## **St Paul’s Church, Penketh** ## **Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council** **For the year ended 31[st] December 2025** **A member of the West Warrington Church Team** ## **1. Reference and Administrative Information** The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Paul, Penketh is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Charity registration number: 1128300. St Paul’s Church is located on Warrington Road, Penketh, Warrington, WA5 2RX. The parish is part of the Diocese of Liverpool. Official correspondence should be sent to the Rev. Sarah Peppiatt at 89 Westbrook Crescent, Warrington, WA5 8TN. For the period 1[st] January 2025 until March 1[st] 2026, the following people served as members of the Parochial Church Council: Team Rector: Rev. Jeremy Tear (to July 2025) Team Vicar: Rev. Sarah Peppiatt (Chair and oversight minister) Churchwardens: Mick Lloyd (from APCM 2023) Kevin Bailie (from APCM 2024) Elected members: Margaret Sanderson Marise Seville Lesley Ratcliffe Derek Cook (up to Nov 2025) Bill Sanderson (up to May 2025) John Murray (Deanery Synod from APCM 2023) John Nolan Sue Lloyd Anne Molyneux Laura Andrus Gail Pattullo Rev. Jeremy Tear was appointed team Rector and Rev. Sarah Peppiatt was appointed team Vicar with responsibility for the oversight of St Paul’s, by the Bishop of Liverpool. They and the churchwardens are each ex-officio members of the PCC, along with the Deanery Synod representatives. The Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance acted as Custodian Trustee for the inalienable property of the church. The Oaks is technically owned by the PCC but because PCCs are currently not allowed to hold property, ownership has been vested in the LDBF. Bankers – All accounts are now with Lloyds, Horsemarket Street, Warrington, Cheshire, WA1 2LP from Jan. 2015. Independent Examiner – D Carty FCA, 234 Manchester Road Warrington, WA1 3BD Day to day management of the Church was delegated by the PCC to the Standing Committee: Rev. Sarah Peppiatt, Mick Lloyd, Kevin Baillie (from APCM 2024) William Sanderson (until May 2025). Laura Andrus (from May 2024). ## **2. Structure, Management and Governance** St Paul’s Penketh, PCC is a body corporate and operates under the _Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956_ and the _Church Representation Rules 2020_ . The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All church members are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and welcomed to stand for election to the PCC. The PCC operates two sub-committees: the Standing Committee and the Operations Group, and a working maintenance group to support the Operations Group. Rev. Sarah Peppiatt, Mick Lloyd, Kevin Baillie (from APCM 2024) William Sanderson (until May 2025). Laura Andrus (from May 2024). _Operations Management Group:_ The Vicar (Sarah Peppiatt) Operations Manager Stephen Southern, Julie Harrop, Amanda Rawson (until June 2025), Bill Sanderson, Mick Lloyd and Marise Seville. Individual PCC members receive external training as and when deemed appropriate by the PCC. The Old School Café at the Oaks Centre has a 5-star Food Hygiene Rating from Warrington Borough Council. All catering volunteers undertake level 2 food hygiene training. ## _**Risk Assessments**_ The PCC undertook a programme of risk assessments to identify their major risks. Procedures were then put in place to manage those risks and minimise their impact on the life of the church. In the Oaks Community Centre, risk assessments were carried out on the kitchen, café, main hall and shop; and also on the external footpaths and car park. A fire risk assessment was also carried out. ## ● _Financial Risk_ An annual budget is prepared to ensure short term viability. Actual results compared with budget are reported to the PCC every month. The charity has two main sources of income; namely the giving by members to the Church and commercial trading in the Oaks Centre and from hire of the church building. The PCC review their investments regularly. Investments are only made in approved low risk funds. All assets are insured. A major review was carried out at the end of 2012 to ensure cover at an appropriate level. The PCC has approved internal and external controls for annual accounts. - _Compliance with Law and Regulation_ Health and safety reviews have been undertaken during the year. The PCC was appraised of the risks and the necessary compliance requirements and adjustments made. Safeguarding The PCC has adopted the national safeguarding guidelines laid down by the House of Bishops. Our safeguarding policy is reviewed each year at the first PCC after the APCM. The PCC and parish safeguarding officer have worked diligently through the safeguarding dashboards provided by the national church, and by the end of 2025 we had reached level 3. ## **3. Objectives and Activities** The general functions of the PCC are stated within section 2 of the _Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956._ At St Paul’s over the years we have had a variety of mission statements, with the most recent being- **The heart of God at the heart of the community.