# **Faughanvale Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland** Trustees Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Registered Charity in Northern Ireland NIC 105631 The Trustees present their Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 including a Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of that date. ## **Reference and Administrative Details** Faughanvale Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Killylane Road Eglinton Londonderry BT47 3DW Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC105631) ## **Charity Trustees** The Charity Trustees who served during the year and were: James Lindsay Blair (resigned September 2024) Samuel James Cochrane Norman Alexander Donnell Thomas Craig Trevor Thomas Evans Anne Louise Hamilton Graham Lamrock John Frederick McClintock (died July 2024) Grace Montgomery John Donald Montgomery Stephen James Montgomery Ivan Morrison Alison Simpson Gordon Smith ## **Principal Office Bearers** Minister Rev Lindsay Blair (resigned September 2024) Clerk of Session Donald Montgomery Treasurer Samuel Cochrane ## **Independent Examiner** ## **Bankers** Danske Bank, Donegall Square West, Belfast, BT1 6JS ## **Structure and Management** ## **The Kirk Session** The charity trustees of the congregation are members of the 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 the 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 were held, as usual, held four times in the year in January, March, September, and November. Four special meetings were also held. 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 the votes 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. The Faughanvale congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has been assigned to the Presbytery of Derry and Donegal 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 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, 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. ## Description and Purpose The Charitable purpose of the congregation is the advancement of religion. The Faughanvale 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 congregation’s mission purpose is to: Present the gospel of Christ in a relevant way to all Improve attendance at ordinary church services by employing elements of family services Increase contact with those unable to attend church Improve pastoral care of the sick and elderly. Increase outreach to young people, both within the congregation and in the wider community Encourage church membership among non-churchgoers in the Eglinton area. ## **Activities and Objectives** The congregation meets for worship every Sunday and visitors are welcome to join. The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is normally observed three times during the year and 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 bible study and discussion meetings and has a wide range of organizations including: Sunday School Youth Fellowship Woman’s Group (Presbyterian Women) Sunshine Club Bowling Club Boys Brigade Men’s Group ## **Achievements and Performance** ## Worship and Prayer The congregation normally meets for worship each Sunday morning at 11.30 am (earlier as announced during July and August) and a number of Bible study and discussion groups are held on Sunday evenings. Services were also made available to worshippers through live streaming of services each Sunday morning. In 2024, five baptisms were carried out, three new members were admitted to communicant membership and two marriage ceremonies were conducted. When the circumstances arose, we gave thanks for faithful service and sought to comfort those who had been bereaved during the year. At 31 December 2024, there were 239 communicant members, and 243 families connected to the congregation. The average attendance at weekly morning service during the year was around 80, still well down on pre-Covid levels. However, the live streaming of services enabled up to a further 80 to 90 people to see and hear services. ## Pastoral Care Over 40 members of the congregation who are unable to attend church regularly due to sickness or age or have other special needs are visited on a regular basis by the minister, elders or by members of the congregation’s pastoral care team. ## Mission and Outreach In 2024, the Minister, Elders, Pastoral Care Team and leaders of organizations continued to minister to the needs of all members of the congregation, with emphasis was given to the needs of children and youth people, the elderly and vulnerable and those sick either in hospital or at home. In 2024, the congregation continued its financial support to the missionary work in Kenya carried out by Stephen Cowan with a donation of £2,250 and donated over £9,000 to other charities including Christian Aid, the Poppy Appeal, the Children’s Society, and the World Development Fund. The congregation donated £8,000 to support 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 that which 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. ## 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 the congregations and the wider structure of the church. ## Property The congregation’s buildings (the Meeting House, Church Halls and Manse) were maintained in very good condition with routine maintenance and required repairs carried out. ## **Organizations** The following congregational organizations were active during the year: ## **Sunday School** Both junior and senior Sunday School continued to meet throughout the school year in 2024, with children and young people leaving the main service to attend classes, where a varied teaching programme was arranged with a variety of volunteer teachers. Junior Sunday School teaches children from Primary 1 to Primary 5 in Christian beliefs and values. Teaching takes place following the children’s address on a Sunday morning service. The children and teacher move to the church hall, where the children are broken into two groups which are based on age, with each group having their own teacher. The teachers are members of the church congregation and follow a monthly rota. The teachers prepare their lessons during the week before, which follows a pattern of a bible story, then the learning of a memory verse, followed by questions and colouring in a relevant picture to the story. The story changes weekly but follows a theme, following the “Go Teach” methodology. Other post primary children attended Bible class as a preparatory step towards Communion participation. During July and August, informal “Children’s Church, replaces Sunday School. We hold two services a year, which places an emphasis on children and the Christian life. In June, we have a Children’s Day service, where the children take part in a service, with prizes for attendance given out at the end. Our nativity service on the Sunday before Christmas includes Junior Sunday School, where the children perform the nativity and join the church community in fellowship for the Christmas period. Every year, Junior Sunday School hold a Sunday School Excursion to Portrush where we go by train to Portrush to have lunch together, play games on the beach and bond as a Christian organisation. ## **Youth Fellowship** The activities of the congregation’s very active youth fellowship organization have been continuing twice a month on Sunday evenings and between September and December meeting took