Reports to the General Assembly 1996

GENERAL BOARD 1 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND ACCOUNTS 1995 — PREFACE A preface to the Accounts is submitted herewith. This takes the form of a memorandum Central Income and Expenditure Account and a graphical illustration in relation to this Income and Expenditure. This Income and Expenditure does not form part of the Audited Accounts of the Church. 1994 Column is period to 31 December 1994. 1995 Column is year to 31 December 1995. 2 ANNUAL REPORTS, BELFAST, 1996 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND AND EXPENDITURE INCOME Contribut- Grand ions from Congregational United Total Congregation Assessments Appeal 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 General Board 18 37 8 15 — — 9 21 Business Board 8 10 —————— Publication Board 245 262 ————79107 Inter-Church Relations 385 362 368 348———— Overseas Board 1,307 1,236 17 23 — — 730 653 Home Board 405 602 39 29 4 — 243 219 Social Witness Board 3,855 3,801 13 15 — — 161 188 Evangelism & Christian Training 460 621 12 14 — — 210 308 Youth Board 554 435 2 1 — — 203 167 Education Board 142 201 2 15 — — 130 171 Studies of the Ministry 740 608 10 13 — — 313 238 Finance & Administration 1,017 934 — — 872 826 — — United Appeal 38 34 —————— Ministry & Pensions 3,653 3,527 — — 3,021 2,927 — — Presbyterian Women’s Association 708 713 —————— Sundry Other 62 61 —————— ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– Grand Total 13,597 13,444 471 473 3,897 3,753 2,078 2,072 ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– EXPENDITURE Employee TOTAL and Ministry Printing Administration Costs Stationery, etc 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 General Board 24 44 17 14 — 1 1 1 Business Board 6 8 — — 4 5 — — Publication Board 309 227 108 80 163 100 33 32 Inter-Church Relations 334 336 — — 19 5 1 1 Overseas Board 1,226 1,208 74 71 37 38 60 57 Home Board 540 693 48 35 3 3 59 57 Social Witness Board 3,694 4,185 2,203 2,141 339 328 179 161 Evangelism & Christian Training 486 493 309 294 81 112 27 27 Youth Board 491 413 116 119 96 82 30 25 Education Board 186 449 91 92 13 10 26 24 Studies of the Ministry 706 620 282 244 106 89 5 4 Finance & Administration 954 969 334 342 155 138 111 104 United Appeal 12 13 — — 12 13 — — Ministry & Pensions 3,414 3,718 3,181 3,486 12 11 134 132 Presbyterian Women’s Association 703 735 440 435 51 59 37 35 Sundry Other 37 48 — — 1 — 1 1 ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– Grand Total 13,122 14,159 7,203 7,353 1,092 994 704 661 ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– GENERAL BOARD 3 MEMORANDUM CENTRAL INCOME Per Board £000’s Trust, Investment Sales: Income and Rental Donations Loan Periodicals Grants Bank Interest Income (net) and bequests Repayments & Property and Fees 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1 1—————————— ———— 3 3———— 5 7 2 1——————1631531 1 9 9—— 8 5—————— 127123——433437—————— 6777——33351938—204—— 62 65 2,655 2,552 285 328 38 50 74 80 567 523 26 17 — — 119 162 — — 93 120 — — 12 22 30 28 140 99 — — 28 26 139 92 1015—————————— 2021606 58476————125116 (194) (191) 312 270 11 15 — — 16 13 — — 3728——1 6—————— 577551——5549—————— 101 94 — — 558 573 5 8 44 38 — — 1211————5050———— ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– 1,051 984 3,003 2,855 1,730 1,788 112 146 418 634 837 739 ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– Travel Home and Over- Missionaries Expenses Building Upkeep of Loans seas Projects Field etc Costs Property Issued and Grants Costs 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 — 1——— 3—— 624—— ———— 2 3—————— 410—————411—— ————————314330—— 18 15 — — 8 15 — — 495 490 534 522 5 4 197 433 6 8 16 32 206 121 — — 22 30 409 973 454 454 81 73 7 25 — — 32 30 — — 3 3 — — 7 6 27 21 20 20 21 40 52 61 — — 156 66 — — 6 7 17 258 22 12 — — 11 46 — — 7 8——4831——258244—— 6256——216238——7691—— ———————————— 8385———————— 4 4 11 8 — — 2 1 13 20 136 168 13 9 ——————3547———— ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– 270 274 644 1,704 813 829 145 176 1,673 1,612 578 556 ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– ——– 4 ANNUAL REPORTS, BELFAST, 1996 GENERAL BOARD 5 REPORTS: JUNE, 1996 BELFAST GENERAL BOARD Convener: THE CLERK 1. In the course of the year the General Board held three stated meetings to deal with business arising. BOARDS AND COMMITTEES 2. The Panel on the Review of Boards and Committees received returns from a number of Boards about the frequency of their meetings, and a few reductions were reported. Not all Boards and Committees feel it necessary to meet twice in the February/Easter period. Reasonable rationalisation has now been achieved in this area and the matter should not be pressed further. 