** When planning our activities for the year, the PCC gave consideration to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance to charities concerned with the advancement of religion. Our objectives for 2025 were to provide the following public benefits: Open to God. - Regular public worship open to all. Both the Church and the Oaks are totally access friendly. - The provision of sacred space for personal prayer and contemplation and praying for those who ask for assistance. - Lifetime, running on a weekly basis on Thursday mornings, providing alternatives to more formal worship. - Sunday Lunch, a new family focused congregation meeting monthly on Sunday lunchtimes, intended especially to reach school age families and working parents for whom Thursday mornings would be unsuitable, but open to all - Café Church, running once a month with a mission goal of providing accessible worship for adults on the fringe of church. Open to the community. - One community centre, the Oaks, offering food and friendship and much else to any who choose to come. - Pastoral work, including a bereavement support group hosted in the church and a much-valued support group for those with dementia and their carers. - Taking of religious assemblies in local Primary Schools, through the medium of Open the Book. - Youth activities for various age groups. - Supporting other charities in the UK and overseas with gifts from our regular income, plus special collections. Also, practical support for the night shelter and Food Bank in Warrington. - Support offered to the new and Hong Kong community around us, including an informal language class, trips out to build social links, craft groups and a Hong Kong Bible study. Much of this is run through the extended Lifetime team. Open to each other. - Teaching of Christianity. - Home Groups. - Lent Groups. . - Bible Studies. - Working with West Warrington Churches Together. We are currently working as a team with the three neighbouring Anglican churches. ## _Vision_ 2025 was a year of celebration leading up to the 25[th] anniversary of the Oaks building in October. Events were held every month as part of a Jubilee fund raising campaign as part of this anniversary year, focused on raising money for the Oaks, to do some much-needed works on the building. Following on from the celebration we launched a year of prayer as we turned our attention to the next 25 years and what they might hold. We ## _2025 summary_ 2025 continued to be a busy year for St Paul’s, not least with the celebrations around the 25[th] anniversary. Lifetime and Café Church continued to thrive, with Lifetime in particular drawing in large numbers of people every week. Out of that original Thursday congregation we now have a wonderful variety of ministries from Bible studies especially for our Hong Kong Cantonese speakers, to English conversation classes and a craft group that draws together English and Hong Kong people sharing a love of creativity and social time. Sadly the Sunday Lunch congregation came to an end in November, as we agreed it just wasn’t drawing in the people we had hoped. At the same time a new vision has begun to emerge for an early morning weekly children’s service that might prove more suitable. On the youth and children’s front it’s been wonderful to see our partnership with YFC flourish as Alex has really found his feet. He’s established excellent links with the local high school and the drop in has become a draw for young people in the area. He ran in partnership with some of our youth leaders a Youth Alpha which led to one young person seeking baptism this year, which was a real joy. The hospitality ministries based out of the Oaks and church have also flourished in 2025. The café in particular has been busy and the pre loved shop continues to be a popular and eco-friendly piece of outreach and fundraising. The hall and church are well used by a wide variety of community groups, including our own Forget Me Not Café and bereavement group, which continue to offer loving support to people in our community at difficult times of their lives. And finally we agreed in May after 2 years of prayer and consideration to become part of the new larger parish of Warrington, bringing to an end the PCC at St Paul’s, but continuing our ministry and mission under the new parochial church council of the Parish of Warrington. We look forward to all the possibilities there are as the churches of Warrington stand together in the gospel. ## Charitable giving policy Charitable