Charity number: NIC104849 Ballyclare Congregation of The Presbyterian Church in Ireland Trustees. Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2022
Ballyclare Congregation of The Presbyterian Church in Ireland Contents Page Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisers Trustees, Report Independent Auditors, Report on the Financlal Statements Statement of Financial Activities 10 Balance Sheet 11 statement of Cash Flows 12 Notes to the Financial Statements 13-20
Bally¢lare Congregation of The Presbyterian Church in Ireland Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisers For the year ended 31 December 2022 Trustees Mr William Cochrane Rev. Jonathan Moxen Mr David Duncan Mr David Gawn Mr Peter Gordon Mr Maurice Fisher Mrs Kay Fisher Mr Martin Hull Mr Mark Irwin Mrs Deborah Johnston Mr Trevor Johnston Mrs Janet Kennedy (resigned 25 April 2023) Mrs Irene Kilpatrick Dr Stephen Luney Mr Keith Marshall Mrs Jennifer Millar Mr Niall Mcconkey. Clerk of Session Miss Averil McKeown Mr Alan McLorie {resigned 20 September 2022) Mr Henry Mcwilliam (deceased 4 August 2023) Mr Thomas Young Mrs Norma Adams (appointed 12 February 2023) Mrs Sheelagh Dalton (appointed 12 February 2023) Mr Chris Dickey {appointed 12 February 2023) Mr Gareth Harding {appointed 12 February 2023) Mr lain Holmes (appointed 12 February 2023) Mrs Adele Irwin (appointed 12 February 2023) Mrs Zoe Lutton (appointed 12 February 2023) Charity registered number NIC104849 Principal office Ballyclare Presbyterian Church 2 Foundry Lane Ballyclare County Antrim BT39 9BQ Secretary Mr Jame5 Foster Treasurer Mr R J Johnston Independent auditors ASM (B) Ltd Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors 4th Floor Glendinning House 6 Murray Street Belfast BT16DN Page 1
Ballyclare Congregation of The Presbyterian Church in Ireland Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisers {continued) For the year ended 31 December 2022 Bankers Ulster Bank 37 High Street Carrickfergus County Antrim BT38 7AN Danske Bank 18 The Square Ballyclare BT39 9B Solicitors JW M¢Ninch 37 Main Street Ballyclare BT39 9AA Page 2
Ballyclare Congregation of The Presbyterian Church in Ireland Trustees. Report For the year ended 31 December 2022 STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT The Kirk Session The charity trustees of the congregation are the members of the Kirk Session. Under the congregation's governing document, 'The Code, the Book of the Constitution and Government of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland,, the Kirk Session seeks to watch over and promote the spiritual interest of the congregation and of persons not connected with any congregation who are within its bounds. It ensures pastoral care for its members, and it seeks to further the contribution of the Church to Christian witness and service in the community. The Kirk Session has delegated the temporal affairs of the Congregation to its Congregational Committee, including the administration of all funds and propety belonging to the congregation. Members of the Kirk Session are ex officio members of the Congregational Committee. The Kirk Session consists of the ordained minister and ruling elders of the congregation. All members are entitled to propose, speak and exercise equal votes at meetings, except that the Moderator. the minister in active duty, has no deliberative votes but only a casting vote. Stated meetings of the Kirk Session are held at least 8 times each year. To be chosen for the office of the eldership, a person must be a voting member of the congregation and a regular attender on its ordinances. The selection of those proposed to be called as elders can either be bythe congregation or by the Kirk Session. Members are elected if they obtain thirds of the votes cast by those who vote. Presbytery Under the Presbyterian Church in Ireland form of governance, the corporate oversight of a congregation is the responsibility of a Presbytery. which superintends the spiritual and temporal affairs of the congregations assigned to it by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Ballyclare Presbyterian Church is part of the Carrickfergus Presbyiery of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The membership of the Presbytery consists primarily of the active ministers of all its congregations, ministers who have retired from active duty, and an elder appointed by the Kirk Session of each congregation. The General Assembly The General Assembly is the supreme court of the church, representing in one body the whole church, and acting as its supreme legislative. administrative and judicial authorrty. The General Assembly is nomially constituted, annually, during the first week of June, and meets for worship and business. At the end of business, it is dissolved. The members of the General Assembly Consist primarily of the active ministers of each congregation, retired ministers, and a representative elder appointed by the Kirf( Session of each congregation. DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE Ballyclare pre$berlan Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, a Reformed Church within the wider Church of Jesus Christ, acknowledging the Word of God, as set forth in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the only infallible rule of faith and practice, and the supreme standard of the Church. Ballyclare Presbyterian Church exists to love and honour God through faith in Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and to enable its members to grow in faith and play their part in advancing God's kingdom in his world. The congregation's overall vision is surnmed up in the phrase, People Matter to God, and tts life and activity is expressed in terms of Making Disciples, Making an Impact. In all its many aspects, the congregation Seeks to be Biblical, serving all age groups. creative in all its activities, committed to serving people physically, emotionally and spiritually, oufward looking and welcoming to the whole community, and in all of this being committed to our heritage as part of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Page 3
