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2022-12-31-annual-report

BALLYGOMARTIN 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 (NIC105294)

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BALLYGOMARTIN 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

Ballygomartin Presbyterian Church congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC105294)

CHARITY TRUSTEES

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

Glen Jordan Ronald Waddell Raymond Cummins Georgina Chestnutt Wesley McCreedy David Weir

PRINCIPAL OFFICE BEARERS

Minister Clerk of Session Treasurer

Rev Glen Jordan Raymond Cummins Wesley McCreedy

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Mr S Reid, c/o Ballygomartin Presbyterian Church 132 – 140 Ballygomartin Road Belfast BT13 3NF

BANKERS

Ulster Bank Limited 185-189 Shankill Road BELFAST BT13 1FH

SOLICITORS

Holmes & Moffitt Solicitors 289 Shankill Road, BELFAST BT13 1FT

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BALLYGOMARTIN CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT

The Kirk Session

The charity trustees of the congregation are the members of its Kirk Session. Under the congregation’s governing document, The Code, the book of the constitution and government of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Kirk Session seeks to watch over and promote the spiritual interest of the congregation and of persons not connected with any congregation who are within its bounds. It ensures pastoral care is in place in the congregation and seeks to further the contribution of the Church to Christian witness and service in the local community. The Kirk Session has delegated to its Congregational Committee the temporal affairs of the congregation including administering all funds and property belonging to the congregation. Members of the Kirk Session are ex-officio members of the Congregational Committee.

The Kirk Session consists of the ordained minister and the ruling elders of the congregations. All members are entitled to propose, speak and exercise equal votes at meetings, except that the Moderator, the ministers 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. Ballygomartin congregation of the Presbyterian Church has been assigned to the North Belfast Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The membership of the Presbytery consists mainly of the active ministers of congregations assigned to it by the General Assembly, ministers who have retired from active duty and an elder appointed by the Kirk Session of the congregation.

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

The General Assembly

The General Assembly is the supreme court of the Church, representing in one body the whole Church and acting as its supreme legislative, administration and judicial authority, in dealing with all matters brought before it. The General Assembly is normally constituted during the first week in June for worship and to conduct its business. At the end of business it is dissolved. The membership of the General Assembly consists mainly of the active ministers of each congregation, retired 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.

Ballygomartin 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 congregations mission purpose is to:

Worship Jesus – Growing in His love, Going in His name

The congregation continues to live out its mission purpose as a family of God’s people by:

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

We want to be sensitive and ready to respond to new opportunities for mission; to be flexible to drop some approaches and add others as the Lord leads. In fact, we expect change in response to the leading of the Spirit of God.

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

ACTIVITIES AND OBJECTIVES

During 2022, activities across the church gradually began to return to a more regular programme following the COVID pandemic: some organisations found they had an increased attendance and membership on re-opening (for example, Girls’ Brigade) while others had a significant downturn in numbers and decided not to re-open (for example, the Bowling Club). A new Minister was installed in April 2022. The congregation returned to regular weekly Sunday morning worship, with visitors welcome to join. The Sacrament of the Lords Supper was observed on alternate months. As the year progressed, the congregation was able to move from using individual pre-packaged communion meals to the normal serving of bread and wine. 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 has a wide range of organisations including:

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Worship and prayer

The congregation normally meets for worship each Sunday at 11:30am. Subsequent to COVID, the monthly evening meeting at 7pm - ‘Lighthouse’ has not yet resumed, but we hope this will start again during 2023. Lighthouse is an informal Sunday evening worship time for people from our church and the community.

The midweek 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 regular services, we gave thanks for faithful service and sought to comfort those who had been bereaved during the year.

At 31 December 2022 there were 59 communicant members and 111 families connected with the congregation. The average weekly attendance at morning worship was 55.

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

Pastoral care

Members of the congregation who are unable to attend church due to sickness or age were contacted by phone or with home visits on a regular basis by the elders and minister. This also included visits to Care Homes and Hospital visitation.

Mission and outreach

During the year £8,494 has been donated to external missions and charities by the church and its organisations.

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 congregations in the areas of worship, discipleship, global mission, outreach, leadership and pastoral care.

The congregation also contributes to the denominations annual Moderator Appeal (for relief in Ukraine in 2022), Sunday School project and any other special appeals.

Presbytery

The congregation was represented at the regular meetings of Presbytery by our minister (Convenor) 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 is nominated to attend the meeting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland held in Assembly Buildings, Belfast, in June.

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

Organisations

There follows a brief summary of the organisations in Ballygomartin Presbyterian Church.

Presbyterian Women (PW) – PW meets on the second Thursday of each month from October through to April and has 14 members attending at present. Each month we enjoy different speakers and visitors who provide us with a view of their work at home and abroad. In 2022 we had talks on topics such as Haven Foodbank, Revivals from the Past and the PW vision. We are looking forward to 2023 to have a new year with a full programme unrestricted by health restrictions and welcoming new members.

42[nd] Ballygomartin Girls’ Brigade – The Girls’ Brigade company has a current membership of 127, consisting of 105 girls and 22 leaders. We meet each Monday night from September to the end of April. Our average attendance per week is 112. Activities vary from week to week but include Bible Class, games, dance, crafts, cookery and badge work.

We were unable to have our annual display in April due to ongoing COVID restrictions but the girls did perform dances and a finale which were posted online on our Facebook page.

Some of the Explorers and Juniors entered a competition to design a new GBNI logo with a number of girls obtaining a highly commended place. More recently our Explorers have also entered a GBNI competition to create a building from a cereal box as part of a competition with Habitat for Humanity.

