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2023-12-31-annual-report

RANDALSTOWN (OLD CONGREGATION) CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND

Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2023

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC104930)

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RANDALSTOWN (OLD CONGREGATION) CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

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

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Randalstown (Old Congregation) congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland 4 Portglenone Road, Randalstown, BT41 3BD

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC104930)

CHARITY TRUSTEES

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

Mr George Barkley Mr Alastair O’Neill Mr Frederick Barkley Mr Philip Scott Mr Ian Campbell Dr Charles Hall Stewart ( deceased ) Mr Alun Coulter Mr Ian Thompson Mr David Fulton ( resigned ) Mr James Thompson ( resigned ) Mr Robert Fulton ( resigned ) Mr Lewis Todd Mr Norman McFadden Mr James Walker Mr Desmond McKee ( resigned ) Mr Mark Walker Mr Joseph Millar ( retired ) Mr Raymond Walker Rev. George Moore Rev. Alan Moore ( Chairperson to 31/03/23 ) ( Chairperson from 01/04/23 ) Mr Geoffrey Moore ( Interim Session ) Mr Derrick Murphy ( Interim Session ) Mr Ian Titterington “ “ Mr David Lewis ( Interim Clerk of Session) Rev Christopher Wilson “ “

PRINCIPAL OFFICE BEARERS

Minister ( None – Vacancy )

Rev. Alan Moore ( resigned 31/03/23 ) Vacancy Convenors Rev. George Moore ( appointed 01/04/23) Clerk of Session ( Acting ) Rev. Ivan Ferris ( resigned 31/03/23 ) “ “ “ ( App. 01/04/22 ) Mr. David Lewis ( appointed by Presbytery ) Treasurer Mrs Dorothy Thompson

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Mrs Laura Fleck FCA, 24 Moneyrod Road, Randalstown, BT41 3JB

BANKERS

Danske Bank, 42 High Street, Antrim BT41 4AP

SOLICITORS : Samuel Cumming & Son, 39 Linenhall Street, Ballymena, BT43 5AJ

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RANDALSTOWN (OLD CONGREGATION) CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT

The Kirk Session

The charity trustees of the congregation are the members of its 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 is in place in the congregation and seeks to further the contribution of the Church to Christian witness and service in the local community. The Kirk Session has delegated to its Congregational Committee the temporal affairs of the congregation including administering all funds and property 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 the ruling elders of the congregations. All members are entitled to propose, speak and exercise equal votes at meetings, except that the Moderator, the ministers / convenors in active duty in the congregation, has no deliberative but only a casting vote.

Stated meetings of the Kirk session are held on at least five occasions throughout the year; September, November, January, March, and May.

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. Members are elected if they obtain two-thirds of those who vote and then confirmed acceptable by Presbytery.

Presbytery

Under the Presbyterian Church in Ireland form of governance the corporate oversight of a congregation is the responsibility of a Presbytery which superintends generally the spiritual and temporal affairs of the congregations assigned to it by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Randalstown (Old Congregation) congregation of the Presbyterian Church has been assigned to the Templepatrick Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The membership of the Presbytery consists mainly of the active ministers of congregations assigned to it by the General Assembly, ministers who have retired from active duty and an elder appointed by the Kirk Session of the congregation.

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RANDALSTOWN (OLD CONGREGATION) CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

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, administration and judicial authority, in dealing with all matters brought before it. The General Assembly is normally constituted during the first week in June for worship and to conduct its business. At the end of business, it is dissolved. The membership of the General Assembly consists mainly of the active ministers of each congregation, retired ministers and a representative elder appointed by the Kirk Session of each congregation.

DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE

The charitable purpose of the congregation is the advancement of religion ( Christianity )

Randalstown (Old Congregation) congregation of the Presbyterian Church is a congregation 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 Scripture 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 congregation’s mission purposes is, “To know Jesus and lovingly to make Him known.” Our vision is, by the grace of God, to be an inclusive, welcoming community of Christ’s people of all ages, which:

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RANDALSTOWN (OLD CONGREGATION) CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

ACTIVITIES AND OBJECTIVES

The congregation meets for worship every Sunday and visitors are welcome to join. The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is observed three times during the year and all those who have been baptised and who have made a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are admitted to the Lord’s Supper. The congregation holds regular bible study meetings and has a wide range of organisations including

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Worship and prayer

The congregation normally meets for worship each Sunday at 11.30am and 6.00pm, two evenings per month. During the week, the Bible Study provides an opportunity for the members to meet for fellowship, to study the scriptures and for a time of prayer.

As well as our regular services during the year we acknowledged God’s gift of new life at 1 Sacrament of Baptism, we conducted 0 marriage services and gave thanks for faithful services and sought to comfort those who had been bereaved during the year.

