The Religious Society of Friends
(Quakers) In Ireland,
South Belfast Preparative Meeting
Trustee Annual Report for year ended
31st December 2022

South Belfast Preparative Meeting
Trustees (at 31st December 2022)
Brian Davis (Chair)
Sylvia Roberts
Will Haire
Contact Name & Address
Brian Davis
24 Moss Road
BT36 5JY
Charity number
NIC 107080
Bankers
Co-operative Bank (current account & deposit account)
Facebook page
South Belfast Quaker Meeting
@SouthBelfastQuakers
Website
www.southbelfast
uakers.or

Trustees, Report for year ended 31st December 2022
Introduction
This report has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities (Accounts
and Reports) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 and in line with the guidance produced by
the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.
Constitution and governance
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) In Ireland, South Belfast Preparative Meeting is
governed by its 8overnin8 document which was agreed by the Preparative Meeting on March
th
25 2018. The Meeting was registered as a charity by the Charity Commission for Northern
Ireland on 17th May 2018.
The Trustees, of whom there should be not less than two, are appointed at the Annual
General Meeting. They are appointed for a period of up to three years and are eli8ible for re-
appointment for a further two terms. Trustees who sen4ed during the year ending 31st
December 2022 were as follow5:
Brian Davis (Chair of Trustees)
Sylvia Roberts
Will Haire
The Trustees are responsible for the policies, activities and assets of the charity. No Trustee
received any remuneration for services as a member of the Board of Trustees and the charity
has no employees.
There is in place a data protection policy and a child protettion policy, both of which are
reviewed annually.
Purposes of the charity
South Belfast Preparative Meeting is established by Lisburn Monthly Meeting of the Religious
Society of Friends in Ireland. It is primarily a Meeting for Worship that practises in accordance
with the principles of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers.
We are based in a Meeting House at Marlborough Park North in Belfast. As well as the main
meeting room where we meet for worship on a Sunday, we also have a kitchen and three
smaller meeting rooms.
The purpose of our charity, as set out in our governing document, is the advancement of the
general religious purposes of the Religious Society of Friends by the following means, in so far
as they are exclusively charitable:
Strengthening the Christian understanding and religious development of the Quaker
meeting both in the geographical area of the Preparative Meeting and beyond;
Contributing financially and practically to the relief of sufferin8 at home and abroad;

Providing for the pastoral care of individual Members and Attenders including
assistance to those in need
Our activities during 2022
In 2022 we have enjoyed a full year both spiritually and socially as a meeting. We have been
pleased to see a return to a predominantly physical rather than virtual presence in our
meeting room each Sunday, although, with a team of volunteers we keep our Meetings
blended to address the needs of Friends unable to be at South Belfast. We continued to
monitor the Covid 19 procedures each month at our M&0 committee meetings and ensured
that appropriate limited preventative measures remained in place.
On average 35 adults worship at our Meetings, and 4 younger people. We have also had
regular, monthly "Conversations" after Meeting, on a range of spiritual and social justice
Issues.
Sadly, we recorded the death of one of our members durin8 the year but were pleased to
note that 2 Friends who are regular attenders at our meeting have been accepted into
membership thisyear. We also were delighted that during 2022two of our Members married
In the Meeting House.
Our Bible Study group has continued to meet, though not in person, while a new group to
study Quaker books and other spirituality writing has now been formed, with up to 18 Friends
joining in discussion.
With the end of the restrictions from the pandemic, 4 evening sessions on a Quaker
Quest model were organised in April/ May. Each evening had a theme
God and Faith.
Worship; Integrity; Equality and Diversity - introduced by 3 brief talks followed by discussion
groups and a Meeting for Worship. The sessions were well attended by Friends and attenders
including several from other Meetin85.
Many of our members and attenders volunteered at Yearly Meetin8 {YM} at Stranmillis in
Au8USt and we were pleased to host YM Sunday at South Belfast when about 100 Friends, in
person and on 'Zoom' enjoyed Meeting for Worship together and a buffet lunch followed in
the garden. The YM experience encouraged us to list our Meetin8 as a host for FWCC'S World
Quaker Day in October when we were one of a few Meetin8s across the world to be available
via Zoom for Friends to join an international Meeting. We were joined by local visitors as well
as Friends from Britain, Europe and the Americas.
Other events have also been held throughout the year, such as the pre-christmas Craft Fair
organised with Frederick Street Meeting, helped to funds for charities and build the links
within our community.
Website and Outreach
The website continued to be a helpful first point of contact for those enquiring about joining
us as new attenders and for those interested in hiring the meeting house for events. We seek
to keep it refreshed with stories about our activities, and also ensure that details of our
Ministry and Oversight teams are available to all. Facebook is also used to make sure that our

