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2022-12-31-annual-report

BANNSIDE CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN

IRELAND

Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC105121)

BANNSIDE CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

The Trustees present their Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022 including a Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at that date.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Bannside congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland 21 Castlewellan Road, Banbridge BT32 4AX

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC105121)

CHARITY TRUSTEES

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

Frank Arnold Sandra Bickerstaff
Ivan Christie Jim Dale
George Derby Helen Derby
David Dodds Alan Dowd
Billy Ferguson Mark Gray
Gavin Henry Mary Hewitson
Norman Houston James Hudson
Barbara Huey Jeremy Kyle
Jim Mallon Ben Matson
Kim McAnespie Sally McCahon
Dennis McLeod Elizabeth McLeod
Dereck McMaster Gillian McNaugher
George Nesbitt Robert Nesbitt
Bobby Niblock Robert Patterson
Henry Plester Colleen Rimmer
John Robinson Anne Scott

Leslie White

Brian Topping

PRINCIPAL OFFICE BEARERS

Minister Clerk of Session Treasurer

Rev Dr Mark Gray David Dodds Leslie White

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Philip Pollock

BANKERS

Danske Bank 37-39 Bridge Street Banbridge BT32 3JL

SOLICITORS

Heron & Dobson 6 Bridge Street Banbridge BT32 3JS

BANNSIDE 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 Sessions 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 in active duty in the congregation, has no deliberative but only a casting vote.

Stated meetings of the Kirk session are held six times each year.

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. Bannside congregation of the Presbyterian Church has been assigned to the Iveagh 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.

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 minsters 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.

Bannside 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 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.

Our key objective is to put Jesus Christ at the centre of our Church and to witness to the values He gives us. We seek to create a Christian Community of faith and worship, and a fellowship which is open and caring. We want to have a strong sense of mission at home and further afield.

We seek to relate constructively to other Christian denominations and so be part of Christ’s ongoing work of reconciliation.

Both male and female are accepted and respected in leadership roles. We aim to have a nonjudgemental approach in welcoming people.

We encourage each person to explore an authentic spirituality, but to be aware of the diversity of spiritual experiences people have in their journey of faith.

ACTIVITIES AND OBJECTIVES

The congregation meets for worship every Sunday and visitors are welcome to join. The Sacrament of the Lords Supper is observed on four 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

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Worship and prayer

The congregation normally meets for worship each Sunday at 11.00am. During the week the Bible Study provides an opportunity for members to meet together 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 two Sacraments of Baptism, we conducted two marriage services and gave thanks for faithful service and sought to comfort those who had been bereaved during the year.

At 31 December 2022 there were 390 communicant members and 382 families connected with the congregation. The average weekly attendance at morning worship is 180, with up to 200 viewing the streamed service either live or later.

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, elders or by one of the congregation’s pastoral visitors.

Mission and Outreach

Bannside Tots provides a welcome on a weekly basis to those parents and grandparents who are caring for pre-school children. The inter-church Lenten Bible study in which Bannside is involved helps develop our relationships within and across the community divide.

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 contributes to the denomination’s Presbyterian Children’s Society, Sunday School project and any other special appeals.

In 2022 Bannside contributed £11,069 to the PCI United Appeal, £10,112 to the Moderator’s Appeal for Ukraine, £4,145 to the PCI World Development Appeal, £2,756 to the Presbyterian Children’s Society, £1,350 to Tearfund, and £2,000 to the PW Missions Fund.

Presbytery

The congregation was represented at the regular meetings of Presbytery by our minister and 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 Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland held in Assembly Buildings, Belfast, in October .

Property

In 2022 the total expenditure on church property projects, excluding maintenance and running costs, was £3,360. This was comprised of new doors in Main Hall £2,490), and new doors and blinds in the Minister’s Room (£870).

Organisations

During the course of the year the following organisations met:-

There are 52 Mums, Grannies and childminders on the register, with 25-30 on average attending each week between 10.00 and 11.45am. Two major events in the calendar are the Christmas Party and the annual trip to Scallywags.

The Club meets weekly, holding monthly tournaments as well as playing home and away fixtures against other local clubs.

Widows’ Group

The Men’s Club meets monthly from January to March and from September to December when up

to 20 members, from both Bannside and other congregations, hear from speakers on a range of topics.

The Prayer Group meets for an hour every Monday morning to bring to God our thanks for all He has done for us, our concerns for those people and situations known to us, local, national and global, and our hopes for the future.

The Bereavement Support Group offers prayerful and practical support for families at a stressful and emotional time.

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.

BANNSIDE CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

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 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 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 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.

BANNSIDE 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 239 families who recorded contributions during the year (237 in 2020).

Total Income of the congregation during the year was £207,893, compared to £179,464 in the previous year.

Total expenditure increased very marginally from £178,253 to £178,885.

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 Kirk Session at a meeting on 2[nd] October 2023 and signed on its behalf by

[Name] Mark Gray

[Name] David Dodds

[Date] 2[nd] October 2023

[Date] 2[nd] October 2023