2023-12-31-annual-report - Killinchy Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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Killinchy Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Trustees' Annual Report - Year ended 31 December 2023

Report and Financial Statements of the Charity for the year ended 31 December 2023

Reference and Administrative Details

Registered Charity name - Killinchy Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Charity Registration Number NIC105212 Principal Office, 12 Craigarusky Road, Balloo, Killinchy BT23 6QS

Trustees

Reverend Alan Johnston

Mr A Beggs

Mr B Cairns

Mrs A Connolly

Mr A Donaldson

Mrs F Donaldson

Mrs A Galbraith

Mr D Hall

Mr B McBride

Mr B McGibbon

Mrs M McGibbon

Mr A Neagle

Mrs D Neagle

Mrs J Redington

Mrs A Tate

Mr J Tate

Mr S Tate

Auditors: PMB Chartered Accountants, 7 The Square, Comber, Newtownards BT23 5DX Bankers: Danske Bank Limited, 35 High Street, Newtownards BT23 7HS

Killinchy Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Trustees' Annual Report - Year ended 31 December 2023

Structure, Governance 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 congregation. All members are entitled to propose, speak and exercise equal votes at meetings, except that the Moderator, the Minister in active duty in the congregation, has no deliberative but only a casting vote. Stated meetings of the Kirk Session are held at least 4 times in 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 either be by the congregation or by the Kirk Session.

Presbytery

Under the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s form of governance, the corporate oversight of a congregation is the responsibility of a Presbytery which superintends the spiritual and temporal affairs of the congregations assigned to it by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Killinchy Presbyterian Church has been assigned to the Down 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 elders appointed by the Kirk Session of each congregation.

The General Assembly

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 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

Killinchy Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Trustees' Annual Report - Year ended 31 December 2023

ministers of each congregation, retired ministers and representative elders appointed by the Kirk Session of each congregation.

Objectives and Activities

Killinchy Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. We seek to be transformed by the Gospel and share the love of Jesus. We desire to be a community of people who love, support and worship for the glory of God.

Our Values are to be Christ centred, spiritually vibrant, Bible based, seeking God’s will, sharing God’s grace through faith and valuing everyone equally. We desire to see people become committed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ and grow in Christian Stature. We aim to be a caring community with an emphasis on prayer at the centre of all we seek to do.

Achievements and Performance

Session met four times throughout the year including a planning day for the year ahead We continue to focus on building our Fellowship together; developing what is spiritually fruitful and as always keeping Christ at the centre of everything.

Worship

The congregation meets for worship each Sunday at 11.00 am (10.30am during the summer months). Sunday school and youth Bible study meet during the Service

During the year we conducted 1 marriage service, no baptisms and sought to give comfort to the 11 families who had been bereaved during the year, in November we also welcomed 3 people to the Lord’s Table on profession of faith.

At 31[st] December 2023 there were 159 communicant members and 192 families connected with the congregation. The average weekly attendance at morning worship was 100.

Pastoral Care

As God’s family in Killinchy, we are called to care for one another; this happens as we gather together in worship, in our small groups, in our organisations and in open and welcoming friendships. We have a pastoral care coordinator and team of visitors who, along with our Minister and Elders, provide care, support and a listening ear to those who need it.

Killinchy Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Trustees' Annual Report - Year ended 31 December 2023

The team visits in homes, hospitals, and residential care facilities, caring for those no longer able to attend Church, supporting families under pressure, and offering regular prayer support through the Prayer Ministry Team.

Mission and Outreach

The congregation has a long history of reaching out in mission - we support the United Appeal for Mission which is a central fund of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and 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, including our own Global Missionaries, Annes and Olga Nel, in St Petersburg. It assists congregations with the deployment of locally based staff, enables church planting, provides grant support for the upkeep of church premises, assists 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 pastoral care.

We continued to support Mission and Outreach financially by sharing our Harvest Offering between SPES (Children’s Charity) in Namibia, the Presbyterian Children’s Society and the Foodbank in Newtownards. Collections for the foodbank continued throughout the year.

