SOUTH WISHAW PARISH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND Report of the Trustees and Receipts and Payments Account For the Year Ended 31 December 2024 Congregation Number 171165 Scottish Charity Number SC010775 SOUTH WISHAW PARISH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND Contents of the Financial Statements For thè Year Ended 31 Oecernber 2024 Pa Report ofthe Trustee5 1to7 Independent Examinerfs Report Receipts and Payments Account Statement of Balan(*s 10 Notes to Accounts 111014 Apwndix 15 SOUTH WISHAW PARISH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND Report of tle Truste85 For Year Endwj 31 December 2024 REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRAllVE DETAILS Truste?s Banker Virg'n Morey 43 Hamilton Road Moi*erhel ML1 30D SOUTH WISHAW PARISH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND Report of the Trustees For Year Ended 31 December 2024 STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT Recruitment and appointment of new Trustees Members of the Kirk Se55ion are charity trustees. The Kirk Session members are the elders of the church and are chosen from ihose members of the church who are considered to have appropriate 8ifts and skills. The rrinister. who 15 a member of the Kirk Session, is elected by the congregation and inducted by the Presbytery of Forth Valley & Clydesdale. Organisational Strurture The Kirk session is chaired by the mSnister and meets six times in a year. Certain responsibilities are delegated to the Financè convenor and Committee and the Property convenor and Committee as appropriate. The Kirk Session whlch meets six times a year is responsible for spiritltal affairs within the thurch. Rlsk Management The trustees have a duty to Identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate ¢onlrols are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. I. CONFLicfs OF INTERE¥f POLICY The charity trustees of South Wishaw Parish Church have implemented a Conflict of Interest Policy under which they have agreed that a re8lster will be kept of all interests declared by the charity trustees. 2. MAINTENANCE OF REGISTER This reg15ter is maintained by the Sesslon Clerk, who must.. lal record all conflicts, gifts and hospitality declared by the trustees in aCCOTdance with the policy; and Ibl circulate amendments or additions to the register lif any) to the trustees at the start of each charity trustee meeting. 3. REVIEWING THE REGISTER As agreed in the policy. at least once in every 12-month perlod. all charity tTU5tees must review the information relating to themselves contained in this re8lStet and declare that the information is coirect or make a further declaration if necessary. 4. INSPEcfioN OF REGISTER This reElSter 15 available for in5pettion by any charity tIU5tee and by any member of the congregation on request. REGISTER OF INTERESTS Brief details of any action SOUTH WISHAW PARISH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND Date notrfiod Name of charity trustee Brief det•lls of interest notified. Brief detsils of anv artiors March 2022 Au8U5t 2021 oBJE￿IVEs AND AcfiviTIES Objective5 and Aims The Church of Scotland is Trinitarian in doctrine, reforff￿d in trad¢tlort and Presbyterian in polity. It exists to glorify God to work forthe advancement of Chrisr'5 Kingdom throu8h the world. As a national church, it &cknowled8e5 a distinctive call and dviy lo br￿￿ the ordlnances of rellglon to the people of every parish of Scotlanil ihrough ierrltorlal mlnlstry. It co-operate5 Wlth other churche5 In varlous ecumenlcal bodie5 In 5cotlznd and beyond. Weekty worship services take place at south Wish8w Pansh on Sunday at 11.00am. which is a mix of trdlitional worship and more contemporary style. with communion being celebrated Dn the first Sunday of each month. There is also our Sing Praises service on Wednes(Jays at 11.l)Oam. where those attending can choose the songslhymns. Our Rernembrance Service took place this year and members of the Scout Group attended in the church. At Christmas, wè cèlebrated the birth of Christ. Our Children and Family Worker, dlun8 wlth the mlnlster, have 51arted a ryouth Fellowship" which the youn8Sters IIJiL iJll,.d Deepei & Deeper, they meet on sunday evenin8s and begSn rhe evenlng wlth