2024-12-31-accounts

Scotlish Charity No.SC029186 Elder Memorial Free Church of Scotland, known as Hope Church Leith Trustees, Report and Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Elder Memorial Free Church of Scotland Contents of the Financial Ststementsfor ihe year ep￿ed 31 December 2024 Page Church Inforniation R¢FKJrt of the Trustee5 Report of the Ind¢pend¢nt Examiner Receipts and Paymenls Account Statement of Balances Notes to the Financial Statements

Elder Memorial Free Church of Scotland Churcb Information Trnstees A list of active Trustees during 2024 is provid¢d in the Trustccs, Report on Page 4. Addrek 8L9 C8sselhank Stred Edillburgh EH65HA Webslte hllps.'l/sites.goog1¢.wmlhotwhurchleith.or￿ho￿hu￿￿￿elth Ballkers Bank of Scotland 13 Newkirkgate Edinburgh EH6 IDE SDlicitDTS Bl&¢kadders LLP l O Cuclid Crv5cent Dundee DDI IA(i Inde Ddent Examiner

Elder Memorial Free Church of Scotland Report of the Tru5te¢sfor ihe epkled 31 Deccmber 2024 The Trustecs aT¢ pleased to preseni their report tog¢iher wilh ihe financial statements of the church for the year ended I I r)ec£mb¢r 2024. Statuj of Charity and Gov¢rDing Documettt Elder Memorial Free Church of Scotland (now known as H(ype Church L£ith) 15 established by Constitution. It is & registered Scottish Charily (No. SC029186). Aims aDd Affiliation The Free Chllrch of Scotland currcnily has around l 00 ¢nn8regatiOttS in Scoiland, as well as one in London and r￿e in North America, and sister ChU￿￿e5 tOUnd￿ by work in llld1￿ P¢rn and South Africa. Thc Lhurch Also has a full time d¢gr¢e awhrding college in the heart of Edinbur8h fvr Ihe training of Ministers and othcr Christian workers and sustains Mn extensive Mission8ry programme relative to the t+ize ofthe church. Dating from 1843 but with its roots in the Refnm)ation. it OWC5 ils distinctivc title to its historical struggl¢ to remain 'fr¢e' from stsie interference in its. intrrnal affairs. li ha5 ¢10s¢ and active rellltions with many other Keformed churches of Jesus Chrisl throughout the world and stands fimily in ih¢ trRdition which accepts the Bible in its ¢ntir¢ty as thc Word of tiod and. therefo￿. derives its fomis of teachin& worship, minis1ry and governmeni from it. The main emphasis of OUT worship is thc pY¢a¢hing of the 8osp¢I - th¢ good news of a free and sovereign salvalion through Jesus Christ alone. The Free Church of Scotland is a Presbyterian church adheiing in its worship and doctrine to the position of the Qhurch of Scotland at the RefoTmatiun. There is an exp12natorv documenl ivhich ¢xpldin5 thc OTi8ins of the Church and which gives the historical background to the Church coming inlo being in 1843 attd lists documents in which is ernkndl￿1 ils wnstitution. F.Idcr Mctnorial Frc¢ Church of ScotlaThJ (now known as Hope chU￿h Leith) is a COng￿gatIon of the national Fre¢ Church of Scotlhnd working towards thc COTt]mon aims s¢t out above. The congregation is within the Edinburgh & Perth PrCsb￿ery and is authorised bv the Church to have a rnini5tcr paid from the central funds of the Church. The Church building and the Minister's manse are the property ofthc congrcgation and ar¢ held in trust by locally electcd congregational trustees utmler the Chuwh's Model Trust Deed. Trn5tees OtTK¢ Be#rers The COM￿g￿tion is governed and administered by electrd oltice karers (all volunteers) and its minister. Thc Kirk Srssion, bcing the minister and elected elder5. has r¢swnsibility for spiritual oversight. while the Deacons. Courn composed of Kirk Session rncmbrr5 plus Ll¢ci¢d deacons, ov¢rsees financial and property matters. Under Charily Law, the Deacons. Court are deemed to be the trustees f th¢ Longregation as those with Tesponsibility for day to day mattagemcnt and control. This is distinct from the role of congregalional truste¢s who are responsible only f()r holding property in trust. The rnem￿rs ot'th¢ Deacons c.ourt Eldm: the Trustees who served throughout 2024 were as follows: _ esign¢d as TnLStees on 9 June 2025, and as appointed asa rus CoDgregationAI Trus1ees=

