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2025-12-31-accounts

ST MARY’S NORTHCHURCH

REGISTERED CHARITY 1130418

TRUSTEE REPORT 2025/2026

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST MARY'S NORTHCHURCH

Registered Charity Number 1130418

ANNUAL TRUSTEE REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025

Incumbent: Reverend Canon Jonathan Gordon
Curate: Reverend Michael Eggleton
Churchwardens: Evelyn Hodgson
Conor Devine
Hon Treasurer: Emma McCann
Office Address: Parish Office
Rectory Lane
Northchurch
Berkhamsted
Hertfordshire
HP4 3QN
Independent Examiner Andrew Daffern FCCA
12 Oakwood
Berkhamsted
HP4 3NQ
Bankers: NatWest Bank
9 Bank Court
Hemel Hempstead
HP1 1BS

TRUSTEES

The Trustees who have served during the period from 27th April 2025 until the date of this Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) on 19[th] April 2026

Incumbent: Reverend Canon Jonathan Gordon Churchwardens: Evelyn Hodgson Conor Devine Other PCC Members: Neil Adcock Heidi Baker Karen Baldwin Giles Batchelor Margit Dobbie Brian Hodgson Melissa Kershaw (PCC Secretary) Emma McCann (Hon Treasurer) Rosemary North (Parish Secretary) Clare Sayers David Sayers Peggy Sear (ex officio) Emma Upstone David White (ex officio) Deanery Synod: Karen Baldwin Rosemary North Emma Upstone

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

Introduction

Thank you to everyone for their hard work over the last year and the reports will show the variety of activities that have taken place at St Mary's over the last year. Conor and Evelyn have been a great team as churchwardens and I am very grateful to them for their support and encouragement. The church has responsibilities in a number of different ways.

An important theme has been links with the community. At the centre of the church year is the summer fete and this year in baking sunshine we welcomed the community of Northchurch and were able to raise a substantial sum for the church and charities. The team which organises this event works incredibly hard and the preparations start in January. In the background there has been a focus on fundraising with ongoing work on the church and the plans for a new noticeboard. We had a celebration of St George's Day in April that included shield making and jousting. There was also a Harvest event in October and the annual Crisis at Christmas lunch in December. We have also hosted a Quiz Night and a Burns’ Night. In the background there has been a focus on fundraising for ongoing work on the church and the plans for a new noticeboard. We have also reached out to the community, through collecting for Christian Aid and in December members of the choir and congregation led the locals in Christmas Carols in the local George and Dragon pub. We run a Film Club on occasional Wednesday evenings and watch a variety of films.

We are fortunate to have a close relationship with the school and I go in to take Collective Worship, read to the Nursery and Reception and also serve as a Governor. This year Linda Slim completed her time as Chair of Governors, as does David White who has been a Governor for a number of years. Gareth Pritchard has also visited to read to the children and play the organ for the school services within the church. It has been lovely to welcome the head teacher to some of the services and she really enjoys seeing St Mary's pupils taking a lead in the monthly All-Age Worship services.

The lectionary takes us on a journey through the Christian year and there are opportunities through the various house groups to find out more.

In the news, especially before Christmas, there were a number of reports regarding an increase in church attendance across the UK. It has also been reported that some of the reasons for supporting Christianity have been bound up with nationalism and a longing to reclaim what is seen as a lost Christian heritage. I don't think that this has been evident at St Mary's, but over the last year we have welcomed more people into the church. The celebration services in the year have been well attended and new people have joined the congregation. At the heart of the Christian message is the good news of God's love for all in Jesus Christ and the hope and prayer of the church is that we are a welcoming community. We live in a time of global insecurity and unease with the way modern life is increasingly technological and impersonal. Maybe there is a pull to communities that are focused on the virtues of faith, hope and love. A key part of this is the support and encouragement to children and young people. The Sunday Club helpers provide a safe space for children and as a

congregation we enjoy hearing about their morning activities. Hopefully this is something we can develop over the coming year.

The church bells and the choir have been rung in celebration for a number of occasions over the last year. A very special day was the wedding of Conor and Emma in August. We also celebrated Jennie's 100th birthday.

As Rosemary North steps down as Parish Secretary, we thank her for her service over many years.

I hope you enjoy reading the reports and thank you again for your contributions to the life of St Mary's.

Reverend Canon Jonathan Gordon

Governance

The Trustees constitute the Parochial Church Council (PCC) and is a body corporate governed by the PCC Powers Measure 1956 and Church Representation Rules 2025 and is registered as UK charity number 1130418.

