THE ARMAGH PRESBYTERY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND
Trustees Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022
Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC 106460)
The Trustees present their Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022, including a Statement of Assets and LiabiliAes, as at that date.
Charity Name: Presbytery of Armagh of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland
Charity Number: 106460
Address: Richhill Presbyterian Church, Corcreevy Road, Richhill, Armagh, BT61 9JR
Names of Trustees:
The Charity Trustees who served during the year or who were trustees at the date of this report were: -
Rev I Abraham; Rev R Allely; Mr K Belshaw; Mr S Boyd; Rev C Bradley; Rev R Brown; Rev D Byers; V Rev Professor S Carson; Mr J Clarke (resigned 31 January 2022); Mr N CorneW; Rev Dr M Cowan (resigned 31 January 2022); Mr G Crook (resigned 10 February 2022); Mr N Cully (resigned 15 January 2022); Rev Dr A Davidson; Mr M Elder; Rev S Finlay; Mr A Foster; Mr G Frazer (died 24 February 2022); Rev P Gamble; Rev J Gordon; Rev J Graham; Mr T Graham; Mr L Hadden; Mr S Hadden; Mr E Hawthorne; Rev S Hawthorne (resigned 1 September 2022); Rev D Henry; Mr W Henry; Dr C Holland; Rev J Hutchinson; Mr C Kennedy; Mr M King; Rev A Marsh; Mr J Mason (appointed 18 January 2022); Mr J McCavery; Rev P McClelland; Rev Professor M McClenahan; Mr D McCrea; Rev N McCullough; Rev P McKelvey; Mr P McMenemy; Rev A McNeely; Mr J McNeill (appointed 10 February 2022); Mr J MacQueen; Mr A McMullan; Mr J Megaw; Mr A Mitchell (appointed 1 November 2022); Mr O Milligan; Mr K MoffeW; Rev A Moore; Rev G Mullan; Mr R Pogue; Mr F Sandford; Mr T Savage (appointed 7 April 2022); Rev J Smith; Mrs S Somerville; Mrs R Spence; Mrs M SArling; Rev I Thompson; Rev Dr J Thompson; Rev L Webster.
Moderator Rev RI Abraham Clerk of Presbytery Rev EP Gamble Treasurer Mr WK Belshaw
Bankers:
Ulster Bank, 7 Upper English St, Armagh BT61 7BL
Governance:
Armagh Presbytery is governed by the ConsAtuAon and Government of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, which outlines how the Presbytery is organised and managed.
STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT
Presbytery
Under the Presbyterian Church in Ireland form of governance the corporate oversight of a congregaAon is the responsibility of a Presbytery which superintends generally the spiritual and temporal affairs of the congregaAons assigned to it by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The following congregaAons of the Presbyterian Church have been assigned to The Armagh Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
| Ahorey | Drumhillery | Moy |
|---|---|---|
| Armagh - First | Druminnis | Portadown - Armagh Road |
| Armagh - Mall | Keady - First | Portadown - First |
| Armaghbreague | Keady - Second | Redrock |
| Bellville | Knappagh | Richhill |
| Benburb | Lislooney | Tartaraghan |
| Caledon | Loughgall | Tassagh |
| Cladymore | Lurgan - First | Vinecash |
| Clare | Lurgan - Hill Street | Waringstown |
| Craigavon | Minterburn |
A Presbytery makes arrangements for the elecAon of ministers in congregaAon, ordains licenAates and installs or inducts and appoints ministers in the congregaAons 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 congregaAons, regularly visit the families under their charge, visit the sick, promote peace and temperance and see that the duAes of the eldership are property discharged. Presbyteries oversee the resignaAon and reArements of ministers and elders.
Presbyteries provide advice to Kirk Sessions and CongregaAonal CommiWees when required and have a role in approving maWers in relaAon to congregaAonal property. They report annually to the General Assembly and have the right to make a nominaAon for the office of Moderator of the General Assembly.
The membership of the Presbytery consists mainly of the acAve ministers of congregaAons assigned to it by the General Assembly, minsters who have reAred from acAve duty and an elder appointed by the Kirk Session of the congregaAon. This provides an important link between the congregaAons and the wider structures of the church
month, except September, which is held on the second Tuesday of the month..