Organisations

Prayer and Bible Study

We have 2 weekly prayer meetings, one on Tuesday morning and one on Wednesday evening which follows our midweek Bible study

Children’s and Young People’s Organisations

KPC Kids is a Tuesday night club for boys and girls aged 3 to 16. This is an evening of fun and games with a hotdog tea, but most importantly it is an opportunity to share the gospel with young people from our community. This year there were 122 children and young people registered and an average attendance of 50 each week. This Ministry continues to be richly blessed.

Killinchy Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Trustees' Annual Report - Year ended 31 December 2023

Men’s Ministry

Our Men’s Fellowship maintains a support network electronically with regular communication, and breakfasts, we are hoping to develop this ministry further

Women’s Ministry

Presbyterian Women in Ireland enables, encourages, and equips women to become disciples of Christ and are envisaged as fellowships in which women of all ages and stages of life can come together to grow in their faith through Bible study, prayer, teaching and through growing in community together.

Meetings are held monthly, and include fund raising activities to help support the work of the Council of Mission in Ireland and the Council for Global Mission. In 2023 Killinchy specifically supported Charlene’s Project, the outreach of South Belfast Friendship House into Sandy Row and the Vine, Crumlin Rd.

Highlights in 2023 included Kim Kennedy who gave us a reflection for Easter on the Lamb of God, providing afternoon tea for the Killinchy Tuesday Club, an outing to Clontibret PC Flower festival, and update from the Cochranes about their outreach in Porto

Family Ministry

We run Marriage Preparation and Baptism Courses along with Church membership courses

Interest Groups

Wider World Group - a group which supports both Mission and Humanitarian Aid at home and abroad. This group continued to organise a weekly collection of foodstuffs for the Newtownards Foodbank and also collected Christmas gifts for the children of affected families. The annual ‘Change in a Jar’ collection over Lent and Cash for Clobber collection ran over the summer

Knit and Natter- A group of ladies meet fortnightly to enjoy crafting and fellowship and to provide much needed warm clothing for overseas charities and premature baby units

KPC Ladies Book Club- this group meet monthly to study and discuss a wide range of books together from Christian novels to more academic works

Killinchy Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Trustees' Annual Report - Year ended 31 December 2023

Building Works and Planned Renovation

In 2019, Kennedy Fitzgerald Architects were engaged to carry out a detailed inspection on all aspects of the structure, fabric and services of our Church building in order for us to plan future maintenance effectively.

Having received a comprehensive report, Committee agreed that the initial aim should be to secure the building and make it watertight, repairing the roof, gallery doors, rainwater goods and windows and installing French drains

Following grant awards in March 2021 totalling £27,780 by the National Churches Trust and Wolfson Foundation, costing and tendering, Hugh O’Boyle’s were selected. Work began in August 2022 and was completed in August of this year. The in year cost of the project was £66,393. Some final payments will be made in 2024. Grant monies were received on completion of the project

Presbytery

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

General Assembly

The 2023 General Assembly was held from 22-24th June with most sessions also being live streamed. KPC was represented by our Minister, Representative Elder and Young person’s representative.

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

Killinchy Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Trustees' Annual Report - Year ended 31 December 2023

delivery is facilitated by central resources in almost all cases. Public access is made known through the use of 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 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.

Financial review

The congregation's main source of income is congregational giving through Weekly Freewill Offering at £78,896 compared to £77,409 in 2022.

During the year the total income was £185,973 which included investment and trust income, gift aid, loose offerings and other fundraising activities.

Total expenditure increased during the year to £193,926 compared to £172,321 in 2022 largely due to the building works discussed above

There was a deficit of £7953 before financing costs compared to a deficit of £9187 in 2022. There was a deficit after financing costs of £7953 compared to a deficit of £9187 in 2022.

Full details are available in the accounts

Trustees' responsibilities statement

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). The law applicable to charities in Northern Ireland requires the charity trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of

Killinchy Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Trustees' Annual Report - Year ended 31 December 2023

the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, of the charity for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the applicable Charities SORP;
make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Rev Alan Johnston, Minister: Alan Johnston Morna McGibbon, Clerk of Session: Morna McGibbon

Date:

26[th] Septe3mber 2024