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2023-12-31-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 2023

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC104506)

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

The Trustees present their Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023 including a Statement of Assets and Liabili@es as at that date.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

McQuiston Memorial congrega@on 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:

W J Best W A Bousfield SD Briggs K R Galbraith M J Gardner R J Graham H J Hawthorne 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 (Resigned August 2023) L M Wray P A Wray (Deceased May 2023) R S Wray

PRINCIPAL OFFICE BEARERS

Minister Rev. Philip Boyd (installed September 2023} Clerk of Session Mr K R Galbraith Deputy Clerk of Session Mrs Linda Wray Treasurer Mr T R Graham Secretary Miss M J Gardner

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church A congrega@on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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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 congrega@on 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 congrega@on are the members of its Kirk Session. Under the congrega@on’s governing document, The Code, the book of the cons@tu@on and government of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Kirk Session seeks to watch over and promote the spiritual interest of the congrega@on and of persons not connected with any congrega@on who are within its bounds. It ensures pastoral care is in place in the congrega@on and seeks to further the contribu@on of the Church to Chris@an witness and service in the local community. The Kirk Session has delegated to its Congrega@onal Commiee the temporal affairs of the congrega@on including administering all funds and property belonging to the congrega@on. Members of the Kirk Session are ex-officio members of the Congrega@onal Commiee.

The Kirk Session consists of the ordained minister and the ruling elders of the congrega@on. All members are en@tled to propose, speak and exercise equal votes at mee@ngs, except that the Moderator, the minister in ac@ve duty in the congrega@on, has no delibera@ve but only a cas@ng vote.

Stated mee@ngs of the Kirk Session are held every fourth Tuesday of the calendar month except June, July, August and December. Other mee@ngs of the Kirk Session are arranged as required.

To be chosen for the office of the eldership in the congrega@on a person must be a vo@ng member and a regular a`endant on its ordinances. The selec@on of those proposed to be called to the office can be either by the congrega@on 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 congrega@on is the responsibility of a Presbytery which superintends generally the spiritual and temporal affairs of the congrega@ons assigned to it by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. McQuiston Memorial congrega@on 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 ac@ve ministers of congrega@ons assigned to it by the General Assembly, minsters who have re@red from ac@ve duty and an elder appointed by the Kirk Session of the congrega@on.

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church A congrega@on 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, represen@ng in one body the whole Church and ac@ng as its supreme legisla@ve, administra@on and judicial authority, in dealing with all ma`ers brought before it. The General Assembly is normally cons@tuted during June for worship and to conduct its business. This year the mee@ng was held from 21 June to 24 June 2023. At the end of business it is dissolved. The membership of the General Assembly consists mainly of the ac@ve ministers of each congrega@on, re@red minsters and a representa@ve elder appointed by the Kirk Session of each congrega@on.

DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE

The charitable purpose of the congrega@on is the advancement of religion.

McQuiston Memorial congrega@on of the Presbyterian Church is a congrega@on 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 congrega@on'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 congrega@on aims to live out its Mission and Vision as a family of God’s people by being:

As a congrega@on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, we believe that the Bible is the supreme authority over all we do, and that the Westminster Confession of Faith, along with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms set out what we understand the Bible teaches on key ma`ers of Chris@an faith and prac@ce.

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A congrega@on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

ACTIVITIES AND OBJECTIVES

The congrega@on 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 bap@sed and who have made a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are admi`ed to the Lord’s Supper. The congrega@on holds Bible study mee@ngs (Discipleship Groups) and prayer mee@ngs each fortnight on a Wednesday evening. We also have a wide range of organisa@ons and ac@vi@es including:

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church A congrega@on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Worship and Prayer

With the re@rement of our minister, Reverend Robert Beggs, the congrega@on con@nues through this @me of vacancy in the care of a Vacancy Commission of East Belfast Presbytery. We 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 @me of prayer. The Prayer Time and Discipleship groups meet on the second and fourth Wednesday evenings each month.

An essen@al and vital part of our Chris@an witness is prayer. Accordingly we meet for @mes of specific prayer.

As well as our regular services during the year we acknowledge God’s gip of new life at Sacraments of Bap@sm but we had no bap@sms this year. We had one celebra@on of Holy Matrimony. In addi@on 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.

On 31 December 2023 there were 104 communicant members and over 167 families connected with the congrega@on. 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 (opera@ng by mobile tex@ng) con@nues faithful ongoing prayer cover for Church members and other non-members, as well as prayer for situa@ons at home and overseas. A joy con@nues to be the many answers to prayer.

We con@nue to support our food bank with groceries/essen@al food items which are given to the needy in the area. Our Outreach worker con@nued 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 gips to many within that migrant popula@on.

