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2025-12-31-accounts

The Parish of Blendworth, Holy Trinity

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2025

Priest in Charge: The Revd Joy Windsor

Benefice Office: The Church Centre, Blendworth Lane, Horndean, Hants, PO8 0AB

Independent Examiner: University of Portsmouth, Richmond Building, Portland Street, Portsmouth PO1 3DE

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Bank: Lloyds Bank, London Road, Waterlooville.

AGENDA AND PAPERS

CONTENTS

VESTRY MEETING
Agenda for the Election of Churchwardens meeting page 3
Minutes of Election of Churchwardens Meeting
page 4
held
ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING
Agenda for the APCM page 6
Minutes of the APCM held 28thApril 2024 pages 11-15
ANNUAL REPORT pages 16-28
Electoral Roll - To be reported on the
day.
Deanery/Diocesan Synod Report pages 22 -
25
Treasurers Report pages 26 -
27
Accounts Separate
Document

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THE FUTURE 28

page

THE PARISH OF BLENDWORTH, HOLY TRINITY

AGENDA OF THE ELECTION OF CHURCHWARDENS MEETING

to be held on Sunday 17[th] May 2026 at 12pm

Venue: St Michael’s Church, Chalton (as Holy Trinity is currently out of use for roof repair work)

  1. Welcome, introduction and prayers.

  2. Minutes of the Meeting held on Sunday 11[th] May 2025

  3. Election of Two Churchwardens

To serve from this meeting and sworn in at the Archdeacon’s Visitation In July 2026.

  1. Date of next meeting: to be confirmed.

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HOLY TRINITY BLENDWORTH

The Parish of Blendworth, Holy Trinity Annual Parochial Church Meeting Minutes of the Annual Meeting for the Election of Churchwardens held on Sunday 11[th] May 2025 at Holy Trinity Church, Blendworth

Annual Meeting of Parishioners

Present: 25people attended the meeting.

Apologies: Diana Eaton.

Apologies were received from David and

1. Welcome, introduction and prayers

The meeting opened with a prayer and Revd Joy welcomed everyone to the Annual Meeting and explained the first part of the meeting related to the election of Churchwardens for the next twelve months.

2. Minutes of the Meeting held on Sunday 28[th] April

2024

The minutes of last year’s meeting had been circulated in the Annual Report prior to the meeting (page five of the report) and Revd Joy stated that if everyone who was present at last year’s meeting were in favour that they were a true record of that meeting these could be signed. Proposed by Sue Wilson and

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seconded by June Wakeford. All in favour and the minutes were duly signed.

3. Election of Two Churchwardens to serve from this meeting and sworn in at the Archdeacon’s visitation in July

2025

Revd Joy advised that the two existing Churchwardens, Gill Hill and Jo Jackson, were willing to stand for a further term and nomination forms had been received for both. Revd Joy expressed her sincere thanks to Gill and Jo for all they had done in the last year, particularly with all the additional duties involved in going through the interregnum.

There were no other nominations for the role of Churchwarden and Gill and Jo were duly elected, proposed by Annie Reeves and seconded by Mike Williams. All in favour. Revd Joy explained that they would be formally sworn in at the Archdeacon’s Visitation in July.

4. Date of next meeting

Revd Joy confirmed the date of next year’s Annual Meeting would be agreed by the Benefice Standing Committee when they had their meeting in the Autumn to plan the diary for 2026, but it would be along the same time of year as all APCM’s have to be held by the 31[st] May each year. The date would therefore be confirmed later in the year.

There being no other business this meeting closed at 12.20pm.

11[th] May 2025.

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THE PARISH OF BLENDWORTH, HOLY TRINITY

AGENDA FOR THE ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING to be held on Sunday 17[th] May 2025, after the Election of Churchwardens meeting Venue: St Michael’s Church, Chalton at 11.45am (as Holy Trinity is currently out of use for roof repair work)

1. Opening Prayer

  1. Minutes of the APCM held on Sunday 11[th] May 2025.

  2. Matters Arising (if any)

  3. Electoral Roll Report.

  4. Annual Report on the proceedings of the PCC.

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  1. Treasurers Report.

  2. Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year ended 31[st] December 2025.

  3. Fabric Report.

9. Safeguarding report

  1. Deanery Synod Report

  2. Diocesan Synod Report 12. Election of new PCC members/Deanery Synod members

  3. Appointment of Independent Financial Examiner

  4. Any Other Business – (submitted to the PCC Secretary at least a a week before the meeting)

  5. Date of next meeting to be confirmed.

16. Closing prayers.

HOLY TRINITY BLENDWORTH

Minutes of the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Parish of Blendworth, Holy Trinity, held on Sunday 11[th] May 2025 after the Election of Churchwardens Meeting at Holy Trinity Church Blendworth

ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING

Present: 25 people attended the meeting.

Apologies: Apologies were received from David and Diana Eaton

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1. Opening prayer

Prayers had been said at the start of the meeting for the Election of Churchwardens. Revd Joy welcomed everyone to the Annual Meeting.