giving continues to be an important part of St Paul’s financial plans. As budgets have become tighter, we now review the amount given from year to year rather than setting a fixed percentage. The charity review, which was introduced at the beginning of 2018, has meant that we now give to up to 10 charities nominated by people in our congregation. The external charities supported in 2025 were Home for Good, Elam ministries, Bible Society, The Whitechapel Centre, Sankey Good Neighbours, Youth for Christ, Christians against poverty, Warrington Foodbank, Compassion and Global Care ## **4. Achievements and performance** ## _**Electoral roll**_ There are now 88 people on the electoral roll. ## _**Worship**_ Our attendance averages around 55 on a usual Sunday. Around 15 children are on our Sunday Gang registers, with the older ones now forming the majority. ## _**Finance, Giving and Fundraising**_ We have 38 people giving to the church by the Parish Giving Scheme, and 5 giving regularly by other means into the general account. The money given to the General Fund is banked with Lloyds in a business account giving no interest. The money raised by running the Oaks is banked in the Oaks Centre Fund with Lloyds in a business account gaining no interest. The Church also has an investment held by the Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance of 42.13 shares. The share value increased slightly in 2025 giving a year end value of £978 with dividends issued during the year. ## **5** . **Financial review** The main sources of income are through donations to the Church and trading in the Oaks Community Centre, including hire of the church building and the minibus. The operations budget ran a small deficit by the end of the year. Our mission budget broke even by the end of the year. ## **Reserves policy** We designate a certain proportion of our free cash as reserves, to be kept back for emergencies. Ideally this should amount to three months running costs, for both bank accounts. The reserves at the end of 2025 were as follows: Unrestricted funds £ 19’684 Restricted funds £10’228 (grant for Lifetime project) End of year balances were General - £58’148 Oaks - £27,728.49 Lifetime - £9’392.72 ## **6. Plans for the future** The emphases for 2026 are as follows: - A year of prayer and discernment, particularly for plans for the next 20 years for the Oaks Centre. - Plans and preparation for joining the new larger parish of Warrington. - Developing and building on our missional outreach. ## **Parochial Church Council of St. Paul, Penketh Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities** Law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the trustees – the members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) – to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the PCC’s financial activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year (unless the PCC is entitled to prepare accounts on the alternative receipts and payments basis). In preparing financial statements giving a true and fair view, the members should follow best practice and: - Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; - Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; - State whether applicable Accounting Standards and Statements of Recommended Practice have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and - Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume that the charity will continue in operation. The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose, with reasonable accuracy, the financial position of the charity, and which enable them to both ascertain the financial position of the PCC and ensure that the financial statements comply with the charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the PCC and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. Signed on behalf of the Trustees: Rev Sarah Peppiatt Chair Dated: Parochlal Church Councll of St Paul, Penketh Statement of Flnanclal A¢tlvltles foi the year ended 31 Dttember 2025 Unrestrirtqd Restdrted Funds Funds Totsl Fur￿$ ZOZ5 Tthl Funds 2024 Nots lncoffll￿ resowcei Intomin¢ re80uree5 froffi donors 1,992 L992 1.141 Income from charltable and 4nclllorytrodlTrg Income from Investmenrs Dthor incomin8 resourcès 218,053 27 3,511 221,564 27 2D2.471 26 18.872 Totsl IMomlw we￿Ur(el io 224,571 3,511 ZX8,083 12l511 Resou￿e5¢Xp•ndèd Aci]thti*S dlrecuy relatod to work CharitablÈActMties Cost of G•neratln8 Funds 76,904 996 142,358 4A09 8L313 996 142 358 63,581 3,765 141,2 Totsl re￿UrceS expended io UQ.258 224.667 108,546 Incornlni Mifdweli b•1￿• tr4nsf•rs 4,314 3,416 17921 13, 19701 Transfer between fund> N•t ItK¢Jmlni r•sources 3.511 IWJ81 1614 1&995 Gainsllkissesl on investments Prior Year Adjustment 27 27 26 Net fflovement ltt lun 3,549 651 13.021 B•l*nc*iat Ijan￿ry 1025 428,010 10,281 43B.298 