The Religious Society of Friends
(Quakers) In Ireland,
South Belfast Preparative Meeting
Trustee Annual Report for year ended
31st December 2023

South Belfast Preparative Meeting
Trustees (at 31st December 2023)
Brian Davis (Chairl
Sylvia Roberts
Will Haire
Contact Name & Address
Brian Davis
24 Moss Road
8T36 5JY
Charity number
NIC 107080
Bankers
Co-operative Bank (current account & deposit account)
Facebook page
South Belfast Quaker Meeting
@South8elfastQuakers
Website
www.southbelfast
uakers.or

Trustees, Report for year ended 31st December 2023
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 governing document which was agreed by the Preparative Meeting on March
25th 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 eligible for re-
appointment for a further two terms. Trustees who served during the year ending 31st
December 2023 were as follows:
Brian Davis (Chair of Trustees}
Sylvia Roberts
Will Halre
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 protection 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 governin8 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 suffering at home and abroad;

Providing for the pastoral care of individual Members and Attenders including
assistance to those in need
Our activities during 2023
In 2023 we have enjoyed a full year both spiritually and socially as a meeting. We continue to
meet each Sunday in a blended manner with a small number of Friends attendin8 via zoom,
due to location, health or other reasons.
The average attendance at Meeting for Worship on Sunday mornings is 38 adults and 8
children under 18 years.
We did not record any deaths of members in 2023. We have been heartened to see that
4Friends who have been regular attenders at our meeting have been accepted into
membership this year while we have celebrated the marriage of 3 of our members.
Our "After Meeting Conversations" which 8enerally take place on the 3rd Sunday of each
month, have continued to be a useful tool for considering Quaker concerns, the Testimonies
and the spiritual life and business needs of the meeting. This year we held 7 sessions on Our
Advices & Queries, Quakers and Prison, Quakers in the Arts, Ecoloyrf, Ethical Economics and
Integrity in Public Life. Our Worship Sharin8 Group where a passage or passages from
scripture are considered and discussed also met monthly and was well attended.
Our spiritual life has been complemented by a wide range of social activity, developing our
community of Quakers. In March we held a Quiz Night in the meeting house with a bring and
share meal, which was well supported and enjoyed by those there. We also held an all age
Meeting for Worship in March. This was led and or8anised by the young people of the meeting
and was on the topic of The Life of Margaret Fell.
We have held fund raising breakfasts in support of those affected by the earthquake on the
border of Syria and Turkey and those affected by the war in Ukraine. A small, informal get
together between South Belfast Quakers and members of the South Belfast Bahai Group (who
use our meeting house space re8ularly), was held and felt to be helpful and informative for
those who attended.
In July we held a Summer Meeting House Picnic, with Friends brin8in8 and sharing food in the
Meeting House Garden after Meetin8 for Worship, while we held a social evening in
September in aid of the fund to support Quakers to attend World Plenary Meeting in South
Africa. We rnarked World Quaker Day 2023 on October 1st, by taking part in a virtual link up
with two other preparative/local meetings: Cork and Hastings in England.
In November, we held our annual craft fair, jointly with Frederick Street Friends, to raise
money for the work of Quaker Service and the renovation of Frederick Street.
In December we held an all-age Meeting for Worship when the young people, supported by
several adults prepared for our Family Sunday, to celebrate Christmas.
Our Monthly Book Group has continued, offering an opportunity for regular exploration of
spiritual, often Quaker, written materials.