a meèl then 80 on to have games and of [ourse Bible teachinB and prayer time. Attendance varies but is usually arouncl 20. some youngsters from Da12iel St Andrews now attend this group Many of the youngsters attended Magnilude, which is a five day 3nnual Christian youth festival for ioung folk aged 11- 18. this is organised by Sciipture Union. D&D also held a Christmas Carol né seNice on 22 Decemter this year. this was attended ￿ many of our congregation. COMMUNICATING WITH OUR COMMuN￿y The Church wcbsitc £ontinues to be used arKI carries Useful information re¥drding seivlces, artlvnles etc. The Comtrass. our church news bulletin, is published perlodlcally and glves those who do not or cannot attelld church an Ins*ht ol whays happenlng In their church. The Church Facebook page also assists with communication. The Church holds all the necessary and relevant copyiight licenses. We set up Wishakv Conmunity Foodbank and have seen numbers using this increase over the years. We have been very fortuncte in receiving donations of food items and monetary donations, particularly a5 we approacPed the festive perlod. We also run a drop in community cafe twice weekly. in conjunction with loodbank, w'hich is open to anyone and 15 free of charge. This gives thosè who come 3 place to have cup of tea/coffee. hot filled roll and a seat a warm. welcoming environment with some social Interartion In o non-judgemental. Christ13n envIron￿nt. The Chur-h premises are used as a covvenient meeling Pla￿ lor several communlty groups for regular and ocia5101è1 evenls. Our Scoul Group and Gu5de Unli coniinue to meei regularty and are always vil.;InE LC tyelp at fundr3151ng events wrthin the church. We hwe an organisation called Creative Crew, ior pejpl! %'/ith learning difficulties who meet in our premises or. a weekly basis. Adult Grours that nomN311y meet in our thurch include the Guild. sadly our Sharing Circle has now SOUTH WISHAW PARISH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND disbanded due to lack of numbers. The Guild is still ￿11 suppLYted. Outside Groups using our premises include North Lanarkshire Council Horne C3re Group weekly, Federation of Pensioners, Line DancinE Class. Soundsational Cklir also use our prernises to practice and hold some of theÈi concerts. Youth Eroups include the Guide Assock3tion (Rainbows, Brownies. Guldes & Ranger Guides), Scout Assaciatinn (Aeavers, Cubs & Scouts) both of which are thrNiry cornmunities of youngsters and who join us for our Rernernbrance Sunday service. There 15 also a dance class which is aiffled at familles who may not be able to afford their youngsters atte￿ling mole expensve dance group5 locally. In June 2D24 we held ovr Summer Fete and along with our Christmas Fayre reli￿ed some of the flnancial strain on our church finances. We also had a pantomime which involveLI some of our congregation, also some who are not members, this event pr(Ned a great success and allowed many different member5 of our community to become involved in drfferent ways. The bEgest communityoutreaches have been the Wshaw Community Foodbank which started in April 2021. Taking place twio weekly. with many members of our congre83tion. as well as others from othgr Inc31 churches, involved with its functionin8. This has beèn a twemendously successful venture In the community. Not On￿ Jre wo able to help people in need but rt 13 also brin8ing together ollier churche5 and or8anisatvJn5 who offer donations ol f(x)d and fknanclal sUPPOrt on a regular bas￿. Anyone can come alon8 have a cuppa and a blte to eat as well as sourcing information Irom the marty support agencies who come and give advKe on benefits etc. From the Wishaw Community Foodbank our congre8ation set up another new venlure wlthin our community- The hlew Life Recovery Hub. South Wishaw Parlsh Church ente￿d a partnership with Street Connect- a charty dealinl with addictions of all kinds and homelessness- and m(bgti twicp weekly. The group is brought together in prayer and Bible study. A lunch time meal is offered for those attending this group. normally soup. which is provKled iw churth members or some ol those who visit the chijrch for these meetings. Recent 8rants mèan we will be able to retain Stroet Cennect 5etvices and possibly increase staff ing to what has bccome an inYalu?Ile outrexh in our cc¥nmunity and 6 big part of our missional work in the area. Volunteers frotn south Wi51ww Parlsh Church along wlth personnel from Stieel Cuniiect go Inlo the communlty and meet those with oddictN)ns and other soclal problems and encourage them to start a new life away from driJ8s and alcohol. ABain, this has been successful and is thriving- because ol the need within the Ivishaw and Surrounding area. Tol31 Attendances this year - l.