2023-12-31-annual-report - The Newry Presbytery of The Presbyterian Church in Ireland

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THE NEWRY PRESBYTERY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2023 REGISTERED CHARITY IN NORTHERN IRELAND NIC 106394

The Trustees present their Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] December 2022 including a Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at that date.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

The Newry Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Meeting normally in Sandys Street Church, Sandys Street, Newry, BT34 1EN Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC 106394)

CHARITY TRUSTEES

The Charity Trustees who served during the year or were trustees at the date of this report were: Brian Colvin, William Bingham, Stuart Finlay, Stephen Johnston, Mark Wilson, Ker Graham, Nigel Reid, Keith McIntyre, Frank Gibson, Michael Barry, David Temple, Bryan Kee, Robert McClure, David McCullagh, Norman Smyth, Jamie Maguire, Kenneth Hanna, Sam Paul, James Copeland, James Chestnutt, Alan Smyth, Norton Martin, Berry Reaney, John Peacock, Raymond McCormick, Robert Donaghy, George Moffett, Rene Faloon, Wilbert McKee, Stanley Bond. William Mitchell, George Hamilton, Denis Brady, Doreen Henderson, Sam Walker

PRINCIPAL OFFICE BEARERS

Moderator: Rev NL Smyth Clerk of Presbytery: Rev WDS McCullagh Finance Convener: Rev BD Colvin

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Mr T McConnell

47 Ballymartin Village, Newry, BT34 4PB

BANKERS

Danske Bank, PO Box 183, Donegal Square West, Belfast BT1 6JS

SOLICITORS

RA Mullan & Sons, 9 Trevor Hill, Newry BT34 1DN

THE NEWRY PRESBYTERY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (cont’ed)

STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT

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 following congregations of the Presbyterian Church have been assigned to the Newry Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland: Annalong, Bessbrook, Clarkesbridge & 1[st] Newtownhamilton, Creggan, Cremore, 1[st] Drumbanagher & Jerrettspass, Fourtowns, Garmany’s Grove, Kilkeel, Kingsmills, Markethill, McKelvey’s Grove, Mountnorris, Mourne, Newry – Downshire Road, Newry – 1[st] , Newtownhamilton – 2[nd] , Poyntzpass, Rostrevor, Ryans, Tullyallen, Tyrone’s Ditches, Warrenpoint.

A Presbytery makes arrangements for the election of ministers in congregations, ordains licentiates and installs or inducts and appoints ministers in the congregations assigned to it. They also ordain or install and appoint elders, commission and appoint deaconesses, senior lecturers, auxiliary ministers, lay agents and missionaries who have been called by an authorised body in the Church. A Presbytery has a role in seeing that ministers preach the Word faithfully to their congregations, regularly visit the families under their charge, visit the sick, promote peace and temperance and see that the duties of the eldership are properly discharged. Presbyteries oversee the resignation and retirements of ministers and elders.

Presbyteries provide advice to Kirk Sessions and Congregational Committees when required and have a role in approving matters in relation to congregational property. They report annually to the General Assembly and have the right to make a nomination for the office of Moderator of the General Assembly.

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. This provides an important link between the congregations and the wider structures of the Church.

Stated meetings of Presbytery are held the first Tuesday of February, March, September, October and November, and the third Tuesday of May.

All members are entitled to propose, speak and exercise equal votes at meetings, except that the Moderator has no deliberative but only a casting vote.

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 Presbytery is the advancement of religion. The Newry Presbytery is a presbytery 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 Presbytery’s mission purpose is to advance the cause of the Christian Gospel within its Presbytery bounds and throughout the wider world.

ACTIVITIES AND OBJECTIVES:

The Presbytery meets on its stated meeting dates and on other occasions as required. All meetings begin with a time of worship and are opened and closed with prayer. The Presbytery carries out the following activities:

Supports those candidating for the ministry
Installs ordained ministers
Provides pastoral support for ministers and their families
Holds a number of events such as training events, congregational rallies, youth events
From time to time organises an overseas mission trip
PW Link is an initiative of Presbyterian Women intended to improve communications and build relationships between Presbyterian Women. PW Links include a representative from each congregation and run events to support the mission and outreach of the Church.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

At the 31[st] December the following numbers of personnel were under the care of Presbytery:

Ministers in active service in congregations 12 (2022) 12 (2022) Retired ministers: 4 (2022) 4 (2022) Licentiates: 0 (2022) 0 (2022) Students for the ministry: 4 (2022) 3 (2022)

The Presbytery encourages the congregations assigned to it to support the United Appeal for Mission which is a central fund of the PCI. 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 areas of worship, discipleship, global mission, outreach, leadership and pastoral care. The Presbytery also encourages congregations to contribute to the denomination’s annual World Development Appeal, Sunday School project and any other special appeals.

General Assembly

Presbyteries are represented on the various Councils of the General Assembly of the PCI and report on an annual basis to the General Assembly.

Property:

The Presbytery of Newry owns no property.

Volunteers

The Trustees wish to acknowledge their deep appreciation of those who give freely of their time by serving on Presbytery, its Commissions, Committees and Panels.

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 Shorted 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 congregational churches and 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 notice boards, printed material, press advertisements, 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 charities’ beneficiaries are its members, their families, other individuals the PCI 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 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 Presbytery has had regard to the Charity Commission’s Public benefit requirement statutory guidance.

Financial Review:

The Presbytery’s main source of income is an assessment that is levied on the congregations assigned to it and £14,717 was received in the current year (£11,903 in previous year 2022). Income rose by £2,794 due to an increased in congregational giving.

Total expenditure increased by £2,620. Expenditure includes a payment made to the Clerk of Presbytery for the responsibilities of that position, who completed a full working year during this period.

Statement of Trustee Responsibilities:

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

As the Presbytery’s total income does not exceed £250,000, the Trustees have elected under Section 64 (3) of the Charities Act (NI) 2008 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 Presbytery’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time its financial position. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Presbytery and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Approved by the Presbytery at a meeting on 5[th] March 2024 and signed on its behalf by: Rev William David Samuel McCullagh (Clerk)