Website and Technology
Our website and Facebook page continue to be a means of outreach for our worshipping
community. We posted an advice/query each week on Facebook, along with promotional
events such as the May Sale in aid of Quaker Service, the Christmas Craft Fair, and our in-
house monthly book group.
In 2023, our audience on Facebook of 611 followers, came mainly from the UK (52%) followed
by the USA {18%). Kenya, the Philippines, and India each have just over 3%.
We still offer the option of attending Meeting for Worship on Sunday morning via Zoom {a
practice that originated durin8 the Covid lockdown).
The continulng rollout of Churchbox.co.uk to assist with coordinating all the different roles
for a Sunday morning finally extended to just about all the rotas in 2023 (door keeping rota is
coming on board In 2024). These included the Tea/Coffee rota, Closing meeting rota, Advice
& Queries rota, Flowers rota, Young Persons facilitation rota, and Tech rota.
Children and Young People
The Annual Child Safeguarding report has been completed by our 2 safeguarding
Representatives and forwarded to Monthly Meeting.
An active programme of meetings have been arranged, and we have been delighted to see a
number of our young people participate in Quaker activity in Ireland, in Yorkshire with the
Yorkshire Summer School, and in Europe through EMES.
Eco-Quakers
Members of the Eco-Quaker Plannin8 Group have continued to explore ways in which we
can en8age seriously and wisely with the climatic and ecological emergencies, givin8 tangible
expression to our shared commitment to values such as simplicity, stewardship, equity and
peace.
Much attention has been given to a 'learning and discerning journey, in relation to aspects
of the food system. In March, we hosted, in partnership with Prof John Barry at Queen's
University, a café-style conversation about food over food. This theme was taken up again in
April - first in an online pre-IYM Special Interest Group session that focused on food waste
and then in a seminar durin8 the Yearly Meeting.
The Meeting's Sustainability Plan was reviewed during the year.
Finally, Members of the Eco-Quaker Planning Group participated in two half-day gatherings
of the Creation Care Network- one during June in Drumalis Retreat Centre, Larne. the other
in the South Belfast Meeting House during September.

Premises and Garden
Several work parties were or8anised and the garden has been kept in a reasonably tidy
state. A member of the meeting has taken over the raised bed and has planted fruit bushes
and vegetables. The apple trees have been pruned. There is a considerable amount of garden
rubbish to be cleared, consideration is being given to hiring a skip.
The entrance doors have been replaced by automatic opening aluminium coated doors using
a push pad system, which makes entry to the Meeting House more accessible for wheelchair
users. This work was overseen by Pad Lock Security.
New carpet was laid in the New Room.
Electrical testing was carried out, the gas boilers serviced and the fire alarm system and fire
extinguishers checked.
Bookings and Use of the Meeting House
We continue to hire out the Meeting House to a range of local groups, which they can now
book via the website. We are using Hallmaster software to keep track of bookings, invoice5,
payments and receipts.
Income from bookings has not recovered completely to the pre-pandemic level, but it has
improved significantly, providin8 US with an income of £12,584 during 2023.
Support for Charities
During 2023, we made grants from our funds to various charities. We also held breakfast
events in the Meetin8 House to raise money for the Turkey/Syria earthquake victims and for
Ukrainian refu8ees (both of these were donations were routed through the Disasters
Emergency Committee).
We also held a tea party to raise money for the RNLI for its work of rescuing refugees. We had
a plant sale in the garden, as well as a social evenin& to raise money for Quaker Service.
In total, grants and money raised at these events totalled £14,641.
In addition we had six special collections held after our Sunday Meeting for specific charities,
which raised £1,754.
On the first Sunday of every month, we collect donations of groceries and toiletries for the
local Storehouse foodbank.
Financial Overview
We ended 2023 with a balance of £16,506 in our current account, after paying our bills and
rnaking 8rants to the charities we support.
2023 saw further increases in utility prices, but these were compensated for by an energi
support payment from the government of £600. Our largest expenditure was on building

improvements (£10,900), most of it being a new front door to replace the old one which was
not very secure as well as unfriendly for wheelchair access.
Our income from hirin8 Out the Meeting House went up, and we also received £7,483 from
HMRC in respect of claiming Gift Aid for donations made to the Meeting in 2021 and 2022.
Our deposit account was boosted by a final payment of £31,874 from the estate of our late
Friend Joan Huddleston, and now stands at £148, 947.
Our investments with the Nl Central Investment Fund for Charities recovered from the fall in
share prices in the last quarter of 2022. The value of our investments with NICIFC rose to
£126,415 at the end of this year.
Overall, we ended the year with healthy balances in our current and deposit accounts, as well
as the value of investments we have with NICIFC. Financially, we are in a very good position
for next year and beyond, as regards meetin8 our expenses and making generous grants to
Quaker and Non-Quaker charities.
Looking Forward
All our activlties need help to run and we are blessed with committed volunteers. Week after
week Friends serve on coffee, door and flower rotas, organising Youth activities, attending to
the premises and garden, convening and sitting on committees and servin8 the Meeting in
variety of ways.
Our Meeting continues to have a positive and open spirit.
Declaration
The report was approved by the Trustees, by email and phone consultation on October 13th
2024, and is signed below on behalf of the Trustees.
Brian Davis
Chair of Trustees