Presbyterian_ LOUGHMORNE CONGREGATION OFTHE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT The Trustees present thelr Annual Report and Flnandal Ststements for the year ended 31 December 2023 Indudlng a Statement of Assets and Uabllltles as at that date. REFERENCE AND ADMINisfRATIVE DEfAILS Loughmorne Presbyterian Church 52-54 Carneal Road Larne, BT40 3LU. Reglstered Charlty In Northern Ireland (NIC104872) CHARITYTRusfEES The Charlty Trustees who served durlng the year or who were trustees at thls date were: Rev Davld Kelly Mr T Heron PRINCIPAL OFFICE BEARERS Mlnistsr Clerk of Sesslon Treasurer Rev Davld Kelly Mr THeron Mrs Anne Barron INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Slmon Hopper FCA 6 Doagh Road Ballydare Bf39 9BG BANKERS Danske Bank, Donegall Square West, Belfast BTI 6JS SOUCITORS O'Rouke, McDonald & Tweed, 29 The Roddens, Larne, BT40 IHX
Presbyterian_ LOUGHMORNE CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (convd) srRucfuRE AND MANAGEMENr The Klrk Sesslon The charlty trustees of the congregatlm are the members of Its Klrk Sesslon. Under the congregatlon's governlng document, The Code. the book of the constltutlon and government of the Presbyterlan Church In Ireland, the Kirk Session seeks to watch over and promote the splrftual Interest of the congregation and of persons not connected wlth any congregatlon who are wlthln Its bounds. It ensures pastoral care Is In Pla In the congregation and seeks to further the contributlon of the Church to Chrfstlan vAtness and servlce In the local communlty. The Klrk Sesslon has delegated to Its Congregatlonal Committee the temporal affalrs of the congregatlon Indudlng admlnlsterlng all fvnds and property belonn8 to the congregatlon. Members of the Klrk Sesslon are ex-offldo members of the Congregatlonal Commlttee. The Klrk Sesslon conslsts of the ordalned mlnlster and the rullng elders of the congregatjon. All members are entltled to propose, speak and exerdse equal votes at meetlngs, except that the Moderator, the mlnlster In artlve duty In the congregatlon, has no dellberatlve, but only a castlng vote. ststed meetlngs of the Klrk sesslon are held at least twlce a year or as approprlate. To be thosen for the offlo of eldershlp In the congregatlon a person must be a votlng member and a regular attendant on its ordlnances. The selertlon of those proposed, to be called to the offlce, can be elther by the congregatlon or by the Klrk Sesslon. Members are elected If they obtain two-thlrds of the votes. Presbytery Under the Presbyterlan Church In Ireland forni of governance the corporate ovefslght of a congregatlon Is the responslblllty of a Presbytery whlth superlntends generally the splrltual and temporal affalrs of the congregatlons asslgned to It by the General Assembly of the Presbyterlan Church In Ireland. Loughmorne congregatlon of the Presbyterlan Church has been asslgned to the Carrlckfergus Presbytery ofthe Presbyterlan Churth In Ireland. The membershlp ofthe Presbytery conslsts malnly of the attive mlnlsters of congregatlons asslgned to It by the General Assembly, mlnsters who have retlred from actlve duty and an elder appolnted by the Klrk Sesslon of the congregatlon.
