BALLYHOLME PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND Trustees Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2023 Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC1051281
BALLYHOLME PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT The Trustees present their Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023 including a Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at that date. REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Ballyholme Presbyterian Church congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland 46, Ashley Drive Bangor BT20 5RD Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC105128) CHARITY TRUSTEES The Charity Trustees who served during the year or who were trustees at the date of this report Peter Lyle David Adgey Resigned 17 October 2023 Slmon Liggett Hazel Larmour Tom McAvoy Mervyn Menown Francls Russell Muriel Smyth Audrey Titterington Michael White Joan Hunter Susan Adgey Resigned 17 October 2023 Steven Hamilton Resigned 17 October 2023 John Luke William Mccoubrey Ronald Patton Lesley Reid Rosemary Rutledge Stuart Stevenson PRINCIPAL OFFICE BEARERS Minister Clerk of Session Treasurer Rev. P.C. Lyle Mrs. Joan Hunter Mr. A. R. S. Stevenson INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Stanley Woods & Co, Alexander House, 49151 Church Street, Newtownards, BT23 4AN BANKERS Danske Bank, Bloomfield Shopping Centre, Bangor Ulster Bank, Springhill Shopping Centre, Bangor
BALLYHOLME PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT STRucfuRE 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-offlclo members of the Congregational Committee. The Kirk Session consists of the ordained minister and the ruling elders of the congregation. 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 on the 2nd Wednesday of each month excepting July and August. To be chosen for the office of the eldership in the congregation a person must be a voting member, a contributor to the Free Will Offering and a regular attendant at the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The selection of those proposed to be called to the office can be either by the congregation or by the Kirk Session. Nominated members are elected if they obtaln two-thirds of those who vote at a speclal congregatlonal meetlng. 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. Ballyholme Presbyterian Church congregation of the Presbyterian Church has been assigned to the Ards Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The membership of the Presbytery consist5 mainly of the active mlnlsters of congregations assigned to it by the General Assembly, minsters who have retired from active duty from congregations within the Presbytery, an elder appointed by the Kirk Session of the congregation and other invited representatives. The General Assemblv 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
BALLYHOLME PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT worship and to conduct its business. At the end of business, it is dissolved. The membership of the General Assembly consists mainly of the artive ministers of each congregation, retired minsters. a representative elder appointed by the Kirk Session of each congregation and other invited representatives from various areas of church life. DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE The charitable purpose of the congregation is the advancement of religion. Ballyholme Presbyterian Church 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. The congregation's mission purposes are by the grace of God, to help people of all ages become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Our vislon Is, by the grace of God, to be an inclusive, welcoming community of Christ's people of all ages, which: 15 increasin8ly 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 place. 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.
BALLYHOLME PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT ACTIVITIES AND OBJEcfivES The congregation meets for worship every Sunday and visitors are welcome to join. The Sacrament of the Lords Supper is observed 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 and activities including: Sunday School Parent and Toddlers New Horizons Ladies Group Youth Council My Church Men's Group Badminton Sunday Crèche Youth Fellowship Praise Band Bowling Club Pre-school Group After Service Tea/Coffee Flower Guild Prayer Ministry Making Mornings Ramblers ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE Worship and prayer Throughout 2023 we continued to adapt to a post Covid environment. Service attendances settled to a level not far below pre Covid levels. Particular encouragement was the number of children in attendance and participating in the children's section of the service. The music praise has been led by a Praise Group, and Organist and a pianist who work on a rota system. We have continued to meet monthly with the other churches in Ballyholme being a monthly United Service whlch rotates around the churches involved, weekly evening epilogue services through July and August, and Holy Week services from Palm Sunday to Good Friday followed by an Easter Dawn Service which has seen other churches from the area starting to join with us. In 2023 Ballyholme Parish Church hosted the Holy Week services. It was a deep regret that Ballyholme Methodist church closed in May 2023. We will carry very special memories of our times working alongside them in the community. Our services continue to be streamed live via YouTube each week and are available for viewing from then on and the evenin8 prayer posts for members of the con8re8ation and anyone else who joins us on social media are posted every day. We continue to host Wedding and funeral services although 2023 saw a marked shift in Weddings being held in 'venues' where the whole daWs events are in the one location. Our post service refreshments continue to be one of the highlights of the week with the majority of attenders choosing to remain afterwards for Social engagement. This develops relationships among the congregation and is a much appreciated service particularly by our elderly members who enjoy the company.