The PCC is a Public Benefit Entity within the meaning of Financial Reporting Standard 102, and it has regard for the Charity for the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit, and in particular the specific guidance on the advancement of religion.

Members of the PCC for the year ending 31[st] December 2025 are listed above together with specific roles and responsibilities where applicable. Elected members are appointed by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) for three years. The PCC has no corporate trustees, and no trustees hold title to any PCC properties.

The PCC seeks to implement recognised and appropriate best practice to comply with relevant legislation, regulation, and standards.

The principle aims of the PCC are to serve the local community by:

The PCC is also responsible for the maintenance of the church, the parish rooms and 98 High Street and met four times in the past twelve months.

During the year there were 11 baptisms, 3 weddings, 5 funerals, 9 burials of ashes and 5 memorial services.

The Electoral Roll contains 106 names.

Safeguarding

The PCC attaches a high priority to Safeguarding matters and has complied with the duty set out in the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults) and has adopted the revised House of Bishops guidance on Safeguarding Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults 2022. David Sayers is our Safeguarding Officer. All clergy and Trustees attend relevant safeguarding courses run by the Diocese of St Albans appropriate to their roles and responsibilities. The Church’s Safeguarding Policy is pinned on to the noticeboard in the vestry.

Churchwardens report on behalf of the Trustees

St Mary’s Northchurch is one of the oldest churches in Hertfordshire and is situated on the A4251. The church has the use of the adjacent playground of St Mary’s Northchurch Primary School for car parking, access to which is off New Road. There are excellent links with the school through assemblies, both in the school and in the church, led by the Rector. It is an allinclusive church welcoming everyone to join services weekly on Sundays at 08:00 most weeks, 10:00 weekly and on the first Sunday of the month at 18:00 for a quieter evening service. A Christingle service replaced the usual nativity play this year as part of the Christmas worship. St Mary’s is linked with St Bartholomew’s Church in Wigginton to form a United Benefice.

Review of the year

The following activities took place – more detailed reports from the church groups are included separately.

Social Events

The weekly puzzlers’ social afternoon continues every Wednesday afternoon in the parish room.

In March there was a brilliant quiz night organized by Heidi and Mark Baker in aid of the new notice boards.

April saw the usual Easter egg hunt in the rectory garden and a few members of the congregation made the pilgrimage to St Albans on Easter Monday.

An event was held for St George’s Day in the Rectory Garden and Parish Rooms. There were a very successful barbecue and games with handicrafts for the children as well as jousting for the younger children. There was a beer tent for refreshments and great fun was had by all, as well as a small profit towards the new notice board.

An evening of jazz with cheese and wine refreshments was very much enjoyed in the church during June. This is something we would like to do more often and to make better use of the church building.

The church fete in July was a huge success and our grateful thanks go to the organizing team and to the Gordons for their hospitality in their garden. This is always a high point of the year and brings in lots of people from the village and surrounding areas, as well as raising money for our chosen charities, which were Phakamisa, The Air Ambulance Service and church funds.

The Bike and Hike fundraiser for the Beds and Herts Historic churches Trust on 13 September once again raised over £2,000 to be divided between the Church and the Trust.

At the end of September a fabulous Harvest event held in the Parish Rooms (due to bad weather). There were handicrafts for the children to make scarecrows, a hot stew lunch and beer and cider for the adults, as well as artisan items for sale including home produced bread, cakes and chutneys.

November brought the lunch and sale of Christmas goodies in aid of Crisis at Christmas which raised over £700, enabling approximately 23 homeless people to be cared for over the holiday period.

Just before Christmas there was a delightful gingerbread house evening, with mulled wine (made in the urn) and held in the Parish room.

January 2026 saw the revival of the ever-popular Burns Night event, during which the haggis was addressed before a traditional Scottish feast of haggis neaps and tattles, followed by trifle, was consumed, and the night was danced away. The evening was led by the everpopular Berkhamsted Strathspey and Reel Club.

The church year finished in March with a very interesting talk by Michael Eggleton after a Zimbabwe-style chicken and rice lunch, which enabled a donation to be sent to towards school fees and uniforms for children in Zimbabwe.

It has been a busy and fun year so well done to all the teams of people who have made a huge effort to bring as many people as possible to the church community.

Maintenance

Various grounds tidying work has been undertaken throughout the year whilst always trying to preserve the wildflowers as much as possible to encourage biodiversity. Hertfordshire County Council kindly donated some hedgerow plants in December. These have been planted, with numerous further young plants donated by a well-wisher, at the boundary between the churchyard and the school.