In September 2023 the contract for our Outreach worker ended and John McCandless re@red from the post. As a congrega@on we have come to know and love John and his wife Lana. We will maintain contact with them into the future.

Safe Guarding

Taking Care is the name of the safeguarding policy and programme of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Our aim is to create and promote a safe environment for all. We believe that next to proclaiming God’s Word and the love of Christ, nothing could be more important than keeping our children and young people safe.

Our church is also designated as a safe place for those suffering from domes@c abuse. McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega@on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

Mission and outreach

The congrega@on supports the United Appeal for Mission which is a central fund of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. This fund enables congrega@ons to support the wider mission of the denomina@on and to do mission and outreach on a denomina@onal basis beyond what the congrega@on could do on its own. The United Appeal Fund provides financial support for mission personnel at home and overseas, assists congrega@ons with the deployment of locally based staff, enables church plan@ng, 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 congrega@ons in the areas of worship, discipleship, global mission, outreach, leadership and pastoral care. It is pleasing to note that

the congrega@on reached its “ Target of Honour ” set by the Presbytery.

The congrega@on also contributes to the denomina@on’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 gree@ngs card and a small gip. Our work with Elmgrove and Euston Street Primary schools con@nued as they held a lovely colouring compe@@on 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 con@nued to develop in two local primary schools. Working with P7 classes con@nued with cookie decora@ng, plan@ng summer bedding plants and arts and craps work. The annual Easter arts compe@@on con@nues to be a popular event.

On 30 April 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 congrega@on was represented at the regular mee@ngs of East Belfast Presbytery by our minister and / or one of the elders. This provides an important link between the congrega@ons and the wider structures of the church. A report of each Presbytery mee@ng is given to the Kirk Session.

General Assembly

The Convenor and one of our elders were nominated to aend the mee@ng 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.

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church A congrega@on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

Mr JC Shivers reported on his a`endance at General Assembly in June 2023. 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 22 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.

Upda@ng 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 s@ll to go to Presbytery and the General Assembly Architecture Commi`ee before work can commence.

2023 saw the re@rement of our Church Officer, Sam McNerlan, Sam served in McQuiston for more than twenty years and was a much loved member of our staff. Sam maintained the building and grounds to a high standard. We will all miss his smile and enthusiasm around the buildings.

The upda@ng work at the vacant manse was completed and the property was rented out for a period of 6 months.

Organisa:ons

As the congrega@on con@nues to progress and rebuild some of the organisa@ons that we would have tradi@onally had opera@ng have yet to start. The Ladies Fellowship (Presbyterian Women), the Luncheon Club will not restart as agreed by KirkSession. The Mens Fellowship (SHED) and the film club Take Two have not yet restarted.

Sunday

Our Services of worship and praise con@nued throughout the year as already detailed . In the early part of 2023 our congrega@on con@nues as a “vacant” pulpit under the oversight of a Commission of East Belfast Presbytery who appointed the Rev. Richard McIllHaon as Vacancy Commission Convenor who managed the provision of preachers. Rev McIllHaon steered the Kirk Session through the process of applying to the Linkage Commission of the Presbyterian Church for leave to call a new minister which was granted. At this point Rev. McIllHa`on moved to take on other du@es and a new convenor of vacancy was appointed. Rev. Colin Burcombe led us through the process of calling a new minister. The Sunday 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. In June we called the Rev. Philip Boyd who accepted the call and was installed as our minister in September 2023

Our praise group con@nued to meet and prac@se new pieces of praise with a view to introducing them to the congrega@on.

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega@on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

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 aper by women from our congrega@on. A rota system is in opera@on throughout the year to make sure every Sunday is covered.

Our Sunday school, known as MnM Kids con@nued and 2023 has been an interes@ng year for the young people in McQuiston. Messy Church, on a number of occasions con@nued to supplement our children’s ministry with Vintage Church, for our more mature members, running alongside Messy Church. At all @mes we aim to provide a safe environment for the young people. God is at the centre of all we do and the ac@vi@es we provide. Safe Guarding training was carried out in March 2023.

As the year con@nued it was proposed to return to a similar @metable 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 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 ac@vi@es 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 Mahew.

Monday

There are currently no organisa@ons mee@ng on a Monday

Tuesday

Craic ‘n’ Coffee, our coffee drop in, con@nues to provide a warm and comfortable loca@on 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 apernoon.

Wednesday

Redcar Craps con@nues to provide a useful outlet for those who crochet and knit and are generally crea@ve. On a Wednesday morning you can learn new skills, prac@se and hone old skills. You may also be treated to some pavlova and coffee.

Thursday

Coffee with Jesus is exactly what it claims to be, a @me of studying God’s word, prayer, alongside

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega@on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

Women from the congrega@on 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.