BALLYHOLME PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT The year also sees the Church Calendar marked with Easter, Harvest and Christmas Services and we also have the sacramental celebrations of communion and baptisms. The second half of 2023 saw our minister off for an extended period due to ill health. Worship services were covered each week by a variety of retired ministers who live in the local area and one dealt with pastoral emergencies and funerals. We have two prayer groups who meet each week - one in person group on a Tuesday mooring and another Zoom meeting on a Thursday evenlng. These are supported by a committed group of church members. Pastoral care Pastoral care is primarily delivered by the Minister who vislts families who request such support, as well as those who are111, In hospital or bereaved. These often require several follow up visits as well. He also visits around the elderly. A major challenge that has developed in recent years is the lack of notifications from hospitals with many members saying they are never asked about church aff iliation on admission to hospital. We have been encouraging families to take on the responsibility to notify us. We have also been trialing a mentorship scheme for our young people. Mlsslon and outreach The start of 2023 saw the congregation appolntlng a Youth Worker to oversee and deliver Youth ministry within the congregation and as he does so develop connections with families of young people who come along to our activities. Out of this we have commenced a number of new ventures. An after school drop in for secondary level pupils takes place on a Thursday afternoon and on Wednesdays we have opened our hall for parents, grandparents and carers who have picked up children from Ballyholme Primary School at 2pm and have to wait until 3pm to pick up older siblings. We provlde refreshments, conversation and activities for the younger children. Many of those who come along do not attend our congregation so it is a real, and much appreciated, service to the community. The work with young people continues with trips to events such as Summer Madness and Ice Hockey matches. We also host Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers as well as Active Sport Nl who work with pre- school and primary age children and a children's drama group. The church also runs a very successful and busy Parent & Toddlers Group, a crafting group and a badminton group. All these involve church members and members of the community. We have also become involved in the establishment of a community group called Love Ballyholme. Our Youth Worker represents us on the Committee and we are involved in runnin8 community family events. We continue to SUPPOrt our appeals through the Presbyterian Church. Christian Aid, Samaritan Purse's Operation Christmas Child, Salvation Army Christmas Appeal, The Earl Haig Fund and Storehouse North Down as well as a family working in Senegal with Wycliffe Bible Translators.
BALLYHOLME PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT We are involved in work in the local schools namely, Ballyholme and Towerview Primary Schools. Our rninister is Chair of the Board of Governors in both schoo15 and along with our Youth Worker conducts school assembly and participates in delivering some RE classes in partnership with Scripture Union. We are lookin8 at more ways in which we can reach into the community. We continue to participate in the life of the local Presbytery through our minister and a representative elder. They attend the monthly meetings and serve on various committees and commissions of the Presbytery. Ballyholrne Presbyterian Church vlslts Senegal In April 2023, 8 members of the congregation took the opportunity to visit our Wycliffe missionaries the Lowrys, In Senegal. The Lyle, Woodgates and Hamilton families set off forjust over a week to Thèis. For five days we worked with the children of four families, including Emily and Aoife Lowry, providing childcare and a holiday bible club experience of songs, games, crafts and teaching. This enabled the mums and dads who are all involved in bible translation projects around the vast country, to spend time together in conference, giving and receiving reports of the progress of their projects and spending time in retreat and worship. Our team bonded so well together and loved working with these precious children. In addition, we all felt we left with a much deeper understanding of the work that the Lowry's are involved in and the very different lifestyle challenges that they face. This has impacted our ability to pray for them in more specific and practical ways. At the end of the trip, the team had one day off and spent it visiting a local game drive, relaxing, and marvelling at the wonderful birds and animals who roamed there, as well as the spectacular scenery. It was a wonderful experience for everyone, not least the three girls of the party, who came home with new tallor-made African dresses and memories to last a lifetimel General Assembly We were represented at the General Assembly in June 2023 by your Minister and representative elder. Property None ORGANISATIONS Muslc Mlnlstry The Music Ministry has had another very positive year with all our singers and musicians both in the Praise Band and June on organ and Cherry on piano continuing to generously give their time to lead us, as a congregation, to God's throne in praise and worship. We are hugely blessed that our young people are willing to be increasingly involved in this ministry with Christopher regularly contributing to our seriices on the organ and the new Youth Band, formed
