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← Mustard Seed Edinburgh

2025-06-30-accounts

MUSTARD SEED EDINBURGH

(SCOTTISH CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION SC047549)

TRUSTEE REPORT INCLUDING FINANCIAL STATEMENT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2025

eo EDINBURGH

A New Beginning

In May 2025 we celebrated the installation ofMI as Priest-in-Charge of Mustard Seed Edinburgh and St Margaret’s Church. The service was a joyful occasion, with every seat in the church occupied, with people from both congregations, friends, family and supporters ofgg. This represented a significant new beginning for Mustard Seed, following a period of 20 months without a priest in post. At the same time Mustard Seed formally became a linked charge with St Margaret’s Church, whose building we had been sharing for the last eight years, since the beginning of Mustard Seed in 2017.

Throughout this last year, under the encouragement ys 060Uté~<*w we have worked closely with St Margaret’s Church to prepare to become linked charges. A Joint Steering Committee of representatives from St Margarets’ Vestry and Mustard Seed Trustees met regularly to develop a new working agreement, to prepare the groundwork for the new relationship and to progress the appointment process for a new Priest. Following interviews in January 2025, we were delighted to be able to invite JM to be our Priest-in-Charge. Jj was previously the Rector of St Anne’s Church, Dunbar. We are looking forward to the next chapter of the life of Mustard Seed and St Margaret’s with Diana as our Priest.

We are grateful for the pastoral support and leadership we received in recent years from || ee. Vice-Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral and Trustee of Mustard Seed, who supported us so well during our time of transition.

We also said farewell 0 i and his family at the end of June 2025. fF was our Mission Enabler for over two years and provided invaluable leadership and encouragement during a period of uncertainty. We are very grateful to the whole Strutzenburg family for their significant contribution to the life of Mustard Seed.

Sunday Services

Sunday afternoon services at 4 o’clock continued throughout the year. Once again, Easter Sunday was celebrated outside in the Mustard Seed Garden. In the summer we explored different forms of praying together. In our autumn series, we looked at events from the Acts of the Apostles, interspersed with the related letters of St Paul. In our spring series, we studied some of the servant songs from the book of Isaiah. Throughout the year we appreciated hearing the many voices of people at Mustard Seed.

Community Tuesdays

Our Community Tuesdays provided an opportunity for people to gather on Tuesday evenings to enjoy a light meal together, followed by some focused activity, such as prayer, bible study or creative reflection. These ran for blocks of 4 to 6 weeks.

We ran a series of workshops on Conflict Resilience, facilitated byJ from Bridge Builders. We are grateful to a for his wise and skilful encouragement. In the spring, we enjoyed following the online 24/7 Prayer Course led byJ. In the church building, we viewed the online sessions together, then reflected on the learning in smaller discussion groups.

We also held a number of enjoyable and sociable Quiz Nights through the year.

Babies and Toddlers

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“PF EDINBURGH

Our Babies and Toddlers team has continued to meet twice a week in the lower hall on Monday and Wednesday mornings during term time. The focus on each week is to provide a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment for families. We seek to create opportunities for children to explore and learn more about their world around them through varying sensory activities. Healthy snack options are provided, which are responsive to dietary needs.

Attendance has remained high, reflecting the needs for this ministry in the area. Approximately 20/25 children attend each session accompanied by a parent or carer. Few families attend on both days, which means we are reaching 40/50 families each week.

We are grateful 0 i for her leadership of the group in recent years and we look forward to the group continuing to grow and flourish.

English Conversation Café

During this year, our English Conversation Café changed from meeting on a Monday morning to a Thursday morning and continues to be a bright spot in the week. Mustard Seed runs the conversation cafe in partnership with Salaam (a ministry of Edinburgh City Mission). Each week, 25/30 New Scot participants and a group of committed volunteers get together to practice English, grow in confidence, share friendship and learn from one another. Our café is very diverse in English language level, age, nationality (40 nationalities have been represented over the year), and backgrounds. There is a lot of diversity among our volunteers too: some are part of Mustard Seed, some are connected with other local churches, others are part of the wider community.