As well as badge work activities throughout the session, we have other fun events throughout the year. In April we finished the 2021/22 session with a drum circle for the older girls. We re-opened in September 2022 with a fun night and inflatables. In October we had a puppet show for the younger sections, bracelet making for Juniors and a night out at crazy golf for the older girls. At Christmas we enjoyed a children’s entertainer and Santa visit for our younger girls, while the older girls had a cupcake bath bomb workshop.

The Brigader section restarted the tuck shop in order to raise funds for room partitions.

Our annual enrolment took place in November where the girls all took part, singing and reading.

Praise Band and Singers – Worship is led each Sunday by either the Praise Band, or the Praise Band and some guest singers from the congregation.

The Praise Band is made up of eleven members: four singers and four musicians on lead guitar, bass guitar, drums and keyboard, one member on the sound desk and two others who manage the audiovisual presentation. During 2022, the band generally met on two evenings each month for practice sessions and led the musical worship at the morning service every Sunday.

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

A group of singers (between 6 and 11 members of the congregation) join together with the Praise Band for singing every couple of months. They practice for special occasions such as Harvest, Christmas and Easter but also for Supper Club Praise Nights. All the singers are young at heart with a zest for music and praise and enjoy meeting for practice but also to have fun and friendship with one another.

Children’s Church – In 2022 Children’s Church had six to eight children aged 3-13 attending each week. They were taught by a team of seven leaders who work on a rota basis. Our programme ran on a Sunday morning from January to December excluding the summer months of July and August. Our activities each week were based on a story from the Bible followed by a short chat to encourage life application. Afterwards, there were practical activities which were relevant to the story: crafts, memory verses, puzzles and worksheets. As a result of the relaxation of Covid restrictions, we were able to introduce more interactive games and singing. In June, at a morning worship service, the children were able to help lead the congregation in a new worship song. At this service, they were each presented with a gift in the form of a book from the church. In October they contributed to the church Harvest display by making a beautiful poster. We ended 2022 by thinking about the Christmas Story and making Christmas crafts for our friends and family.

Supper Club – There were 4 events run by the Supper Club in 2022: a St Patrick’s Night in March in conjunction with the Praise Band, a Platinum Jubilee Party, a Johnny Cash Cowboy Supper Club night and a Christmas Soup & Sandwich lunch – giving everyone a welcome taste of turkey, ham and stuffing sandwiches. There are generally between 40-60 attendees at each function and they are popular with church and non-church attendees alike. The funds raised after expenses at the various events were passed on to Springhill Primary School for a White Board Project, to Shankill Road Foodbank and the NI Hospice.

53[rd] Boys Brigade – The Boy’s Brigade meet each Friday evening. There are 14 boys aged from 4-18 years and 3 Officers. The main objective is to tell boys about the Lord Jesus Christ and we have a bible class each meeting night. Other activities on a Friday night include drill, games, badge work and handcrafts.

Sunday School – Sunday School meets each Sunday afternoon from September to the end of April. There were thirty-one children on the roll book in 2022 and the five teachers have all completed their Duty to Care course and are waiting for a date for the refresher course from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The Sunday meeting lasts for an hour during which time the younger children have the opportunity to sing, take part in drama, listen to Bible stories and complete art work. The older children have Bible Study where they can discuss aspects of faith. The Sunday School reaches out with the message of God’s love and the children from the Sunday School normally participate in Church family services throughout the year.

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

As 2021 ended and 2022 began with COVID restrictions eased, the Sunday School returned to its normal schedule of weekly meetings and met in person going forward. This year we were unable to produce our Children’s Day service in the Spring but our annual Nativity was performed in Church on the Sunday before Christmas.

Sunday School is under the supervision of the Superintendent, Sunday School teachers and Kirk Session.

Coffee Morning – This is normally held on Tuesday mornings and is open to everyone for coffee, scones and chat. The Coffee Morning gathering has not yet resumed after its closure due to Covid.

Ladies Fellowship - In early October 2022, a new Ladies Fellowship meeting began, every Monday afternoon in Ballygomartin Presbyterian Church, from 2 – 4pm.

The group welcomes all women from the congregation and the surrounding area. We meet over tea and coffee, with the aim of encouraging each other in our individual walk with God. Some ladies come for the company of their sisters in Christ, while an added dimension for others, is participating in learning a new craft skill, or developing a skill they already possess.

Tea/coffee, chat, craic and craft are the order of the day!

In the short period since the group began, the ladies have already knitted/crocheted hats, scarves and gloves, which have been donated to a local charity, who provide support for homeless people. Some ladies are busy creating squares which will eventually be made into blankets. Jewellery making and calligraphy is also being taught within the group. The women are sharing their skills with each other, and there is a great sense of achievement.

Monday afternoon is a wonderful opportunity for the ladies to support and encourage each other in their faith; to develop friendships and new skills, with the added bonus of supporting various charitable organisations.

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.

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BALLYGOMARTIN 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 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.

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BALLYGOMARTIN 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 92 families contributing during the year [95 in previous year, 2021] donating a total of £40,049 (£38,058 in previous year, 2021).

Total income of the congregation (including organisations income) during the year was £71,721 in 2022, compared to £65,779 in the previous year. Total expenditure increased from £33,313 in 2021 to £72,588 in 2022. However, due to the sale of the church Lecture Hall, there was an additional income to the congregation of £185,011 (after fees).

The difference in income and expenditure between 2021 and 2022 is mainly attributed to: the installation of a full-time minster in April 2022 (and subsequent associated costs) and return to normal church life and programmes after the COVID pandemic.

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 congregations total income does not exceed £250,000 (as defined by CCNI ARR03), 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 29 January 2023 and signed on its behalf by:

Name RAYMOND CUMMINS Name GEORGINA CHESTNUTT Date 29.1.2023 Date 29 - 1 - 2023

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