BALLYHOLME PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT though Youth Fellowship by the young people themselves and ably led by Ellie now having led both a pre-christmas Youth Service and a fantastic Worship & Prayer service in February. God has blessed our congregation with musically gifted people and we are always on the lookout for others to join the Music Ministry so if you feel that God is leadin8 YOU to make use of your talents to play and/or sing in church, come and have a chat with any of us. Prayer Mlnlstry Prayer Ministry meet on Tuesday morning at 11.00am in the Primary Room. All prayer requests are confidential and we pray one month for each one. There are two prayer request boxes and cards, one in the church reception area and one in the halls reception area. A warm welcome is extended to all to join us in prayer (the spoken and the unspoken) friendshlp and fellowship together. We feel it is a great privilege to pray for the needs of our own church familyi our missionaries and the wider world. We have much to thank God for and much to seek His guidance for. Zoom Prayer Tlme The Zoom Prayer is one of our congregation's groups that came out of the Covid pandemic. It very quickly established itself as a much looked forward to weekly meeting. Now running for nearly 4 years it has far exceeded expectations. From its earliest days some, as would have been expected, have stepped aside from weekly participation. That being said, the majority of participants have remained and have, from its online nature, found it convenient to join from their own homes. Their regular participation has also helped their practice of prayer to develop significantly. We continue to have one member who joins us from the United States which ha5 added to the richness of the group. The group meets each Thursday evening beginning at 8.30pm and offers prayers of worship, confession, thanksgiving and intercession for ourselves, other5, our church and the wider church, and current events in the world. One great outcome has been the opportunity to see prayers being answered both within our own circles and beyond. The beauty of the onllne platform is that we can cope wlth any number Jolnln8 and we would encourage any others within the congregation to feel free to join us. Sunday School Little Acorns Little Acorns Sunday School continues to be a hive of play, worship and learning. Each week we welcome our children into Sunday School by sharing our weekly news before taking time to celebrate any birthdays or special achievements. We then move onto our weekly lesson and this year we are followin8 the 'Click' Bible lessons which are tailored with language suitable for our young children as well as being packed full of lot5 of different crafts and activitiesl
BALLYHOLME PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT Once we have completed our lesson, the children are then encouraged to partake in an activity or craft to help cement their learning before engaging with the many different play activities set out which are aimed at encouraging their imagination and curiosity skills. Whilst our numbers attending Little Acorns Sunday School can vary on a weekly basis, we consider it a real blessing to see every young child come through our doors and we love to welcome each child every week to hear about their news and encourage the beginnings of their journey of faith. This year we have made some changes to our adult helper system with each lesson being planned and delivered by either Eileen or Nikki but supported by several people from the congregation each week. We are very grateful to each helper for their support and enthusiasm each week! Our aim in Little Acorns Sunday School contlnues to be to get our young children excited and interested in learning about the Bible and to understand just how much they are loved and valued. In December 2023 Little Acorns Sunday School took to the stage to preform our Nativity along with some wonderful help from the Oaks Sunday School. This was a fantastic performance and it was lovely to see the confidence of every chlld grow as they stepped on the stage. I continue to be very grateful to the church and all the members for reco8nlsing this and supporting us in Sunday School. Every prayer, word of encouragement or smile is always greatly received and appreciated. l also wish to extend my gratitude to the parents of our young children for their sUPPOrt and to all leaders for their hard work and enthusiasm. Oaks Our Sunday School classes are now called Acorns Ithe seeds of faith being sown} and Oaks, (the word deepening and faith growlng stronger). 2023 was marked with the addition of more families returning on a regular basis from the end of lockdown and it has been very encouraging to see the little upstairs room almost full every week with P4-P7 aged children (Oaks). Numbers of little ones however have fluctuated and sadly often there are as many leaders as children in Acorns. Our Sunday Schools are prayed for every week in our church prayer groups. We ask for blessing in the lives of our children and families, we pray for guidance as we plan and deliver teachin8 which, in our increasingly secular age, needs to be clear, relevant and robust. Prayers have been answered for leaders and there is now a strong team to help each week and a body of volunteers to fill in when required. The children are curious and eager to learn and we continue to use an explorative and interactive approach to learning the stories of Jesus and the teachings of His word. The Oaks have enjoyed learning about many different (and less well-known) characters in the Bible this year. These have often been challenging and uncomfortable stories to grapple with. They get the chance to meet them in person each week when the 'characterf sits on the 'Hot Seat, to be interviewed. We have continued to help them contextualise their learning by inviting the P4-P7 classes to join the congregation to observe our communion service5 and using their knowledge of the books of the Bible to find the passages read each Sunday Service.
BALLYHOLME PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT We continue to love seeing the children from crèche coming to the front each week for the children's addre55 and then out to crèche. We loved that they took part this year in the Nativity and acted and even spoke so well! In our Nativity this year, the powerful story of Christmas was told in word, song, instrument and even dance. Even the smallest person had a part to play which was wonderful. It was fantastic to have Soul Star (Bible class) join us in the music roles, and we thank them for bein8 such good role models for the younger children coming behind them. Two of our Oaks Sunday School members got the opportunity to travel to Senegal and work alongside their parents who were doing a Holiday Bible Club for the children of SIL and Wycliffe workers in the region - what an experience for them to go and then to 'report back, at church when they got home. We give thanks to God for each child who comes along and we thank families for supporting us too. Looking ahead, we are excited at the opportunities we have here In Ballyholme as we partner with parent5 in the task of helping to lead boys and girls to love and serve Christ and his church. Soul Star Soul Star has a group of 5-6 core members that attend each week. In early January 4 members of Soul Star became communicant members of the church. To allow them to take communion Soul Star doesn't happen during the weeks of communion. At the start of the year, we finished off the 2417 prayer course that we started in 2022 which taught the young people different ways to pray to God and allowed time during the sessions to pray. We have also been using the Presbyterian Church in Ireland resource called Bite-size the first booklet in thi5 resource is Identity it gets to the heart of some of life's big questions: Who am l? Who is God? Is God relevant to my daily lifeP Each session Enables young people to understand key biblical truths about who they are in light of who God is and what he intends for their lives. The four areas we have looked at are: I: WHO AM IP - We belong to God so our identity lies completely and eternally in Christ. 