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2022-12-31-annual-report

McQUISTON MEMORIAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

a congrega:on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Trustees Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC104506)

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

1

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

The Trustees present their Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022 including a Statement of Assets and Liabili7es as at that date.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

McQuiston Memorial congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland 83 Castlereagh Road, Belfast, BT5 5FE.

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC104506).

CHARITY TRUSTEES

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

Rev R J Beggs (Re7red 31 July 2022) W J Best W A Bousfield S D Briggs DD Craig (Re7red 22 March 2022) K R Galbraith M J Gardner A I Graham (Re7red 25 January 2022) R J Graham H J Hawthorne J N Hunter (Deceased 25 Nov 2022) J Hunter (Re7red 25 January 2022) A L Johnston E J Kelso N Maynes S McAllister P McKeown S O Quinn K R Sergeant M H Sergeant J C Shivers I Smyth K R Wray L M Wray P A Wray R S Wray

PRINCIPAL OFFICE BEARERS

Minister Rev R J Beggs (Re7red 31 July 2022) Clerk of Session Mr J C Shivers (Jan-Oct) Clerk of Session Mr K R Galbraith (Oct-Dec) Treasurer Mr T R Graham Secretary Miss M J Gardner

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

2

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Mr David Hooks 250 Donaghadee Road Bangor Co Down BT19 6NH

BANKERS

Ulster Bank Ltd 37 High Street Carrickfergus Co Antrim BT38 7AN

SOLICITORS

Hewi` & Gilpin 73 Holywood Road Belfast BT4 3BA

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT

The Kirk Session

The charity trustees of the congrega7on are the members of its 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 Commiee the temporal affairs of the congrega7on including administering all funds and property belonging to the congrega7on. Members of the Kirk Session are ex-officio members of the Congrega7onal Commiee.

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 every fourth Tuesday of the calendar month except June, July, August and December. Other mee7ngs of the Kirk Session are arranged as required.

To be chosen for the office of the eldership in the congrega7on a person must be a vo7ng member and a regular a`endant on its ordinances. The selec7on of those proposed to be called to the office can be either by the congrega7on or by the Kirk Session. Members are elected if they obtain two-thirds of the votes off those who vote.

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. McQuiston Memorial congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church has been assigned to the East Belfast Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The membership of the Presbytery consists mainly of the ac7ve ministers of congrega7ons assigned to it by the General Assembly, minsters who have re7red from ac7ve duty and an elder appointed by the Kirk Session of the congrega7on.

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

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 ma`ers brought before it. The General Assembly is normally cons7tuted during June for worship and to conduct its business. This year the mee7ng was held from 22 June to 25 June 2022. At the end of business it is dissolved. The membership of the General Assembly consists mainly of the ac7ve ministers of each congrega7on, re7red minsters 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.

McQuiston Memorial congrega7on of the 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 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 congrega7on's mission purpose is “Jesus centred – People focused”. This is demonstrated as follows that by the grace of God, to help people of all ages become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Our vision is, by the grace of God, to be an inclusive, welcoming community of Christ’s people of all ages, which:

The congrega7on aims to live out its Mission and Vision as a family of God’s people by being:

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

ACTIVITIES AND OBJECTIVES

The congrega7on meets for worship every Sunday and welcomes visitors to worship with us. The Sacrament of the Lord’s 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 admi`ed to the Lord’s Supper. The congrega7on holds Bible study mee7ngs (Discipleship Groups) and prayer mee7ngs each fortnight on a Wednesday evening. We also have a wide range of organisa7ons and ac7vi7es including:

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

1. ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Worship and Prayer

Progressing on from the devasta7on of Covid 19 the congrega7on con7nues to adapt and rebuild. We now meet for worship each Sunday at 11.00am and on the First and third Sundays each month at 7.00pm. The Bible Study (Discipleship Groups) provides an opportunity for members to meet together for fellowship, to study the scriptures and for a 7me of prayer. The Prayer Time and Discipleship groups meet on the second and fourth Wednesday evenings each month.

An essen7al and vital part of our Chris7an witness is prayer. Accordingly we meet for 7mes of specific prayer.

As well as our regular services during the year we acknowledge God’s gio of new life at Sacraments of Bap7sm but we had no bap7sms this year. We had one celebra7on of Holy Matrimony. In addi7on we had 14 members who died during the year and sought to comfort those who had been bereaved during the year.

A Remembrance Day service was held in November. In December we held our annual carol service which was well a`ended and was also streamed live.