We have discussed together a variety of topics this year: going to the doctor, using emergency services, getting around Edinburgh, dealing with problems in the home. We have also enjoyed wonderful outings to local parks and art galleries. We have been able to support some of the participants with transport and communications costs through funding that Edinburgh City Mission secured for social integration activities.

The health and wellbeing of all who gather at the café is a priority and we often discuss topics that we hope support everyone’s mental health.

Craft Group

The craft group has continued to flourish on alternate Thursday mornings. The group has attracted a number of regular attenders who enjoy being in a small group, working on their own crafts and sharing ideas or seeking help if needed. From time to time others come wanting to learn to knit or crochet or sew. These people are usually local and have been attracted by the banner outside. Some are permanent residents, but some are transitory.

Refreshments are an important part of the morning. Tea and coffee made faithfully for us by GE and home baking and treats from Jj. J also washes up, making the morning a relaxing time for everyone.

Breakfast Club

Every Friday this year, a warm welcome and a hot breakfast have been served to the Friday Breakfast community. Each week between 30 and 50 guests enjoy a healthy, nutritious meal, including bacon and sausage rolls, tattie scones, black pudding, porridge, home baking, fresh fruit, and endless tea and coffee. Guests really value being able to meet up and chat with friends in arelaxed and comfortable environment. When the weather is good, people enjoy sitting in the

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garden soaking up the sun. We are able to distribute to our guests food that is available from FareShare.

There is a prayer corner in the room, where people are inspired to explore praying in an original and engaging way. We continue to appreciate the Time for Reflection, which is held immediately after the Breakfast in the sanctuary upstairs, and includes music, a bible reading, some reflective discussion and prayers for the community. We have seen the team of volunteers grow this year, from Mustard Seed and St Margaret’s and from other churches or no church at all. We are grateful to them all.

Gardening and Bible Club

Come wind or rain or shine, the Gardening and Bible Club has met in the Mustard Seed Garden regularly on a Saturday morning throughout the year (weekly in the summer and fortnightly in the winter). We have taken great delight in seeing all sorts of plants growing and flourishing and bearing fruit. Early spring bulbs, bright flowers, shrubs and bushes, trees, fruits and vegetables. There is always a friendly, relaxed and welcoming atmosphere – sometimes more chatting than gardening happens! Delicious refreshments are always an important part of gardening – tea, coffee and home baking.

Each week we look at a verse or two from the Bible, always related in some way to gardening, planting, harvesting, farming, seasons, weather, growth and bearing fruit – the options are endless. New people are always welcome in the garden.

Christians Against Poverty (CAP)

For the last four years we have operated the Christians Against Poverty (CAP) Edinburgh North Debt Centre which continues to bring practical help and advice to people who are struggling with debt. This free service brings hope and a lifting of stress or anxiety for those in financial difficulties. Over the year, we took on more than 30 new clients. In addition, we continued to take the Debt Help service into HMP Edinburgh, the only prison in the UK supported by CAP.

Our CAP Job Club and CAP Life Skills programmes continue to operate on an informal basis as part of the support services available at our Friday Breakfast. Operating in this way allows us to be flexible and offer tailored advice and help for those seeking to re-enter the workplace and for those struggling to manage their finances on low incomes.

Building Transformation

Now that Mustard Seed and St Margaret’s Church are sharing responsibility for the church buildings, work is in hand to develop plans for improving the facilities and making the buildings fit and accessible for all. The Building Transformation Group have been consulting both congregations and are beginning the process of improving the facilities. A beautification team from both congregations has been busy cleaning and redecorating areas that were badly needing it. The church floor has been transformed by professional sanding and repair work has begun on fixing the roof. The Funding Group are exploring options for raising the funds that will be needed to make the necessary changes that are required. We are grateful to everyone who is committed to improving our buildings.

