

Kirk Session members:

Moderator: Rev. Stephen J. Lowry Clerk of Session: Maurice Finlay

Mark Cairns Helen Lindsay Jackie Davison Wallace Lowry Jim Forbes Allan McBride Lisa Hall Bobby McClung (Retired) Arthur Halligan Isobel McDowell Julian Halligan William McDowell Shirley Haslett Betty Morris Frances Jackson Kim Stockman Ann Kirkwood Muriel Torrens CongregaConal CommiDee members: Tom Beck Veronica Holland Anne Boyd Louise Lowry Dermot Boyd Sarah McClean Jackie Crawley Carole McDowell

CongregaConal CommiDee members:

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT For the year ended 31 December 2023 (cont.)

David Creaney Charles McDowell Ingrid Crowe Anne Porter Rhonda Devonport Florence Richardson Jennifer Dodds Chloe Scott Barbara Ewart Mandy Spence Anne Finlay Lisa Taylor Deborah Halligan Mandy Thompson Donna Hamilton Alan Watson

All members of the Kirk Session are also members of the Congrega5onal Commi6ee

PRINCIPAL OFFICE BEARERS

Minister:

Rev. Stephen J. Lowry

Pastoral Worker:

Mrs Kim Stockman

Clerk of Session:

Mr Maurice Finlay

Congrega@onal Secretary: Congrega@onal Treasurer: Children & Family Worker:

Miss Helen Lindsay (MBE)

Mr Tom Beck

Miss Chloe ScoD

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER:

Ian Murray & Co 27 Joymount Carrickfergus Co Antrim BT38 7DN

BANKERS:

Danske Bank Ltd Abbeycentre Newtownabbey Co Antrim BT37 9UH

(cont’d)

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT For the year ended 31 December 2023

STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT

The Kirk Session

The charity trustees of the congrega7on are the members of Kirk Session. Under the congrega7on’s governing document, The Code, the book of the cons7tu7on and government of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Kirk Session seeks to watch over and promote the spiritual interest of the congrega7on and of persons not connected with any congrega7on who are within its bounds. It ensures pastoral care is in place in the congrega7on and seeks to further the contribu7on of the Church to Chris7an witness and service in the local community. The Kirk Session has delegated to its Congrega7onal CommiZee the temporal affairs of the congrega7on including administering all funds and property belonging to the congrega7on. Members of the Kirk Session are also ex-officio members of the Congrega7onal CommiZee.

The Kirk Session consists of the ordained minister and the ruling elders of the congrega7on. All members are en7tled to propose, speak and exercise equal votes at mee7ngs, except that the Moderator, the minister in ac7ve duty in the congrega7on, has no delibera7ve but only a cas7ng vote. Stated mee7ngs of the Kirk Session are held four 7mes a year.

To be chosen for the office of the eldership in the congregation a person must be a voting member and a regular attendant on its ordinances. The selection of those proposed to be called to the office can be either by the Congregation or by the Kirk Session.

Presbytery

Under the Presbyterian Church in Ireland form of governance the corporate oversight of a congrega7on is the responsibility of a Presbytery which superintends generally the spiritual and temporal affairs of the congrega7ons assigned to it by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Whitehouse Presbyterian Church has been assigned to the North Belfast Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The membership of the Presbytery consists mainly of the ac7ve ministers of congrega7ons assigned by the General assembly, ministers who have re7red from ac7ve duty and an elder appointed by the Kirk Session of the congrega7on.

The General Assembly

The General Assembly is the supreme court of the Church, represen7ng in one body the whole Church and ac7ng as its supreme legisla7ve, administra7on and judicial authority, in dealing with all maZers brought before it. The General Assembly is normally cons7tuted during the first week in June for worship and to conduct business. At the end of business, it is dissolved. The membership of the General Assembly consists mainly of the ac7ve ministers of each congrega7on, re7red ministers and a representa7ve elder appointed by the Kirk Session of each congrega7on.

DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE

The charitable purpose of the congrega7on is the advancement of religion. Whitehouse Presbyterian Church is a congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, as a Reformed Church within the wider body of Christ is grounded in

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT For year ended 31 December 2023 (cont’d)

the Scriptures, and exists to love and honour God through faith in His Son and by the power of his Spirit, and to enable her members to play their part in fulfilling God’s mission to our world.

The Mission of Whitehouse Presbyterian Church is: - To worship God together To follow Jesus Christ

To share the Good News of his love in the power of his Spirit

To this end, we commit ourselves: - To make our resources available To work to improve community rela7ons To care for the needs of the wider world

ACTIVITIES AND OBJECTIVES

The congrega7on meets for worship every Sunday and visitors are welcome to join. The Sacrament of the Lords Supper is observed on several occasions during the year and all those who have been bap7sed and who have made a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are admiZed to the Lord’s Supper. The congrega7on holds regular bible study mee7ngs. There is a wide range of organisa7ons and ac7vi7es that meet during the week; these include: Young Life, Boys Brigade, Girls Brigade, Presbyterian Women, and Fun @ Tots.

News about church ac7vi7es can be obtained in four main ways:

Informa7on sheets are distributed at Sunday services which detail Church ac7vi7es during the coming week.
A church website ( www.whitehousepc.org ) combines informa7on about the church to bring the Church’s message to a wider audience.
A church Facebook social media site.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Worship and Prayer

Sunday worship begins with the Sunday Prayer mee7ng which assembles in the Session Room and is followed at 11.00am by a joint service of worship involving the adult congrega7on and our Children’s Sunday Groups. At the mid-point of the service, the Children’s Sunday Groups move to adjoining halls to explore faith in a manner appropriate to their age groups. During the week the Bible study provides an opportunity for members to meet together for fellowship, to study the scriptures and for prayer .

As well as our regular services during the year we acknowledged God’s gii of life at 1 (1) Sacrament of Bap7sm, and gave thanks for faithful service and sought to comfort those who have been bereaved during the year.

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT For year ended 31 December 2023 (cont’d)

At 31 December 2023 there were 155 (157) communicant members and 242 (242) families connected with the congrega7on. The average weekly aZendance at morning worship was 145 (125).

Pastoral Care

Members of the congrega7on who are unable to aZend church due to sickness or age are visited on a regular basis by the Minister, Assistant Minister, Pastoral Worker, elders or by one of the congrega7on’s pastoral visitors.

Mission and Outreach

The congrega7on supports mission both locally and overseas. The church is involved with the other churches in the area suppor7ng the local foodbank in Greencastle Methodist, Newtownabbey Street Pastors mainly in the Glengormley area, and the church supported financially the outreach in several local secondary school’s scripture unions.

The congrega7on has a sincere commitment for overseas mission. Links are being developed with Fields of Life including contribu7ng to the charity both financially and in assignments. Specifically, we supported prayerfully and financially a school in Uganda.

Both the local and overseas mission work men7oned above are supported through the generous giving of the congrega7on through the Mission Fund envelopes and the contribu7on from other events.

The congrega7on supports the United Appeal for Mission which is a central fund of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. This fund enables congrega7ons to support the wider mission of the denomina7on and to do mission and outreach on a denomina7onal basis beyond what the congrega7on could do on its own. The United Appeal Fund provides financial support for mission personnel at home and overseas, assists congrega7ons with the deployment of locally based staff, enables church plan7ng, provides grant support for the upkeep of church premises, assists with the running costs of Union Theological College (the Church’s training college for ministry students) and financially supports congrega7on in the areas of worship, discipleship, global mission, outreach, leadership and pastoral care.

The congrega7on also contributed to the denomina7ons annual World Development Appeal, Chris7an Aid, Leprosy Fund, Tear Fund and the Moderator’s Appeal.

Presbytery

The congrega7on was represented at the regular mee7ngs of Presbytery by our minister and one of the elders. This provides an important link between the congrega7ons and the wider structures of the church.

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT For year ended 31 December 2023 (cont’d)

General Assembly

The minister and one of our elders were nominated to aZend the mee7ng of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland held in Assembly Buildings, Belfast, in June.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The 2023 Whitehouse Presbyterian Church Accounts have been produced on an Accruals Accounting basis.

Overview

The closing balance in the “Unrestricted” fund was £406,177 (up £43,273) from £362,904 in 2022). There was a net £3.8k decrease in the closing balances in the Church’s three main “Restricted” funds (Property / Equipment (£58,263 from £59,448 - decrease £1.2k); General Mission (£37,131 from £39,694 - decrease £2.6k) and Youth £7,887 from £7,933 – no material change).

General fund

The congregation’s main source of income is members’ contributions through the Weekly Freewill Offering regular giving. There were 188 families contributing during the year (186 in previous year) donating a total of £96,803 (£88,080 in previous year).

In the Accruals Accounts produced, the 2023 Freewill Offering Contributions were also supplemented by a £16.1k accrual in respect of tax recoverable from HMRC from contributions received in 2023 from those members of the Congregation that have signed up to the Gift Aid Scheme.

2023 Charity Commission Submission

The Church Charity Commission submission for 2023 was submitted to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland on 26 September 2023 prior to the submission date specified of 31 October 2023.

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT For the year ended 31 December 2023 (cont’d)

RESPONSIBILITIES IN RESPECT OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements of the congregation in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The Trustees are required to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the congregations and the financial activities for that year. In preparing the financial statements the Trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Funds will continue in operation.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the funds transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the congregation and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities (1 January 2015)”. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the congregation and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

GOING CONCERN

The activities of the congregation are dependent on ongoing contributions from its members. The Trustees are of the opinion that the congregation has sufficient resources at the date of approval of these financial statements to meet commitments which will arise in the year from the date of signing this report and subject to the continuing support from members to fund on an ongoing basis the congregation’s current activities and other financial commitments.

RESERVES POLICY

The Trustees have considered the level of unrestricted reserves that it is appropriate to hold taking account of current and ongoing commitments. It is the policy of the Trustees to hold at least three month’s normal expenditure. The balance of £58,263 in the Property/Equipment Restricted Fund is retained towards meeting the cost of any future expenditure incurred in the purchase, refurbishment, repairs and maintenance of buildings, fixtures, fittings and equipment.

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT For the year ended 31 December 2023 (cont’d)

RISK REVIEW

A review of major risks has been undertaken by the Trustees and systems and procedures implemented to manage identified risks. The principal risks are in relation to the likelihood of reputational damage and financial risks associated with the expectation of ongoing financial support from members. These risks are mitigated by the Trustees, and the Congregational Committee, regularly monitoring the various activities of the congregation at stated meetings and by encouraging members in their regular giving. Approved by the Kirk Session at a meeting held 12 February 2024 and signed on its behalf by

Name: Name: Maurice Finlay Helen Lindsay Clerk of Session Congregational Committee Secretary