THE CHURCH OF GOD at LARNE MINUTES of a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Charity held at 3-5 Princes Gardens, Lame, BT40 IRQ. Meeting on 0510312024 at 12:30pm Present: Mr Alan Patton, Mr Thomas Bell, Mr David Spence, Mr Alan Stephens, Mr Stephen Reynolds. Also in Attendance: Mr William Foster representing the Congregation. Apologies: None 1 Quorum The Chairman opened the meeting and confirmed that a quorum was present, and the meeting proceeded to business. Church of God Larne is constituted as a charitable trust registered with the Northern Ireland Charity Commission 18th October 2021. It is governed by a Trust Deed. The charity trustees are responsible for the general control and management of the charity. The trustees give their time freely and receive no remuneration or other financial benefits in their role as trustees. Those present received a copy of the church accounts for the year ending September 2023. The accounts showed an income of £23250.00 against an expenditure of £7453.00. This resulted of a surplus of £15797.00, This surplus was bolstered by Gift Aid unclaimed the previous two years and money paid via Insurance company re damage due to flooding. After the challenging times of the COVID pandemic, the Church of God at Larne approached the year October 2022 - September 2023 with hope, optimism, and faith in God's provision. Sunday services have continued as usual from 11:00am and 6.30pm Sunday School runs for children aged between 3 & 1 Oyrs old. A prayer meeting held every Tuesday morning at 11.00am. We provide meeting space for two Charitable organisations, namely Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) who meet regularly on Monday and Friday evenings and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) who meet on a Wednesday evening. It was agreed that this space remain freely available to these organisations. We want to make our Church an accessible and welcoming venue where all Christians, andlor those who wish to know more about the Christian faith and lifestyle, can gather together to learn about and put into practice their religion and worship.
An important part of our faith is charitable giving, and we are pleased to receive gifts and give gifts for the sole purpose of the relief of need and financial hardship of others, we will continue to support charities within the town of Larne and surrounding area. The trustees expressed their thanks to all helpers who generously volunteer their time and talents to support the Church throughout the year. Objectives and activities: The objects of the charity are set out in the charity's trust deed and are summarised as follows To advance the Christian faith in the Larne area for the benefit of the public in particular through the holding of church services, prayer meetings, Sunday School and the distribution of literature on the Christian faith to the interest and benefit of others. There being no further business to discuss the Chairman declared the meeting closed. Chairperson Alan Patton