2. Minutes of the APCM held on Sunday 28[th] April 2024

The minutes had been circulated in the Annual Report prior to the meeting and Revd Joy stated that if everyone who was present at last year’s meeting were in favour that they were a true record of that meeting these could be signed. Proposed by Val Griffiths and seconded by Veronice Brice. All in favour and the minutes were duly signed.

3. Matters Arising

There were no matters arising as all issues were covered under the agenda of today’s meeting.

4. Electoral Roll Report

Rebecca Goss, Electoral Roll Officer, advised that the new Electoral Roll had been completed this year; everyone who was on the previous roll was invited to re-join. The number on the old roll stood at 89 and now on the completion of the new Roll the number stood at 64.

Rebecca thanked Janet Laws, PCC Secretary, for her help in getting all the letters and new forms out within the parish in Rebecca’s absence on holiday.

Revd Joy stated that we are not alone in a reduced number on the Roll, this is happening in all churches but over the next two/three years it is hoped the number will increase again.

5. Annual Report on the proceedings of the PCC.

Janet Laws, as PCC Secretary, reported on the proceedings of the PCC during the last year. Seven meetings had been held, in addition to meetings with the Archdeacon and Area Dean over the appointment of a new priest in charge for the benefice. The preparation of a Parish Profile relating to the appointment was prepared and Gill Hill and Janet Laws were

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elected as the representatives from Holy Trinity to serve on the interview panel, along with the Churchwardens from St Michael’s Chalton and John Bannell, Churchwarden at St Hubert’s and Jackie Butt.

A Benefice Standing Committee was also formed and are meeting twice a year to plan the diary of events across the benefice, to try and avoid a clash of dates, and to deal with parish policies and safeguarding issues initially. The Committee is made up of the Churchwardens of the three parishes, along with Janet Laws as Benefice Secretary, Revd Joy, Dawn Jenkins as Lay Reader and Canon Wendy Kennedy.

At each of the main PCC meetings the ongoing concerns for the Church roof repairs have been discussed and looking at ideas for fundraising, put forward by the Fundraising Committee, the Church Fabric, along with the payment of our annual Parish Share to the Diocese to mention a few of the topics discussed.

The Ecumenical work continued with the other local churches, the regular Prayer Breakfasts with Catherington and Clanfield, St Edmunds and the Baptists. The Prayer Stations for Thy Kingdom Come were held in the Church Centre Chapel. Revd Joy regularly updated the PCC about the work she was doing on a Thursday each week with Catherington and Clanfield (separate from her days working for Blendworth). With Joy’s appointment as Priest in Charge to the benefice, in addition she would be licensed as Horndean Missioner, to further the work previously taking place with Catherington and Clanfield.

The Grandparents & Toddlers Group continued to be hugely successful, and the work of the Anna Chaplaincy Team was going from strength to strength, but we were reminded that the spiritual growth of the church in the future and how Holy Trinity was kept going needed further discussion.

Blendworth currently has no representative on the Deanery Synod and Jackie Butt, representing Idsworth, has provided the

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report for 2024. Annie Reeves continues to represent the parish on Diocesan Synod.

Revd Joy thanked Janet for the report and the members of the PCC for keeping things going during the interregnum.

6. Treasurers Report

7. Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year ended 31[st]

December 2024

Revd Joy invited the Treasurer, Val Griffiths, to give her report and go through the Annual Accounts.

The accounts have been reviewed by the Student’s on the Accountancy course run by the University of Portsmouth. Val Griffiths advised that 2024 was the first full year we have had use of the card machine which had brought in £903, of which £180 came from baptisms. £15.55 was paid in charges for the service.

Val went on to say that as could be seen from the Annual Report, we were unable to pay all the Parish Share in 2024. The Diocese have now completely reviewed the method of calculation of parish share and for 2025, and going forward, it had been cut by 50%. The outstanding amounts from previous years will also be written off in the 2025 Accounts.

Income for the year

The regular income from parishioners and church services is similar to previous years with a slight increase due to parishioners, on the Parish Giving Scheme, having index linked their donations.

We received £3000 from the legacies of Joan Brittain and Anna Cole.

£500 was donated to us from Horndean Voluntary Care Group, who give back to the community excess donations received by them from transporting local residents to appointments etc. This money is to be used for the clothing bank.

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£2961 was raised for the roof fund from various fund-raising events of which £1059 was for plant sales by Geoff Hill. This year will be the last time we hold this event as no volunteers came forward to help with the propagation and care of the plants.

The Summer Fete raised £1950 with expenses of £317 and the Christmas market raised £1400.

Val thanked all those who do their shopping through the Easy Fundraising Scheme, this raised £324 for the Church. For those who are not familiar with the scheme, and wish to raise funds, you go to the Easy Fundraising Website or App and click on the shop you want to use, then shop as normal. When you check out the retailer gives a donation. There are over 4000 retailers taking part from groceries, pharmacies, Insurance companies, holidays, clothing retailers etc.

The Church Centre raised the hourly rent for Lettings and received a grant from East Hants District Council of £905 towards setting up the Clothing Bank. It was used to purchase a large shed to store excess equipment so that the small room in the Centre could be used for the Clothes Bank.