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

7

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

On 31 December 2022 there were 107 communicant members and over 206 families connected with the congrega7on. The average weekly a`endance at morning worship was just over 70 persons. An average of 97 persons per week visited the on-line service.

A What’s App prayer group (opera7ng by mobile tex7ng) con7nues faithful ongoing prayer cover for Church members and other non-members, as well as prayer for situa7ons at home and overseas. A joy con7nues to be the many answers to prayer.

We con7nue to support our food bank with groceries/essen7al food items which are given to the needy in the area. Our Outreach worker con7nues to ensure that the food is distributed to European migrants and members of the local community in need. During the Easter and Christmas periods he and a number of Elders brought gios to many within that migrant popula7on.

Mission and outreach

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, assist with the running costs of Union Theological College, the Church’s training college for ministry students, and financially supports congrega7ons in the areas of worship, discipleship, global mission, outreach, leadership and pastoral care. It is pleasing to note that the congrega7on reached its “ Target of Honour ” set by the Presbytery.

The congrega7on also contributes to the denomina7on’s annual World Development Appeal, The Presbyterian Children’s Society, the Samaritans Purse Shoebox Appeal at Christmas and other special appeals.

During the Easter period our senior members received an Easter gree7ngs card and a small gio. Our work with Elmgrove and Euston Street Primary schools con7nued as they held a lovely colouring compe77on and prizes were awarded to the winners.

Just prior to Christmas 70 bags of shortbread were distributed to local neighbours either side of the church building and shops/businesses on the Castlereagh Road.

Our outreach work con7nued to develop in two local primary schools. Two elders con7nue to undertake the “Be`er Reading Partnership” programme on three mornings with three children developing their reading ability. Working with P7 classes con7nued with cookie decora7ng, plan7ng summer bedding plants and arts and craos work. The annual Easter arts comple7on con7nues to be a popular event.

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

8

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

In October Belfast held its annual marathon and we deferred our morning worship whilst cups of water were offered to the runners and tea/coffee and bacon baps to the spectators.

Presbytery

The congrega7on was represented at the regular mee7ngs of East Belfast Presbytery by our minister and / or one of the elders. This provides an important link between the congrega7ons and the wider structures of the church. A report of each Presbytery mee7ng is given to the Kirk Session.

General Assembly

The minister and one of our elders were nominated to aend the mee7ng of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland held in Assembly Buildings, Belfast. Our Minister and Clerk of Kirk Session aended and were greatly impressed by the way affairs were conducted. A report is given to Kirk Session on the work presented.

Mr JC Shivers reported on his a`endance at General Assembly in June 2022. This year there was a new format with General Assembly commencing on a Wednesday and finishing on a Saturday. He highlighted the following :-

PCI Have 31 students in training

Guysmere is to be upgraded and used for the benefit of younger members of our church.

A document on allowing people with a learning disability to become full members of churches. A paper will go to Presbyteries and final decisions for next year’s General Assembly.

Upda7ng of the PCI Code.

Property

The general maintenance work carried out in and around the church and manse goes on in an effort to keep the property up to a high standard a high standard. Whilst it was agreed to replace the front doors with uPVC doors. This work has not yet proceeded and it has s7ll to go to Presbytery and the General Assembly Architecture Commi`ee before work can commence.

With the re7rement of our minister, the manse is now vacant and there is work be carried out update it I.e. new kitchen and crea7on of a u7lity area.

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

9

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

Organisa:ons

In the aoermath of Covid 19 some of the organisa7ons that we would have tradi7onally had opera7ng have yet to start. These are The Ladies Fellowship (Presbyterian Women), the Luncheon Club, The Mens Fellowship (SHED) and the film club Take Two.

Sunday

Our Services of worship and praise con7nued throughout the year as already detailed . In July our minister, Rev. Robert Beggs, re7red aoer serving twenty one years with us and our congrega7on became a “vacant” pulpit. We came under the oversight of a Commission of East Belfast Presbytery who appointed the Rev. Richard McIllHa`on as Vacancy Commission Convenor who managed the provision of preachers. The services were coordinated by our musical director Mark McKeown who organised the order of the services and managed a rota of service leaders who led the services up to the sermon.

Our praise group con7nued to meet and prac7se new pieces of praise with a view to introducing them to the congrega7on.

A crèche is available every Sunday morning for all pre-school children a`ending church. At present we have 2 babies and 4 toddlers who are looked aoer by women from our congrega7on. A rota system is in opera7on throughout the year to make sure every Sunday is covered.