At 31 December 2023 there were 225 communicant members and 292 families connected with the congregation.

Pastoral care

The convenor and pastoral care assistant along with the session members carried out home visits, prioritising those who were ill at home or in crisis situations.

Mission and outreach

At a local level the congregation reached out to our community through our youth and children’s work, senior citizens cross community work, and linked into local events in our town. We continued to financially and prayerfully support one of our church members who serves as a missionary in Peru with Latin Link.

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RANDALSTOWN (OLD CONGREGATION) CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

We also supported the work of the Bible Society, Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child and Belfast City Mission amongst other missionary endeavours.

The congregation supports the United Appeal for Mission, which is a central fund of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. This fund enables congregations to support the wider mission of the denomination and to do mission and outreach on a denominational basis beyond what the congregation could do on its own. The United Appeal Fund provides financial support for mission personnel at home and overseas, assists congregations with the deployment of locally based staff, enables church planting, 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 congregation in the areas of worship, discipleship, global mission, outreach, leadership and pastoral care.

The congregation also contributed to the denominations annual World Development Appeal, Sunday School project and other special appeals.

Presbytery

The congregation was represented at the regular meetings of Presbytery by our Ministerial Convenor and an elder. This provided an important link between the congregations and the wider structures of the church.

General Assembly

The ministerial convenor and one of our elders were nominated to attend the meeting of the General

Property

During 2023 we continued to maintain and improve the facilities with essential maintenance where required.

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RANDALSTOWN (OLD CONGREGATION) CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

Organisations

Sunday school

On average there were 15 to 20 children taking part. Each session covered a particular theme such as ‘God’s Love’. The young people learned more about God’s word through a variety of activities including stories, games, crafts, quizzes, prayer and memory verses.

Tots Together

It provides a Play Space and Activities suitable for pre-school children with a mid-morning snack. Parents / Guardians stay with their children and the church provides volunteers to run the group.

Girls’ Brigade

This uniformed Christian organisation for girls and young women met every Thursday evening from September to March. The dedicated leaders provided a rich and varied programme which culminated with the Annual Display for parents.

Boys’ Brigade

Randalstown O.C. Boys’ Brigade is a uniformed Christian organisation which met each Wednesday night with an online programme. Boys attending continued to work through their Bible and Badge classes with which they were presented at the Annual end of year Display.

Helping Hands

Helping Hands is a group of ladies who meet to do crafts, which are mainly crochet work and knitting, which are all donated to missions, mostly overseas.

Youth Fellowship

An average of 10 - 12 young people of secondary school belonged to this group who met on a Sunday evening to have fellowship, bible study and activities to forge friendships and gain a understanding of Christian life. This group did not resume in September 2022 as the minister, who reigned in June 2022, had been the leader.

Indoor Bowling Club

This club provides leisure and fellowship for both male and female members of all ages from across the community. It met each Monday afternoon and evening with approximately 20 attending at both sessions. They take part in the local Churches indoor Bowling League.

Men’s Fellowship

This group took some time to get started after Covid restrictions but held two events for men in the congregation with one in the hall and one outing.

Presbyterian Women

This group provides fellowship and encourages women of all ages to become disciples of Christ and to live for him.

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RANDALSTOWN (OLD CONGREGATION) CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

Friendship Group This is a group of senior citizens from across the community normally meet in the church hall monthly on Thursday afternoons. They enjoy a wide range of speakers and entertainers and enjoy afternoon tea as well as the annual Seniors Christmas Lunch.

Volunteers

The Trustees wish to acknowledge their deep appreciation of those who give freely of their time by serving on committees and helping with organisations and other church activities.

PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland meets the public benefit requirement by providing benefit to its members and the 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 through the care of those in need (including the sick, disabled, and bereaved).

Generally, the above benefits are delivered locally by congregations 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 using 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, 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 because of their holding office or employment. However, this is incidental and necessary 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 communities throughout Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and worldwide which benefit from our engagement with and support for both Christian and other secular organisations, charities, 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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RANDALSTOWN (OLD CONGREGATION) CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The congregation’s main source of income is members’ contributions through the Weekly Freewill Offering. There were 205 contributors donating a total of £ 75,378 during the year compared with 217 donating £ 80,194 in previous year (2022).

Total Income of the congregation during the year decreased to £ 138,312 compared with £144,259 in the previous year.

Total expenditure increased from £ 136,590 in 2022, to £ 173,195 in 2023.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements of the congregation in accordance with applicable law and generally accepted accounting practice.

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

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the congregation’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time its financial position. 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.

Approved by the Interim Kirk Session at a meeting on 30 May 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

Name: Rev. George Moore Name Mr. David Lewis Vacancy Convener Interim Clerk of Session Date: 30 May 2024 Date: 30 May 2024

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