2023-12-31-accounts

CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: NIC105338

Dunluce Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Unaudited Financial Statements

31 December 2023

PAUL A TAYLOR & COMPANY

Chartered accountant Unit 4 12 Spittal Hill Bushmills Road Coleraine BT52 2BY

Dunluce Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Financial Statements

Year ended 31 December 2023

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Trustees' annual report 1
Independent examiner's report to the trustees 7
Statement of financial activities 8
Statement of financial position 9
Notes to the financial statements 10
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Dunluce Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Trustees' Annual Report

Year ended 31 December 2023

The trustees present their report and the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Reference and administrative details

Registered charity name Dunluce Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Charity registration number NIC105338 Principal office 24 Priestland Road Bushmills BT57 8XB NI The trustees Rev. A J Buick Mr R A McIlroy Mr A R W Dobbin Mr J McClean Ms J Sharpe Mrs S Dobbin Mr N R Sharpe Mrs I Dobbin Mr J Edwards Accountants Paul A Taylor & Company Chartered accountant Unit 4 12 Spittal Hill Bushmills Road Coleraine BT52 2BY

The trustees

Structure, governance and management

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, administrative and judicial authority, in dealing with all matters brought before it. The General Assembly is normally constituted during the first week in June for worship and to conduct its business. At the end of business it is dissolved. The membership of the General Assembly consists mainly of the active ministers of each congregation, retired ministers, and a representative elder appointed by the Kirk Session of each congregation.

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Dunluce Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 December 2023

Structure, governance and management (continued)

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 as required with a minimum of two held in the year.

To be chosen for the office of the eldership in the congregation a person must be a voting member and a regular attendant on its ordinances. The selection of those proposed to be called to the office can be either by the congregation or by the Kirk Session. Members are elected if they obtain two-thirds of those who vote.

Presbytery

Under the Presbyterian Church in Ireland form of governance, the corporate oversight of a congregation is the responsibility of a Presbytery which superintends generally the spiritual and temporal affairs of the congregation assigned to it by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Dunluce Presbyterian congregation of the Presbyterian Church has been assigned to the Route 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, minsters who have retired from active duty and an elder appointed by the Kirk Session of the congregation.

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Dunluce Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 December 2023

Objectives and activities

Description and Purpose

The charitable purpose of the congregation is the advancement of religion. Dunluce Presbyterian congregation of the Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is a Reformed Church within the wider body of Christ; is grounded in the scriptures and exists in love and honour for God through faith in His Son 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 ' To be a caring growing church whose members of all ages become more Christ –like, are active in His service and who reach out in love to the community and beyond.'

Our vision is, by the grace of God, to be an inclusive, welcoming community of Christ's people of all ages, which:

• is increasingly characterised by love for God and love and concern for others

• is committed to the historic Christian gospel as revealed in the Bible;

• is relevant to people of this time and 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, and 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.

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 baptized and who have made a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are admitted to the Lord's Supper. The congregation holds regular bible study meetings and has a wide range of organisations including,

Sunday School Youth Fellowship Girls Brigade Presbyterian Women Badminton Club Women of the Word Ladies Book Club

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Dunluce Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 December 2023

Objectives and activities (continued)

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 organized 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 organizations, charities and individual members of the public.

The Kirk Session has had regard to the Charity Commissions Public benefit requirement statutory guidance.

Achievements and performance

Worship and prayer

The congregation normally meets for worship each Sunday at 11.30am. During the week the Bible Study provides an opportunity for members to meet together for fellowship, to study the scriptures and for a time of prayer.

At the 31st December 2023 there were 289 communicant members and 177 families connected with the congregations. The average week attendance at morning worship was 112.

Pastoral care

Members of the congregation who are not able to attend church due to sickness or age are visited / called on a regular basis by the minister, elders or by one of the congregation's pastoral visitors.

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Dunluce Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 December 2023

Achievements and performance (continued)

Mission and outreach

At a local level the congregation contributed to Kids4Schools, Bible Society, Royal British Legion, Orphan Children's Society, and Christian Aid.

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 World Development Appeal and Special Disaster Appeal.

Presbytery

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

General Assembly

This year the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland was held in June 2023.

Organisations

Sunday School - 32 children registered and average Sunday attendance 25. This commenced in September and met before the church service at 10.30am.

Youth Fellowship - 18 young people registered, average attendance 15. This met from September to April.

Girls Brigade - 50 girls were registered, average attendance 44. Meet each Friday from September ending in March with their annual display,

Presbyterian Women's Group - 20 members, average attendance 18, meet second Tuesday from September to March.

Badminton club -14 members, average attendance 12, meet each Monday from mid- September to end of March.

Women of the Word - 14 members, average attendance 10, meet last Wednesday from October to March.

Book Club - 10 members meet first Tuesday of the month from October to March.

Volunteers

The Trustees wish to acknowledge their deep appreciation of those who give freely of their time by serving on committees and helping within organization's and other church activities.

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Dunluce Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

s' Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 December 2023

Financial review

The congregation's main source of income is members' contributions through the weekly Freewill Offering. There were 154 families during the year donating a total of £60,128.

Total Income of the congregation during the year was £114,732

Total expenditure for 2023 was £198,368.

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 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.

The trustees' annual report was approved on 7 April 2024 and signed on behalf of the board of trustees by:

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