¥)8 highest ever New SeThice Users this year- 148 loint highest evpr. fi￿P[.-.￿.￿.1tr￿n4?nCe- 12.9 days. We havè ￿e se￿-eMployed paid part-time outreach worker lor this venture. A Befrienders Group ha5 also been Set up this year and is fof those who. for whatever reason, do not Attend church. Member5 have volunteered tc¢ visit or tèlephone these members depending 9n the preferonce of the people involved. The group is still vsiting regularly or tontacting congregation momber5 by tclcphone and keeping them up to date with whai is happenin8 wSlhln ihe church and tryin8 lo en¢vura¥e theln back lllto re8ular worshlp. ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE The congregation and organisations tske part in events orEan15ed by the local Churches Together group participating in the Wotld Day of Prayer. The review of churches in Wishaw is now complete and for a Wdriety of reasons which had been stated by members of other congregations, our minister felt unable to put his name forward as minister for the new Iharge. presbytery aEreed to the other congreeations becoming one yntil such time a etire5 or decides to move on. South Wishaw Parish would then become the maln pl31 ()' i ,k p In Wishaw, as è8ree(S in the Presbytcry Plan. In the meantime. we continue inde￿ndent1y. STEWARDSHIP A con51derable nUm￿r Df our rneMbersh￿ are actNdy involved in te3rn5 undertakingthe running of our fuel hub & cafe, foodbanK summer fete, Christmas Fayre. holid￿ dubs, SuThJay Youth Groups, and In-house rnaintenance tasks. The invofvement of these peoplr* is greauy appreciated and has a SOUTH WISHAW PARISH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND considerable ifflpact on flnarnclal ￿abIlIty of the corgregation. This use of their time and talents dlsplays the practical aspects of stewardship. We also carried oul a st￿0[d5hlP campaign during the month of 5epiember, ajlminating in a Back to Church HaThest Sunday service on 22nd where we asked members to make an add￿lO￿al donation to the thu.'cFL This did ra￿e some additk7nal funds foi the church. During 2024, we have kept our members upd3tod on the state of our chur¢h'5 finances. Many of them have responded very positively taking steps to ensure that theiT normal church offerings are rnaintained or have charvded to settin8 LIP Stand￿8 ordets. This actioi Ly mernbe¥s Is greatb/ appreciatod in the difficult 2024 situation. We b*ill, of course, LE payln8 concentrated attention to our finances. RESERVE POLICY It Is the policy of the trustees to hold reserves of 6 months expenditure Including designated funds and whilst this is currently proving difficult it Is our obieclive to do $0. CoN￿lTuTION Our congregation operates under the Church of Scotland's Unitary Constitution. This has enabled u5to opèiate with much less bureaucracy. 24" March, 2025 FINANCE 2024 has been a dlffKLsk year wilh offerings falling below prèyiovs years, and our hÈ*in8 and lightln8 bills Increased by £IOOOO from the previous yèar is just onè item we have had to deal w5th. To offset these additional iunnin8 costs, we hove run variou5 events, Summer Fayre, Ch¥15tmas Fayre, our Pantomime etc, with may I soy 30mewhai di3appointin8 suppori for some of these by our members. I have said repeated￿,. to keep going we need your support not only by your muth appreciated contrlbuiions bijt by your presence ai rhese events and when p055ible. by helping. At the close of the year there was a slight deflclt In unre5tflrted f￿ndS but thank5 to a le¢acy receNed in 2025 this will result in the Jnrestricted funds beint returned to a Surplus position. To help offset these risin8 Costs we have m3n3EÈd to increasèour income on hall lets from several organisatinn5 and rèduced Some of our runnin8 Costs by members of the con8re8ation fulfillin8 these activities such as cleaning. Our Flaglhip prolects. the Recovery Hub ind Fwdbank contlnue 10 be well attended. The Recovery Hub has benelitted from us securlnB a grant which will support rts activities throughout 2025, the Foodbank however has had to be more selettwe in who we can support and restricts those in need to the ML2 postcode, f1nancial contributions are well down on 2024 at this time, which is somewhat understandable given the risins cost for all of us, and l am afraid to say this looks likely to contintse, so we need to look at ivhat vie are able lo continue to do going forward. Ms, pro,'ettions for 2025. 