The Church of Scotland Thurso St Peter's & St Andrew's RECLIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS For tbe year ended 31 Dec¢mb¢r 2024 CongregatioD No: 412285 Charity No: SC 016691
Reference and Administrative Infomation Chlty Namc: Thurso St Peter'$ and St Andrew's Church of Scotland Cbarity Rcgistration NuMIr.. SC016691 Congregation Reference No.. 412285 Contact Address.. Trustees See attached Schedul¢ Principal Office-bearerj Minister.. S&gsion Clerk.. Church Treasur.. Independent ExamiDer Bunker Roya] Bank of Scotlan Olrig Strc¢l. Thurso
Trustees, Annual Report Year ended 31 December 2024 Structure, Governance and Management Governing Document The Church is administered in accordance wtth the ternis of the De¢d of Constitution Iunitary Forni}. Previously the Church was adMinised Lmder a Iraditional Deed of Constilution which required a Kiik Session and a Congregational Board. On 21. May 2015, the new Deed of Constitution (Unitary Forni) was signed by the Principal Clerk of the Church of Scotland and on that date the Congregatsonal B0d was disbande(L Recruitment aDd Appointment of I'rustees Thc Kirk Session arc the charity trustees. Previously members of the Kirf( Session 2nd the Congregational Board were the charity trustee8. The Kirk Session members are the elders ot'the church and are chos¢n from those members of the church who are consi&red to have the appropriate gifts and skills. Thc ministcr, who is a mcmber of thc Kirk Session. Is electcd by the congregation and inducled by Prcsbylcry. The Kirk Session is responsible for all malerial as weLI as spiritual matters working through six teams.. Financc, Property. Pastoral, Hospitslity. Outrcach and Ministry. The members of th¢ t¢uns arc drawn from the eldership. Cormcr members of tIL¢ Cungrcgational Board and other rnemkrs of the congregation with the necessary gifts and skills. OrganiA&tion41 Structure The Kirk Session is chaired by the minister and me¢ls four times in a year, with additional meetings as requir¢d. Objectives and Activities The Church of Scotland is Trinitarian in doctrine, Refornied in trath'tion and Presbyterian in p)lity. It exists to glorify God and to work for the advancement of Christ's Kingdorn throughout the world. As a nation ChurGN it acknowledges a distinctive c&ll and duty to bring the ordinanccs of religion to ihe people in every parish of Scotland through a territorial fftinisiry. It Cow0rateS with other Churches in various ecumenical bodies in Scotland and b¢yond. The vision of the congregation of Thurso St Peter's and St Andrew's is to serve God in His church and. through Him. the community. Public worship on Sunday is the key activity of the churclL with morning services being held and liv¢ streamed and evening services heLd once a month. Organisations within and affiliated to the Gongrgation includ¢ thc Sunday School. Ladi¢s Bible Study. Biblc Study / Fellowship Groups, and midweek Prayer Mc¢ting. The church provides a twice weekly Community Warn] Space. a weekly Moth¢r & Toddl¢r group and periodically nms cowses for thos¢ interested in finding out aboul the Chrlslian faith (Alpha and Youth Alpha COUTse).
Trustees, AnDu21 Report (cont) Year ended 31 December 2024 Achievements and Perforniance Church membership ai the end of the year was 108. There are a further l(M) adherents. Six baptssms, eight weddings and sixty-Din¢ funerals were conducted by the Minister dwin8 the y¢ar. Church Sunday worship w&s conducted ail year. with services being livestreamed to the Church Facebook page and evening services being reintrodu¢¢d onc¢ a month. Weekly prayer meetings and bible studies, as well as fellowship groups. were held A Wam] Space re-started in the autumn to supwrt thosc in thc loca] community impaLied by fuel FM)V¢rty etc. In additio Home Start Caithness are using our chwch to provide a Iation for people looling after young children to meet in a safe environment with toys to play with and statTto offer help and offer advice. Financial Revieiv The attached financial statement shows an excess of payments over rec¢ipts of £21,273 for the ycar to 31 Dc¢¢mb¢r 2024, compared with an ¢xccss of receipts over paymcnts of £302 in the previous year 2023. Total reIptS for the yeaT Amounted to £51.939 (2023 £55.613). The princip