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

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CLAGGAN CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND

Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2023

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC105391)

CLAGGAN 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 2023 including a Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at that date.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Claggan congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland 60 Claggan Road Cookstown BT80 9UF

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC105391)

CHARITY TRUSTEES

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

Tom Bell Ivan Brown Stanley Crooks Eric Davidson

PRINCIPAL OFFICE BEARERS

Minister Rev. James Porter Clerk of Session Tom Bell Treasurer David Weir

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Mrs. Jean Crooks, 130 Lough Fea Road, Cookstown, BT80 9ST

BANKERS

Ulster Bank, 20 William St, Cookstown BT80 8ND

SOLICITORS

Millar Shearer & Black, 40 Molesworth St, Cookstown BT80 8PH

CLAGGAN 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 live 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 the administration of all funds and the management of 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 the Moderator or the minister in active duty in the congregation, who has only a casting vote, whenever a casting vote is required.

The Elders meet informally every Sunday morning. They meet formally as the Kirk session as business requirements dictate.

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 who qualify for this office is drawn up by the Kirk Session. Members are elected if they obtain two-thirds of those who vote.

Presbytery

The form of church governance, whereby the corporate oversight of a congregation is maintained, 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. Claggan congregation of the Presbyterian Church has been assigned to the Tyrone 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.

CLAGGAN 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.

Claggan 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 its members to play their part in fulfilling God’s mission to our world.

The mission purposes of Claggan congregation are, by the grace of God, to help people of all ages become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. 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, 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.

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

ACTIVITIES AND OBJECTIVES

The congregation meets for worship every Sunday and visitors are welcome to join. In addition, biweekly YouTube videos are produced of the services and CDs continued to be made available.

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is normally observed on five occasions during the year (January, Good Friday, May, September and November). All those who have been baptised and who have made a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are admitted to the Lord’s Supper.

The congregation holds regular Bible study meetings and has a wide range of organisations including Sunday School, Transition Pathways (Teenage Study Group), Presbyterian Women’s Group, Mothers and Toddlers, Bowling Club and Badminton Club.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Worship and prayer

T he congregation meets for worship each Sunday at 10.45am.

The Elders meet together for prayer at 10.00 a.m. each Sunday morning before the commencement of the service. The main purpose of this meeting is to keep each other updated on any change in individual needs, family needs or in circumstances concerning the lives of any of the families under their care, and to pray earnestly for them and for the needs of the congregation in general.

They also use this time to pray for the church organisations, special services, and for the needs of the community and nation.

They seek to comfort those who had been bereaved during the year.

On 31 December 2023 there were 120 communicant members and 79 families connected with the congregation. The average weekly attendance at morning worship is 115. In addition, the biweekly YouTube online Services have views ranging from 93 to 402.

Pastoral care

Members of the congregation who are unable to attend church due to sickness or age-related problems are visited on a regular basis by the minister or elders. Since lockdown this ministry continued to be carried out by telephone.

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

Mission and outreach

Sunday Services, Funeral Services, Harvest Services and Children’s Day Services are all used as prime occasions for preaching the Gospel of Christ.

In partnership with our sister church in Orritor, we held an annual summer Holiday Bible Club in July which lasted for a week with between 80-90 children attending each day. Also, in partnership with Moneymore Presbyterian we held Thirst, which were evening events for teenagers with between 20-30 young people attending.

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, 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.

The congregation also contributes to the Presbyterian Children's Society and any other special appeals as they arise. In addition, the congregation gives financial support to its own missionary families as well as to about 20 external missionary organizations and agencies e.g., W.E.C., Tear Fund, Open Doors, Belfast City Mission, etc.

Presbytery

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

General Assembly

One of our elders was nominated to attend the meetings of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland held in Assembly Buildings, Belfast.

Property

We are in the process of constructing entrance walls to an extension to the graveyard.

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

Organisations

The Church has a number of organisations that meet regularly in the Church Hall.

The Sunday School meets every Sunday morning at 9.45 a.m. There are 20 children on rolls.

Transition Pathways is a discussion platform for 14 to 18-year-olds, where topical issues and events are examined and discussed from a Biblical perspective.

Presbyterian Women (PW). This ladies’ organisation meets in our minor hall on the third Thursday night of each month. The normal attendance is around 20.

Each Wednesday morning our hall is used by our Mothers and Toddlers group . Approximately 25 - 30 children along with their carers attend regularly.

Campaigners is an evangelical, uniformed organisation that offers a varied programme for boys and girls aged 4-18. Although it is run in partnership with our sister church in Orritor, it meets in Claggan Church Hall every Tuesday night from September to March. Campaigners offers children and young people the opportunity to meet new friends, learn about the world around them, discover new skills, earn badges, explore the Christian faith through ‘Clan C’ Bible lessons and so much more. Currently the organisation offers the first two sections - Eagles (Age 4-P2) and Juno’s (P3-P6). We have 10 Eagles and 19 Juno’s attending.

The Badminton Club meets on Monday nights with an average attendance of 12.

The Bowling Club meets on Thursday nights with a usual attendance of 12. During the year, 6 friendly matches were played with other clubs in the area.

The Events Committee organised 7 events during the year for members of the congregation. The first was the ‘Men’s Breakfast’ followed by a ‘Ladies fitness and breakfast morning’. To celebrate the Coronation of King Charles II, an evening of prayer was organised in May. Jiving classes were held in the autumn - a surplus of £200 was left after expenses which was donated to Mexico Street Kids. A Social was held in November for the youth aged between 12 and 16 and the annual Seniors’ Dinner was held in late November. Carols by Candlelight, was held in December.

Volunteers

The Trustees wish to acknowledge their deep appreciation to those people who give freely of their time by serving on committees, helping with organizations, cleaning the church and halls and help maintaining the church grounds.

CLAGGAN 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, are facilitated through Presbyteries or are organised and delivered centrally. Local delivery is facilitated by central resources in almost all cases. Relevant Church information 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 taken on board the Charity Commission’s Public benefit requirement statutory guidance.

CLAGGAN 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 Freewill Offering. There were 88 contributors during the year (85 in previous year, 2022) donating a total of £ 48,960 (£47,351 in previous year, 2022)

Total Income of the congregation during the year was £109,730, compared to £105,694 in the previous year.

Total expenditure was £78,815, compared to £89,004 for 2022.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements of the congregation in accordance with applicable law and generally accepted accounting practice.

As the congregation’s total income does not exceed £250,000, the Trustees have elected under Section 64(3) of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 to prepare a receipts and payment account along with 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 18 August 2024 and signed on its behalf by

Signed

Name Rev. James Porter

Date 18 August 2024