2: WHO IS GOD? . God is the loving creator and controller of everything- we can trust him. 3: TRINITY - God is a relationship of three persons but one God- we can know him. 4: IMAGE OF GOD - We were created to show God to others and bring glory to him in our lives. We hope to continue with the next bit of the resource in 2024. Each week in Soul Star we always share food and a hot chocolate or apple juice while chatting with everyone and finding out what they have been up to the previous week. Youth Fellowship At the beginning of the year, Jonny Farrel from Stand By Me visited us to share about the organisation's global work in providin8 essential needs. Inspired by this, we took turns sleeping on the floor to raise 10
BALLYHOLME PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT funds for beds in Ethiopia, successfully assisting four families. In February, we teamed up with Ballyholme Parish for a fun outing to watch the Belfast Giants at SSE Arena Belfast. March brought another collaboration with the parish for a youth weekend at Kilbroney Centre, where Rebecca from the organisation, Made for More shared about how Jesus is a good gardener. The weekend included a scavenger hunt in Kilbroney forest park and a campfire with toasted marshmallows. Our youth praise band led worship at each session. We hosted a Cafe Church event with the Stand By Me team to shed light on their impattful global initiatives. Post-Easter, we indulged in Easter baking and craft-making, including an adventurous attempt at tie-dyelng t-shirts. Our celebrations contlnued with a lively party on May 7th to mark the Coronation, complete with pizza and homemade buns. As Summer approached, we embraced the warmer weather with outdoor activities like walks to Kingsland Park for ice cream, visits to Groomsport for games and hotdogs, and even a refreshing water fight. Wrapping up the school year, we organized a delightful BBQ for all members and families cooked by Simon Liggett. After a summer break, we kicked off September with an exclting trip to Let's Go Hydro Aqua Park. Durlng the half-term break, we hosted a series of enga8in8 hangout events featurin8 various activities, worship led by our youth band, and insightful bible teachings by Andrew Watson from Ballyholme Parish. December brought festive spirit with Youth Fellowship partlclpating in the Ballyholme Christmas light switch-on event and hosting the Ballyholme Primary School P5 choir for a heartwarming Christmas service. To finish off the year, we attended the Carols by Candlellght servlce followed by a joyous YF Christmas party featuring plenty of pizza and a lively game of Secret Santa. A heartfelt thank you goes out to all the dedicated leaders who generously volunteer their Sunday evenings to serve at Youth Fellowship. Throughout the year, our Youth Fellowship group engaged in a variety of activitie5 that brought US closer together and allowed us to make a positive impact on our community. From raising funds for Stand By Me to enjoying outings and events, we shared many memorable moments. As the seasons changed, so did our activities - from sleeping on the floor to walking in the park, from tle-dye attempts to water fights, each experience brought us closer as a group. We learned about giving back, having fun, and growing together. As we reflect on the year gone by, we are filled with gratitude for everyone who contributed their time and eneryi to make our Youth Fellowship a welcoming and enriching space. The memories we created will stay with us for a long time, reminding us of the joy and camaraderie we shared. As we look ahead to the new year, we are excited for more adventures, more learning, and more opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others. Thank you to all the leaders, members, and supporters who make our Youth Fellowship a special place to belong. 11
BALLYHOLME PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT Flower Guild During this year, we had a great response to our appeal for new donations and strong support to provide flowers for most Sunday Services. This was through donations of both funds and flowers and we thank all those who contributed and also to a small group of dedicated folks who either arranged flowers, delivered flowers or both. We are truly thankful for all the small ways in which this important process works. Its importance 15 in the pleasure the distribution of flowers gives to members of our church family and the grateful thanks which they express In being remembered and also In the ways in which people who donate remember loved ones and mark special occasions. This year we have also given beautiful flowers to celebrate birthday and anniversary milestones and these have been a welcome and special surprise. We had special flowers for services celebrating Baptisms and at Easter, Harvest and Christmas. The donations at harvest rather than flowers, fruit and vegetables were generous gifts of food and supplies for Storehouse. We have received many heartfelt thanks for the gift of the flowers after a church service and we thank all those who have enabled that to continue. Events 2023 has been a very busy and productive year for the Events Team. The Kings Coronatlon Big Lunch was held after church on Sunday 7 May 2023 raislng £800.00 for the People's Kitchen and church funds. The top hall was full to burstlng with members of all ages, families and friendship groups enJoyin8 a lovely lunch and fellowship. On Friday 7 August Fred Lawson, Flo Wilson's grandson, provided us wlth an evening of beautiful classical and