The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Ireland, Coleraine Preparative Meeting
Annual Report and Account for year ended 31[st] December 2022
Coleraine Preparative Meeting
Trustees as at 31[st] December 2022
Terence Brown - chair
Lynn Finnegan
Valerie Morgan
Registered address
52 Union Street
Coleraine
BT52 1QB
Charity Number NI 107093
Bankers
Danske Bank
The Diamond
Coleraine
Trustees Report for the year ended December 31 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 provided by the Charities Commission for Northern Ireland
Constitution and Governance
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Ireland Coleraine Preparative Meeting is
-
governed by its governing document which was agreed by the Preparative meeting in March 2018. The Meeting was registered as a charity by the Charity Commission in May 2018.
-
The Trustees of whom there should be not less than two, are appointed by the Annual General Meeting. They are appointed for a period of up to three years and they are eligible for reappointment for a further two terms.
Trustees who served during the year ended 31[st] December 2021 were
Terence Brown (chair of trustees
Lunn Finnegan
Valerie Morgan
- The Trustees are responsible for the policies, activities and assets of the charity. No Trustee receives 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 and both are reviewed annually.
Purposes of the Charity
-
Coleraine Preparative Meeting is established by Lisburn Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in Ireland. It is primarily a Meeting for Worship that practices in accordance with the principles of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers.
-
We are based in a Meeting House at 52 Union Street in Coleraine. (the property is owned by the Society of Friends Lisburn Monthly Meeting. Coleraine Meeting do not pay any rent for the property). As well as the Meeting room where we meet for worship on Sundays we also have a kitchen, a toilet and a further room. These rooms comprise the ground floor of an early 20[th] century terrace house. The two floors above are a self-contained flat which we lease to tenants.
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 in our area.
-
Contributing financially and practically to the relief of suffering at home and abroad
-
Providing pastoral care for individual Members and Attenders including assistance to those in need.
Activities during 2021
Coleraine remains a small meeting but we have grown in numbers over the year and now average 10-12 members, attenders and visitors
The flat above the Meeting House was vacant for a short period in late summer but a new tenant moved in during the autumn
We have as usual contributed to a range pf local charities
The regular epistles from our Elder have continued and stimulate valuable comment and reflection. In addition we hold monthly discussions after Meeting for Worship. We also had shared meals after Meeting for Worship 5 times, and meal at the home of one of our members. A meeting for Worship was also held in the home of a member who is no longer able to attend Sunday worship.
Five members visited Waterford meeting in October to celebrate World Quaker Day with friends there. Two members attended Ireland yearly meeting which was held this year in Belfast.
All our listed duties and responsibilities have been attended to and we look forward to 2022with hope and thankfulness.
Public benefit
The Trustees of Coleraine Preparative Meeting confirm that they have complied with their duty to have regard to the public benefit requirement of the 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 all members of the public as well as our own Members and regular Attenders.
-
these Meetings provide spiritual support and help to deepen the Christian experience of those who attend.
-we are able to provide some financial support where needed to those within our Meeting
-we provide financial support to Quaker Service and a range of other charities. From a number of collections and individual donations, in 2022 £1200 was given to charities.
- we work with other Christian groups in our area through the Coleraine Churches Forum and take an active part in events, fund raising and worship organised through the Forum.
Financial review
Our financial statement for the period 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022 is attached to this report.
This shows that we had a balance of £5320.11in our current account at the beginning of the year and a balance of £5501.25 at the end of the year.
In our Jesse Cairns saver account we had a balance of £4034
In our Andrew Young saver account we had £1492
The balance in our current account at the end of the year was very similar to that at the beginning of the year
The flat above the meeting house was vacant for 2 months but was then let to a new tenant
Donations - cheques, direct debits and cash donations - from members and attenders continued to increase
We had major expenditure on repairs to our gas central heating system and for the clearance of the land at the rear of our property which had become completely over grown
The capital value of our bequests at 31 December 2022 was
Andrew Young Legacy £27,078.88
Coleraine Meeting share (20%) of Jessie Cairns Bequest £47,651.80
This report was approved at the Annual General Meeting on 22 August 2022 and is signed on behalf of the trustees