Expenditure during the year

Val mentioned the payment of the Parish Share in her opening remarks and only £20k of the sum due of £39722 was paid. The balance is shown as a creditor in the accounts together with the deficit from 2023 of £16330 and as mentioned above, during 2024 the Diocese have been re-assessing the way the Share is apportioned, and we have been given a 50% reduction going forward. The previous deficit will be written off in 2025 accounts.

The church expenditure was in line with that of previous years. We spent £674 on the heating system repairs and are still having problems but we are working on it.

The New Blendworth Centre increased their hourly rate for work in the Church Yard and without the help of the small band of

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Rakers & Scrapers who meet once a month, the bill would be much greater.

We are still using piped music for our general services and only hire an organist for special occasions. We do, however, need to keep the organ serviced which is done twice a year.

This year we have taken on the services of an Administrator for four hours a week. We are invoiced by Catherington Church who deal with the Tax and National Insurance liabilities.

In 2024 we resurfaced the Car Park and driveway at the Church Centre at a cost of £20054. Although we are a Charity, we were unable to reclaim the VAT as it is not a heritage building. The Centre accounts had showed an overspend of £6661 due to the cost of repairs.

We are intending to refurbish the Centre by replacing some of windows in 2025. The building is used by the local community and needs to be kept in a good condition. It will assist in making the Centre more environmentally friendly and keep our heating bills down.

In closing her report, Val stated that if any members of the congregation wished to sign up to regular giving, instead of trying to find collection each week, she would be happy to provide a form and assist in completing it. In addition, anyone who, because of the tax threshold not having been increased by the Government, find they must now pay tax to let Val know so she can claim Gift Aid on their donations.

Val thanked everyone who attended the fundraising events during the year and although some of these are repeated each year, it is a good opportunity for socialising but if anyone has any good ideas, even if poached from another group, to let members of the Fundraising Committee know.

Val asked if there were any questions on the Accounts. Marion Williams enquired about a sum of £115 to the Salvation Army which was shown as income, as a donation and Val

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explained this related to a fundraising event at the Coffee Shop and the money went into the account and out again.

Revd Joy expressed a vote of thanks to Val who works very hard with all the money transactions on behalf of the parish.

8. Fabric Report.

Gill Hill reported on behalf of the Churchwardens that the PCC had kept up with the minor maintenance programme with the help of the Rakers and Scrapers who meet on the third Saturday of the month. The group has, however, decreased in number and the average attendance is six per month and as well as keeping the churchyard tidy, some repairs have been made to the church wall which was crumbling in places. The main concern is still the church roof, but this work cannot commence until the funds are in place and the netting remains inside the church and will need to stay in place until the external work is completed.

The Church Architect, Julian Livingstone has now retired and after contacting other architects the services of Ross Aylward have been secured – he is a recent addition to the Diocese approved list. He has now visited Holy Trinity several times and is concerned about the roof deteriorating and is keen to help us progress to obtain grants for the repairs.

All annual inspections have taken place to the lightning conductor, fire extinguishers, the clock and the automatic door release.

Gill Hill also confirmed that a new organ specialist has been appointed as the previous specialist was unable to attend at short notice and was only interested in the annual service. Some remedial repairs have been undertaken, and the organ is sounding much better.

There have been problems with the church electrics. When the Electricity Board last changed the main fuse, they replaced it with one that had lower voltage and this caused the system to

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keep tripping fuses, especially when the heating was required. It did take some weeks for the Electricity Board to complete the work of replacing the correct voltage fuse, which meant that at the beginning of the year only pews in half of the church had heating. A new electrician has now been appointed who is re-balancing the heating system and will undertake other work once the Electricity Board work was completed.

Revd Joy thanked Gill for her report and asked if there were any questions.

Carol Legg requested that when the Rakers & Scrapers were pruning the trees in the churchyard they were not too enthusiastic as much of the greenery is used by the flower ladies.

Mike Williams asked if in future when lights needed replacing, was he right in thinking they would be replaced by LED lights which was confirmed.

Geoff Legg enquired about the piece of land on the corner of the road, opposite the church gate, as clearly there has been a lot of cutting back of hedges but the greenery had just been dumped on the corner. Revd Joy advised this would be down to Hampshire Highways.

There was also a query over the noticeboard which stands outside the main gate on land which belongs to the Old School House. Mike Williams confirmed that approval had been given in 2020 by Hampshire Highways for the board to be moved to another position and Revd Joy confirmed that she would be meeting with Julian House in the Old School House to arrange this in the coming months.

9. Safeguarding report

Janet Laws, as Parish Safeguarding Officer, provided the report on Safeguarding.

Safeguarding continues to be a huge topic in the Church of England, it is very much in the forefront in the Diocese of Portsmouth and in all our parishes.

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Janet advised that for anyone holding an office within the church, a DBS check and Safeguarding training now must be undertaken and is non-negotiable. During 2025 the Diocese is to undertake an audit, and this could also involve many of the parishes within the diocese. In the past those serving on the PCCs across the benefice have been DBS checked and undertaken the relevant training but moving forward we are now getting everyone to undertake a check and training if they hold any office from those making the coffee, those on the welcoming team, chalice assistants and the whole team who assist with the grandparents and toddler group.

