OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2022-12-31-annual-report

Macosquin Presbyterian Church: a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Trustees Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

Registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland NIC105541

Trustees Annual Report

MACOSQUIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH:

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

Macosquin Presbyterian Church, a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland 116 Coolyvenny Road

COLERAINE

BT51 3SF

Co. Londonderry

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC105541)

CHARITY TRUSTEES

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

William Cochrane Mark Goudy Will Collins Alan Hall Mervyn Downes (decd) Roy Hall Thomas Dunlop Ian McFaul Trevor Fulton

PRINCIPAL OFFICE BEARERS

Minister Mark Goudy Clerk of Session William Cochrane Treasurer Simon Moore

2 | P a g e

MACOSQUIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: Trustees Annual Report

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER: Mrs Olive Wallace 101 Coolyvenny Road COLERAINE BT51 3SF

BANKERS Ulster Bank Ltd The Diamond Coleraine BT52 1 DP

SOLICITORS Macaulay Wray Solicitors 35 New Row, COLERAINE BT52 1AH

3 | P a g e

MACOSQUIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH:

Trustees Annual Report

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 oversee and promote the spiritual interest of the congregation and of persons not connected with any congregation who are within its parish 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 funds and property belonging to the congregation so that the aims and goals of the Church may be financially facilitated. 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 of Session 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 Macosquin Kirk Session are held on a monthly basis, with additional meetings arranged as required. In addition to formal business meetings, the Kirk Session regularly meet to pray for the congregation and their needs. During this past year, many Session and Church Committee meetings were conducted online.

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 of Elder can be nominated 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 the spiritual and temporal affairs of the congregations assigned to it geographically by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Macosquin Presbyterian Church has been assigned to the Coleraine and Limavady Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The membership of the Presbytery consists mainly of the active ministers of congregations

4 | P a g e

Trustees Annual Report

MACOSQUIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH:

assigned to it by the General Assembly, minsters who have retired from active duty and an elder appointed by the Kirk Session of each congregation.

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

Macosquin 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 locally and to our world.

The Church leadership continue to be guided in all plans and activities by the ‘Church Mission Statement’ which was agreed and adopted by the Kirk Session in 2017. It states:

Macosquin Presbyterian Church: by God’s grace and for His glory, we are committed to making disciples of Jesus Christ, who live by the Gospel, grow in community, and are equipped for mission.

At its heart, the statement of mission seeks to encourage believing church members to a deeper commitment to Christ and the service of His Kingdom. Such commitment will be evident in their growing faith and love for Him and in a desire to build stronger relationships within the church family, all the while endeavouring to lovingly reach out beyond our membership into the wider community with the Gospel of Christ.

5 | P a g e

Trustees Annual Report

MACOSQUIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH:

ACTIVITIES AND OBJECTIVES

The congregation meets for worship every Sunday and visitors are welcome to join. The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is observed on several occasions during the year and all those who have been baptised and who have made a personal profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour are admitted to the Lord’s Supper. The congregation holds regular Bible Studies and meetings for prayer to which everyone is warmly encouraged along. In addition, there are a wide range of organisations suitable for different groupings within the church. These have almost returned to a normal regularity following the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. These include

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Worship and prayer

The congregation normally meets for worship each Sunday at 11.30 am. Evening services are held on special occasions, such as Communion Sundays, Easter, Harvest and Christmas. 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. In July and August, the weekly Sunday Worship services begin at 11.00 am.

After 2 years of Covid restrictions when congregational activities were curtailed because of the necessary restrictions imposed by the NI Executive upon many aspects of life the membership were delighted to resume activities to almost normal levels. Worship services continued to be livestreamed so that congregants who are unable to attend due to health or other reasons could participate ex situ. These recordings also reach an audience well beyond the church membership. DVD recordings of the services continued to be distributed early in the week for those unable to access the internet. Baptisms and communion services and church-based funeral services resumed to near normal levels. For some, though, understandably, covid remained a very real fear. The church Elders endeavoured to provide

6 | P a g e

MACOSQUIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH:

Trustees Annual Report

pastoral care and support to those in need. The cleanliness of Church premises was maintained at a very high standard throughout the year to limit the spread of the virus when congregants were once again allowed to gather.