This years favourite book was Rebekah Lyons’s “Building a Resilient Life”. Through this book we discovered five prac@cal, life-changing rules of resilience to help you thrive in difficult @mes. Each @me we meet we end with a @me 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.

Transformers

We con@nue to meet in the church halls Thursday evenings. We have 31 children on our roll and an average a`endance of 25 each week. As usual our night follows a rou@ne of circle @me where the children share what they have done from the previous Thursday. We then share a Bible story and either a quiz or crap. 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 func@on.

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.

Friday

McQuiston Toddlers

Following a great first year at toddlers, we look forward to seeing how God con@nues 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 @me, music and snacks.

Many of the families returned week aper week, which has been incredibly encouraging for the leaders. We are so grateful to God for the rela@onships that have been formed, and con@nue to pray for opportuni@es to reach out to those in our local community as we prepare for the year ahead.

Toddlers meets 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 2023 the 19[th] Company Boys’ Brigade became part of a new organisa@on and are now a company in Boys Brigade NI. This organisa@on is now separate from the Boys Brigade in the rest of the UK. The Company con@nued the face-to-face ac@vi@es at the church on a weekly basis, with

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega@on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

restric@ons hand washing/sani@sing, opening windows for ven@la@on are s@ll in place. The programme has now been based on resources produced by Boys Brigade NI HQ, including themed programmes of physical, mental and spiritual ac@vi@es. The themed programmes have been a great success, with the Anchors Boys enjoying dinosaur nights, Junior sec@on enjoying World War 2, and Seniors enjoying a James Bond theme.

The boys con@nue to work for their badges and awards. Three boys, Michael Greenwood, Aaron Greenwood and Ross Elliot, achieved the Queens Badge. Our parents night in May which is always great fun for both the boys and parents, many of whom get involved in the games.

It has been great to have the boys back to face-to-face ac@vi@es 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.

We would also be extremely grateful of new poten@al 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

Other events such as the ever popular Ladies Nights are held on a regular basis and are always over subscribed. Music at McQuiston is a concert which is held in the church once a year. Music and singing covering a wide range of tastes is performed to a very high standard.

In addi@on to our own church organisa@ons the church halls are used by other external organisa@ons as follows :

Pilates Classes Narco@cs Anonymous Mee@ngs Ballet Classes Trinity School of Music

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

Gips 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 congrega@on. This service was also broadcast live on-line. Some light refreshments were served at its conclusion.

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church

A congrega@on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

Volunteers

The Trustees wish to acknowledge their deep apprecia@on of those who give freely of their @me by serving on commi`ees and helping with organisa@ons and other church ac@vi@es.

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 Chris@an 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 Chris@an 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 opportuni@es for response to Bible teaching. In turn, this framework leads to prac@cal expressions of Chris@an 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 congrega@ons 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 no@ceboards, printed material, press adver@sement, websites, and social media or in other ways.

The benefits are demonstrated through regular evalua@on 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 communi@es throughout Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and worldwide which benefit from our engagement with and support for both Chris@an and other secular organisa@ons, chari@es and individual members of the public.

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

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The congrega@on’s main source of income is members’ contribu@ons through the Weekly Freewill Offering. There were 167 contributors during the year (same 2022) dona@ng a total of £63,629.00 .

Total Income of the congrega@on during the year was £127,395 compared to £129,292 in the previous year.

Total expenditure increased from £142,278 in 2022 to £143,824 in 2023

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements of the congrega@on in accordance with applicable law and generally accepted accoun@ng prac@ce.

As the congrega@on’s total income does not exceed £250,000, the Trustees have elected under Sec@on 64(3) of the Chari@es Act (Northern Ireland) 208 to prepare a receipts and payment account and a statement of assets and liabili@es.

Approved by the Kirk Session at a mee@ng on 24 October 2023 and signed on its behalf by

Rev. Philip Boyd KR Galbraith Minister Clerk of Session 22 October 2023 22 October 2023

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accoun@ng records that are sufficient to show and explain the congrega@on’s transac@ons and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any @me its financial posi@on. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the congrega@on and hence for taking reasonable steps for the preven@on and detec@on of fraud and other irregulari@es.

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church A congrega@on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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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 iden@fied risks. The principal risks are in rela@on to the likelihood of reputa@onal damage and financial risks associated with the expecta@on of ongoing financial support from members. These risks are mi@gated by the Trustees, and the Congrega@onal Commi`ee, regularly monitoring the various ac@vi@es of the congrega@on at stated mee@ngs and by encouraging members in their regular giving.

Approved by the Kirk Session at a mee@ng on 22 October 2024 and signed on its behalf by

Rev Philip Boyd Minister Date 22 October 2024

K R Galbraith Clerk of Session

Date 22 October 2024

McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church A congrega@on of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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