Presbyterian LOUGHMORNE CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont'd) The General Assembly The General Assembly Is the supreme court of the Church, representlng In one body the whole Church and actlng as its supreme leglslatlve, admlnlstratlon and Judldal authorlty, In dealing wlth all matters brought before IL The General Assembly Is normally consotuted durlng the flrst week In June for worshlp and to conduct its buslnes& At the end of buslness It Is dlssolved. The membershlp of the General Assembly conslsts malnly of the actlve mlnlsters of each congregatlon, retlred mlnlsters and a representatlve elder appolnted by the Klfk Sesslon of each congregatlon. DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE The charltable purpose of the congregation Is the advancement of rellglon. Loughmorne Is a congregatlon of the Presbyterlan Churth In Ireland. The Presbyterlan Church In Ireland, as a Reformed Churth wlthln the wlder body of Christ, Is grounded In the Scrlptures and exlsts to love and honour God through falth In HIS Son and by the power of HIS Splrlt, and to enable her members to play thelr part In fulfllllng God's mlsslon to our world. Loughmorne Churth has a core membershlp of commltted Chrlstlans who under the dlrectlon of the establlshed Churth leadershlp share In an ongolng program ofoutreach. The Mlsslon Plan has allowed us to examlne the effertlveness of our exlstlng programmes agalnst the partlcular needs of the Churth and communlty. We trust under the dlrertlon of the Holy Splrlt and, where necessary, we wlll adjust to ensure our Impact for HIM Is as effectlve as posslble. In response to our Lord's command "to go" we understand the need to be proactlve, uslng the bellevlng people In the congregatlon In a structured and planned way to achleve goals whlch are part of a God Insplred vlslon, showlng HIS Ilght In thls corner of HIS vlne-yard. The congregatlon alms to Ilve out Its Misslon and Vlslon as a famlly of God's people by beIn. A Covenant Communlty. where our relatSonshlps are rooted In the promlses of God by Ilvlng falthfully toward hlrn and toward one another An Intergenerational Communlty. where adults Intenuonally tske the lead to engage wlth, encourage and nurture younger members to maturlty In Chrlst. An Outward looking Communlty: where we want the blesslngs of God that belong to us In the gospel to become blesslngs for others beyond the bounds of our communlty. As a congregatlon of the Presbyterlan Churth In Ireland, we belleve that the Blble Is the supreme authorlty over all we do, and that the Westmlnster Confesslon of Falth, al(8 wlth the Larger and Shorter Catechlsms set out what we understand the Blble teaches on key matters of Chrlstlan falth and practlce.
Presbyterian_ LOUGHMORNE CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont'd) AcrivmES AND OBJEcllvES The congregatlon meets for worshlp every Sunday and vlsltors are welcome to Joln. The Sacrament of the Lords Supper Is observed on several occaslons durlng the year and all those who have been baptlsed and who have made a professlon of falth In the Lord Jesus Chrlst are admitted to the Lord's Supper. The congregatlon holds regular meetlngs as follows:. Blble Study Prayer Meetlng/Mld-Week Presbyterlan Women Men's Meetlng ACHIEVEMENfs AND PERFORMANCE Worshlp and prayer The congregatlon normally meets for worshlp eath Sunday at 10.30am, wlth an evenlng servlce on the flrst Sunday of each month at 7.0(l)m. Durfng the week, the Mld-week and Blble Study provlde an opportunlty for members to meet together for fellowshlp, to study the sulptures and for a tlme of prayer. At 31 December 2023, there were 29 communlcant members and 54 famllles connerted with the congregatlon. The average weekly attendan at mornlng worshlp Is 40. Pastoral care Members ofthe congregatlon who are unable to attend thurch, due to slckness or age, are vlslted on a regular basls by the mlnlster, elders or by one of the congregatlon's pastoral vlsltors. Mlsslon and outreath At a local level, our congregatlon supports the Chlld Evangellsm Fellowshlp team, who work through schools, hollday blble clubs etc. to brlng Gods word to chlldren and young people In the local area, many of whom have no connertlon wlth any church. The congregatlon also supports Amara Ald, as they provlde medlcal, educatlonal and agrlcultural asslstance, through varlous projects, to poor communltles mostly In Tanzanla. Loughmome congregatlon contrlbuted to The Presbyterlan Chlldren'< Soclety and World Development-Tear Fund. The Presbyterlan Women support many good causes through collectlons and donatlons to PCI, Samarltans Purse, Belfast Clty Mlsslon CEF and Mlchael & Julle Chltty In Spaln. Thls Is not an exhaustlve Ilst of all actlvltjes and donatlons made.