Both the matching priests’ chairs in the church have been professionally repaired.

Several tiles on the vestry roof and the stonework at the top of the wall have been replaced following the removal of the fallen tree (which had come down during the storm just before Christmas).

The quinquennial inspection was completed in April, and it listed work on the footpaths as a grade 1 urgent job to be done. This, and the path at the top of rectory lane and in front of the Parish Rooms was completed in August thanks, in part, to a generous donation form someone who wanted it done before her 100[th] birthday.

Your churchwardens and members of the grounds work team have spent many hours this year on our hands and knees scooping out debris from the various drains and grilles around the building to try to keep the water running away.

The churchwardens and PCC would like to thank the clergy team for their hard work. We greatly appreciate their input to village, church, and community life. We would also like to thank the AV team who continue to provide streamed services every week and for occasional extra services and the many other volunteers who give up their time and effort to maintain the spiritual life and fabric of the church.

Evelyn Hodgson and Conor Devine

Working towards a sustainable heating system and potential reordering of the interior of the church

The Church of England has declared the aim that all its churches and buildings should achieve fully sustainable, net zero carbon operations by 2030 (“Net Zero 2030”). This is a big ask for most churches as many were established in the medieval period and are Listed Buildings, which imposes restrictions on what changes can be made. St Mary’s is heated by a gas boiler and piped radiator system which is coming to the end of its life in the next few years and so it is an opportune time for us to look at how the church and Parish Room should be heated in the future. The type of heating specified will partly depend on the future use of the church and thinking about this has raised the question of how the interior of the church could be reordered to make it more welcoming, comfortable and “user friendly” in the future. This is a long- term project which will take a several years and will require the input of many skills, talents and professional services (and money!).

A small group has been researching possible reordering alternatives and heating systems, in the church and several possibilities are under consideration. There will be future meetings of the group and views on the future reordering are invited from all church users.

There will need to be substantial fund raising and grant applications to move towards a net zero heating solution to replace the current gas boiler and radiator system. The committee has visited several churches to see how their systems work, and some conclusions have been reached, such as, a heat source pump would not be appropriate in our situation. Estimates for radiant heaters or for storage radiators seem to cost in the region of £50,000 plus VAT. Evelyn and Brian Hodgson, Giles Batchelor and Brian Baldwin.

St Mary's Church, Northchurch

Annual Reports and Accounts

of the

Parochial Church Council

for the year ended 31 December 2025

APCM to be held on Sunday 19th April 2026

Incumbent:

Revd Jonathan Gordon 80 High Street Northchurch Berkhamsted HP4 3QW

Hon Treasurer: Independent Examiner: Emma McCann Andrew Daffern FCCA 7 Tortoiseshell Way 12 Oakwood Berkhamsted Berkhamsted HP4 1TB HP4 3NQ

Bankers:

National Westminster Bank 9 Bank Court Hemel Hempstead HP1 1BS

Registered Charity No. 1130418

Commentary on 2025 accounts: Income: The accounts showthatthe total income figure was up, an increase of £14473 onthe 2024total. It is encouraging to see voluntary in¢ome remaining almost static in the current circumstances and once again the inwme was bolstered greatly by an incredibly successful summer fete and the generosity of parishioners, donations. Parish room hire was down significantty on last year but, is expected to increase dramatically in 2026 as we have new regular bookings and increased revenue from a long-standing booking. We a150. saw an increase in income from soual activities and this too is set to be even greater in 2026 as the social team work hard towards holding more events year on year. The effort that goes into the organisation of the social evènts and the fete is greatly appreciated. PCC Fees and Rectorfeeswere also, down on lastyear but, are a direct representation of the number of wedding and fijneral services held and are not. therefore, income streams we can look to increase. Our funds did not perform as well as last year with this yearfs loss on investment almost wiping out last yearfs gain. Expendlture: Our overall expenditure for the year increased by £10467 on 2024. The most Significant spends were on the parish share, repairs to the paths and the church running costs. The work undertaken to the paths was funded In part by donations. As in previous years our major expenditure in 2025 was the Parish share at £55741. This was, once again, paid in full and on time and continues the trend of falling slightly year on year. The amount due for 2026 will be £53515. We continued to make charitable donations to both UK and overseas charities, the most significant of these being.. Wiggington PCC- £841X) EducArt- £5000 (fully funded through donation) Essex & Herts Air Ambulance- £1500 Phakamisa- £1505 Crisis- £533 Whilst it is pleasing to See a redurtion in church running cost5 it is worth noting that our energy supplier fèlled to issue bills, for a Significant period of time, in 2025 and we are repaying the shortfall in instalments. The true church running costs, therefore, shoLtld show as up by approximately £2k which is to be expected with the increa* in fuel prices. Summarr. The actounts show a deficit of £12386 for the year and the bank balan￿ has On￿ ￿ain fallen sharply. The gift aid daim for 2025, 2024 and, also for part of 2023 still needs to be completed which will bolster the position but, future spending will need to be carefully budgeted for.