Elder Memorial Free Church of Scotland R¢port of th¢ Trustttsjor ihey¢ar ended3J December 2024 Appointment 07charity Trustees The Kirk Se*si(yn exercises ils discretion in detemiinin8 the appmpriate method of electing new Trustees (Elders and Deacons). Any election proLess must involve ihe communicant memktship of the ¢ongregacion. Th¢re is no fixed term for Trusteeship. Prior to their appointment, new Trustees would havc sen'￿ th¢ chU￿h for some time in vaTiOUS rolcs and would b¢ familiar with the Church's valutt+, ils #ims diid objectives as MEII as its day-to-day operations. As part of- their induction progrnmme, new Trustees are requiraj to understsnd their stalutory r¢sponsibiliti¢s as w¢ll as ih¢ reSp￿)51b11it1es of their offi¢¢ within the congregation as elder or deacon. Activitie¥ and Achievements. Elder.IAemorial Free Church now known as Ho ChU￿h Leith) was fornially designated as a church plani iyith the appointment of a% ihe minister and churGh plantcr on 28 January 2024, at an induclion service h¢ld in Si Columba'y Free Church. The ￿'ork comes under ihe oversighi of the Presbytery of bAlinburgh and Perth. and informally supported by thc Kirk Scssion and nwgation of Si Columba's Free chll￿h. "I'hc cxisling Manse (situated in Musselburgh) was sold in order to purchase a Manse more suitsbly locafrd within Leiih. The kejs for tli¢ new property (58 F.xst¢r Herniitage. F.116 8DR) weTe handed over on 17 April. Main building contraclor5 (Smith and M¢Math) w¢re appointed in January 2024 and aftcr various ¢on5ultalions. 8￿hiteCtS drawings and an application for a building warranL work commenced on 9 April, at a budgeted cost of £324,000. It is a major intemal refurbishment of the Church premises at Casselbank Stre¢l lo upgrade the facilities and create a more useful and flexible space for wi)rship and community engagement. The kctivities of the year have focused on ts4'0 area5: praject managins the refurhishmenl project and meeting with a small Core team whu are preparin8 to launch th¢ forn)al work of th¢ ch￿￿h in 2025. The buildin8 projcct has involvcd thc Tninistcr liai5jn¥ with th¢ LontraLioTS regularly, as well as sp¢nding time fundraising for ihe project. The focus has been apFaling to friends And family, individual ¢hurches in Scotland and thc US, and appropriate trust fijnds. The Test of the year has. been SPEnl training and teaching w'ith the Core T¢ani on a Tuesday evenin¥ in the Manse. sharing life and faith. and gerting to know the community. in Leiih - all imwrtant foundalion 51ones beforc a fornial church launch. As ihc building WL7rk is still ill progress. no Sunday services w¢re held, and ih¢ Core Team members continued to worship in their home churches. Resultsfor iheye4r The sury>lus for the year amounted to £29.034. The ChU￿h held unr¢stricted fund.s of £61,931. At the year end. A further £23,736 was held wiihin restricted funds. 'lThe tru5tccs arc satisfied with the level of reserves, which remain significantly in exce55 of the reserves poliey a minimum of £10,000 should be rer8ined.

Elder Memorial Free Church of Scotland Report of the IDdÈpende•t Esamimer to tbe Tr￿1￿J(￿ iheyear ended 31 Decemb¥r 2024 I report on the ac¢ounis of the cliurch for the year ended 311)ecember 2024 which are set out nn pages 7-10. Respe¢tiv¢ r¢8PODsibilitieB of trustees and eLgmlner The charity"s trusttts are responsible for ihc prcparation of the accounts in accordance with lh¢ terms of the charities and '[ rustc¢ Investment (Scotland) Act 21)05 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The charity truslees Lonsidcr ihat the audit requireTnent of Regulation l O( I l (d) of th¢ A￿O￿ntS R¢gulations do¢s not apply. Jt is my responsibility to examin¢ the a¢¢ounls as ￿qUired und¢r ￿CtIon 44{1) (¢) ot thc Act and lo state whether particular matt¢rs havc com¢ io my attcntion. Basis of IDdepcudent Examioer's statement My examination is carrird out in accordancc with Regulalion I l of ihe Charities Accounts {Scotland) Regulations 2006. An examination includes g ￿vIeW of the accounting records kept by the chariry and comparison ofthe accounts prcscntcd with those records. It also includes ¢onsiderntion of any unusual ttems or disclosu￿￿ in the a¢c(iunt%, and seeks explanations trom the trustees ¢on¢¢ming such matters. The PrOL￿u￿S undertaken do nol proiide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and on5¢qu¢ntly I do not ¢xpr¢5s an audil opinion on the view given by the account Independent Exrdminer s statement In lh¢ course of my examination, no matter has Come to my attention . which gi%es me reasonable cause to believe that ill any rnat¢rial re5￿￿1 ihe requiiemenis: to keep accountin8 records in accord1￿C with Section 44(1) (a) ofthe 2005 Act and Regulatio 4 of thc 2(M)6 Accounts Regulation% and io prepare accounts ivhich accord with the accounting rewrds and ￿MplY with Regulation 9 ot the 2006 Accounts Regulations have not bccm MCL or 2. to wthich. in m inion. attention should be drawn in order to enable a r understandin of the

