The Church of Scotland Alva Parish Church of Scotland RECEIYfs AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS 2024 Congreggtion No: 231438 Charity No: SCI)(M06 ReferoThtt •tyJ Adminiitrktiv¢ l*forn*io• Charity N8m Alva Parish Churth of Sc(rtknJ 231438 Cofflath AJdttss'. Tr￿te*S Theths¢ees dirrine thevegy knllm Princi￿1 Off*frb¢arrTS Minister. Sessty)n Clerk l•dependt#t Ex*miBtr Ind¢￿￿dent Examiner Banker¥ Bajik tsfswil•xl, 21 Mar Str¢¢t AIIo8 FKIO IFIR Alva Parish Chureh of Scotland SC 000006 Report of the Independent Examiner Respeelive responsibilities of ¢rnstees and examintr The charity trustees consider that an independeni examination is needed under section 44(IXc) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act ?005. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts under section 44(1)(c) of the Act and to state whether particular matt¢rs have come to my attention. Basis of independ¢AI ¢xaminer'% statement An examination includes a review of the accDuntin8 records kept by the charity and a comparison of the aecounts presented with those records. It also includes eonstderntion of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audi( and ¢onsequently I do not exp￿$$ an audit opinion on the accounts. Independettt examiner's st*lemenl In the course of Tny examination of the statement of aceounl for the year ended 31 December 2024. no matter has come to rny attention which gives me reasonable Cause to Ixlieve that in any material respect.. accounting records have n(Jt been kept in accordance with Section 44 (1)(a} of the Charities and Trustee Investments {Seotland) .Ict 2005 and Regulation 4 of Th¢ Charities Accounts (Scotland} • th¢ accounts do not accord with ¢hose records the stalement of account do not comply with any of the requirements of Regulation 9 of The Charities Accounts (Scotland) ReRulations 2(X16 to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in ordcr to enabl¢ a PTopcr understanding of ihe acoounts to be ttachcd Date Trustets, Annual Report Year ended 31 D￿ernher 21b24 Strlletur4 Covernance and manageD￿nt CovtrnlDg Dotumt•t The Ch￿Ch is now adminiauryj in with the tem)s of the Unitwy Ci￿￿1￿110n. This w&8 adopted on 25 July 2023 &% nM)ved away fnmn the previous m￿je1 Deed of C(ffi&itution. Alva Parish Church is part of the PresbW of PertlL Recrnit￿elt #nd AppoiD¢meat of Iru5tett Mernt￿l of the KÉrk Session are the chanty trusteth lThe KJ"rk are the el¢Jers of the thurch and are clKmL tiom ￿$¢ of the chU￿b are considcred ￿ have the appropriate gifts and skill& All Truslees have (thnple*d the rnandat(ry Safeguardin8 for Trux iraining. The mini51er. th is a manttr of the Kirk sessio￿ ts d(wd by thc Ènductcd by Presb)tery. OrggDisgtiDnal The Kitk S¢ssion appts￿ts tt)nveners of 8r¢yws &leB8tes thfinttl *thJrity Currently 8roups are ¢stoblithed FI￿ Fin8tK Prort, Pa4org1 Care aTKI H(4Jitslity. The Kirk Se&8iOt) meets five times a ve4r. Objectiv¢s •ttd Aetwities The Church ol S¢otiand is Trinitsrian in &￿trinc. Refl￿￿￿ in tradition and PreS￿erian in ￿lIty. It exists to gltrifj. (bj and to work for the a(fvan¢ement of (JwiA'S Kit)gikMn thToughoui the w(dd. As a naiional Church. it a&Jk)wlcd8e5 a distinaiY¢ ￿[1 atKI duts ￿ bring the Ordin￿)CeS of religio to the ￿>ple in every parish of Scotland a terri￿rria1 ministy. It with otl Churches in various eC￿len1￿1 Eodies in Scoilarnj and trwd. Alvo Parish thurch wss fLYm¢d from the th?ion of St Serfs and E*%e Parith Churth¢* in 1984. Thc present ¢hurch ￿]lding bjili in 1842 with the halls red¢vek￿l and extended in 198) in prepar*ii)n for the 4mion. A Chaneel a(Itkd to ￿ san¢iury in 1989 and tk w was ttJx)sitiond and ovfflwld. A new Ch￿ hall extension in 1995. Since 1997 ￿aS F£¢n the full time minÉAttand le4ds wcekly worship ￿ a Surwjav where the averag¢ att￿dance week would Mm)allv te aTtXLlld 70. As well s this he lea(ts rnonthl) Worship in lThc C(KILrane& is chap18in ID ￿l￿a Primap" and Al￿ Academy, and ￿￿[￿m5 storal dutics