3. Structural changes are also envisaged. The Board of Ministry and Pensions is consolidating its RMF, WMF and MPS Committees into one “Retirements and Pensions” Committee and the Strategy for Mission Committee is exploring the possibility of a new Mission Agency to consolidate the work of Home Mission, Irish Mission, etc. As decided by last year’s Assembly (Reports p13, Mins p48) Overtures have been prepared to effect a slight reduction in the membership of certain Boards. The Youth Board is presenting a separate Overture of its own. 4. Other issues were raised but for the meantime the Panel has concentrated on two. (i) There could be better co-ordination and executive direction of the Church’s work. There is no single body to do this during the year, and even the General Assembly usually considers different missions, agencies, etc., one at a time as their various reports are presented. It has little opportunity to take an over-view of the Church’s work as a whole or to determine priorities. The General Board could exercise a central co-ordinating role, as all Boards and Presbyteries are represented in its membership. It could also prepare reports and resolutions to give the Assembly an opportunity to have a general debate on the Church’s work and to determine its priorities. The problem of financing assistantships raised in the report from the Panel on Funding illustrates the kind of multi- faceted issue that the General Board could debate and transmit to the Assembly with considered recommendations. (ii) The use of ad hoc Committees of Assembly can produce problems. While they fulfil a useful function, such Committees run parallel to 6 ANNUAL REPORTS, BELFAST, 1996 well-established Boards and Committees resulting in an overlap of function and duplication of activities. Some have expressed the opinion that it would be helpful to have a Board to consult during the year. It is therefore suggested that such ad hoc Committees should either be appointed by the General Board (as with the Toronto Blessing Panel) or, if appointed by the Assembly, should report to the General Board during the year so that all Boards would have the opportunity to comment and mid-course corrections made where necessary. 5. Ad hoc Committees should have a limited life span (eg 3 years) after which they should either be discharged or made permanent. OVERVIEW OF FUNDING 6. The Panel on the Overview of Funding examined the proposals of agencies contemplating new centrally funded posts or projects and the financial resources likely to be available for them. The Youth Board suggests the appointment of another Development Officer in Northern Ireland (in addition to the shared post in Dublin mentioned last year (Reports p15)), while the Home Mission is contemplating the creation of one or two more Experimental Ministries in the Irish Republic. At time of writing further clarification of these proposals is being sought. 7. The United Appeal would find it difficult to fund the suggested second post in the Department of Practical Theology in Union College (Reports 1995 pp15, 289), so that suggestion is being withdrawn. 8. For a variety of reasons fewer congregations are now requesting assistants, so some special financial arrangements will be necessary to effect this year’s assignments. The United Appeal Board have been asked to treat the resulting extra demands on the Students’ Bursary Fund as a priority, and the Home Mission and CMF will be asked to give extra assistance towards the additional assignment costs in 1997/98 for those who will then be Licentiates. Restricting the intake of students is not a simple matter. Union College needs a minimum number of students to be financially viable. Fewer students and fewer fees would leave the College more dependent on direct grants from the United Appeal. It also seems likely that there will be an increase in ministerial retirements in the next few years. Nevertheless the Panel is forced to take the view that the time may be near when it will be necessary to limit the intake of students to eg an average of 15 per annum. 9. A moratorium on additional posts and the possibility of fixed term appointments is being considered. A supplementary report may be submitted to the Assembly. (See Daily Minutes). 10. It is encouraging to note that the decline in CMF reserves has now been reversed, that support for the United Appeal remains strong and that the debt on Church House continues to reduce. The ending of this assessment in about four years time will bring a welcome relief to congregations that are under financial pressure. The resolution placed on the books last year (see Reports pp9-10; Mins p48) to transfer the Church House Re-Development assessment from stipend to specified sources is now submitted for final decision by the Assembly.

Load more