Elder Memorial Free Church of Scotland Receipts and Payments Account For the year ended 31 D￿eMber 2024 Uttreslrleted Funds Genernl Fund Designated Funds Restrieted Funds Totsl 2024 Tot*] 2,023 Reteipts Donations Income tax recovered Inlerest received Other income Grants Received Totsl Receipts Piyments Paymentsfor Chqrkn4ble ocilvlrfes Head 0(r￿e Remittances Other Head OtTic¢ paymertts Minister'5 Exp¢￿￿5 Heat & Light 59,035 2,673 4.172 95.730 4,250 154,765 6.923 4,172 1,678 20.OIN) 187.539 20,131 3,325 406 5,271 1.678 121.658 29.133 35,232 35,232 5,050 244 1.887 1.623 2.624 1.632 1.863 1.887 1,623 2.624 1,632 1.863 71.387 6,347 Insuran R¢pairs- Mans¢ Renovations . Church Telephone Professional fees Rent Mortgage Other charities Supply expense5 Presentations Other expenses EquEpment Trainins 1.633 3,125 71,387 146 532 6,471 10,264 10,264 2.481 7,063 2,481 7,063 610 345 350 J86 505 1.000 22292 22.292 Total Payments 54,562 103,943 158.505 26.698 surp1￿$ lor the year Total funds brought forward 17,715 6,0?1 29,034 56.633 2,435 54.198 50,612 Total funds ￿rrIed I0￿0rd 61.931 23.736 85.667 56.633

Elder Memorial Free Church of Scotland Statement of Balances As at 31 December 2024 Notes 2Q24 2023 Bank & C￿h In hattd Opening balance Surplus1{Deficit) for the year Closing balances 56.633 29.034 85,667 54,198 2,435 Re5¢rYes Gcn¢ral funds Restrieted funds 61.931 23,736 50.612 6,021 85 007 Other as%ts: Manje 350.COO 337.500 Shares held at raarket value Ro)al Bank o¥Scotland 1.036 Uablillles: Morfga¥e with Kingdvm Bank 138872 Approved by the TnFgtees on I l August 2025 and signed on their behalf by the undernthed..

Elder Memorial Free Church of Scotland Notes to the Receipts and Payments Account For the year ended 31 December 2024 Aeeounting Policies l. Aecoundng CoAveArfo The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, and in accorilance with the Charities Aecounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. 2, Basls ofJln4A¢lol$i4iem¢nts The financial 5tst¢m¢nt5 have been prepared on a receipts and payments b&sis. 3. Re¢elpts olldPayments Aeco4nl For the purFM)se of the Receipts and Payments Account as Shown on page 6, fvnds defined as follow5.' Unrestri¢ted funds: comprise grants and other income received for the objects of th¢ ¢hurch without fvrther specified purpose and are available a5 general funds. Deslgn•t¢d funds: represent unr¢stri¢red fu￿lS which have been eam]arked bv the TruMe¢s for particular purposes. Restrl¢tsd Thnds: comprise income whi¢h has been received the objects of the church and specified for a restricted PUTpose within ihese objects by the donor. 4. Transactions with Trust¢¢s There were no transactions with tritses during the year. Reserveg Balanee at 1.1.23 Incoming resources Resources expended Bttlance at 31.12.24 General Fund.. Total unrestricted funds 50,612 65,881 (54,562) 61,931 Restricied funds comprise income and expendibjre for the upgrade and renovation of the Church premises at Casselbank StreeL Edinburgh. 6. Mns¢ (h) 17 April 2024, Elder Memorial Free Chur¢h sold its manse at 13 D¢nholm Road Musselburgh for £337,5(Kl. and purchased a new manse at 58 Easter HeTmitage, Edinburgh, £350,000. The purchase of the new manse was funded in part by a mortgage of £140,IX)O from Kingdom Bank, with the proceeds from the sale transacrion (net of professional fee5 of £5,305) of £122,195 immediately reinvested in the Church building at Ca5selbank Street. In line with paragraph 2.3.5 of OSCR'S Receipts and Paym¢nts Accounts Guidance, the net prnceeds and r¢inv¢stment are not shown as a receipt a¥KI subsequent payment. Th¢ Tnortgag¢ from Kingdom Bank 15 for 30 y¢ar& with an initial variabl¢ r4t¢ of 6.15Y•. 7. Rounding There are minor discrepancies in some of the figures shown due to'rounding. (i.e. omitting pence).