Our Sunday school, known as MnM Kids con7nued and 2022 has been an interes7ng year for the young people in McQuiston with Messy Church being con7nued to supplement our children’s ministry. At all 7mes we aim to provide a safe environment for the young people. God is at the centre of all we do and the ac7vi7es we provide.

As the year con7nued it was proposed to return to a similar 7metable for the young people as was observed before covid-19. Children would join the church service and leave during the service for their programme.

We have a consistent number of children weekly with 11 children aending. This number may vary slightly but we are prepared for an increase or decrease in our aendance. The weekly leaders Heather Sergeant and Kerry Suon are also helped by a young teen in the church who faithfully aends every week and helps in many different ways. The programme theme each week is the same for all children but we have ac7vi7es which are specific for both KS1 and KS2 to enhance and support the lessons. We have been working through the themes, “Jesus is our hero” and more recently “The life of Jesus” in accordance to the Gospel of Ma`hew.

Monday

There are currently no organisa7ons mee7ng on a Monday

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

10

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

Tuesday

Craic ‘n’ Coffee, our coffee drop in, con7nues to provide a warm and comfortable loca7on for anyone to rest and have fellowship with friend and strangers alike. It available each Tuesday from 10.00am to 11.30am except in July and August The Senior Members Fellowship also resumed and now meets once a month on a Tuesday aoernoon.

Wednesday

Redcar Craos did start albeit in a reduced format in late November 2021 and has since moved from Wednesday evening to Wednesday morning.

Thursday

Coffee with Jesus

Coffee with Jesus is exactly what it claims to be, a 7me of studying God’s word, prayer, alongside coffee and cake.

Women from the congrega7on meet at 9.30-10.30am in the Youth Room (two Thursdays a month) where we have a coffee and catch up and discuss the chapters of the book which we have read in advance.

We have recently completed Cathy Madavan’s Digging for Diamonds. This book challenged us to discover more of the life-transforming treasures of our iden7ty, strength, character and purpose that God has already placed within us.

Each 7me we meet we end with a 7me of prayer; praying for one another, the church, the world and anything/anyone else the Lord puts on our hearts.

This group has really been an encouragement to the women involved and their commitment to it has proven how important they think it is as part of their faith journey.

If you would be interested in coming along or would like some further informa7on about the books we study, please speak to Paula McKeown

Transformers

We con7nue to meet in the church halls Thursday evenings. We have 16 children on our roll and most a`end each week. As usual our night follows a rou7ne of circle 7me where the children share what they have done from the previous Thursday. We then share a Bible story and either a quiz or crao. Games are always a favourite especially football and relay races. We end the night with juice and biscuits.

We have 4 faithful leaders each week and 2 helpers, without their help Transformers wouldn't func7on.

We pray with the children before the parents come back to collect them. No ma`er what we do each week God is with us, His love is so important to us.

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

11

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

Friday

McQuiston Toddlers

Following a great first year at toddlers, we look forward to seeing how God con7nues to bless us as we head into the next school year.

Over the past 12 months we have welcomed several new families through the doors of our church to join us each Friday morning for play 7me, music and snacks.

Many of the families returned week aoer week, which has been incredibly encouraging for the leaders. We are so grateful to God for the rela7onships that have been formed, and con7nue to pray for opportuni7es to reach out to those in our local community as we prepare for the year ahead.

Toddlers mets on Friday, of each week from 10.00-11.30. All toddlers of pre-school age and their parents, grandparents or carers are very welcome.

Boys Brigade

In 2022 the 19[th] Company Boys’ Brigade, as we emerged from Covid restric7ons, con7nued to operate as we had at the start of our last session in October 2021. We resumed the face-to-face ac7vi7es at the church on a weekly basis, with restric7ons such as social distancing, hand washing/sani7sing, opening windows for ven7la7on are s7ll in place. The programme has now been based on resources produced by Boys Brigade HQ, including themed programmes of physical, mental and spiritual ac7vi7es. The themed programmes have been a great success, with the Anchors Boys enjoying dinosaur nights, Junior sec7on enjoying World War 2, and Seniors enjoying a James Bond theme.

The boys con7nue to work for their badges and awards and prepare for our parents night in May which is great fun for both the boys and parents, who get involved in many of the games.

The highest award in the BB is the Queen’s Badge is currently being worked toward by the 3 senior boys - Michael Greenwood, Aaron Greenwood and Ross Ellio`.