The national church has produced Five Standards as detailed on the poster displayed on the notice board at the back of the church, along with a copy of the new Safeguarding Poster, “Promoting a Safer Church”. Janet further advised that the benefice Policy Statement is also displayed on the notice board, recently updated by the PCC’s. Safeguarding has always been important within the parish and the benefice but with an excellent diocesan team now supporting parishes across the diocese and the support of Revd Joy we are determined that moving forward if Holy Trinity/the benefice should have to participate in an audit we have covered all criteria.

Jo Lougher enquired whether one check was required if a number of roles were being undertaken – she was responsible for the Coffee Shop on a Thursday in the hall and was also a Chalice Assistant and Sidesman and it was confirmed that one check and safeguarding training would cover all the roles.

10. Deanery Synod Report

Revd Joy advised that as we do not currently have a Deanery Synod Representative from Holy Trinity, the report on Deanery Synod affairs had been written by Jackie Butt at Idsworth who represented the whole benefice, along with Revd Joy at Deanery meetings. Revd Joy said if there was anyone willing to take on the role going forward, she would be very pleased. There were three Deanery meetings a year and it required a

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report to PCC meetings. The report which Jackie Butt had provided was on page 15 of the Annual Report. Annie Reeves, by virtue of being on Diocesan Synod, could attend Deanery Synod when she was able, and Annie had produced a report on the workings of Diocesan Synod which appeared in the Annual Report.

11. Election of new PCC members/Deanery Synod members

Revd Joy advised that Rebecca Goss had completed her threeyear term on the PCC but was willing to stand again for a further period and a completed nomination form was held, proposed by Janet Laws and seconded by Gill Hill.

Revd Joy stated that there was still one further vacancy on the PCC as the position had not been filled the previous year and asked if there was anyone else willing to stand. Sheila Chainey put her name forward and was proposed by Jo Lougher and seconded by Marion Williams. All in favour.

Mike Williams offered himself as the Deanery Synod Representative for the parish, proposed by David Lougher and seconded by June Wakeford. All in favour. By virtue of this role, Mike automatically becomes a member of the PCC and will report to the PCC meetings following Deanery Synod meetings.

12. Appointment of Independent Financial Examiner

Revd Joy advised that Portsmouth University had acted as the Independent Financial Examiner for a few years now but needed to be re-appointed each year. She went on to say how thorough they were with the checking of the Accounts and would like to see them confirmed for a further year. Proposed by Veronica Brice and seconded by Jo Jackson. All in favour.

13. Any Other Business

Any matters for discussion were required to be with the PCC Secretary at least a week prior to the APCM and the PCC Secretary advised that no matters had been raised.

14. Date of next meeting to be confirmed

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Revd Joy confirmed the date of next year’s Annual Meeting would be agreed by the Benefice Standing Committee when they had their meeting in the Autumn to plan the diary for 2026, but it would be along the same time of year as all APCM’s have to be held by the 31[st] May each year. The date would therefore be confirmed later in the year.

15. Closing prayers

There being no other business the meeting closed at 12.55pm with the Grace.

.

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PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF BLENDWORTH, HOLY TRINITY ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2025

1. Administrative Information

Full Parochial Name: Blendworth, Holy Trinity. Benefice: Blendworth with Chalton with Idsworth Diocese: Portsmouth

Location: Blendworth Lane, Blendworth, Hants, PO8 0AB

Benefice Office: The Church Centre, Blendworth Lane, Horndean, Hants, PO8 0AA

2. Members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC)

During the year 2025 the following served as members of the PCC:

Priest-in Charge: The Revd Joy Windsor Licensed Lay Minister & Anna Chaplain Mrs Dawn Jenkins Church Wardens: Mrs. Gill Hill Church Warden _(Chair of PCC meetings) _ Mrs. Jo Jackson Church Warden

Electe d Members: *Miss Janet Laws, PCC Secretary (Holy Trinity) &

Benefice Secretary (Blendworth, Chalton & Idsworth) & Parish Safeguarding Officer

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Mrs. Annie Reeves Diocesan Synod

Representative

Mrs. Veronica Brice PCC Member Miss Rebecca Goss PCC member *Mrs. Val Griffiths Treasurer/PCC Member Mrs. Sue Wilson PCC member

Mrs. Helen Orsmond PCC member

Electoral Roll Officer: Miss Rebecca Goss

3. Structure, Governance and Management

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules as published online by the Church of England General Synod - - (https://www.churchofengland.org/more/policy and thinking/chu rch-representation-rules/church-representation-rules-online).

All regular church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC. The Roll was renewed 2025, prior to the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. The PCC is the body of Trustees for the Parish.

4. Charitable Status

The PCC is a Charity and is registered with the Charity Commission.