At 31 December 2022, there were 141 participating communicant members and 175 families connected with the congregation.

During 2022 while some church members were still hesitant to gather together on a Sunday for our worship services, the numbers attending continually increased.

Pastoral care

Members of the congregation who are unable to attend church due to sickness or age are visited on a regular basis by the minister, elders or by other members of the congregation More generally, Minister and elders endeavour to maintain supportive relationships, encouragement and care to all members and families associated with the congregation through planned meetings, informal conversations and general visitation.

Mission and outreach

While our Girls’ Brigade and Boys’ Brigade companies have not yet reached pre pandemic numbers, nevertheless, we are attracting a good number of girls, boys and teenagers from the surrounding locality, many of whom had no other church connections. We are thankful for the leaders of these organizations, as they enthusiastically prepare the programmes for the young people.

The church continued to be actively committed to being prayerfully and financially supportive of church members and others well known to them who are serving Christ as missionaries in cross-cultural situations. At present, we have direct responsibility for couples and their families serving in various missionary roles in Canada, South Africa and Senegal. In addition, as a result of church members being directly involved, we are committed to the financial support and practical maintenance of an orphanage in Kenya, and also for ensuring the educational funding of the young people as they progress through secondary level schools. Other missionaries, agencies, projects and crisis appeals are also generously supported on an ad hoc basis.

The congregation also 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 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

7 | P a g e

MACOSQUIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH:

Trustees Annual Report

premises, assist with the running costs of Union Theological College, the Church’s training college for ministry students, and financially supports congregation in the areas of worship, discipleship, global mission, outreach, leadership and pastoral care.

Presbytery

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

General Assembly

The minister and one of our elders attended the meeting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland held in Assembly Buildings, Belfast, in June.

Property

Following a major refurbishment of our main Church building in 2014-2015, our church property is maintained throughout to a very high standard with only minimal repair or maintenance required to sustain that high standard and ensure health and safety requirements are met. Our external grounds, including a church burying ground, are also very well maintained.

Organisations

In addition to the normal programme of activities of the church organisations mentioned above, other gatherings within the church provide occasions for social and spiritual engagement such as the Men’s and Women’s Bible Study

Volunteers

The Trustees acknowledge their deep appreciation of the many within the congregation who give freely of their time by serving on committees, acting as Office Bearers, undergoing necessary training and helping with organisations and other church activities. We are also grateful to those parents and other adults from outside our congregation who enthusiastically work alongside our church members to provide leadership to our young people’s groups. It would be impossible to function as a church without their commitment.

8 | P a g e

MACOSQUIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH:

Trustees Annual Report

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 adhoc 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.

9 | P a g e

an MACOSQUIN PRESBYfERIAN CHURCH: Trustees Annual Report STATEMENT OF TRUSTEE RESPONSIBILITIES The Trustees are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statcments of the congregation In accordance with applicablc 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) 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 ghow and explain the congregation s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time its financial position. They are also responsible for sateguarding the asscts ot" the congregation and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of traud and other irregularities. FINANCIAL REVIEW The congregation's main source of income is members, contributions through the Weekly Freewill Offering. There were 134 contributors during the year {146 in 2021) donating a total of £63742 including gift aid (£73526 in 2021). Total Income of the congregation during thc year was £148864 compared to £1524i8 in the previous year. Giving and donations overall decreased by 6K. Total expenditure increased from £133953 in 2021 to £161009 in 2022. This included construction of crcche divider and ceiling in the Minor Hall of £1 l K and roof repairs of £1 l K.. At a time when many people are facing chdlcnging financial difficulties, the Trustees acknowledge and express thcir gratitude for the continued financial support of congrcgation members. The Trustees deeply appreciate their generosity. SAgned Signed Date: 14-16 j¥3 Date: 101 Page