news is more widely circulated, with 412 followers, around 875 post views and 270 post
engagements per month.
A new digital rota system for some Meeting responsibilities was established, sending email
reminders to Friends with duties the following Sunday.
Children and Young People
Face to face sessions during Meetin8 every other week were revived during this year and a
family Sunday was or8anised in December. The display boards on Quaker themes were
refurbished and the older group had a mix of topics, sometimes with outside speakers
including Gender Identity and 'Pebble Meditation,. There were visits by younger Friends to
JYM, Junior and Senior Moyallon Camps, Yorkshire Holidayschool and a European and Middle
East Young Friends Gatherin8. We hope to encoura8e more volunteers to be involved with
the young people's group in the coming year
The Annual Child Safeguarding report has been completed by our 2 safeguardin8
Representatives and forwarded to Monthly Meeting.
Eco-Quakers
South Belfast Eco Quakers continue to be an active group. The Loving Earth Project and its
exhibition duringthe year was an important means for the promotion of environmental issues
and outreach, as it was part of the Imagine Festival in Belfast and involved arts centres, district
councils and other Meetings in the Portadown and Derry areas. A lar8e number of volunteers
enthusiastically helped the organlsing group. Other activities Included a foraging walk in
Castlewellan Forest, draftin8 a letter to politicians about home insulation and establishing a
link with Friends.
Premises and Garden
The Premises Committee has met regularly throughout the year. Improvements to the
premises have included new electric systems and a locked key safe. A bicycle shed was added
in the corner of the car park, thanks to a generous donation from two Friends. The garden
was maintained with the help of work parties after Meetin8 With a soup lunch provided and
a cleanin8 party supplemented the work of the regular cleaners. Maintenance has been
carried out and an environmental audit has helped to identify improvements such as new LED
lighting, and a 'smart control, system for the central heating.
Bookings and Use of the Meeting House
Bookings returned to normal throu8h the year, with a large number of groups as diverse as a
yoga class, The New Apostolic Church, a chess club, the Baha'is community, a selection of
music groups, workshops for young people in care and the Belfast Repair Café, as well as
Meeting and other Quaker activities. The neighbours from Marlborough Park held a carol
service in the car park the week before Christmas. Bookings can now be done via the website
which helps to monitor both room use and finance. The increased use of the building meant
that donations as a result of bookings have risen.

Support for Charities
During 2022, we donated a total of £11,869 to various Quaker and non-Quaker charities. We
held a number of after-meeting special collections, which raised an additional £1,435 for six
nominated charities. We held a plant sale in the car park and garden of the Meeting House
which raised £790 for Quaker Senlice, and 'Big Breakfasts, in the Meeting House raised £540
for Ukrainian refugees (through the Disasters Emergency Committee).
On the first Sunday of every month, we collect donations of groceries and toiletries for the
local Storehouse foodbank.
Financial Ovenrfiew
With the end of lockdowns and restrictions due to Covid, our income significantly improved
in 2022 as revenue from hirin8 the Meetin8 House returned almost to pre-pandemic levels.
Donations from members and attenders along with Meeting House lettings constitutes most
our annual income.
Our spending on utility bills also rose sharply durin8 2022, increasing by 65% from £1.3K to
£2.IK, but that was more than made up for by revenue from lettings nearly doubling from
£5.5K to £9.4K.
We were able to pay our bills, make our usual donations to other charities, and end the year
with a healthy balance in our current account of £14.7K.
Our deposit account remained the same as the previous year at £114K, £90K of which was a
legacy from the estate of our late Friend Joan Huddleston. This balance also includes £24K
reserves to ensure we can continue to run the Meeting should there be an unexpected decline
In our income (as happened during the pandemic).
The share price of our Investments with the Nl Central Investment Fund for Charities fell in
the last quarter of 2022, as a result of the government's mini-budget in September. As a
result, the value of our investments fell from £136K in 2021 to £119K, but hopefully this will
recover next year.
Looking Forward
All our activitles need help to run and we are blessed wlth committed volunteers. Week after
week Friends serve on coffee, door and flower rotas, or8anislng Youth activities, attending to
the premises and garden, convening and sitting on committees and servin8 the Meetin8 in a
variety of ways.
Our Meetin8 continues to have a positive and open spirit.

Declaration
The report was approved by the Trustees, by telephone conference on October 12th
signed on behalf of the Trustees.
and is
Brian Davis
Chair of Trustees