5. Safeguarding

Safeguarding continues to be a huge topic in the Church of England, it is very much in the forefront in the Diocese of Portsmouth and in all our parishes, and in the Diocesan Synod report provided by Annie Reeves you will have read of the report given to Synod by our Head of Safeguarding on the recent safeguarding report by Consultancy INEQE. The Diocese has made huge positive changes over the last year in its safeguarding culture and outlook.

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An excellent Safeguarding Conference was held in September for Parish Safeguarding Officers and Clergy on the theme of Trauma with some wonderful speakers; at these events we not only learn much from the speakers themselves but also from sharing with one another in other parishes.

We continue to work across the Benefice in getting new and renewal DBS checks undertaken, along with safeguarding training. This is an enormous job which I must admit I find a real battle to deal with on some occasions and it does not help when DBS clearances take so long to come back but we continue day by day always remembering the importance of this work and giving thanks that we do have such a supportive team behind us in the Diocesan Safeguarding Team,

Janet Laws Parish/Benefice Safeguarding Officer

6. Review of activities 2025

We had a number of events during 2025 starting with our Shrove Tuesday event which was well attended. We had a meal of lasagne with garlic bread followed by pancakes. A very interesting quiz was presented by Jeff & Carol Legg which well received.

Later in March we had a band concert by the Langstone Big Band.

Our annual plant sale was in mid-May with all the money going towards the roof fund.

In June Emily Martine performed for us. Ticket sales were disappointing, but an enjoyable evening was had by those who attended.

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The Summer Fete was held on 26[th] July in the grounds of Blendworth House. The weather was perfect and we had several stalls with games & refreshments and some private sellers. The Showstopper Dancers did a display, and we also had a Dog Show.

At the end of September, we had our annual Proms Night performed by the Blendworth Brass Band. They performed several Abba tunes plus the traditional Proms Night favourites. This was well attended and people commented it was probably the best concert they had played for us over the years.

At the start of October, we had a Clothes Bank sale to reduce the amount of stock we were holding.

Our Christmas Fair was held a week earlier than normal as we felt it might encourage more people to attend. This proved to be the case and the fair was busy. Nearly all the raffle tickets were sold for this event – many in advanced sales.

Gill Hill and Jo Jackson Church Wardens

7. Baptisms, Marriages, and Funerals

In 2025, Holy Trinity was able to offer baptisms, weddings as well as funerals and burials. During the year we had four baptisms, two weddings, and five funerals together with interment of ashes.

8. Review of the Year – PCC

The PCC met on seven occasions during the year and with all the problems with the church roof, a lot of time at our meetings have been spent on discussing this and also how we might raise the funds to undertake the work.

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The Benefice Standing Committee which was formed two years ago, meets two or three times a year, planning the diary of events across the benefice, to try and avoid a clash of dates, and to deal with parish policies and safeguarding issues initially. The Committee is made up of the Churchwardens of the three parishes, along with Janet Laws as Benefice Secretary, Revd Joy, Dawn Jenkins as Lay Reader and Canon Wendy Kennedy.

We were delighted that we were able to pay the Parish Share in full for 2025 and to receive a letter of thanks from the Diocese for doing so, although the sum for 2025 was lower than in the past as our number in the congregation, attending weekly services is not as high as in previous years.

The Ecumenical work continued with the other local churches, the regular Prayer Breakfasts with Catherington and Clanfield, St Edmunds and the Baptists. The Prayer Stations for Thy Kingdom Come were held in the Church Centre Chapel.

Revd Joy regularly updated the PCC about the work connected with the Horndean Missioner part of her role and one of the highlights of the church calendar is now the Christmas Tree Festival held in early December and brings together

representatives from across Horndean and beyond; the church was full of trees last December and more people attended than the previous year and we hope to increase this again this year. The Festival ended with the Christingle Service which was well attended and more oranges had to be purchased at the last minute as most of the children who had visited the Festival had made a Christingle, even if they could not attend the service on the Sunday afternoon.

The Grandparents & Toddlers Group continued to be hugely successful, and the work of the Anna Chaplaincy Team was going from strength to strength, but we were reminded that the spiritual growth of the church in the future and how Holy Trinity was kept going needs regular discussion. At each of our PCC meetings now we speak about attracting more young people through Sowing Seeds or the informal service on the second

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Sunday of the month and during each meeting we have specific prayers for the young people.

Mike Williams kindly took over the role of representing the parish on Deanery Synod and Annie Reeves has continued to represent the parish on Diocesan Synod although he is now standing down from this role which she has undertaken for very many years.

It is a real privilege to undertake the role of PCC Secretary at Blendworth, and as Benefice Secretary being able to work more closely with Chalton and Idsworth and to be able to support Joy in her ministry. We do need new members to serve on the PCC as two or three of our number are stepping down this year so if you have some time to spare, please do consider putting your name forward for election (which is subject to a DBS check and Safeguarding training).

Janet Laws PCC Secretary

9. Church Centre

The Church Centre continues to be popular with its regular hirers and several private parties. During the daytime there is still availability for other hirers should any come forward, but all weekday evenings and Saturdays are fully booked.