Spanish guitar music in the Church raisin8 £185 for the or8an fund. There was a full house on Sunday 3 September at the Church Barbecue with another opportunity for fellowship and lots of activities for families and friends including a bouncy castle and visits by the Fire 8rlgade and the Community Police. An Evening of Song organized by Linda Snell, former professional opera singer, was held on Friday 22 September in the Church with supper provided by the Team. Our sincere thanks to Linda who donated the income of £700 to church funds. Apple Pie and Cream were provided by the Team for Harvest after church on Sunday 8 October raising £273 for United Appeal. Our first Christmas Craft Fair in many years was held on Saturday 11 November with over thirty stall holders raising an amazing £2,257. We hope to run this again next year. Cinderella and the three u8ly sisters arrived in Ballyholme on Saturday 2 December to the delight of young and old. Great fun and laughter were had by all and £770 was raised once the company was paid. 12
BALLYHOLME PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT Theatrics one of the new groups using the upstairs meeting room on Wednesdays put on a performance in the Church on Friday 8 December and donated £150 to church funds. The year ended with our Caro15 by Candlelight service on Sunday 17 December when everyone joined in fellowship to enjoy mince pies and cream and exchange Christmas greetings. Our thanks to the Events Team for all their hard work and contributions over a very busy year and to everyone in the congregation who contributed food, donated, helped us Out and supported the various events during 2023. Storehouse North Down Storehouse North Down continues to provide a vital service to families in need in our community. This is due in no small part to the dedicated team of workers, volunteers, and supporters. Storehouse North Down has had another busy 12 months. The cost of living crisis and the rise in energv bills continue to leave a lot of people stru88lin8. Government help with cost of livin8 payments has had some impact as the number of hampers given in 2023 was down slightly from our peak of in 2022. This year we 8ave out 2035 hampers as opposed to 2205 In 2022. The overall cost of the hampers however Increased due to the rise in food prices. In 2023 the value of the hampers 8lven out was £159,463.24 this included 608 Christmas Hampers to a value of £34.337.48. This was our busiest Christmas to date. These hampers continue to include enough food, cleaning products and toiletries to last an individual or a family for a whole week so each hamper consists of an average 7 bags of shopping.Therefore, over the year we have given out approximately14,245bags of shopping. The number of individuals that we helped during the year was 4116. This year Salnsburys at Holywood Exchange donated £750.00 of Childrens Toys to Include in our Christmas Hampers. We are still supported with Fresh food from the farmers in Newtownards and we still recelve best before food from Marks & Spencer and Mash direct. We continue to be blessed with very generous support from local Churches, Schools, Businesses and individuals and we are very 8rateful for everyone's support. Ballyholme Presbyterian Church continues to support Storehouse through regular weekly donations of food, toiletries and cleaning products and we have many members of the congregation who give generously of their time, money, and prayerful support. Our"Reverse Advent" project was a great way to support Storehouse and boost 8reatly depleted "stock" after the Christmas rush. So many thanks for your continuing generous support throughout the past year. l John 3:18 'My children, our love should not be just words and talk. it must be true love. which shows itself in action,. Thursday Badmlnton Group We play from 10.00am until noon on Thursdays. 13
BALLYHOLME PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT We would welcome new members, male or female, of any age or ability. We get a bit of exercise and a very important cuppa. There's always a lot of laughter, do please thlnk about joining us. New Horizons New Horizons is pleased to report a very successful year as we all settled back into normality after Covid. We changed the time of our meetings to morning to provide easier parking and most members are happy with that. During the early part of 2023 we had various speakers including an Illustrated talk on Guatemala. This was of special interest as we financially support a young girl from that area. One of the most popular meeting5 required audience participation - favourite poems/texts/phrases. We both cried and laughed at some of the many presentations. It wa5 a wonderful meeting as we 8Ot to know each other better. A visit to the Mayorf5 Parlour in Bangor City Hall was a highlight and we all enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea. Our outing in May was to Ballycope5and Windmill, a conducted tour was included with a light lunch. We were pleased that Peter and Heather were able to join us on this occasion. Thank you all for your loyalty and encouragement and thanks are due to our dedicated Committee - Audreyi Rosemary, Eileen and Geraldine. If you wish to join us you will be made most welcome (men and ladies) we meet on the 3 Monday of the month at 10.30am finishing at 12 noon. Lifts can be arranged by speaking to Muriel. 'In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths,. Proverbs 3 v 6 rd Maklng Mornln8S Making Mornings is an organisation within our church. open to anyone who has an interest in any form of craft work such as knitting, crochet, sewing etc. We meet on Wednesday mornln8 from 10am- 12noon in the Primary room, where we enjoy sharing our skills and ideas over a cuppa and snack. At present we remain a small group of about 10 members. 2023 was a very Interesting and exciting year for us as a group, as it saw us taking on some new and exciting challenges and expanding our skills within our local community. The commitment and generosity of our members is second to none as we continue to effortlessly raise funding for worthwhile charities both local and further afield from the sale of our creations. A total of £1,443 wa5 made throughout the year of which £845 was made solely from our crafting sales. All of the proceeds from our sales were gifted to our own church funds, and to local charities such as Women's Aid, Nl Pancreatic Fund, Nl Kidney Research Fund, Store House and People's Kitchen. We also donate knitted/crochet items to Salvation Army, Samaritans Purse and Tiny Life. 14