B*l*tKei•t JI Oec•mber2025 431,559 9.390 440,94Y Parochlal Church Coun¢ll of St Paul, Penketh Balance Sheet a5 •t 31 December 2025 2025 2014 Not• Flxed Assei Tangible Investments 357,382 1,005 358,387 358,174 978 359.152 CurrentAssets Oebtor5 Cash at Bank and Hand 542 95,429 95,971 521 79,844 80.365 Llablllts.. wlthln on• ywr 1,219 N•t Cyrr•ht Alw￿114b￿lt1Is 81562 TotalA5setslil Llabllttl•s', aftermore than oneyesr 440.949 43a.290 440,949 438.298 Unrestrlcted funds Restricted fund5 Tot•1 fvnds 431,559 9,390 440,949 428,010 10,288 458,298 Parochlal Church Councll of St Paul, Penketh Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2025 2. Employeè costs 2025 2024 3. Flxed •Metsfor use bytht pcc Freehold land & bulldings Ftxtur*s & Fittln15 Total 2024 Tol•l 1023 Motor¥•hlde T•n8lble flmed assets Gross book valu• At January 12025 AdditioTrs/Disp05als At 31 December 2024 353,540 15,000 7,000 375,540 375,540 353,540 15,C¥XI 7.000 375,540 375,540 Depreciatlon At January 12025 Di5P05als Char8e for At 31 December 2024 11.342 6,026 17,366 15,204 549 11,891 792 18,158 970 16,174 6.270 N•t Book Value At 31 D•cernber2024 Al 31 Decernber2025 353,540 353,540 974 731 358.174 J57.J82 3,109 Investrnents 2025 2024 42.13sh•r¢s In Ceiitr*18oard of Flthan¢• of the thurch ol En8land Inv*stment Fund ICIF 1413SI 1,005 978 978 W? no lonyrhave an¥longt¥rm Investments wlth Lloyds S. Anatysls of net assets byfund R•$trfct•d FurMIs Totsl FI*￿ Asset5 Current A$5¢ts 358.387 86,581 113.4091 431.559 358,387 95,971 9,390 Fund B•l•nr? 440,949 6. Surplu51s Stat￿ after thargin8 2025 2024 Audit Fee Depreckition 1,000 792 1,000 970 970 Parochlal Church Council of St Paul, Penketh Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 Oecember 2025 7. Debtors 2025 2024 Tax rebate on donations Loans Receivable 542 521 8. Crediiors: 8mounts fallln8 due wtthln one year 1025 1024 PAYE and NIC due Credrtors for8oods and %ervlce5 Accruils Loans payable ￿ThIn 12 m¢nths 210 219 L(Y)O 12.199 9. tlabllltle$ payablt ?fter onè yèar 10. Fund dètalls 2025 2024 Vnrnstrlttod Funds Genernl Dqsl¥n•ted-04*i C•bltr* Mlnlbus - NNvbuld 91,419 340.140 35,487 345,336 775 46,412 31 Reslrfcied Fun05 fÈtlme Fund 10,288 Pafochlal Church Coundl of St Paul, Penketh Notes to the Ilnanclal statements For the year ended 31 Dècember 2025 Fund movement by type Note 11 g'Fwd Inwml Outyol PIY Galns& L¢sMs Gon•ral Fund Unrtsttl¢ted 34,509 141,574 185.6691 90,414 CBFIUF 1413$ Rèstrktod 978 27 New Bulldlni Fund 46.412 146,4121 Mlnl B￿1 Futhd De48n•t*d 1.650 12,4251 O•k5 Fund Des￿nated 345,336 151,349 11565451 340,140 LI1￿Me Futhd Restri¢ted 10,288 3,511 14,4091 9.390 438,298 298,084 1295,4601 440,949 Annual Report 2024 INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT (SORP 2015) TO THE PCC OF 5T. PAUL. PENKEfH I rewt tothe Parochlal Church Council IPCCI of St. Paul. Penketh on the account5for the year ended 31. December 2025, as setouton page5 Ito 19of your Annual Report, which comprlseoftbe Balan Sheet, Statement of Financial ACtI￿tieS. and the related notes. ResPertl¥eresponsn>llltlesolTrnstee54nd Ex•ffllner The PCC are responsible for the preparatlon of the accounts. They conslder th* an audit 15 not required for this year ender the $ertlon 144 of the Charlti*&A¢t 2011 (the tharftles ktl and that an Independent Examination is needed. Is my responslb11ityto'. examlne the accounts under 5èCtlon 145of the Charftles Act. 2. tofollowthe PrO￿ures11Id down IntheGeneral Directlonsgl¥enlrythe Ch4rltyCommlss4on (under sethon 145lSllbl of the Charities Aer, and 3. to state whether p•l¢ularm•tte¥shave com¢to my attenum. B*slsot Independeht exofftherfsyeport My examln3tion was carried out in actwdance wlth the general dlrectlons ￿Ven by the Charfty Comrnission. An examlnation Includes a rewew of the accountin8 retords kept by the PCC ènd compar150n of the accounts presented wlth those records. ￿ a150 Includes can51deratlon of any nusual Items or dlsc105ures In the aceounts, and seeklD8 expla￿tIOnS1r0rn the PCC con¢ernlng any such matters. The pr¢￿d￿re5 Ur￿ertaken do nat provide all the evidence that would be requlred In an audit and consequently no oplnlon is 8iven a5 to whethef the accounts present • *ru¢ and fal vlew and the report Is Ilmitedto those mètttr$ set out Inthe ststemert below. Independent Emamknerfs statem￿1 In connectlon wlth my examinatlon, no materfal matters have come to my attenfjon whlth zlves me cause to believe that ID any material respett.. accounfjn8 records were notkept In accordancewlth sectlon J30 of the tharft*$ Act Of thea¢count5 do not accord with the attountinÈ rttOTds I havecome acro$s noother matters In C￿nectIOn wlth the examlnatlon towhlthattentlon should be drawn in order to enable a proper understandin8 ofthe account5 to be reathed. CARTr & CO ACCOUNTANTS LTD 234 Manthe5tqr Road Warnn8toTr WA138D Dated.. 1210212026 Page 2