During 2025 the Centre paid to have trees cut back in the car park and installed new double-glazed windows and a new fire exit door in the main hall. The old windows were single glazed so there should be a benefit from this installation as far as the gas bill is concerned.

We continue to rent six parking spaces in the car park to local businesses during working hours at a cost of £100 per vehicle per year. In addition, a campervan owner pays to park as she lives in the Gales building in the village and is unable to park her vehicle there.

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The hall has hosted several fund-raising events for the Church and Church Roof Fund, including band concerts, plant sale, singers, Christmas fair & Shrove Tuesday meal.

As we keep costs to a minimum at the Centre (with some work being done voluntarily) we were able to pay £10,000 to the church towards the roof replacement.

Geoff Hill Centre Manager

10. Fabric Report

During 2025 we have kept up with the minor maintenance required at HTB with the help of the Rakers & Scrapers. Rakers & Scrapers meet on the third Saturday of the month. Unfortunately, the group has decreased, and our average attendance is six people each month.

As well as keeping the churchyard tidy, we have also made repairs to the church wall which was crumbling in places. We have also had to top up some graves with soil where they have sunk over the years.

Our main concern continued to be the church roof, as our new architect Ross Aylward was extremely concerned that any delay in starting work was causing further deterioration to the church. The netting remains in place inside the church and will do so until the external & internal work is completed.

Several of our events in 2025 at the church centre & summer fete raised funds towards the roof repairs, together with funds from successful grant applications. A decision was made by the PCC to subdivide the roof repair so that the work could commence more quickly. This would allow more time for fund raising and responses from further grant applications. Work is planned to commence in April 2026.

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All annual inspections have taken place ie lightning conductor, fire extinguishers, clock, automatic door release, organ tuning etc.

We continued to have problems with the church electrics where the fuses kept tripping. With the help of one of our parishioners, we eventually managed to get the heating system working in the main body of the church. Once the roof repairs are completed, we will check that the heating/electrics are working effectively.

Gill Hill & Jo Jackson Churchwardens

11. Deanery Synod

Deanery Synod takes place three times per year in March, June and November varying the venues across churches within the Havant Deanery. The Havant Deanery covers 25 active churches under the Portsmouth Diocese and is led by the Area Dean Revd Canon Emma Racklyett ably assisted by the Assistant Area Dean Jonathan Jeffrey. These meetings are led by the Deanery Lay Chair Kathy Dunn and start with short acts of worship and an introduction from the incumbent of the hosting venue on their interaction with their parishioners.

In June 2025 the Synod met at All Saints Church, Denmead. The main theme of that Synod was to look at the continuing work of what was IDWAL and now called The Ghana Portsmouth Link. The presentation was given by Angela Herring on the Havant link with the Koforidua diocese emphasising the desire to be self-sufficient in fundraising with the sale of 500ml water sachets for children and families packed into units of 30 costing about 60p. Project has been running from 2018 with the building of infrastructure. Sales started in 2022 with profits from the first years at £9k (140k GhCedi – local currency). Current project is for a Maternity Clinic based on a donated house and former clinic and named PAT Memorial Maternity Clinic with 4 beds and an operating theatre. The local

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fundraising has so far reached £25K with no requests from the UK. Further project at Kwabeng is a piggery with 8 sows and 2 boars producing 14 piglets by the end of May! During the Covid shutdown it was realised that stipends and other salary payments may have ceased in Ghana. Ghana Link sent £3k to enable wages to be paid.

The June synod also had the opportunity to learn about local deanery church initiatives including Bubble Church at St Nicholas Church Bedhampton aimed at Young Children and families based on stories, ‘the sorry song’ and ‘thank yous’. Tea and Prayers at Hartplain: Monthly at 3pm on a Sunday. Aimed at the older generation who found getting to earlier Sunday services difficult but wanted to meet and enjoy traditional hymns. Wild Church in Emsworth: Sunday Pm outside with activities (option inside if wet) into a church. Once per month and family friendly. Anna Cafe Church: Part of Anna Chaplaincy initiative. Soup and cake after short service. Dementia friendly. Lunch Group in West Leigh: Tuesday friendship group meeting in a local pub for lunch and a chat. Attendees paid for meals and drink with organisers just facilitating.

The November 2025 Synod was held at St James, Emsworth. Meeting chaired by Kathy Gunn the Deanery Lay Chair in the absence through illness of Revd Emma Racklyett (Area Dean) and Revd Jonathan Jeffrey (Assistant Area Dean).

Synod was introduced to St James and the more traditional church of St Thomas a Becket, the mother church at Warblington by the Rector The Revd Andrew Sheard. St James is a very proactive community using all its opportunities of its situation off North Street in Emsworth to link with the local parish. Two services that have proved attractive are the Breakfast Service which can accommodate up to one hundred people, and the 5pm service which ends with pizza!

Talk by Heather Powney the Diocesan Children, Youth and Families Ministry (CYF) lead.

Strategy based on National Churches ‘Rejuvenate’ guidance. ‘Revive’, ‘Revitalise’, ‘Renew’.

