Rugby Avenue Congregational Church

Public benefits

Purpose The advancement of religion, in particular, to glorify God and to work for the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom in Carryduff and its environs and throughout the world. What benefit flows from this purpose? The direct benefits which flow from our purpose include: • provision of a place for public worship, • pastoral care of the families of

the congregation, particularly of the sick, disabled, bereaved and those going through times of crisis, • ministry to children and vulnerable adults, • protection of children and vulnerable adults, • spreading of the principles of the Christian faith, • promotion of Christian values, • moral and spiritual development, • the raising of awareness and understanding of religious beliefs, • involvement in missionary work, • relief of poverty in association with other Christian organisations and charities, • outreach work in association with local churches, • participation in the life of the local community, • support of secular organisations and charities which are in accord with the ethos of the church. Can you demonstrate this? These benefits are demonstrated through: • informal feedback from members and their families and members of the general public, • members of the church committee at their stated meetings, • opportunity being provided generally at the annual congregational meeting. Is any harm or possibility of harm outweighed by the benefit? There is no likelihood of our purpose leading to harm to anyone. Public element Who is the benefit for? The charity’s beneficiaries of the church’s purpose are: • its members, their families and other individuals that the congregation is in contact with locally in Whitehead and its environs, • the community in which we minister, • those who use our premises for their own purposes, • families in financial crisis who are helped through our participation in the local Storehouse project in association with local churches, • others more generally who benefit from our engagement with and support for individual Christians and other secular and Christian organisations and charities, including Barnabas Fund and its support of persecuted Christians in the Muslim world and the missionary work of the Congregational Union of Ireland. Is there any private benefit? Is it incidental or necessary? A private benefit may arise from our purpose through the involvement of in governance, financial management, social skills, education, childcare and evangelism. Such benefits are incidental and necessary in order to further our advancement of religion charitable purpose and are transferrable to other settings. There are no other private benefits.

What your organisation does

There are two Services on Sundays at 11am and 7pm.In the winter months there is a mid-week Service on Wednesday evenings, a Ladies Guild Meeting two Thursday evenings each month, and a soup lunch for pensioners two Thursdays a month. Additional Services are also held at special times of the year like Christmas, Easter and Harvest.