Independent exarnlnees report to the Parochlal Church Coundl of the St Marfs Church. Northchufch I report on the accounts for the year ending 31 December 2025 whlch are set out on the following pages. Respertfve Tesponslbllltles of trustee$ and euminer The charitvs trustees are responsible for the preparatlon of the accounts. The charitvs trustees onsider that 3n audit is not required for this year under section 144121 of the Charities Art 2011 Ithe .2011 A￿} and that an independent examination is required. It is my responsibility.. To examine the accounts under sertion 145 of the 2011 Act- To follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions 8lven by the Charity Commission under sertion 14515lbll of the 2011 Act; and To state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basls of Independent examlnerfs report My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Direttions glven by the Charity Commlssion. An examination includes a review of the accountlng records kept by the charity and comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or di5c105ures in the accounts and seeking explanation5 frorn the Trustees conceming such matter5. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no audit opinion is given and the report15 lirnited to those matters set out In the statement below. Independent examlnees statement In connection with my examination, no matter ha5 come to my attention: 11 Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements- To keep accounting records In accordance with sertion 130 of the 2011 Art,. and To prepare accounts which accord with the accountin8 records and comply with the accounting requirements ol the 2011 Art Have not been met: or 2) To whlch, in my oplnion. attentlon should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the a¢o)unt5 to be reached. Except that, the accounts are not exactty in the prescribed format as per the guidance produced by the Buslness Committee of the General Synod- PCC Accountability 5 Edltion and attention to the Statement of Assets and Liabilities (Balance Sheet) spllt between Unre5trlrted. Restricted and the Endowment Funds and accompanying notes needs to be considered for future accounts. Andrew Daffern, Bsc (Econl, FCCA 12 Oakwood 8erkhamsted HP4 3NQ

Northchurch Parochial Church Council Year ended 31st December 2025

Receipts
Voluntary Income
Planned Income
Cash Collections
Other Voluntary Income
Donations/Legacies (inc HRH Duke of Cornwall)
Special Collections / Donations
Rector's fees
PCC fees
Organist's fees
Bellringers' fees
Verger's fees
Grants received
Events and Activities
Summer Fete
Parish Room Hire
Historic Churches Cycle Ride
Social Activities
Other Income
Bank Interest
Dividends
C B F Interest
Donald Lockhart Memorial Fund
Northchurch Development Fund
Rent for 98 High Street
Insurance Claim
Building Fund Income
Choir / Music
Total Receipts		 Unrestricted
Restricted
£
£
51,572
-
3,779
-
55,350
0
9,594
5,577
-
208
3,088
-
3,590
-
510
-
360
-
240
-
-
963
17,382
6,748
-
6,667
640
-
-
928
2,532
339
3,172
7,934
246
-
342
-
1,068
-
6,405
-
978
-
17,410
-
6,525
-
-
3,862
-
43
32,975
3,905
108,880
18,587
2025		 Total
£
51,572
3,779
55,350
15,171
208
3,088
3,590
510
360
240
963
24,130
6,667
640
928
2,871
11,106
246
342
1,068
6,405
978
17,410
6,525
3,862
43
36,880
127,466		 2024
£
52,001
3,043
55,044
10,618
417
3,346
4,528
507
360
205
-
19,981
4,876
2,728
993
1,229
9,825
574
333
1,114
6,256
1,089
14,618
4,148
-
10
28,142
112,993		 Variance
£
429
-
736
306
4,552
209
-
258
-
938
-
3
-
35
963
4,149
1,791
2,088
-
65
-
1,642
1,280
327
-
9
46
-
150
111
-
2,792
2,377
3,862
33
8,738
14,474