Thank You

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I would like to conclude this annual report by thanking everyone at Mustard Seed for their contribution to making it such a special community. Four new Trustees were elected at the AGM in November. They have brought energy, ideas and a desire to make a difference.

We thank God for the life of this precious congregation and look forward to the new things that God will be doing in the year ahead.

Compiled by PS , Chair of Mustard Seed Trustees October 2025

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MUSTARD SEED EDINBURGH

(SCOTTISH CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION SC047549)

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2025

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Treasurer’s Report

We operate as a faith-based community, with a high dependence on God to meet all of our needs. At the beginning of the year, the trustees set a budget which expected income to decrease by around 21% and expenditure to be 26% lower than the previous financial year. This was to reflect the vacancy of a priest and reduction in the generous support previously provided by the Diocese. The expectation of this budget was that the charity would generate a surplus of £9,835.

During the year our income exceeded budget by £6,718 and expenditure was £4,056 lower resulting in a surplus of £20,610.

We are very grateful that the members of Mustard Seed continued to be extremely generous in their financial support during the period of the vacancy. This vacancy has now ended with the appointment of a as our Priest-in-Charge.

Income

Our overall income for the year was around 15% lower than the previous year.

We receive and classify income as :

Regular Income

Our regular income increased by 8% over the previous year. This regular support is welcomed by the trustees who see this as a commitment by people to their community.

One-off Income

One-off income was significantly higher than the previous year by around 50%.

Restricted Income

We receive income from sources that specify how that income should be used. The amount received was 62% lower than the previous year. This was due to the Diocesan support ending as planned.

During the year, we received and utilised restricted income for the following items:

  1. A total of £1,700 for use in our neighbourhood community meals ministry. These funds were all spent leaving no remaining balance.

  2. Our Christians Against Poverty (CAP) ministry carried over £10,596 from last year and received further grants totaling £4,300. During the year these funds were used for direct CAP ministry work (£10,599) leaving a balance carried forward to next year of £4,296.

  3. We had a refugee hampers appeal to which members of Mustard Seed donated £620 and had £85 remaining from the previous year’s appeal. We transferred £705 to Edinburgh City Mission for use in connection with this appeal, via a matchfunding opportunity which doubled the value for this work.

  4. We carried forward £565 and received a further £150 for our conversation café, helping new Scots improve their English whist building community. At the end of the year £176 has been spent leaving a carry forward balance of £538.

  5. We received a £600 grant from the Mustard Seed Fund of Christians Against Poverty, to be used for provision of food and supplies for our Community Tuesday discipleship events. The totality of this grant was spent during the year.

  6. A donation of £3,000 was received for the new Priest-in-Charge to use at her discretion. None of this has yet been spent, so the £3,000 will be carried forward to next year.

  7. During the year, we forged a stronger partnership with the St Margaret’s congregation and shared some expenditure with them for which they paid their share. This comprised £537 as a share of the advertising costs for the new priest, which was spent. In addition, work was undertaken to remove carpets in the church sanctuary and sand the floors. A gift of £1,000 was received to offset our share of this cost. No funds remain of these elements at year end.

  8. During our period of vacancy, Andrew Strutzenberg was providing pastoral and missional leadership, and he and his family have been deeply loved by the community over the last few years. They are moving on to work in Community Church Edinburgh. The members of Mustard Seed wanted to give them a gift as they moved on, so at the end of June a total of £615 was raised. This will be carried forward and added to any further support provided up to Mid-July.

  9. In support of our toddlers group, we received a grant of £5,000 from the Scottish Episcopal Church’s Church in Society Committee. At the end of the year £3,250 of this has been used with the remaining £1,750 carried forward.

Expenditure

In recording our expenditure, we consider what we are spending as a church, for our neighbourhood and for CAP. In overall terms our expenditure was around 30% lower than last year.