Ballyclare Congregation of The Presbyterian Church in Ireland Trustees. Report (continued) For the year ended 31 December 2022 ACTIVITIES AND OBJECTIVES The congregation meets for worship every Sunday, and visitors are always welcome. On four Sundays during the year, the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is celebrated, and all who have been baptised and have made a profession offaith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord are invited to participate. The Sacrament of Baptism is observed at Sunday morning services, and we also welcome families and their children in a seNi¢e of Thanksgiving and Reception. We seek to support and prepare couples for Christian Marriage and attach great importance to supporting those who have been bereaved both through the funeral service itself and in ongoing pasloral care. In a more general context, we work to provide pastoral care and support for everyone who is connected to our congregation, and especially to those who are ill, unable to attend church through sickness or age. or who are finding life tough and stressful in all sorts of other ways. We do thi5 through the pastoral care of the ministerial staff team, as well as by the Elders and Pastoral Visitors, as well as by members of the congregation. Members ofthe congregation meet on a regular basis for Bible Study and Prayer in smaller groups. The congregation also offers a very wide range of organisations and activities during the week. including the following.. Shine, our children's programme,. Youth Fellowship,. Presbyterian Women,. Choir and Praise Band,. Youth Club., Boys. Brigade and Girls, Brigade; Bowling Club., Friendship Group, Parent and Toddler Group,. Men's Football, and many other less structured activities. In all of these activities and organisation, we work to provide Christian support and encouragement to the families connected to our congregation, as well as seeing them as opportunities to serve the wider community, make connections and build relationships with people who have recently come to live in our town, and through all of this to be a positive Christian witness to our community. We participate in joint activities Wi¥h other local churches, including Foodbank, Christians against Poverty. WAVE (worship for people with learning difficulties} and Greater Ballyclare Youth for Christ. We are pleased that we are able to make our halls accommodation available for us by a wide range of groups from the community, including Citizens Advice Bureau, local schools, and charities. The congregation gives priority to Mission and Outreach. supporting the United Appeal for Mission, the central mission fund of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, which enables congregations to play their part in the wider mission and outreach of the denomination, at home and abroad. The United Appeal is vital for the support of mission personnel working in Ireland and throughout the world, enabling church planting, assisting with the running costs of Union Theological College and training ministry students and pastoral workers, supporting social witness projects - and through all of this enabling congregations to play their part in the areas of worship, discipleship, global mission. outreach, Christian service and caring, leadership development and many other areas. As a congregation, we are also committed directly to a variety of other mission projects and organizations. with which the congregation has developed links, and which it supports through personal links, prayer and financial giving. The congregation is represented by the minister and a Representative Elder at the regular meetings of the Carrickfergus Presbyiery, and in the same way at the annual meeting of the General Assembly, thus maintaining the essential link beeen the congregation and the wider structures, decision making and life of our denomination. The congregation has an up-to-date suite of buildings and these are maintained underthe direction of the church committee. During the past year. there has been ongoing minor maintenance and improvements. It is very important to emphasise that the lrfe and work of our congregation is made possible by many people who express their Christian faith through committed, and often sacrificial, service. The trustees wish to record their deep appreciation to all who give of their time and gtfts in this way. Page 4
Ballyclare Congregation of The Presbyterian Church in Ireland Trustees. Report (continued) For the year ended 31 December 2022 As we started 2022 we were continuing to meet under many restrictions in connection with Covid. This included social distancing, mask wearing. reduced activities, zoom meetings and regular cleaning. Thanks must go to everyone who made it possible to work through these challenging months as we tried to stay connected to our congregation and continue to worship God as His church. As we came to September and the start of a new year for our organisations. thankfully Covid restrictions had all but gone and this allowed us as a congregation to get back to nonnal activities. Social distancing, mask wearing and zoom meetings were no longer required, although some areas of the church were kept socially distanced to encourage more vulnerable members to return to worship on a Sunday morning. All our organisations were able to meet again and have full programmes running without restrictions and life was much more normal again. We are greatly encouraged that for most of our organisations they have been able to maintain and grow their membership to be as strong as pre Covid. This is due to