The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) In Ireland, Bessbrook Preparative Meeting Annual Report & Accounts for year ended 31[st] December 2023
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) In Ireland, Bessbrook Preparative Meeting
Annual Report & Accounts for year ended 31[st] December 2023
1
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) In Ireland, Bessbrook Preparative Meeting Annual Report & Accounts for year ended 31[st] December 2023
Bessbrook Preparative Meeting
Trustees (at 31[st] December 2023)
Nigel R Hampton
Edmund J A Harvey
Lesley Burney
Registered Address
c/o Nigel R Hampton
7 Glen Road
Ballyward Castlewellan BT31 9QT
Charity number NIC 107084
Bankers
Bank of Ireland
Website
http://www.bessbrookmeeting.org
2
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) In Ireland, Bessbrook Preparative Meeting Annual Report & Accounts for year ended 31[st] December 2023
Trustees’ Report for year ended 31[st] 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, Bessbrook Preparative Meeting is governed by its governing document which was agreed by the Preparative Meeting on 4[th] February 2018. The Meeting was registered as a charity by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland on 4[th] June 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 31[st] December 2021 were as follows:
Nigel R Hampton (Clerk of Trustees)
Edmund J A Harvey
Lesley Burney
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.
The Trustees have put in place a data protection policy and a child protection policy, both of which are reviewed annually.
Purposes of the charity
Bessbrook Preparative Meeting is established by Lurgan 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 Bessbrook near Newry.
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:
i. Strengthening the Christian understanding and religious development of the Quaker meeting both in the geographical area of the Preparative Meeting and beyond;
ii. Contributing financially and practically to the relief of suffering at home and abroad;
iii. Providing for the pastoral care of individual Members and Attenders including assistance to those in need
3
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) In Ireland, Bessbrook Preparative Meeting Annual Report & Accounts for year ended 31[st] December 2023
Our activities during 2023
Our Meeting continues to meet weekly in a pleasant family like atmosphere in the presence of God.
We miss the presence of our dear Friend – Ross Chapman. After worshipping at Bessbrook for many years – he felt he was no longer able to attend due to his age and ill health. He is a great loss to Bessbrook Meeting as he had a superb knowledge of Quaker practice.
This year we welcomed three Friends to Bessbrook. They are David and Olive Hobson and Dawn Marie Rafferty. All three transferred their membership to Bessbrook Meeting from other Meetings.
We had to ask for advice when we discovered a number of dead bats in the upstairs balcony. Two people with a knowledge of bats visited our Meeting House and were able to explain what had occurred. Bats are protected species by law, and we have made sure that bats can live safely in our roof space.
We also received notice that our Meeting House is a Listed Building and any building works will have to be approved before taking place.
Sadly, we have to report the death of our Friend Eilis Manning. Eilis was a highly respected and well thought of Member of our Meeting.
Nigel Hampton continues to maintain our compliance with the requirements of the Ireland Yearly Meeting Child Safeguarding Policy.
Austin Bonner read the Advices on the ‘Making of Wills etc’.
Public Benefit
The trustees of Bessbrook Preparative Meeting are pleased to confirm that they have complied with their duty to have regard to the public benefit requirement statutory guidance of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.
Our public benefit has been demonstrated in a number of ways over the past year:
-
We hold regular Meeting for Worship every Sunday morning and these Meetings are open to members of the public as well as our own members and regular attenders – these Meetings provide spiritual nourishment and deepen the Christian experience and understanding of those who attend;
-
Using legacy funds that have been left to the Meeting in the past, we provide financial support to those in need within our Meeting;
-
We make annual donations to Quaker Charities and other charities as agreed by our Members.
4
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) In Ireland, Bessbrook Preparative Meeting Annual Report & Accounts for year ended 31[st] December 2023
Financial Review
Our financial statement for the period 1[st] January 2023 to 31[st] December 2023 is attached to this report and shows that at 31[st] December 2023 we had balances in our General Account of £17,334.09 and in our Property Account of £2,506.82.
Declaration
This report was approved at the Annual General Meeting on 4[th] February 2024 and is signed on behalf of trustees.
Nigel R. Hampton Clerk of Trustees
5