Church Expenditure

Our expenditure for church purposes was around 32% lower than last year, largely due to reduced payroll and ancillary costs with a vacancy.

Neighbourhood

Our expenditure on neighbourhood community meals was around 50% lower than last year. This is largely due to us ceasing our Thursday community meal last year.

CAP

Our expenditure on CAP was around 5% lower than last year.

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Wp evineurcn

Independent Examiner’s report to the Trustees of Mustard Seed Edinburgh

| report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 30 June 2025 set out in this document.

Respective Responsibilities of Trustees and Independent Examiner

The charity’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The Trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10 (1)(d) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under Section 44(1)(c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of Independent Examiner’s Statement

The financial statements of the charity, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015), Financial Reporting Standard 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” and the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Independent Examiner’s Statement

In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

  1. Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements: a. To keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44(1)(a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Account Regulations; and

  2. b. To prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations

have not been met; or

  1. To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

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a
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Date: 19(9|202S
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WD cvineurca

Financial Year to 30 June 2025 Receipts and Payments Account

Yearended
30 June
Notes Yearended ended30June 2025 r 2024
Unrestricted Restricted Total
Funds Funds
Receipts £ £ £ £
Donations received 4 70,441 17,569 88,011 104,571
Gift Aid on donations 9,588 0 9,588 11,388
Total Receipts 80,029 17,569 97,598 115,959
Payments
Payroll 3 (28,816) (4,783) (33,599) (62,485)
Office facilities and supplies (2,682) (2,682) (4,459)
Rentand Utilities (14,491) (14,491) (10,831)
Other 4 (10,899) (15,317) (26,216) (32,351)
Total Payments (56,888) (20,100) (76,988) (110,125)
Net Surplus / (Deficit) for the Period 23,141 (2,531) 20,610 5,834
Statement of Balances
CashBalances Balance at Incoming Outgoing Transfer to Balance at
30June June2024 Funds Funds Investment 30June 2025
£ £ £ £ £
Unrestricted cash atbank 5,185 79,095 (56,005) (19,948) 8,328
Restricted cash atbank 12,767 17,569 (20,100) 0 10,236
Sub-total cash at bank 17,952 96,665 (76,105) (19,948) 18,564
Investment account (book value) 0 0 0 19,948 19,948
Pettycash i) 934 (884) 50
Total 17,952 97,598 (76,988) i!) 38,562
As at As at
30 June 30 June
ms 2025 ” 2024
£ 3
FixedAssets (at net book value) 6 5,165 9,305
Reserves
Unrestricted funds (atbank and cash) 7 8,378 5,185
InvestmentAccount (Bookvalue) 7 19,948 0
Restricted funds 7 10,236 12,767
TotalFunds 38,562 17,952

Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

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Date: EUCc (¢ ey5, —
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REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATION DETAILS

Structure and Management

Mustard Seed was established on 3rd July 2017 as a Scottish Charitable Independent Organisation with charity number SC047549. It is governed by a written constitution and managed by a board of trustees (none of whom has a beneficial interest in Mustard Seed and are listed overleaf). Trustees are elected by the members and serve for an initial period of three years. The elected trustees appoint an additional trustee to act as leader who must be approved by the bishop of the Diocese of Edinburgh of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

Se was installed as Priest in Charge (and leader) by the Bishop in May 2025. At this point the SEC representative was no longer required and a resigned her position as a trustee.

Principal Objective and Activities

The principal objectives of Mustard Seed are:

The principal activities of Mustard Seed during the period have been:

General Information

Registered Charity Name : Mustard Seed Edinburgh Charity Number : SC047549 Date of Incorporation : 3 July 2017

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Trustees as of 30 June 2025 :

Registered Office : 170 Easter Road Edinburgh EH7 5QE Bankers : The Co-operative Bank p.l.c., P.O. Box 101, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester M60 4EP Independent Examiner : SC‘ JS Accounting Services Limited 13-15 Morningside Drive Edinburgh EH10 5LZ

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