Pre Cladymore Presbyterian Church a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2023 Registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland NIC105038 TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT The Trustees present their Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2023. REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Cladymore congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, 91 Cladymilltown Road. Markethill, BT60 2EF Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC105038) CHARITY TRUSTEES The Charity Trustees who served during the year or who were trustees at the date of this report were Rev Norman Smyth Mr David Wilson Mr David Mcmullen Mr Kenneth Moffett Mr Wallace Porter Mrs Emily Huston PRINCIPAL OFFICE BEARERS Minister Rev Norman Smyth Mr David Wilson Clerk of Session Church Secretary Treasurer Mrs Denise Carswell, Mrs Jennifer Taylor Mr Alan Huston INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Ms Karen Rainey 41 Leany Road Dungannon BT70 1SL Pres 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 Congregationalcommittee. 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 in active duty in the congregation, has no deliberative but only a casting vote. Stated meetings of the Kirk session are held at least twice in each year or as appropriate. 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. 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. Cladymore Presbyterian Church has been assigned to the Armagh 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 Assernbly, ministers who have retired from active duty and an elder appointed by the Kirk Session of each congregation. 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 Cladyrnore Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. ThePresbyterian Church in Ireland, asa 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 bythe power of His Spirit, and to enable her members to play their part in fulfilling God's mission to our world. The congregations, mission purpose is by the gra￿ 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: is increasingly characterised by love for God, and love and concern for others- is committed to the historic Christian gospel as revealed in the Bible" is relevant to people of this time and pla￿. The congregation aims to live out its Mission and Vision as a family of God's people by being.. A Covenant Community.. where our relationships are rooted in the promises of God by living faithfully toward him and toward one another An Intergenerational Community". where adults intentionally take the lead to engage with, encourage and nurture younger members to maturity in Christ. An Outward looking Community: where we want the blessings of God that belong to us in the gospel to become blessings for others beyond the bounds of our community. As a congregation 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 matters of Christian faith and practice 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 obsenied on several occasions 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 Sunday School Bible Class Presbyterian Women Friendship Group Midweek Group Bowling Club ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE Worship and prayer The congregation normally meets for worship each Sunday at 12 noon and 7.30pm on the third Sunday of each month. During the week the Bible StudylPrayer meeting provides an opportunity for members to meet together for fellowship, to study the scriptures and for a time of prayer. At 31 December 2023 there were 127 communicant members. The average week attendance at morning worship is 45. Pastoral care Members of the congregation who are unable to attend church due to sickness or age are visited on a regular basis by the minister and elders. TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont'd) Mission and outreach At a local level the congregation have continued to reach out to the community, this year we held a Praise Night to mark the Kings Coronation all proceeds of this went to Air Ambulance Nl. Our Fellowship group also ran an Afternoon Tea to celebrate the Coronation. We have also held a Walk and Talk evening in June. This year we also had our annual Carols by Candlelight which brought in many not belonging to our congregation. The church ladies also organized a Coffee morning in aid of Sunday School Funds and Young Lives v's Cancer. 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 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 congregations in the areas of worship, discipleship, global mission. outreach, leadership and pastoralcare. During 2023 the congregation also contributed to the work of: CCL Europe Air Ambulance Nl BCM Benevolent Fund Tear Fund Presbyterian Orphan & Children's Society Earl Haig Benevolent Fund EMF Moderators Appeal Armagh Food Bank Presbytery The congregation was represented at the regular meetings of Presbytery by our minister and l or one of the elders. This provides an important link between the congregations and the wider structures of the church. General Assembly The minister and one of our elders were nominated to attend the meeting of the General TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont'd) Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland held in Assembly Buildings, Belfast, in June. Property No major refurbishment work carried out to church property during 2023 otsthan gerEral TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont'd) Organisations Thesunday School and Bible Class usually meet every Sundaymorning at 11 am, exceptfor the months ofJuly & August. Twelve children attend regularly aged 4 to 16 years. We have 3 Sundayschoolteachers and 1 Bible Class teacher. Thechildren learn catechism andwere taught Bible lessons. Onthe second Sunday in Junewe held a Youth Sunday, were the children recited poems and played instruments as part of the morning worship. Presbyterian Women is open to all ladies in the congregation. It has 16 members who usually meet monthly from September to April. This organisation aims to provide an opportunity for women to have fellowship with one another and to seek to win women for Jesus Christ. It also aims to encourage Christian discipleship and to foster support for local and global mission. In May each year the ladies have an outing in which friends are encouraged to attend. Third Sunday in November they hold a pw Service. The Friendship Group meets twice a month from September to April and is an opportunity for retired folk to meet together. Each meeting will have an invited speaker to talk about topical issues. Various trips are also arranged throughout the year. Presb ter an TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont'd) Volunteers The Trustees wish to acknowledge their deep appreciation of those who give freely of their time by seNing 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 general public by making known the Christian Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ through the advancement of religion. The direct benefits which flowfrom the purposes of the Church include the gaining of an understanding in Christian beliefs as setout in the Bible and in the Church's subordinate standards(theWestminsterConfession of Faith andthe Shorterand Largercatechisms) leading to spiritual and moral development and opportunities for response to Bible teaching. In turn, thisframework leads to practical expressions of Christian beliefs and standards in the local community such asthrough the care of those in need (including the sick, disabled and bereaved). Generally the abovebenefits aredelivered locally by congregations and their members. or arefacilitated through presbyteries orare organised and delivered centrally. Local delivery isfacilitated by central reSoUr￿S in almostall cases. Public access is made known through the use of notice boards, 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 as a result of their holding office or employment. However, this is incidental TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont'd) 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 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. FINANCIAL REVIEW The congregation's main Sour￿ of income is members, contributions through the Weekly Freewill Offering. There were 59 families who contributed during the year 2023 donating a total of £35,263.00. RESPONSIBILITIES IN RESPECT OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. TheTrustees are responsibleforkeeping adequate accounting recordsthataresufficientto showand explainthefundstransactions and disclosewith reasonable accuracy atanytime the financial position ofthe congregation. They are also responsible forsafeguarding the assets of the congregation and hence fortaking reasonable steps forthe prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. As the congregations total income does not ex￿ed £250,000, the Trustees have elected under section 6413) of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 to prepare a receipts and payments account. TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT {cont'd) Approved by the Kirk Session at a meeting on 15 October 2024 and signed on its behalf by Rev Norman Smyth (Minister) David Wilson (Clerk of Session) Date . 15 October 2024 Date: 15 October 2024 1C