BALLYHOLME PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT In May, we all celebrated the King's coronation and our talented ladies enjoyed helping by producing some unique knits to help decorate the hall for our Church Family Coronation Lunch. Our own knitted King Charles and Queen Camilla welcomed everyone at the doorl After the summer break we started on a new project. We had been approached by Santa the previous Christmas to ask us if we could do a topper for our local Postbox at Ballyholme. Needless to say this challenge was met with great excitement and enthusiasm and was effortlessly designed and completed in time for the Christmas light switch on in Ballyholme. We were all completely overwhelmed by the attention and reaction this nativity scene topper Teceived within our own community and we quickly gained quite a large following on social media. We were deli8hted that our Making Mornings Group had helped to portray the true meaning of Christmas through our talents. In November we had a table at our church Christmas Craft Sale and we're able to raise £490 towards our church funds. At the end of June we had a lunch outin8 to Ballycopeland Windmill which we all enjoyed especially as the sun was shinin& In early December we had our annual Christmas dinner at Pier 36 and was a great way to celebrate our achlevements throughout the year and look forward to new challenges for the coming year. Bowllng Club The Indoor Bowling Club meets every Tuesday nlght at 7.30pm. This has always been a very enjoyable night and this year was no exception. We play friendly games and have good fun. We are hopeful that we can attract new members. At the end of the season last year the club members went out for meal, this was a very successful nlght. The club has some spare bowls if anyone would like to come alon8 and try some bowling. You will be made very welcome. Parent & Toddlers Ballyholme Presbyterian Parent & Toddler group have enjoyed another year of friendships bein8 formed and along With a cuppa and a lot of friendly chat. Frlday mornings continue to be a hub of activity starting at 10.00am and finishing at 11.30am with children and adults singing rhymes, this is a fun, lively time. My thanks to one of our mums for offering to take this activity. The children learn to socialize with each other and are offered a large variety of toys, crafts, Jlgsaws and physical equipment to help stimulate their development. At the end of each term the children have a party and at Christmas we have a special visitor, Santa, who gives each child a small gift. At the end of the summer term when we are saying goodbye to some of the parents and children we provide a book for each child. During the year from the donations we receive each week, we were able to provide flowers for the Communion Table, contribute to heat/light and give a donation to support our Youth Work. 15
BALLYHOLME PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT All this would not be possible except for the small team of volunteers from our church family who come along every Friday and help in 50 many different ways to make it the success it is. My thank5 to all who give sterling service on Friday mornings. We hope all who come along find Parent & Toddlers a place of welcome and sense the presence of God's love. We pray God will continue to bless this work in our church. Ladles Group Our Ladies Group continues to meet on the first Wednesday of every month from 7:30-9:00pm. In November we welcomed Lady Sylvia Hermon who told us of her early life and also gave an insight into her political career. Around 50 ladies attended and also enjoyed a question time at the end. Our Christmas evening in December was definitely a hlghlight so far. One of our members, Dawn, gave a superb demonstration on how to ice and decorate Christmas cakes. Congratulations to Lynne, Audrey and Karen who each won a beautifully decorated cake to take home. We also had a surprise visit from Santa who distributed presents, Thanks to our friends from Making Mornin85 who gave a gift to each lady. Resulting from this, a donatlon was made to The People's Kitchen in Belfast. Our evening was made even more special a5 Ellie sang and played for us. Thank you to everyone involved for making it a great evening. One of the most important parts of each evening is the coffee and biscuits at the end. It is lovely to see new faces and people chatting and getting to know each other. Again, our thanks to Julie for her monthly reflexology se55ions which have proved to be very popular. Mens Mlnlstry Group Our new Mens Ministry Group continued to meet on a monthly basis during 2023. We had several very interesting speakers including David McManu5 from Air Ambulance Nl, David McGinty (Management Consultant and former Royal Marine), Lady Sylvia Hermon, Brian Meharg from RNLI, Stephen Cameron {speakin8 about the Patricia Curran murder) and Sam Wolfenden (speakin8 about lessons from history). We also enjoyed trips to the private cinema in Helen's Bay for a special screening of Hacksaw Ridge and a very informative tour of the Somme Museum. The year was completed with a delicious Christmas Dinner at The Esplanade followed by an entertaining talk from local journalist and author, Ivan Little- who really was phenomenall Thank you to everyone for attending the meetings and I would extend an invitation to all men in the congregation to come along to enjoy the fellowship and craic. Special thanks to Graham and his very capable deputies for keeping u5 well supplied with tea, coffee and treats. Preschool The children returned from their Christmas holidays, and we went straight into our "Signs of Winter theme." The children made snowmen and we played with Ice. However, it was so cold we stayed 16