Presbyterian_ LOUGHMORNE CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont'd) The congregatlon supports the Unlted Appeal for Mlsslon whlch Is a ntral fund of the Presbyterlan Churth In Ireland. Thls fund enables congregatlons to support the wlder mlsslon of the denomlnatlon and to do mlsslon and outreach on a denomlnatlonal basls beyond what the congregatlon could do on Its own. The Unlted Appeal Fund provldes flnandal supportfor mlsslon personnel at home and overseas, asslsts congrLyatlons wlth the deployment of locally based stsff, enables church plantln& provldes grant support for the upkeep of churth premlses, asslst wlth the runnln8 Costs of Unlon Theologlcal College, the Church's tralnlng college for mlnlstry students, and flnandally supports congregatlon In the areas of worshlp, dlsdpleshlp, global mlsslon, outreach, leadershlp and pastoral care. The congregatlon also contrlbutes to the denomlnatlons annual World Development Appeal and any other speclal appeals. Presbytery The congregatlon was represented at the regular meetlngs of Presbytery by our mlnlster and one of the elders. Thls provldes an Important Ilnk between the congregatlons and the wlder Structures of the church. General Assembly The mlnlster and one of our elders were nomlnated to attend the meetlng of the General Assembly of the Presbyterlan Churth In Ireland held In Assembly Bulldlngs, Belfast, In June. Property Mlnor repalrs and normal malntenance was carrled out at the Churth and manse durlng the year and a new Church slgn was erected. Volunteers The Trustees wlsh to aCknOedge thelr deep appredatlon of those who 8lve freely of thelr tlme by servlng on committees and helplng wlth other church actlvltle&
Presbyterian LOUGHMORNE CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (convd) PUBUC BENEFIT sfATEMENT The Presbyterlan Churth In Ireland meets the publlc benefit requlrement by provldlng beneflt to Its members and the general publlcby maklng known the Chrlstlan Gospel of the Lord Jesus Chrlst through the advancement of rellglon. The dlrert beneflts whlch flow from the purposes of the Church Indude the galnlng of an understandln8 In Chrlstlan bellets as set out In the Blble and In the Churth's subordlnate Stsndards (the Westmlnster Confesslon of Falth and the Shorter and Larger Catechlsms) leadlng to splrltual and moral development and opportunltles for response to Blble teathlng. In turn, thls framework leads to practlcal expresslons of thristlan bellefs and stsndards In the local communlty, such as through the care ofthose In need Ondudlng the slck, dlsabled and bereaved). Generally the above benefits are dellvered locally by congregatlons and thelr members, or are fadlltsted through presbyteries or are organlsed and dellvered centrally. Local dellvery ts fadlltated by central resources In almost all cases. Publlc access Is made known through the use of noticeboards, prlnted materlal, press advertlsement, websltes, and sodal medla or In oth ways. The beneflts are demonstrated through regular waluatlon of the servlces and Informal and ad- hoc feedback from members, thelr famllles, and Members of the publlG The purpose does not lead to harm. The only prlvate befit flowlng from our purpose Is related to Mlnlsters, Mlsslonarles, Deaconesses, Irlsh Mlsslon workers and Lay Agents who recelve benefits as a result of thelr holdlng office or employmenL However, thls Is Inddental and necessary In order to further our charltable purpose. There are no other prfvate beneflts. The beneflciarles of thls purpose are members, thelr famllles, other Indlvlduals that the Presbyterfan Churth In Ireland Is In dlrert and Indlrert contart wlth, the communlty In whlch pastoral servlces are provlded and other communltles throughout Northern Ireland, the Republlc of Ireland, and worldwlde whlch benefit from our engagement with and support for both Chrlstlan and other secular organlsatlons, charltles and Indlvldual members of the publlc. The Klrk Sesslon has had regard to the Charlty Commlsslons Publlc benefit requlrement ststutory guldance.
Presbyterian LOUGHMORNE CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont'd) FINANCIAL REVIEW The congregatlon's maln source of Income Is members, contrlbutlons through the Weekly Freewlll Offerlng. There were 48 contrlbutors durlng the year (49, 2022] donatlng a total of £25,743 (£24,643 In prevlous year, 2022) Totsl Income of the congregatlon durln8 the year was £44,151, compared to £49,949 In the prevlous year. Totsl expendlture decreased from £41,186 (2022) to £39,799. srATEMENT OF TRusfEE RESPONSIBILITIES The Trustees are responslble for preparlng the annual report and the flnandal ststements of the congregatlon In accordance wlth appllcable law and generally accepted accountlng practlce. As the congreg atlons totsl Income does not exceed £250,000, theTrustees have elected under Sectlon 64(3) of the Charltles Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 to prepare a recelpts and payment account and a statement of assets and Ilabllltles. The Trustees are responslble for keeplng adequate accountlng records that are sufflclent to show and explaln the congregatlon's transartlons and dlsdose wlth reasonable accuracy at any tlme its flnanclal posltlon. They are also responslble for safeguardlng the assets of the congregatlon and hen for taklng reasonable steps for the preventlon and detertlon of fraud and other Irregularltles. Approved by the Klrk Sesslon at a meetlng on 15 June 2024 and slgned on Its behalf by Rev D Kelly Mr T Heron 15 June 2024 15 June 2024