It has been great to have the boys back to face-to-face ac7vi7es in the church, watching them grow in their faith, and seeing them enjoying themselves with their friends.

We have a great team of dedicated leaders, and we are very grateful for all the work and passion they put into advancing Christ’s Kingdom among boys.

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

12

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

Boys Brigade (con’d)

We would also be extremely grateful of new poten7al leaders who could prayerfully consider joining our team in our mission to advance Christ's Kingdom among boys in the local neighbourhood. Thanks for all your help, support and prayer for our BB in McQuiston; it means so much to all the boys and their leaders.

Miscellaneous

As in previous years around Christmas a number of Elders and Mr. McCandless prepared and packaged gios for our senior members. These were delivered to their homes and were well received.

Gios of shortbread biscuits were delved to the businesses in the local area.

Our Christmas Carols service at twilight was performed on Sunday evening 19 December with a large congrega7on. This service was also broadcast live on-line. Some light refreshments were served at its conclusion.

Volunteers

The Trustees wish to acknowledge their deep apprecia7on of those who give freely of their 7me by serving on commi`ees and helping with organisa7ons and other church ac7vi7es.

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

13

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland meets the public benefit requirement by providing benefit to its members and the general public by making known the Chris7an Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ through the advancement of religion.

The direct benefits which flow from the purposes of the Church include the gaining of an understanding in Chris7an beliefs as set out in the Bible and in the Church’s subordinate standards (the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Shorter and Larger Catechisms) leading to spiritual and moral development and opportuni7es for response to Bible teaching. In turn, this framework leads to prac7cal expressions of Chris7an beliefs and standards in the local community such as through the care of those in need (including the sick, disabled and bereaved).

Generally the above benefits are delivered locally by congrega7ons and their members, or are facilitated through presbyteries or are organised and delivered centrally. Local delivery is facilitated by central resources in almost all cases. Public access is made known through the use of no7ceboards, printed material, press adver7sement, websites, and social media or in other ways.

The benefits are demonstrated through regular evalua7on of the services and informal and ad-hoc feedback from members, their families, and members of the public.

The purpose does not lead to harm. The only private benefit flowing from our purpose is related to Ministers, Missionaries, Deaconesses, Irish Mission workers and Lay Agents who receive benefits as a result of their holding office or employment. However, this is incidental and necessary in order to further our charitable purpose. There are no other private benefits. The beneficiaries of this purpose are members, their families, other individuals that the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is in direct and indirect contact with, the community in which pastoral services are provided and other communi7es throughout Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and worldwide which benefit from our engagement with and support for both Chris7an and other secular organisa7ons, chari7es and individual members of the public.

The Kirk Session has had regard to the Charity Commissions Public benefit requirement statutory guidance.

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The congrega7on’s main source of income is members’ contribu7ons through the Weekly Freewill Offering. There were 168 contributors during the year (same 2021) dona7ng a total of £64,337 (£70.520 in 2021).

Total Income of the congrega7on during the year was £129,292 compared to £132.602 in the previous year.

Total expenditure decreased from £158,422 in 2021 to £142,278 in 2022.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements of the congrega7on in accordance with applicable law and generally accepted accoun7ng prac7ce.

As the congrega7on’s total income does not exceed £250,000, the Trustees have elected under Sec7on 64(3) of the Chari7es Act (Northern Ireland) 208 to prepare a receipts and payment account and a statement of assets and liabili7es.

Approved by the Kirk Session at a mee7ng on 24 October 2023 and signed on its behalf by

Rev. Philip Boyd KR Galbraith
Minister Clerk of Session
24 October 2023
24 October 2023

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accoun7ng records that are sufficient to show and explain the congrega7on’s transac7ons and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any 7me its financial posi7on. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the congrega7on and hence for taking reasonable steps for the preven7on and detec7on of fraud and other irregulari7es.

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

15

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

RISK REVIEW

A review of major risks has been undertaken by the Trustees and systems and procedures implemented to manage iden7fied risks. The principal risks are in rela7on to the likelihood of reputa7onal damage and financial risks associated with the expecta7on of ongoing financial support from members. These risks are mi7gated by the Trustees, and the Congrega7onal Commi`ee, regularly monitoring the various ac7vi7es of the congrega7on at stated mee7ngs and by encouraging members in their regular giving.

Approved by the Kirk Session at a mee7ng on 24 October 2023 and signed on its behalf by

Rev Philip Boyd K R Galbraith Minister Clerk of Session Date 24 October 2023 Date 24 October 2023

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega7on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

16