recurrent source of income is offerings I donations amounting to £50.520 in the period (2023 £49,984). Total paymcnts amounted to £73212 (2023 £55,311). Overall. the was an excess of payments over reccipts of £7.694 on unTCStrict¢d fund for thc pcriod. This position was in part caused by ongoing issues with the Church utiliti¢b bills Icading lo an oV¢ym¥nt for 2024. It is assessed that the overpaymeni explains £4,615 of thc unrestricted loss. Resolution of th¢ Ov¢aYMent position will benefit the 2025 fjnancial year. There was also an excess of payments over receipts of £13,579 on restricted funds. This position was expected and planed reflecfrd the utilisation of the funds held by the (Teneral Trustees in a Consolidated Fabric Fund. and are available to the Congr¢Bation for fabri¢ purposes. The fabric expenditLwe included the iL8tsllation of a gas boiler in the church builth'ng. Reyervej Policy It is th¢ Truste¢s' kM)licy lo rebuild appropriafr reserves. This is mlurn to long tcrn) aspirdtion. The short-temi objective is to balance total receipts totsl payments. At 31" December 2024 the total rcserves amounted to £33.540. of which £27.671 were unrestricfrd and £5.869 r¢stric*d
Trustees, Annual Report (cont) Year ended 31 December 2024 Statement of Truslees, Responsibilitle5 Th¢ memb$ of the Kirk Sc5sion must prepare finaDcial statements which give sutTicient detsil to enable an appreciation of the transactions of the Church during the financial year. The members of the Kirk Session are responsibl¢ for keeping prop¢r accounting records wtiich. on r¢qu¢sL must Teflect the fmancial position of the Church at that time. This rnt b¢ done to ensur¢ that the financial stslemts c4)mply with the Charities and TnLsfre Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. the Charities Accounts (Swtland) Regulations 2W6 as amended by the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Amcndment Regulations 2010 and the Regulations An¢nt Congregational Finance approved by th¢ General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2012. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Church and must take reasonable steps for the prevention andlor detsction of fraud and other iegular1t1es. Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf. Date..
SCHEDULE OF TRUSTEES I. ELDERS
Thurso St Peter's and St Andreiy's Chureh SC 016691 Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees ofThurso St Peter's and St Andrew's Church ST We report on the accounts of the charity for the y¢ar ended 31 Decemkr 2024 which are set oth on pws 8 to 12. Respective responslbilities of tru$tee8 and examiner The charity's truste¢s are rcsponstble for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the ternis of the Chdriti¢s and Tiustee Investm¢nt (Scotland) Act 2005 and the ChaTities Accounts (Scotland} Regulations 2006. The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of thc AOWIts R¢gulations docs not apply. It is ow r¢skK)nsibility to examine th¢ a¢wuiits as required under section 44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to our attention. Basis of iDdep¢ndent examiner's itstement Our examination is carri¢d out in ac£4)rdance with Regulation I l of the ChaTities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. An examination includes a review of the accounting r¢wrds kept by the charity and a comparison of thc )ounts presented Thith those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosuTCS in the accounts. and se¢ks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the eviden¢¢ that would be required in an audiL and consequently we do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. Independent examlner's 8tHtement In the course of our examination, no matter has come to our attention which ¥ivcs us rc&sonablc coUSC to belicvc that in any material ICSFKGt the requir¢m¢nts lo keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 ot the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and to prq)arc arxounts which &CCOTd with Ihe aCCL)unting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2(K)6 Accounts Regulations have not been met, or 2. to which, in our opinion, atlenlion should be drawn in order to ¢nablc a proper understanding of the accounts to be reachcd. Addres. Date..