strong relationships. good programmes, and faithful Christian leaders. Thank you to all our organisation leaders for their commitment and hard work during Covid and especially as we come out of the Covid years and return to serving and reaching out into our Community. Session recognised that we needed to elect new Elders to replace those who retired from active involvement in our Session. It was decided to elect 7 new Elders to bring new gifts and ideas to our Session planning and to ensure that our districts were pastorally served. Following an election by our Congregation 7 new Elders completed training and will be installed in early 2023. We welcome Nomia Adams, Sheelagh Dalton, Chris Dickey, Gareth Harding, lan Holmes, Adele lrnin and Zoe Lutton to our Session and trust that God will give them wisdom and servant hearts to fulfil this important leadership role in our congregation. Special thanks must go to our Minister Rev. Jonathan Moxen who has led us through these challenging years with faithful Biblical teaching and a desire to see people Come to a personal living faith and people to grow in their faith. This was fulfilled through well prepared and challenging teaching in morning and evening services and preparing Bible study notes for our discipleship groups. He has guided Session and Committee meetings through the Covid challenges and we are excited to see what God will do through his ministry in Ballyclare. With the support of Rev. Tom Pollock and the teamwork from Susan Boyd our Musical Director and Ingrid Orr our Office Administrator we have been greatly blessed by God in Ballyclare. It was with great sadness that we lost an integral member of our staff team in 2022. Our Deaconess Michelle Purdy lost her long running battle with cancer at the end of August. She served our congregation and the community of Ballyclare faithfully, showing God's love in action through many areas of responsibility. Michelle is greatly missed by many people and we will only come to fully appreciate all that she did in the coming months. God gave her peace and strength to the end and our love and prayers continue for her husband Tom. We thank all those who Serve our congregation on Session, Committee. organisations and at a personal level. We continue to see new families join us and we are excited to see how God will use us in 2023 to advance His Kingdom in all that we do in Ballyclare. 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 Christian 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 Christian 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 opportunities for response to Bible teaching. In turn. this framework leads to practical expressions of Christian beliefs and standards in the local community such as the care of those in need (including the sick, disabled and bereaved). Generally, these benefits are delivered locally by congregational churches and members or are facilitated through presbyteries, or are organized and delivered centrally. Local delivery is facilitated by central resources in almost all cases. Publi¢ a¢$$ is made known through the use of noticeboards. printed material, press advertisement. websites, and social media or in other ways. The benefits are demonstrated through regular evaluation of the services and informal and ad-hoc feedback from members, theirfamilies, 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 Page 5
Ballyclare Congregation of The Presbyterian Church in Ireland Trustees, Report (continued) For the year ended 31 December 2022 with, the community in which pastoral services are provided and other communriies throughout Northern Ireland. the Republic of Ireland. and worldwide which benefit from our engagement with and support for both Christian and other secular organizations, charities and individual members of the public. Financial Revlew The Trustees are responsible for pparIng the Annual Report and Financial Ststements in accordance with applicable law and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. They are required to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the affairs of the congregation and the financial activities of that year. In preparing the financial statements, the I trustees are required to: Select suitable policies and apply them consistently. Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent. Prepare the financial statements on the on-going concern basis, unless it is inappropriate lo presume that the Funds will continue in operation. The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the congregation and enable them to ensure that that the financial statements comply with the statement of Recommended Practice 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities (1st 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. The activities of the congregation are dependent on the on-going contributions of its members. The Trustees are of the opinion that the congregation has sufficient resources at the date of the approval of these financial statements to meet the commitments which will arise in the year from the signing of this report and subject to the continuing support of members to fund on an on-going basis the congregation's Current activities and financial commitments. Reserves Policy It is the policy of the Trustees to maintain sufficient reserves to cover three months expenditure. Risk Assessment The principal risks are in relation to the likelihood of reputational damage and financial risks associated with the expectation of on-going financial support from members. These risks are mitigated by the Trustees and the Congregational Committee, through regular monitoring at stated meetings and by encouraging members in their regular giving. Approved by order of the members of the board of Trustees and signed on th ir behalf by.. nathan Moxen Mr Niall Mcconkey Date: 19 September 2023 Page 6