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Community – Jesus centred, Kingdom seeking disciples. Key responsibilities: Support advocacy, training /resources, strategy, culture change. Pray for children outside church. Access to resources for ‘Open the Book’, ‘Godly Play’, ‘Messy Church’, ‘Bubble Church’ and ‘Kitchen Table Project’.

30K Project: National initiative within CYF to create 3000 paid CYF workers and 27000 volunteer CYF workers by 2030. ‘Recognise Week’- a particular week in the year recognising CYF workers planned for 7-13 July 2026.

Growing Faith (see website): School/home/church connecting circles. Relationships. Helping parents to talk faith to their children. Chatting Faith- children’s book stories and many more.

Diocesan Synod and Finance Discussions Update given to the November 2025 meeting.

Carbon net zero supporting solar panels. Need the currently sixteen churches using oil fired heating (not HTB) to change as a matter of priority.

Diocesan Budget

Parish Share will increase by 3% in 2026 based on 88 % collection of Parish Share from around the Diocese. Collection was 97% which went down to 77% during Covid and now up to 88 %. Clergy stipends will increase by 8%.

Pressures include reduced rental income. Government policy on tenants and letting make recovering properties for primary clergy use has been difficult. Therefore, during interregnums clergy houses will not be made available for outside rental. Our Diocese can claim grants from The Church Commissioners’ whereas some ‘well off’ dioceses will no longer be able to claim grants.

This Deficit Budget of £1.2 million has been agreed by the Diocesan Synod based on the 88% collection so if more can be achieved then that will reduce. Diocese can cope with a deficit for 3 years but may not manage 6 years!

Mike Williams

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Deanery Synod Representative

12. Diocesan Synod

A Diocese is led by a bishop but governed by a democratic body called the ‘Diocesan Synod’. Synods were introduced by the Church of England in 1970 to increase the participation of lay people (non-clergy) in decision-making. The national body is called the General Synod and there are also synods at diocesan and deanery level. Our Diocesan Synod meets three times a year.

Bishop Luke Irvine-Capel was welcomed. He will assist Bishop Jonathan within the Diocese. David Isaac was also welcomed as the Diocesan Retired Clergy Officer.

Head of Safeguarding Emily Hassan updated Synod members on recent developments, including the recent safeguarding report by consultancy INEQE. Staff from INEQE had done an online survey in the spring and carried out an in-person visit at the start of June. To give an idea of the scale of the audit, Emily reported that the safeguarding team had provided the auditors with 366 documents, containing more than 19,000 words. There were also 642 individuals who responded to the online survey and 115 people were interviewed by the audit team. 130 interviews have been carried out as part of the audit and we welcomed most of the recommendations. Safeguarding Officers are to be commended for all their work.

The Diocese of Portsmouth has undergone a substantial and positive transformation in its safeguarding culture, establishing a firmly embedded and robust framework

Bishop Jonathan recognized that the budget has been very difficult. The increase in NI contributions and clergy stipends rising by 8%. We have 73 stipendiary priests (10% vacancies). The 8.8% increase will be funded by the Diocese. Housing costs have increased with fewer lettings and work carried out on housing. Parish share will increase by 3%. The Diocese faces a large deficit during the next triennium and although the budget was approved there are many decisions to be made

28

during the next three years. There is some transitional funding available to help dioceses to cope with these changes, but we are still budgeting for a £1.2m deficit for 2026.

Annie Reeves

Diocesan Synod Representative

13. Anna Chaplaincy

The Anna Chaplaincy service within the Horndean area has still been growing over the last year.

We now visit each month:

Acacia House Pear Tree Court Wisteria lodge Beregrove Whitehaven Rosecott

Blendworth Hills - is still in early stages, but we are planning to hold Messy Vintage Easter there at Easter 2026 and invite residents from the other homes.

Some of the homes we are visiting twice a month as residents have requested Holy Communion which Joy takes in as a separate service. Added to this we are also doing home visits which are also very much appreciated. Over Christmas we also held Carol Services in the homes and were blessed with the Choir to swell our voices which was very much enjoyed by the residents.

Without our visits very little spiritual support is given to these elderly residents who sometimes have been moved to homes to be closer to family so have few visitors and no church connection.

This work cannot be done without a faithful team of helpers, so Joy and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Annie, Veronica, Jo, Joanne for all their help and support each week, Sheila has also been very much working alongside us and we

29

hope to be able to present her with her lanyard and commission her very soon. Also, thanks to Janet for printing off our service sheets. If anyone is interested in finding out more about the work we do, with a view to joining the team please do ask me for more information.

In the meantime everyone can help by praying for our work and the work of the staff and residence in the homes we visit.

Dawn Jenkins Anna Chaplain

14. Treasurers Report

Many of the congregation of Blendworth Church use the Parish Giving Scheme for their Regular Giving. This is a great help in that many have agreed to index link their giving, so that each year the amount given is in line with the rate of inflation, and the work to collect the Gift Aid is done by the administrator of the scheme saving much of the Treasurer’s time. We also have a machine available for use by the congregation who increasingly do not carry cash for the collection.