Thurso St Peter's and St Andrejv's Churcb Recei tssndPa ments AollAt Year ended 31 mber 2024 UDrutrl¢te41 Funds ReJtrirt¢d Endowmeffjt Fund8 Tot1 Total )24 2024 2024 21124 2023 Nots Donation$ Legacies Activities f(Y Generating Fund8 50.520 SO,520 49,984 Bank & Deposit intere8t Inve8tm6nt income The Guild 626 673 1.299 1.027 Sunday Club 51,146 673 51,819 51.011 Grants 3.744 858 Other Receipts 120 120 673 Cost5 of generating fid8 Clwitable tivIti5 Governance cost Th¢ Guild Sunday Club 58,960 14.252 73.212 55.311 Total P ments Exce53 of Receipts over Payments for the year before transfers {7.694) (13.579) (21,273) 302 Transfers Excw of Receipts over Payments for the yer 694 J02
Thurso St Peter's and St Andrew's Church Statement of B Ydlanees At 31 December 2024 Unrejtricted R¢8tricted Fuffjds funds Endowmettt Tots] Total Funds 21124 2023 Bank & deposit bal¢ brought forw&rd 35.365 19.448 54,813 54.511 Movemcnt In ye•r. Ex¢ess of ReIpts over Paym¢nts for the year (7,694) (13.579) (21.273) 302 Tronsf¢ Bank & d¢po8ii banceS Gift Aid R¥V•ble (¢stim&ted) The accounts were approved by the Kirk Session ott 11 2025. ror and on bchiilf ofiiic Kirk.. Scssion
Thttrso ier's AEI StAndTew's Chur tss to the A courtts l TrwteE RemuDerllon nd Relgt¢d PArty TransACtlon8 Jring the yeor thr¢¢ (3) trnstees received T¥imbursernertt of oxpendittwe ineuffed kntalling £610. No remunerntion wu paid to the tntsiees. 2 Movements ITr F•nds At l January At31 Dec 2024 Recelpti P4ymen¢8 TrADsfen 21124 ilnrestrlcted fullds D418¢ed Fabric Fund De9ignated Surtday c.lub Fund Gell8] Fund 1.574 28 1.574 28 Rutrictcd funth Con801id&ted Fabric Fwid Church Trust Fund 10,809 2.639 673 (14,252) 3.230 2.639 673 Total 73 A2 Fabric Fund.. Tbo Congre8ation's policy for f&bric exrttditure ig that ncTmal repEirs and maxntenance ore met from the General acc4)unt whi15t major fabrio is defrayed from this fiind. Church Trnsl Fund.. For many years, the int¢re$¢ eamed from the bank deposit r¢pre8¢rtting thi8 fund was tr&nderTed to the F#bri¢ Fund H(>wever. hawn8 taken appropriate advtce part ofthig fund used to finance the renovation and extension at the Manse. Consolidated Fabric Fund.. trin8 2020, the Churth Manse was sold Ind a replacement manfje purcha8ed. The gJrplusfuftd8 are held by the Genwal Trustees in a c0n5011da¢ Fabri¢ Fund and Are Avail&ble to the Conwion to fimd fabric exPendire. io
Elld•)ITment Fund8 Fund8 Totsl Totsl 2023 2024 2024 2024 2024 3. Analysi8 of Do*¢10$ FWO Scheme (non-Gift Aid) Gift Aid Donations Recovered 9.240 21.060 7,463 12,307 450 9.240 21.060 7.463 12,307 450 &015 21.060 8,134 11555 120 Ordinary OtT¢rings (op Plate) Otl)er OtYerin84 Donations etc WeddinBS & Funuoj Fe loo 511520 J20 49,984 4 Anal10 of Ilw¢fjts C•$ts tterting funds OffeTin8 envelopei CharltAble acdvitiu Mini8tries & Mi9sAon allocation Pr¢gbytery alJt8 Dn1&ty exp¢8 Pulpit pplY Other $tatYinB costs F4bft¢ repairs & maintenan Congre8ationai Organisationg H¢at and li8ht Water ChaT8es & InrCe Manse upkeep 8nd re8torifiort Coun¢il TAX Printin& stationery. and poBts8e Othw expenses 31,934 135 31.934 135 29,909 1.338 1,512 1.885 125 1,885 125 557 14.252 14.809 8,767 14.093 14.09J 4.922 1.783 2.538 59 4,030 4,691 1,783 2.538 59 2,479 929 583 Sb.960 14352 73312 55Jll Con8olldited F4brie iiiw 2020, th¥ ChurLh man8e was Jold and & replacement manse wrchased. 'I'he wryjlus h]nd5 8eneratal are held by the iieneral Trustees of the Churth of Scotland and inv¢ed irt the CoTrsolidatyJ Fabric Fund on behalf of the C,ongregation. Durtng the year a tcrtat of £14,252 was utili5rf with Kirk Session and Pr¢5bytery prOV. for fabri¢ purpose3 including the replacement of the church boiler. At 3111 DeLwnbcr 2024 th¢ ranaining furtdty hdd by the General Trusttts amwnted to .230. 11
Mini8ler'8 Stipend All Churth of Scodand Congregati$ ¢ontribut¢ to th¢ National StipeDd FLmd whi¢h bears th¢ c(*sts of atl mint$t¢rs' stipmds attd employe¢s Contributions for nationa] insurartcq pension h{Sing attd lo fund. Ministers, Stipends are paid in accoTdan¢e with th¢ natio1 stipend scale. which is related to years of setTriC4. For 2024 the minimwn stipend was £31,&12 and the maximwn sknpend (in the fifth and wbwuent yeats of service) £38.884. Collections fov Thlrd Pairties A total of £673 was Collj at ChTisunas $ervi¢e8 towaTdB the CaIthneF Toy Appea]. The8e fid$ art not Includ in the 2024 12