BALLYHOLME PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT inside. The admissions for next year intake opened for the whole of January and due to a low birth rate we only filled 21 places, and we were able to take Pre Pre children this year. The first term was busy, and we covered theme5 "All about me, Transport, and shapes., Our themes of play are well thought out, creative and educational. The individual requirements of children with additional needs are carefully integrated into the daily plans. Preschool has a good Structure, with free play in the morning. Children have options including playing in a sectioned off area for physical play, role play, construction, art, craft, sand, dough, and water play. Snacking is a sociable experience for the children. Before our half term break, we had our annual Social Services Inspection; we were Inspected on "Quality of Care- Part 2" The inspection went well with no recommendation for improvement. As the weather improved, we were able to take the children outside to play, we calmly asked the children to get on their coats and we offer praise for completin8 the task themselves and linin8 up. The outdoor area Is always checked for any potential hazards before use. We have several trikes and scooters, slide, seesaw, balancing beam, wooden kitchen, and musical instruments. We will space ourselves well outside to ensure a good level of supervision. Children have songs/rhymes and story tlme before golng home. We held our annual open day in June and the new intake for September came to preschool to meet the preschool staff. We were also able to 80 on our annual outin8 to Springvale Farm. In September the Key workers were assigned to the new children, and we set about our 3-week settling in routine. We 8Ot to know our new children and they got to know us. The preparations for the Nativity in December went well and we decided to hold the Nativity in the top hall, using the stage. The children enjoyed singing the songs and the Nativity was held on 22nd December 2023. The staff/children's interactions are always warm and positive. There is a lot of praise offered by the staff. Staff carry out regular observations of the children during play and we use this information to identify the next steps in learning. The preschool provides a valuable seniice to the local community and maintains high numbers of registered children. rh Bangor Ralnbows On Friday evenings between 6pm and 7pm, the lower Ersklne Hall is filled with a sea of red as the 7th Bangor Rainbow troop descend for their weekly meetin81 Rainbows continues to be a place where girls aged 4-7 years are welcomed into the world of Girlguiding and take their first steps into what we hope is a lifelong affiliation with such a wonderful organisation. Rainbows continues to grow in numbers and this year we currently have 25 girls on our register. It IS wonderful to be able to see first-hand how the girls grow emotionally (and physically) during their 3 years with us. 17
BALLYHOLME PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT We continue to make great memories on Friday evenings in the lower hall where we have great fun playing games, making crafts and of course making lots of friendships! It is wonderful to see each girl come back week after week with a smile on their face, excited to see their friends and learn something newl We continue to be ever grateful to Ballyholme Presbyterian Church for the use of their hall and for the support from the congregation. Special thanks also go to all of the dedicated team of leaders who have shown great commitment and enthusiasm, rarely missing a Friday night. 7th Ban8or Brownies At the beginning of the year three girls 'moved up, from Rainbows and two new starts joined, making a group of 21 Brownies. A full and varied schedule of work though the year for the badge programme resulted in the girls gaining the Charities Interest badge, Explore (from Have Adventures section) and Influence (from Take Action section). For the Friendship theme for the Thinking Day Service on 5th March the girls made bracelets and practiced Brownie Bells: O Lord our God Your children call, Grant us Your peace and bless us all. On the day, they sang this to 'shaker' accompaniment. All who came enjoyed the special guest Milo - a springer spaniel trained to enliven the Bible's message. The annual sponsored Lorne Walk event, last held in 2018, took place in April. We walked along the coastal path from Crawfordsburn Country park, whilst using a scavenger hunt sheet to keep us 80ing to our destination Lorne Girlguiding Ulster HQ. There we ate our packed lunches and finished off with smores and a campfire singsong. Money raised went to Girlguiding Ulster and our Brownie group. On the evening of Friday 5th May the usual meetings of Brownies, Rainbows, Guides and Rangers were repurp05ed for a King Charles Coronation party. The Girlguiding groups who usually meet in Groomsport joined with us and the leader5 provided a variety of activlties: crafts, disco, facepainting, temporary tattoos and a buffet of sweet stuff. Everyone left with a themed goodie bag including a specially designed badge. Two Brownies left at the end of the year and have joined Guides. In the Autumn five girls moved up from Rainbows and two new girls started and so our group grew to 26. This resulted in a tight squeeze into the room upstalrs to learn the dance from the Barbie movie at the start of the new term. th For the first time we met at the cinema in Newtownards on 9 December to attend a specially organised screening of DisneVs Wish, which, along with drinks and popcorn, was enjoyed by all, and everyone received a badge. 18
BALLYHOLME PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT Thanks to the dedicated volunteers, including a young leader-ln-training and the young helper Guides, who lead, prepare, join in. and deliver the programme at each weekly meeting. 7th Bangor Guides Guides continue to meet in the Erskine Hall every Friday from 7.45-9.30 pm. We provlde a varied range of activities, including badgework, games, cookery, quizzes as well as outings, camps and indoor residentials. As is our custom, we started the year off by attending the pantomime at Bangor Abbey, which this year wa5 Treasure Island. Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers made a colourful addition to the congregation at our Thinking Day Service at the beginning of March. It was lovely to be back in church agaln after an absence of 2 years due to Covid restrictions. Friendship was the theme and we were jolned by David and Amy, who brought their three springer spaniels, Milo, Grace and Hope. These dogs are trained by their owners to bring the gospel message through obedience tasks and tricks. Young and old in the congregation were enthralled and amused by the skills shown and it was interesting to hear and see the truths of the gospel brought in a different way. Also it was a great illustration of friendship, loyalty and trust. Four girls were presented with the Guide Gold Award. Three of these had mlssed out on receivin8 certificates, due to lockdowns, so it was lovely to have them at this service. One of the girls had moved on to our Rangers and the other two were helping with Brownies in another church. The other girl had just finished the Gold Award the previous Friday, so she was presented with both certificate and badge. She is now a Young Leader with us. We are always delighted to see our 8irls achieving. The Nan McKillen Award, the annual Thinking Day Competition for our Guide patrols was presented to Dolphin Patrol. Motherfs Day gifts were made and we continued with Gulde programme activities over the next few weeks, concluding with meaningful Easter activities. th In our Church Halls on Friday 5 May 7 Bangor Rainbows, Brownles, Guides and Rangers joined with the units from 1st Groomsport to hold a King Charles111 Coronation Party. This Included crafts, food, disco, nail art and face painting. Also in May, a trip to Dundonald for ten-pin bowling was enjoyed. On a very warm Saturday 3 June, after an absence of a few years, we once again entered a six-member patrol for our County outdoor competition, the Ewing-johnston Challenge, which wa5 held at Crawfordsburn Scout Campsite. We weren't placed, but the girls had fun and it was good experience for them. After the Challenge, two more of our girls arrived and we, along with 3rd Holywood Guides, sl ept overnight at the site, lovely and cosy in our tents. 19
BALLYHOLME PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT Our usual, much-enjoyed, final evening at Lorne in June before the summer break, with each girl cooking on her own open fire, was highlighted by four Outdoor Cooking badge5 being gained. We finished with campfire singing round one of the fires and three girls said their Promise for the first time. We held a three-night camp at Lorne 10-13 August, which was blessed by mostly good weather. until we were about to take the tents down, when it rained heavilyl This meant leaving the tents on site and a trip back to Lorne by one of the leaders a couple of days later when the weather had improved to finally get them taken down, packed up and brought home. Despite this, it was lovely spending a few days living in the outdoors, enjoying meals cooked on an open fire. During this camp we took a trip on the train to Lisburn for water fun at Lagan Valley Leisureplex, which the girls always enjoy. We were pleased that several new girls joined us In September, some from Brownies and some who brought friends. The popular Army Skills Builder Day, run by Girlguiding Ulster and the Army, was held in Palace Barracks at the beginning of October and three of our girls attended, along with the two leaders. The girls took part In leadershlp activities, First Ald, healthy camp Skills, fixlng activltles including basic car maintenance. Durin8 our Harvest Party in October, the girls came dressed as farmers and we all enjoyed an evenin8 of harvest-themed games and activities, finlshing with hot chocolate and campfire singing. In November, we joined many other organisations taking part in the Remembrance Sunday Service in Ward Park and after the service paraded round Bangor, We also provided a flag bearer for our service in church. Activities involvin8 food are always popular and during the year we made butter• jambons, crispie buns and s'mores. We relaxed on one occasion by blowin8 bubbles. We completed several fun badge5 - Butterfly Challenge, Seahorse Challenge and ABC Challenge. We also had two of our Ran8ers Visit our meeting on a couple of occasions to demonstrate First Aid. It is pleasing to see the glrls loyally attending each week. We are always glad to welcome new members. Please continue to hold us in your prayers. 7th Bangor Rangers This year we had lots of outings, things to celebrate and the unit is continuing to thrive. We kickstarted the year with a winter residential at Lorne where the girls undertook many activities including climbing, abseiling, team building and a pizza partyl We also had several new members make their promises around a campfire in the dark of night and we had a campfire singalong to celebrate. This was a great weekend for the girls to let their hair down and relax before exam season started. During the Spring term we focused on community action and helping the community so we spent a night at Tesco collerting supplies for the Bangor Foodbank and then spent another night visiting the premises of the Bangor Foodbank learning all about how they help the community and where our 20
BALLYHOLME PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT donations would be going. It is such a brilllant facility, and the girls were surprised to see how much the centre does to provides for the community. In May the Rangers came together with the rest of the sections in Ballyholme and Groomsport for a special coronation party to celebrate our new King. The Rangers helped man all the stations whlch included face painting, crafts, supervising the tea party and providing a disco and dance for the young Sections. They all did a fabulous job at helping and were great role models for the younger sections to look up to. For our last night of term before summer and a new Guiding year, we had our first ever 51eepover in the church halls which the girls were really looking forward to! We had pizza, lots of snacks, did some crafts and watched some movies. It was really relaxing and the perfect way to end the term. We were thrown into September with lots planned including filling Christmas shoeboxes for Samaritans Purse, an escape room, a night in Karl¢s salon in Ballyholme learning how to style hair and a trip to Palace Barracks for an Army Skills day. In October, we had 4 Rangers complete an absell down the Europa hotel to raise money for both the unit and for charity - they were very, very brave for doing this! Two great events concluded our 2023 year, the first of which was our annual visit to the Stormont Parliament Buildings as part of 'UK Parliament Week, or8anised by Girlguidin8 Ulster, where the girls got a tour of Stormont as well as having a Q&A with several local MLAS. The last event of the year was the long-awaited county trip to the Waterfront pantomime to see 'Rapunzel' wlth over 150 girls and leaders and included lots of Singing, dancing and shouting, the girls had an absolute ball and of course there was even a badgel We are looking forward to the year ahead as our unit continues to grow and flourish. 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. Rev Peter Lyle 21