The work we do in the Community helps to raise the awareness of the Church and also (although not for profit activities) contribute a small amount to funds. We have a Grandparent and Toddler Group £300, Table Tennis group £272, Coffee Shop £990.

During the year we were raising funds mainly for the roof repair. However, we were still able to contribute to support other charities by holding Lent Lunches for the Bishop Lent Appeal and three services where the collection was given to the charity the service was concerning. Also, the Coffee Shop held a raffle for the Salvation Army.

The Church Centre have been working hard to promote the hire of the hall, the venue looking much more appealing since the repair of the car park. We replaced the windows in the hall to double glazing which has meant a reduction in the heating

30

costs and trimmed a lot of the trees to allow more light into the area. We have also installed broadband into the Centre which gives our hirers full internet access. All this has resulted in a surplus of funds of £10,000 which has been allocated to the roof repair.

Thank you to all who contribute to the prizes for the raffles that are held at many of our events. The money raised goes towards the upkeep of the church and roof repairs. The raffle at the Christmas Market raised £910 which also went towards the roof.

We received a grant of £1000 from Horndean Parish Council towards the cost of the upkeep of the graveyard.

Unfortunately, our Shares went down in 2025 by £613.

Like the rest of the Country the expenditure increased this year due to inflation, and we had to repair the heating in the church. We are grateful to parishioners who contribute to the cost of consumables and flowers. We must maintain the organ in good repair even though we don’t have a permanent organist.

Thank you to all who continue to support our church. We raised a total of £6,291, this year, towards the cost of the roof repairs and are applying for grants. Unfortunately, we will have to use all our reserves to pay for the roof which will start Stage 1 in April 2026.

Valerie Griffiths Treasurer

15. Accounts – Will be sent separately

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16. The Future

32

Charity Name No (if any)
Mothers Union Portsmouth Diocese
Receipts andpayments accounts CC16a
Period start date
For the period
from
01/01/2025		 Period end date
To
31/12/2025

Section A Receipts and payments

A1 Receipts Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest £
16,985
-
4,944
17
606
-
-
-

22,552
-
-
-
22,552
-
16,085
5,025
-
-
-
-
-
-
21,110
-
-
-
21,110
1,442
-
20,613
22,055		 Restricted
funds
to the nearest £
250
1,640
-
3,828
259
-
-
-
5,977
-
-
-
5,977
4,634
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4,634
-
-
-
4,634
1,343
-
14,679
16,022		 Endowment
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Total funds
to the nearest £
17,235
1,640
4,944
3,845
865
-
-
-
28,529
-
-
-
28,529
4,634
16,085
5,025
-
-
-
-
-
-
25,744
-
-
-
25,744
2,785		 Total funds
to the nearest £
17,235
1,640
4,944
3,845
865
-
-
-
28,529
-
-
-
28,529
4,634
16,085
5,025
-
-
-
-
-
-
25,744
-
-
-
25,744
2,785		 Last year
to the nearest £
Donors 16,985 16,668
Other VoluntaryResources - 500
OperatingActivities 4,944 5,431
Fund Raising 17 7,656
Investments 606 1,003
- -
- -
- -
Sub total(Gross income for
AR)
22,552		 31,258
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
-
- -
~~Sub total~~ - -
Total receipts
A3 Payments
31,258
Projects - 6,701
Activities 16,085 17,840
Management 5,025 4,380
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
**Sub total ** 21,110 28,921
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
-
-
**Sub total ** - -
Total payments
Net of receipts/(payments)
A5 Transfers between funds
A6 Cash funds last year end
Cash funds this year end
28,921
1,442 1,343 - 2,785 2,337
- - - - -
20,613 14,679 - 35,292 32,955
22,055 16,022 - 38,077 35,292

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

20/06/2026

1

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
B5 Liabilities
B3 Investment assets
B2 Other monetary assets
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use
B1 Cash funds
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)		 Current
Details
Details
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Deposit Account
Afia Fund
Afia Deposit
Details
Details
Details
Signature
2		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
12,941
-
9,114
4,350
-
5,692
-
5,980
22,055
16,022
OK
OK
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
liability relates
Amount due
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Print Name		 Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
OK
Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
When due
(optional)
Date of
approval
20/06/2026

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trustsesl members of Mothers, Union Portsmouth Diocese On accounts for the year ended 31° December 2025 Charity no (if any) 1067369 Set out on pages 1&2 I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charrty (llhe Trusy) for the year ended 31112 12025. Responslbilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are ￿spOnsible for the preparation of basis of report the accounts in accordan￿ with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (Yhe Acr) I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts Ca￿led OLrt under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I have followed the applicable D1￿ctionS given by tho Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confimi that no material matters have come to my attention (other than that disclosed on page 2) in connection with the examination vthich gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in ordèr to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Indepandant examinerfs statement Signed: Date: 2110412026 Name: Gill Lodge Relevant professional qualificatlon(s) or body lif any): FCCA Address: Universty of Portsmouth Richmond Building Portland Street Portsmouth P013DE IER October 2018

Section 8 Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of Gharity accounts.. directions and guidance for examiners). Give horn brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER October 2018