place every week. The very successful partnership with the parish church was maintained and, in the absence of being able to recruit a full-time youth worker, an arrangement was entered into with Exodus North West to lead youth fellowship meetings. Our youth fellowship continued to play a very important part in the mission and outreach of the congregation. “SPARK” the youth fellowship group meets twice a month and is for young people in years 8+ in secondary school. It offers a varied programme of activities, including games, sports, quizzes etc intermixed with small group sessions where Bible passages are read and studied. Exodus helped to lead the meetings, and they prepared PowerPoint presentations to engage the young people. There was a regular attendance of approximately ten at SPARK. The aim with SPARK is to provide a safe space for the young people of Eglinton and the surrounding area to grow in their faith with God and explore new ideas, to present positive role models to inspire the young people by the example of their lives and to create friendships with other Christians both in the hall and on trips. “SENIOR FUEL” youth group normally meets once a month and is open to young people in years 8+ in secondary school. The aim with this group is to provide a safe space for this age group to come along and enjoy sports, games, tuck shop and games consoles and feel that it is very easy to invite friends along who may be from an unchurched background. We started “JUNIOR FUEL” youth group in March 2024 and it met once a month until June. future. This was for children in P5, P6 and P7 and had approximately 12 children attending each meeting. The children were able to play games, have snacks and have a short bible talk and quiz which proved very popular. ## **Woman’s Group (formerly Presbyterian Women - PW)** Women of all ages are encouraged to attend Faughanvale Woman’s Group and grow as disciples of Christ. The Group’s motto is “Living for Jesus” and its aims highlight the need for: Love and Unity; Obedience to God, Christian Living and Spiritual Maturity; Service using Gifts, Time and Money; Local and Global Mission. Each year a new Committee is elected, and a programme is organised, and practical arrangements made. The varied programme normally includes visiting speakers together with the use of PW resources and support for other local events of interest to all ladies who attend. During 2024, Faughanvale Presbyterian Women’s Group met in January, February and March for meetings in the Church Hall and in May an outing was arranged for Ladies to go out for lunch and visit to a local Flower Festival. ## **Boy’s Brigade** The congregation has a very active and well-supported Boys Brigade company. The Boys' Brigade is a Christian Youth organisation for boys aged 4 to 18 years which has the aim of: "The advancement of Christ's kingdom among Boys and the promotion of habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-respect and all that tends towards a true Christian manliness”. The company is made up of three sections and meet on Thursday nights. Members come from both the congregation and the wider community. We commenced our 2024/25 session on Thursday on 14 September 2024 with all sections meeting weekly in separate halls. Anchor Boys met from 6.30pm to 7.45pm. The Junior Section met from 6.30pm to 8.00 pm and the Company section from 7.30pm to 9pm. Anchor Boys caters for boys of Primary School Years 1 to 4. There are 24 boys and the boys engage in a range of activities including games, crafts and bible stories. Junior Section is for boys in Years 5 to 7. It has 12 boys enrolled who engaged in bible knowledge, cooking, crafts, games, marching, quizzes, sports and swimming. Company Section caters for boys in Years 8 to13. It has 15 boys who take part in bible knowledge, box work, cooking, marching, quizzes and sports. Boys in all sections can gain badges and recognition for their participation in the activities in their own company as well as taking part in competitions within the local Battalion and NI District. The BB is supported by seven fully trained officers and 2 volunteers. ## **Sunshine Club** The Sunshine Club continued to provide fellowship for senior citizens from both within the congregation and the wider community. It had around 16 members in 2024 and met once every month from September to May. A varied programme of activities for members was organised, including talks from guest speakers on diverse subjects, demonstrations and the practice of arts and crafts, music and singing, outings for meals and, most important of all, members enjoyed good company and fellowship over a cup of tea. Two lunch outings were arranged during the year. ## **Bowling Club** The Bowling Club had 22 members in 2024, and once again, the majority of members came from the wider, local community, outside the congregation. The Club, as usual, participated in the Limavady and District Indoor Bowling league and enjoyed a very successful year both in terms of fellowship and results in the league competition. ## **Men’s Group** A small Men’s Group, to promote fellowship, both within the congregation and in the wider community, met every other month and enjoyed a range of talks on local history and other subjects as well as visiting a number of external places on interest. The congregation also continued to host an active Guides group (an external organisation, not within the jurisdiction of the Kirk Session), including Guides, Brownies, and Rainbows, which provided a wide range of activities in the Church Halls for members, many of whom come from the wider community, outside the membership of the congregation. The church also provided facilities for meetings of Eglinton Woman’s Institute. ## **Volunteers** The Trustees wish to acknowledge their deep appreciation of those who gave freely of their time during the year by serving on committees and helping with organizations and their activities. ## 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 the 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 through central resources in almost all cases. Public access is made 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 Commission’s Public Benefit requirement statutory guidance. ## Financial Review The congregation’s main source of income is members’ contributions through the Weekly Freewill Offering, including giving to the Maintenance Fund and the Youth Work Fund. There were 173 family or individual contributors during 2024 donating a total of £80,000. The total income of the congregation during the year was £189,000. Total expenditure was £134,000. The main items of expenditure were the Minister’s salary and expenses, contributions to the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, insurance, utility bills and maintenance and repairs. ## Statement of Trustee Responsibilities The Trustees are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements of the congregation in accordance with the 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 (NI) 2008, to prepare receipts and payments 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 held on 17 September 2025 and signed on its behalf by: Donald Montgomery Samuel Cochrane Donald Montgomery Samuel Cochrane Date: 17 September 2025 Date: 19 September 2025 **FAUGHANVALE CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND**