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2025-12-31-accounts

2025

Annual Reports of the Parochial Church Council

1. Proceedings of the PCC 2. Treasury Report and Accounts 3. Deanery Synod Report 4. Churchwardens’ Property Report

S t A n d r e w & S t M a r k P a r i s h R e p o r t

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF SAINT ANDREW AND SAINT MARK, SURBITON REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025

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Registered Charity Number: 1130093

Address: The Parish Office, St Mark’s Church, St Mark’s Hill, Surbiton, Surrey, KT6 4LS Presented to the the Annual Parochial Church Meeting on 13 May 2026

Table of Contents

Structure, Governance and Management......................................................................................................................................3 The Parochial Church Council....................................................................................................................................................... 3 Charitable Status................................................................................................................................................................................ 4 Vicar’s Report, For Annual Report of 2025.................................................................................................................................. 5 Introduction......................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Public benefit....................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Goodbye................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Morning Worship on Sundays...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Christmas.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Korean Church.................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Communications................................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Confirmation........................................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Committees reporting to the PCC..................................................................................................................................................... 8 Adult Christian Ministry.................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Groups for Bible Study and Prayer at St Mark’s - Tuesday mornings and Friday afternoons........................8 Discipleship Committee.............................................................................................................................................................. 9 Charities and Social Action Committee.......................................................................................................................................... 9 Social Action................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 ‘Eco’ Committee............................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Parish Mothers’ Union Branch........................................................................................................................................................ 11 Music......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Adult Choir......................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Children’s Choir and Youth Choir............................................................................................................................................. 12 Pianists and pianos......................................................................................................................................................................... 12 2. Treasurer’s Report.......................................................................................................................................................................... 14

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Parish Accounts 2025 Commentary........................................................................................................................................ 14 Income............................................................................................................................................................................................ 14 Legacy Income............................................................................................................................................................................. 15 Expenditure.................................................................................................................................................................................. 15 Assets.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 16 Going Concern.............................................................................................................................................................................. 16 Finance Committee.................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Reserves Policy (Revised November 2025).....................................................................................................................16 Parish Accounts................................................................................................................................................................................ 17 2. Kingston Deanery Synod Report............................................................................................................................................... 27 Southwark Diocesan Synod......................................................................................................................................................... 28 3. Property Report............................................................................................................................................................................... 28 St Andrews......................................................................................................................................................................................... 28 St Marks............................................................................................................................................................................................... 28

Structure, Governance and Management

The Parochial Church Council

Members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) hold office in accordance with the Church Representation Rules – either ex-officio, by election, by appointment at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting or by cooption.

The following served as members of the PCC for all or part of the period from 1 January 2024 until the APCM on 17th May 2026:

Joseph Al-Khalili**

Anne Barker *

Valerie Baxter ***

Fiona Caldwell

Hazel Davis**

Mary Elliott **

Helen Goepel ***

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Ruth Gilmore – Churchwarden**

Andrew Horn *

Diana Lewis - Treasurer

Christopher Madden*

Clare Mannall**

Toni Mitchell*

Dan Nmadu *

The Reverend Janice Price

Katherine Reed – PCC Secretary and Churchwarden

Jackie Robbs** – Lay Reader

Emma Rush

The Reverend Robert Stanier – Chairman*

Peter Stokes

Ian Wilson ***

Eileen Wingrove*

Notes:

*** Denotes a member of the Kingston Deanery Synod

Anne Oram served as Minutes secretary

The PCC is responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish, including deciding how the funds of the PCC are to be spent. All eligible members of the congregation are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and to stand for election to the PCC.

Charitable Status

The PCC has charitable status and the members of the PCC are the trustees. The charity is registered with the Charity Commission under the number 1130093.

The PCC's charitable object is to support the vicar with the pastoral, evangelical and social mission of the Church of England – especially within the parish.

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Vicar’s Report, For Annual Report of 2025

Introduction

2025 was a fruitful year at St Andrew’s and St Mark’s, and the highlight was probably the increase in people between the ages of 16 and 35 starting to come to church; the number of adult baptisms was notable.

Near the end of the year, it was announced that the vicar would be moving to a new post in 2026, so this will lead to some changes, going forward.

Public benefit

Goodbye

2025 for the third year in a row had a high number of funerals, both of people who died within the parish who were mostly unconnected with church, but also among some core members of the congregation. Just to mention some people who were regular members of our worshipping community:

All are greatly missed. May they rest in peace and rise in glory.

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Morning Worship on Sundays

2025 attendance increased slightly. In some cases, people have moved away, but the overall worshipping community remains constant or has slightly increased, though the number on the electoral roll declined at the time of the quinquennial revision.

----- Start of picture text -----
Sunday morning attendance
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Sunday morning attendance Linear (Sunday morning attendance)
y2008y2009y2010y2011y2012y2013y2014y2015y2016y2017y2018y2019y2020y2021y 2022y2023y2024y2025
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The above chart shows Sunday morning attendance since 2008, including adults and children for all morning services, but avoiding double counts if possible. The 2020-25 figures include Zoom attendance as well as in person attendance. For 2023, 2024 and 2025 the average on Zoom is just 5. It does not include figures for the Korean congregation, which is dealt with separately for the purposes of this report

Within the services on a Sunday morning,

Zoom attendance remained relatively low, after its peak of 2020 and 2021, as people are happier to come to church in person. However, Zoom continues to be an invaluable way of helping those who are ill for a

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time and house-bound to be able still to attend services as well as some people coming from further afield. The ability to livestream services is of increasing importance as part of our offer for occasional offices.

Christmas

Christmas Eve/ Christmas Day attendance broke new ground and has now surpassed the levels before Lockdown. It is certainly higher than any time this century and probably long before that. Increasing numbers of people seem to want to build an actively religious Christian experience into their Christmas, even if they do not come every Sunday.

(This does not include the 2,500 adults and children who attended a school carol service hosted at St Mark’s church or the 300 adults and children who came to the parish carol service.)

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Christmas Eve/ Day attendance: 2006-
25
1200
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800
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400
200
0
y06 y07 y08 y09 y10 y11 y12 y13 y14 y15 y16 y17 y18 y19 y20 y21 y22 y23 y24 y25
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This is through a combination of offering the Christingle services, which are relatively informal, but also keeping the traditional Midnight Mass and Christmas morning eucharists.

Korean Church

For some months, St Mark’s hosted a Korean Anglican speaking congregation, which was led by two Korean ministers; this project had been funded through the diocese and the Church of England Strategic

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Development Fund. Unfortunately, this project ended when both leaders had to return to Korea. At its peak, around twenty Koreans were meeting for a Sunday eucharist at St Mark’s, until that happened.

Communications

The magazine has had excellent quarterly editions edited by Greg Malia; the X feed was also regularly updated, though there are concerns now about how appropriate it is for the Church to continue using a medium with problematic algorithms and facilities that began in 2025, and will need to be debated. Without question, the website needs to be updated.

Confirmation

Eight members from our parish were confirmed by the Bishop of Kingston in a service held at St Andrew’s church, in November; a number of these candidates had been baptised in the months and weeks leading up to the confirmation. This continues a healthy trend, which took a knock with the lockdowns but is increasing, where adults are getting interested in taking their faith to a new level. Over twenty people have been confirmed in the last fifteen months, more than in any equivalent period this century (though still much below what was normal in the 20[th] century.)

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Confirmations from St Andrew and
St Mark
120
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1974- 1979- 1984- 1989- 1994- 1999- 2004- 2009- 2014- 2019- 2024-
78 83 88 93 1998 2003 2008 2013 2018 2023 5
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Committees reporting to the PCC

Adult Christian Ministry

Groups for Bible Study and Prayer at St Mark’s - Tuesday mornings and Friday afternoons

Both the Tuesday and Friday groups continued to thrive. The Tuesday group studied the letter of James combined with a Psalm or two and strengthened its fellowship over a summer buffet lunch, kindly hosted

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by one of the members. The Friday group grew in numbers and looked further at the book of Acts. Members of both groups came together for a special Bible study on the conversion of Paul, for which they were joined by the Bishop of Kingston when he visited the parish in April. All meetings were led by Jackie Robbs in Room 2 at the back of St Mark’s. In addition the long-established sessions run by Olga and John Wickenden on alternate Tuesdays continue discussion and prayer using BRF Notes.

Discipleship Committee

In the autumn, the Committee began work on organising the next parish quiet day at Wychcroft Retreat Centre (to be held on Saturday 9th May 2026).

Charities and Social Action Committee

The Charities and Social Action Committee have continued to raise funds and awareness of work in the Christian and voluntary charitable world. Charities supported have included local, international and national church-based and community-based charities. The sums raised are as follows:

ABCD £924.55
BishopMartin’s run for Matabeleland £326.95
Bishop’s Lent Call £453.65
Children’s Society £1,177.94
Christian Aid £133.43
Christians Against Poverty £585.25
Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness £150.00
Middle East EmergencyFund £369.00
Oxygen £968.09
Princess Alice Hospice £855.07
Royal Marsden £150.00
Welcare £1,177.94
World Land Trust £983.00
Total for 2025 £8,254.87

The low figure for Christian Aid (£1581 in 2024) is due to health issues of the organiser. Many people donated directly to Christian Aid rather than through the church which is not accounted for in this figure.

Proposed 2026 Charitable Support:

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Social Action

Social action projects in 2025 were as follows:

Be well lunches which took place on the last Wednesday of each month. Due to changing circumstances of regular attendees this was halted in May.

Wrap Up London Coat Collection – October to November. This was organised and staffed by Emma Rush and her family.

Christmas Day Lunch where 65 people from the local community were entertained to a full Christmas lunch.

The many and various acts of kindness and help that are carried on day by day by members of our congregation.

‘Eco’ Committee

The Committee members were Valerie Baxter, Katherine Reed, and Terezie Wickenden.

The purpose of the Committee was to promote care for God’s creation in the light of the climate emergency. This included raising awareness of the impact we have on the environment and encouraging practical steps to act as responsible stewards of our planet.

The Committee met approximately once every two months, subject to review. From time to time, individuals were invited to attend meetings to contribute to discussions and support the Committee’s work.

The Committee’s role was to lead initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of worship and parish activities, to raise awareness of environmental issues, and to encourage parishioners to take action both locally and globally. It also worked with other churches and organisations at local and national levels and reported regularly to the PCC, including through an annual report to APCM.

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During 2025, the parish hosted a Climate Change piano concert and held a Caring for Creation training session. An environmental talk was delivered to the Mothers’ Union, and a diocesan energy audit was carried out. Members of the congregation also contributed to incorporating environmental themes into the weekly prayer sheet.

Looking ahead, the Committee aimed to work towards achieving the Gold Eco Church Award, to strengthen collaboration with local churches and environmental organisations, and to support the Church of England’s target of becoming a carbon-neutral parish by 2030.

The Committee operated with a budget of up to £200. The terms of reference were updated in March 2026 and were scheduled for review in January 2027.

Parish Mothers’ Union Branch

2025 saw St Andrew & St Mark’s Mothers’ Union branch move towards change. The change was from a committee run branch to becoming collaborative with shared responsibilities from members. During the year a number of our members have organised and run interactive meetings on eco environment and prayer. A member hosted a lunch in her garden and another member and her husband, shared their experiences of a family trip to India.

There were also meetings with visiting speakers. The CEO of Embracing Age, a Christian Charity working towards a world where older people are valued, connected and full of hope, talked about combatting loneliness, mobilising volunteers, equipping churches and speaking out. A speaker from the Santa Marta Group gave a presentation on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.

The branch continues to support the local Refuge/safe homes for victims of domestic abuse. They collect 20p coins in Smartie tubes and then purchase Supermarket shopping cards for the families to use. At Easter a bag full of Easter Eggs were delivered to them.

Members also collect 5p coins that are sent to Southwark Mothers’ Union for their A way F rom I t A ll (AFIA) scheme, which provides needy families with the chance of a family holiday.

Our members actively support parish projects, Christmas Day lunch, foodbank collections, Sunbeams and visiting parish people, whether MU members or not, who are lonely, sick at home or in hospital, in care and nursing homes or who need emotional support.

From 2020 to 2025 Moira Greenfield was the branch leader and has now joined the Mothers’ Union Trustee Board for our deanery.

Music

Adult Choir

2025 was another generally settled year for our adult choir with a regular group of around 13 singers making up our choir but now augmented to 15 by two new, young Choral Scholars (1

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soprano, 1 alto) made possible by funds from the Margie Lindsay legacy and who will be singing with us for the 2025/26 academic year. This has proved to be excellent for our group and vital in bolstering our numbers. We have also had additional strengthening from up to 6 additional voices for evensongs and other occasional services. We still need more regular singers, however, particularly tenors and basses and with one of our only two tenors leaving the Parish next year this is not going to get easier. The ideal would be to return to our pre-Covid level of around 19/20 regular singers but fragility in our current number remains across both lower voices departments, in particular.

We still, however, manage to make great strides with limited resources, and although the number of singers in our adult choir remains modest, our regular pattern of sung services operated mostly successfully throughout the year, including the extra services scheduled for the Christmas and Easter periods. Our regular membership has been loyal and have done their utmost to try to maintain the choral singing to the best that can be achieved and for that we should offer them our thanks!

We took our annual trip to sing Choral Evensong at a UK Cathedral, joining once again with the choir of St Matthew’s Church. Bank Holiday Monday 26[th] May saw us travel to St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. We sang the Collegium Regale Canticles by Herbert Howells, as well as the Responses by Richard Ayleward. The anthem was the sumptuous “Evening Hymn” by Balfour Gardiner. The choirs are due to sing at Sherborne Abbey in July 2026.

Children’s Choir and Youth Choir

Numbers in the Children’s Choir have continued to remain steady with an attendance of around 17 young people attending across the combined Children’s & Youth Choirs, initially. Numbers in the Youth Choir sadly diminished at the end of the year when only two voices were attending the rehearsals, many of the others leaving supposedly due to ‘schoolwork pressures. It is hoped that the Youth Choir can be revitalised again by some of the senior singers in the Children’s Choir moving up into the older group in due course. The choirs managed their customary four “5-week” modules, and the music learned covered a wide repertoire, both accompanied and “a capella” alongside the adult choir. The Children’s/Youth Choirs held their own (without the adults) once again at the Christingle Service at St Andrew’s on Christmas Eve singing in front of several hundred people in a packed church. On 13th July we took our youngsters on an afternoon out to Go Ape in Chessington where they challenged themselves to the treetop adventure course - everyone seemed to have a good time, maintaining the strong social side amongst our young singers.

Pianists and pianos

I am delighted that the Parish have now acquired two excellent quality grand pianos, both from private homes, to replace our previous instruments which were both past their best. These purchases were made possible, once again, by the Margie Linsday legacy fund. A lovely Kawai

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instrument is now resident in St Mark’s, and St Andrew’s also now boasts a very fine Bechstein Model B. Both instruments will not only enrich worship on a weekly basis but also provide our many hirers with excellent pianos for their concerts and other events throughout the year.

A huge vote thanks, as ever, must go to our team of 4 pianists who have played for the non-choral Sunday morning services throughout 2025. They are very much the unsung musical heroes of the Parish and go about their business with a calm and almost clandestine expertise and professionalism and we just couldn’t do without them. We could always do with more pianists, of course!

SASM’s & St Matthew’s Choirs pictured after singing Choral Evensong at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle

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“ ”– ’ The Quire St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle

2. Treasurer’s Report

Parish Accounts 2025 Commentary

For 2025 the overall figures for recurring income and expenditure are closely matched. Legacies have been received and reserves have been used to carry out major repair work to the stained glass windows at St Andrew’s.

For unrestricted funds, the Statement of Financial Activities shows a total of £307K for incoming resources and £329K for resources expended. This results in a deficit of £22K.

These figures should be adjusted for “exceptional” or non-recurring items to give a clearer picture of ongoing income and expenditure over the year. This is done by subtracting unrestricted legacies of £20K from income and major works of £57K (£38K net of sponsorship and the LPOW grant for VAT) from expenditure. The overall balance for unrestricted funds becomes a smaller deficit of expenditure in excess of income of £4K.

Income

Overall voluntary income is lower in 2025 than in 2024, with significant reductions in open collections and unrestricted sundry donations. The lower income from tax recoverable (gift aid) reflects the decrease in giving. The PCC is aware that a Stewardship campaign is needed to

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encourage giving, ensuring the parish can afford its day to day expenditure without relying on using up reserve funds.

There was a generous response to the campaign to sponsor stained glass panels in the windows at St Andrew’s, with £8K being donated and a further £1.5K of gift aid recovered.

The total raised for charities was just over £8K, slightly less than 2024. However, this figure is for money donated through the parish bank account, and additional amounts were given directly to the charities supported through online campaigns.

Hall and church lettings have held up well and generated £124K during 2025, roughly equivalent to the previous year.

Dividends and interest from investments totalled £43K for unrestricted funds, significantly higher than 2024 as the large sums from recent legacies were earning interest for a full year. A further £3.5K of interest was earned on the designated Lindsay Music Fund.

Grants from the Listed Places of Worship scheme came to £9.5K. These represent VAT reclaimed on eligible buildings maintenance at St Andrew’s as it is a Grade II listed building. The LPOW grant scheme is due to come to an end in March 2026 as the government has decided not to continue funding it.

Legacy Income

The PCC wishes to record its gratitude to past parishioners for their generous gifts. In 2025 the late Brian Ainsworth gave £20K as an unrestricted gift. A final distribution of £10.5K from the estate of the late Margie Lindsay was received and added to the designated Lindsay Music Fund. This fund has been used during the year to purchase two grand pianos and to fund Choral Scholars as new members of the choir.

Expenditure

The parish was able to fulfil its pledge to the Parish Support Fund with a contribution of £114K. This was up from 2024 when the contribution made was £100.5K.

Utilities, gas, electricity and water costs remain a high proportion of our total running costs at £37K. New energy contracts were negotiated from October 2025 with slightly lower unit costs than previously and utilities are slightly lower than the 2024 total of £42K.

On going buildings maintenance and service costs of £21K include continuing work on AV systems, boiler and fire equipment maintenance, repairs to the glass doors and jet washing the paths at St Marks as well as installing a new small kitchen boiler at St Andrew’s.

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The costs of office staff at £37K reflect both a pay rise during the year and some overtime to meet workload demands. Running costs of the office at £6K have increased as online packages such as Church Suite and MailChimp are used to improve communication and administration.

Major works totalling £57K were carried out by Auravision and Weighill Builders on the stained glass windows at St Andrew’s.

Assets

The parish continues to hold both longer and shorter term investments in CCLA with the Diocese as Custodian Trustee.

The balance sheet shows unrestricted long term investments of £575K and short term investments of £608K. The reserves policy has been reviewed during the year and the PCC will continue to develop its planning for the use of funds in excess of those held in reserve.

In addition, the designated Lindsay Music Fund has a balance of £98.5K held on deposit with CCLA.

Going Concern

In considering the question of Going Concern, the PCC will continue to plan to meet its commitment to balance recurring income and expenditure in the medium term. With the level of reserves at the end of 2025, the PCC is confident that one off and other major items of expenditure can reasonably be met in the medium term from investments.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee has met to consider major expenditure during the year, and to investigate the possibility of purchasing property, namely 1 The Mall, Surbiton, in consultation with the Diocese. These discussions concluded that such a purchase was not possible at this time.

In addition, the committee has reviewed the budget and the accounts for 2025 before submission to the PCC for approval, and has discussed with the independent examiner his findings and comments.

The committee reviewed the Reserves Policy and put forward proposals to the PCC. The revised policy is noted in full below.

Reserves Policy (Revised November 2025)

It is the policy of the PCC that the parish’s regular expenditure should broadly match its regular income over the medium term.

The parish will hold a strategic reserve against unforeseen or foreseen future expenditure. The PCC will determine the appropriate amount but the unforeseen reserve should represent at least 1 year’s budgeted expenditure. In addition, the foreseen reserve will be for expenditure identified as major works/special projects in the budget for the year.

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Longer-term reserves are held and may be spent on authorized projects or initiatives. Examples of such expenditure may relate to (but not be limited to) the fabric of our two churches, the organs in our two churches or future expenditure on staff employed by the parish, or charitable support. Any such future projects will be clearly identified and approved by the PCC and expenditure on such projects budgeted and monitored.

It is the policy of the PCC to use the CBF Church of England Funds, managed by CCLA Investment Management Ltd, to invest both its cash and longer-term reserves.

Parish Accounts

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2. Kingston Deanery Synod Report

‘Rooted in my Parish, connected by my Deanery, supported by my Diocese’

Kingston Deanery Synod comprises seventeen parishes, all of which are situated within the boundaries of the Royal Borough. The purpose of the Synod is to bring together the representatives of these parishes in order to promote the work of Christ’s Church in the Kingston area. The Synod provides an opportunity for representatives to meet three times each year to share experience of the life and work of their churches, to discuss topics of mutual interest and to work together throughout the year on Synod’s agreed priorities as set out in the Deanery Mission Action Plan.

Clergy are members of the Synod and each church elects lay representatives every three years. The Area Dean is appointed by the Bishop of Kingston with clergy having an opportunity to express their preference: Synod members elect the lay chairman. This parish has four members on Synod: Anne Barker, Valerie Baxter, Helen Goepel and Ian Wilson. Principal matters which came to the fore during the year were:

• Christians Against Poverty Debt Centre based at St John’s, New Malden, has marked its 10th anniversary. It is reported that 50 people had become debt free since the centre had come into operation.

• The Rev’d Lindiwe Maseko shared some reflections after a visit to the Diocese of Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. Kingston Episcopal Area has been linked with the Diocese of Matabeleland as part of a long term engagement (31 years) between Southwark Diocese and the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe.

• Sophie Roberts, Diocesan Environmental Officer, gave a presentation on her role in helping churches to care for creation and to work towards climate justice. Churches are encouraged to participate in the eco-church scheme of awards. About half the churches in Southwark Diocese are now listed as eco-churches.

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Southwark Diocesan Synod

Ian Wilson represented Kingston Deanery at the Diocesan Synod. Reports of proceedings are published in The Bridge newspaper and are available via the diocesan website.

3. Property Report

St Andrews

The audio-visual system set up during lockdown was improved and the DAC was asked to advise on a faculty. Work on the audio-visual desk and the baptistry screen is being progressed in 2026.

The stained glass in the east window was cleaned and repaired. Many members of the congregation sponsored separate panels. The work was finished in September. The windows are now much brighter

A tree surgeon was called in to trim the yew tree and the ash in September.

St Marks

Quinquennial work is ongoing.

The exterior paving was jet-washed and a sealant will be applied in the Spring. The glass door was serviced after it failed to open during a fire alarm caused by incense. A switch was installed to turn off the fire alarm when incense is being used. A new carpet in the Lady Chapel has been discussed but not yet done.

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