3￿hOUgh we face a difficult ye3r, we have plans to keep us ahead of our e¥renditJi rk hawever folks we are very much dependent on your support both financially and by attendins our events. Ve hève a friendly, Irvety and happy church wlth $0 much going on from the various cffganisation5. "Ins danc Jls. and other users and dare I say it we are the best In the area. et me finish by saying those who @Ne and supw)rt our Church. I very much appreciate it and although sourH WISHAW PARISH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND we face demanding times, I woukl vever ask anyone to give more than they coukj -fford. I reasurei i March 2LY25 SOUTH WISHAW PARISH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND Reportof theTrEtstees For Year Ended 31 December 2024 STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBIL ￿lEs The members of the Kirk Session must prepare ftnancial statements which Sive 5ufficieni detail to enable an appreciation of the transactions of the Church during the financial year. The rnembers OF the Kirk seS￿on are reS￿nSIble for keeplng proper accounting records which, on request, must reflea the finaTrcial posfcion at the Church al that time. This must be done to ensure that the tinartial statements comply with the Charities and Trustee Investment1Scotlandl Act 2005, the Ch3rilies Account5 Iscotlandl Regulations 2006 and the Regulations Anent Congregatr)nal Finance approved by the General Assembly of The Church of Scotland In 2CQ7. rhey are also responsible for safeguarding the assèts of the Church and must take reasonable Steps for the prevention 3nd/or detection ol fraud and other irre8uEarities. Approved by the Trustee5 on 98ned on their behatf by SOUTH WISHAW PARISH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND Ind8pendent Examinerfs Reportto theTrustees For the Year Ended 31 0Ècembor 2024 I report on Ihe financial statements of the chartyfor the yearended 31 December 2024 which are sei tsut on pages 9 to 15. Respective responsibilities ol Trustees and Examiner The charity's tiustee5 are responsible for the preparaiion of the accounts in ￿Cordance with the terms of the Charities and Tru9tee Investment (Scotlandl Art 2005 and the Charities Accounts Ikotlandl Regulations 2(M16 las arnep.dedl. The charity trustees consider that the audTt requirement of Regulatlon 10111 lal to Icl of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is rny responsibility to Èxamine the accounts as requirèd unéer section 4411) Q of thè Art and to stste whether particular rnatters havecome to my attention. B•$15 Of Independent Examlner's statement My examlnation Is czrrled oui In accordance with Re£ulation 11 of the Chaiities Accounts Iscotlandl Regulations 21XJ6 las arnendedl. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes considerètion of any unusual items or disilosures in the accounts, and seeks explanatlDns from the trustees concernlng any s￿h matters. The procedures unthrtaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently l th not express an audit opinion on the wiew givèn by rhe accounts. Indep&nd•nt Examiner's Statement In the coarsc of rny examination, no mjtter has come to my ottention. Whth gives me reaso#abk* cau* to believe that in #ny malerngl resped th• rts]uirements' to k••p accounlir4 f•c￿rdS in accord¥n¢e vllh Se¢lion 4411119) Qlthe 2CQSAct ReguJatKJn 4 cl th¢ 2008 Accounts R8gulalK)ns las am•nd8dl and > to pr8p2rg aco)unts which accord with t￿ ￿untrnq records comply with RegUl81￿n 9 01 Ihe 2006 Axourts Regulations la¥ amended) have rnt been rrel. or to which. n rny epinion. m¢l•nlon •houhJ t4 dravm irt ordqr lo a propor und¢rglan¢Jing of th oc