f(Y ihe torish. He is &8siMed a￿￿illia￿. minisLer. Sbjdcnts f the ministy are frequently sent to Alva to wid¢n their experi￿¢¢. cs a full pan in the ainin8 aThJ erLcouragemen¢ rf student& Mell as m&erial our ih lQrLn'5 we have also fttinued to pr￿lUCe Th￿tri￿ for the welyage WiSL l(x3] wimary with their RME curriculum. The CongrEgall(￿ of 340 rnanbers plus I l athcTEnts hL8 a vision of rexhing to all the Fryk of Alva ￿1th G(wJ's love. To this end orrdnisations ￿e Ajn within and (￿￿th the chuLh buildin85. These include. Men's Group. Prayer gTOUP. Bibk Study Group& Craft Sunday sch￿15 and Youth Club IZone5X Sunday Cafe. Cornmunity Cafe, and P￿1 lther. Tr F(Kd lardcr cleat by the church in 2022 to fill the gap Cr￿8] by the ¢I￿1n& of the ¢ommunity f(x)di>ank. The congregation and the ¢y)mthitY a]1 don*¢ and the Larder is Yaffed by .41ia Parish Chwrh Wol￿teers&8 well &5 those from the Bapii# athd Cat]M)lic ChuTCh. Trustees, Annual Report {tont) Year ellded 31 December 2024 The focus of our work is guided by our Aitn. Growing clos¢r ¢0 God ond our nei8hbour. We encourage the ¢ongr¢wion in their personal journcy of faith within a fram¢woTk ihai Seeks ¢0 encourage community. The 351 members and adherents of the church have Strong links wthin the ￿MmUnity, ond mony seek to reach out through their participation in ci)mmunity groups like the Pensioners Group,Cyuides and S¢ouW Alva Gl¢n Trnst, Alva Developrnerkt'l'rusL Alva CommuDity Council, local Vcterans. &s well as workin8 in the 5ch(K>15 a5 volunterr helpery and within Sehool Councils. We have a vibrant oTr-line presence via 0￿r website and FaeeFKx>k pages and continued to recthrd on adult and a ¢hildren's setvice ￿ch Wednesday and make them av#ilable ai 10.30 on a Sunday via 0￿r Websi1¢ and FaeeEook page a5 WCII a5 on CD . In (k)ing so we now Te8ularly reach over 200 people. We have cL)lltinU￿ to op¢n for prayer twice per wcck and in eortjun¢tion with thc Tucsday s￿510n have our community drop in cafe io help those fccling i501ated. Our quarterly magazine. llje Alvanac, is availablc online and via audio CD for those with visual impairrn¢nt. We have a daily prayer on our l.acelKK)k page and a weekl). ¢-ma8a7ine corktaining inlimati()ns and a Short meditation every Sunday morning. Our Worship Group has ¢ontinue4 to develop and ts&es an active part in the recorded werkly services and in ¢hur¢h.. The Prdyer Grotw has ¢on¢inued to meet each Wednesday ¢vet)in& Ea¢h year we remember the s&¢tifi¢es made by mLThbers of the arnied for¢e$ in the Worfd Wars and other ¢onni¢ts. On behalf of the Royal Llritish l.egion. Alva Parish Church organises the ￿Teath laying eeremorky at the War Memorial. We conlinue to Work wilh other ch￿reh denominatlOll5 within the ¢ommunity e.8. the F(KyJbank The Public A¢cess Deflbrillator which we installeil and maintain at the ehur¢h has acee55ed severdl time5 during the past year Alva Parish C.huT¢h is in defcrrLxi linkage with Mensirie and we are workinb to progr&%% the new mi&%ion plan for the Ilillfoots wuping ¢0 manage the rcduction in full time equivalent minist¢rs. In order to build giM)d WOTkin8 relationships Mith Mcnstrie w¢ hold shared communion services t￿idiCallY with ￿cialisIng aft￿ards, havc establish￿ a join¢ saf¢8uarding panel. and have held di5CU55ions the ()p¢ration ol-e.8 Finance Groups. Trustees, Annual Report (eothl) Year ended 31 December 2024 FiDan¢ial Review Income in 2024 tothlled £163,821 Corn￿red to £116.764 in 2023. Grant fimding of £20.400 was secured to help ti]nd ihc instsllation ofM)lar Pa￿1$ and (rther #Krgy elriciency measure5 M'iihin Church and Halls. The Kirk Stssion also approved the saje of s(me of our InVes￿eftts ￿hleh realised £16,960 to 5UPTX)rt the ￿tt￿sE￿¢ fabric Mmxks Lmden￿eTh during the year. Inrome (bnations was £4JIO hi8her in 2024. which can be attril￿trd to a quicker iurnaround on rettipt of tax recovered from gift aid claims during the year. E4rly in the ycar ￿ Kirk Se&sioTh set up a fundrdising committee, whi¢h, during its fLf51 yw of ￿l0￿S raised 3 eommen(Idble sum of £4,335. Exp¢ndilu¥e totall￿ £168.153 in 2024. wthtch over £50.