All members are enAtled to propose, speak and exercise equal votes at meeAngs, except the Moderator, who has no deliberaAve but only a casAng vote.
The General Assembly
The General Assembly is the supreme court of the Church, represenAng in one body the whole Church and acAng as its supreme legislaAve, administraAve and judicial authority, in dealing with all maWers brought before it. The General Assembly is normally consAtuted 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 acAve ministers of each congregaAon, reAred minsters and a representaAve elder appointed by the Kirk Session of each congregaAon.
DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE
The charitable purpose of the presbytery is the advancement of religion.
The Armagh 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.
ACTIVITIES AND OBJECTIVES
and December, and on the second Tuesday of September and on other occasions as required. All meeAngs commence with a Ame of worship and are opened and closed with prayer.
The presbytery carries out the following acAviAes:
Supports those applying to be candidates for the Ministry; installs Ordained ministers; provides pastoral support for ministers and their families; holds a number of events such as mission rallies and lectures; PW Link is an iniAaAve of Presbyterian Women intended to improve communicaAons and build relaAonships between Presbyterian Women. PW Link includes a representaAve from each congregaAons and runs events to support the mission and outreach of Presbytery. Unfortunately, such events were not possible this year.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
presbytery was largely back to normal, with all meeAngs held in person. The regular series of stated meeAngs, and the meeAngs of the various Commissions and CommiWees to which responsibiliAes were ojen delegated took place throughout the year. PW Link was able to meet again as normal.
As of 31 December the following numbers of personnel were under the care of Presbytery: Ministers in acAve service: 19 (2021) 18 (2022) ReAred ministers 7 (2021) 9 (2022) Students for the ministry 2 (2021) 4 (2022)
The presbytery encourages the congregaAons assigned to it to support the United Appeal for Mission which is a central fund of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. This fund enables congregaAons to support the wider mission of the denominaAon and to do mission and outreach on a denominaAonal basis beyond what the congregaAon could do on its own. The United Appeal Fund provides financial support for mission personnel at home and overseas, assists congregaAons with the deployment of locally based staff, enables church planAng, 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 congregaAon in the areas of worship, discipleship, global mission, outreach, leadership and pastoral care.
The presbytery also encourages congregaAons to contribute to the denominaAon’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 Presbyterian Church in Ireland and report on an annual basis to the General Assembly
Volunteers
The Trustees wish to acknowledge their deep appreciaAon of those who give freely of their Ame by serving on Presbytery, its commissions and panels.
PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT
benefit to its members and the general public by making known the ChrisAan 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 ChrisAan 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 opportuniAes for response to Bible teaching. In turn, this framework leads to pracAcal expressions of ChrisAan 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 congregaAonal 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 noAceboards, printed material, press adverAsement, websites, and social media or in other
informal and ad-hoc feedback from members, their families, and members of the public. The purpose does not lead to harm. The chariAes beneficiaries are its 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 communiAes throughout Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and worldwide which benefit from our engagement with and support for both ChrisAan and other secular organisaAons, chariAes 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.
statutory guidance.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The presbytery’s main source of income is an assessment that is levied on the congregaAons assigned to it and £14,174 was received in the current year (£12,755 in previous year, 2021)
As part of the accounts, PW Link received £796 and had expenditure of £757.
Total expenditure increased from £12,337 to £13,639. This includes a payment made to the Clerk of Presbytery for the responsibiliAes of that posiAon.
The opening balance was £6,579 and the closing balance was £7,114. Overall, there was a surplus of £81.
STATEMENT OF TRUSTEE RESPONSIBILITIES
statements of the presbytery in accordance with applicable law and generally accepted accounAng pracAce.
As the presbytery’s total income does not exceed £250,000, the Trustees have elected under SecAon 64(3) of the ChariAes Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 to prepare a receipts and payment account and a statement of assets and liabiliAes.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounAng records that are sufficient to show and explain the presbytery’s transacAons and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any Ame its financial posiAon. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the presbytery and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevenAon and detecAon of fraud and other irregulariAes.
Approved by the presbytery at a meeting on 12 September 2023 and signed on its behalf by