(m gre*¢r than 2023. This can a]most ¢ntirel>' be attributed to investhietji in the fabric of our buildings wljere exr*ndill￿e ts)t2lled £62.448 in thc )'ear compared to £13.￿8 in 2023. The Sum sr*ni on the ￿lar wiels and enew t￿le]encY megsllres referred to alM)ve amountrd LO £25J I l. M(Jst of the reTnaining S[￿ commenL%d a three year programme of work io wkle issues highlighted in a PrcthJte￿ survev rer￿ . In 2024 this included m&8w, roughcasting and riMTrfing at the Chur¢h as well as r￿f ryiT5 at the Man Trdnsfers fr¢)m ￿tr Church org8nisat1￿S to our g￿eral fw)d •Nwnted to £gXI. As a result of the income and cxrKndLure explainLxI the accounts fv 2024 reLxKd a defiut of £4,332 compared to £1240 in 2023. 2025 and 2026 whith wll requirt funding fr(xn our Trabric and Capitsi reserve& Res¢rve5 Polity It is the Truste¢s' w)li¢y to retain unc0￿]￿ed resetry￿ at 4 Tninimum level of approximately I months exwijiture in the General Fund at the year end The sum held * the L￿￿ of 2024 £22.988 which exee&ts the rg4uirtn¢nL It is the T￿￿e£s, ￿1]leY to retain Fabric F￿d Teservw ￿ a minimum level of £15.IMKI ￿ the year end to COV¢T unex￿ed repairs. The held iTh excess of this anM)Lthi is available to k utilised on a progratnmc of planned maift*twi¢e and improvernentk At the end of 2024 thc fund sitttng at £15J41. The C.apÈtal Fund holds sums re¢eivtsJ l¢gacie5 and investment repaid. ThcrE 15 no rccommendeits] prOj￿tt tlew iniiiatiYe5 Benevoknt Fil￿.. This i< a fiiAd kn JYtiNith help and Surnxbrt kn the Ix)rne*KI abrowl Youth D¢w¢k>pnKnt Fund.. This is a fillM4 kn bc uxd for youth Sunday Schwl Fund." 11]iS IS a fut￿ [￿￿¢1#$1%¢ ￿ by &LtthySclKKpL Chri$iiatJ Youth club ILorLg).' This i) a fund sa Lgd¢ forex¢lusive ￿b¥ thcywth club. Café.. Incorne r8isoJ is usolto supp)rt worthmthik W*Jtsisthr￿8tOW￿￿vt9T F￿Ki L4T&r. tht)aLiOttS ￿ WIrch￿￿ ere ut11￿¢d kn PTovidc a rGyyJrcÈ ￿ the (￿￿•L￿rtY of Aiwl Chums.. This is a fillhd set fortxclusi*E ￿ ty *¢ this m. Cratl grwp". This LS a fund sth a5NJ¢ for ￿d￿5]Ve ￿ b)" this wp. Henthrwn B¢q￿St.. Thi5 ￿ a fur¥J ￿￿1¢¥￿￿1Vety at the MiniALYs di￿ ￿ty1$1 within Parith io iiDrutricled FuTrd R￿ritte nds Tot*1 2024 2024 2024 2023 3. Analysis of Donation$ wro s¢h¢[[￿ (non Gift Aid) Gift Aid Dor￿tiOnS "I￿ Rfwv¢rd on Cjift Aid lA￿at Ordinary OtTeTkrtES lo￿ Plate) OtherOfferin* lknn*iorLS etc 1746 54J24 16.074 4257 5.407 82.808 2.746 54J24 17A98 4257 19174 98ffj99 1631 52,731 13.395 4.125 21.507 1.424 14,467 15.891 4. Analysi5 of P8ymeDts Costs ofgenernting funds Trundrwsipg aaiiitN' eywsts Offcring enveloFC5 97 123 123 Cbaritable aetivities Givin8 to Grow less.. Ertdowment In(*me 51,680 11.357) 50.323 50.889 11.372} 49,517 IlJ571 50J I.73T 3.557 5.170 61448 3.656 14.546 3.776 778 4.728 679 1,731 35S7 5.170 1.334 3.156 4,576 13,IKI8 3,555 1,695 3.015 Minister's exrth* her staÈYing co4s CoU￿lI.].8X He8L light water Insurance Church o(fiL% eX[*r￿ Organ & music Printi￿ swiotlery and r Supron forthosc in Ked DonatioThs Othcr ex1K￿ 14.546 3.776 778 728 6218 761 9293 9393 13.868 1.870 4,515 538 151,930 4.777 15.920 167*50 Governance costs In(kp¢n¢kni ¢xamirKr'5 fe 150 19) 150 15U33 15.920 11&153 118.004 Minister*s Stipend All Church of Scotland congTeLTalions ¢ontribule to the National Stipend Fund which bears the costs of I ministers, slipend$ and employ¢￿$ contributions for national insurdJ)ce, pension and housirig and loan fund. Ministers, stipends are paid in accordance with the National Stipend Scale. which is rel￿ed io yeaJ3 of servi¢¢. For the year under review, the minimum stipend was £31,642 and the Maximum stipend in 5th and subs¢qu¢nt years of service was £38,884. 2024 2023 & Collections for Third Parties Earl Haig Fund Maggies Centre, Forth Valley Brilish Red Cross Israel and Gaza appeal Strathcarron Hospice Christian Aid Gaza Appeal 338 400 400 410 385 1,096 1,137 12