Northchurch Parochial Church Council Year ended 31st December 2025

Payments
Grants
Overseas Missions and Relief Agencies
UK Missions and Relief Agencies
Relating to the Work of the Church
Diocesan Quota
Rector's fees paid to Diocese
Church Running Expenses
Clergy Expenses
Service & License Costs
Honoraria
Churchyard
Printing
Organ Maintenance
Verger Fees
Bellringer's Fees
Other Expenditure
Fundraising Costs (incl Fete & Social Activities)
Sunday School Expenses
Youth Work Expenses
C B F Interest Reinvested
Book-Keeping Costs
Maintenance Costs
Major Capital Expenditure
98 High Street
Buildings Maintenance
Parish Room
Total Payments
Deficit for Year		 2025
£
1,769
15,858
17,627
-
-
55,741
3,088
18,793
3,009
1,763
1,560
691
314
1,116
1,976
540
1,801
2,162
79
341
2,046
80
95,100
-
-
15,582
-
1,131
10,350
62
27,125
139,852
-
-
-12,386		 2024
£
2,890
10,661		 Variance
£
1,121
-
5,197
13,551
56,994
3,346
20,892
3,276
1,727
1,380
587
168
168
2,360
360
805
1,445
-
256
2,203
80
96,047
-
1,110
16,270
2,407
19,787
129,385
-16,392		 4,076
1,253
-
258
-
2,099
-
267
-
36
180
104
146
948
384
-
180
996
717
79
85
157
-
0
-
947
-
15,582
21
5,920
-
2,345
-
7,338
10,467
4,006

Value per Dlvldendf Value of Fund CharltylFund Tllle Accounl No. Shares Share Interest at 31112125 £28.936.96 ational Weslffrfnst8rBan ns iocesan 8oar North¢hurch Development Fund ¢B3014629 £978.00 reinvested £22,588.51 Donald Lo¢khart Memorlal Fund C&3014868 £6,405.28 È221.301.07 ¥Yrth Cenlr ance ofthe C Fixed Interest Securitle5 Fund C83033151 £182.67 retywested £5.482.06 Deposit Fund CB3033150 £885.63 £20.445.18 bvested Funds Bailey Charlty CO2OW56 18 £19.32 £10.21 £347.79 Rldiey for Church Falxl¢ Fund C03056457 £19.32 £31.76 £1,082.03 Rldtey for Churchyard Fund CO8056459 £19.32 £31.76 £1.082.03 Michael Memorlal fabric Fund C03056458 5B £19.32 £32.89 É1.120.87 Gwynèdd Charity co30￿480 89 £19.32 £50.48 £1,719.6S Thelwall Tfust for Churchyard Upkeep C03056461 99 £19.32 £50.48 £1,719.65 A Ashley C03056482 32 £19.32 £18.18 £618.30 B Kings Children for Churchyard C03056463 15 £19.32 £8.51 £289.83 Randall Memorlal Foreign Mission C03056144 £19.32 £35.18 £1.197.98 Browne ¢harfty C03057541 128 £19.32 £72.62 £2.473.20 É281.467. £11,651.10 £310A0&88

PCC of St Mary's Church Northchurch As at 31 December 2025 Balance Sheet (ststement of Assets and Llabillties) 2025 2024 Cash at bank Investments 28,937 281,467 310,404 36,610 289,106 325,716 Accruals 8,691 301,713 3,978 321,738 Represented by.. Fund5 brought forward 321.737 330,350 Deffclvsurplus of income over expendlture 12.386 16,394 Galn/Loss on investments 7,638 7,781 301.713 321,737 Signed a5 accepted on behalf of St. Mary's Northchurch PCC by Reverend Jonathan Gordon Signature.. Date.. li'n ,,? 2026

Deanery Synod Report 2025

St Mary’s Northchurch is part of the deanery of Great Berkhamsted, comprising St Mary’s Northchurch and other adjacent parishes including those in Berkhamsted, Tring, Sunnyside, the Gaddesdens and surrounding villages.

The Deanery synod is a meeting of clergy and lay representatives from local parishes within a deanery, providing a forum for communication, shared decision-making and mutual support. The Rural Dean is Fr Stuart Owen (St Peters Berkhamsted), having succeeded Rev Jonathan in 2024. St Mary’s is represented by Rev Jonathan (Clergy), Rosemary North and Karen Baldwin (lay) and Emma Upstone (Lay Chair of the Deanery Synod).

There were three Deanery Synod meetings during 2025.

February - The synod included a number of informative presentations from across the deanery, with a particular focus on care for the environment and the Church’s wider mission. Representatives from Little Gaddesden spoke about their churchyard project, which aims to enhance biodiversity by managing the space to encourage wildlife while maintaining it as a place for reflection and community use. This reflects a growing recognition of churchyards as important local habitats as well as spiritual spaces.

Members of the Sunnyside team shared updates on their building project, including their aspiration to achieve net zero carbon emissions, in line with the Church of England’s wider commitment to environmental sustainability.

Edmund Booth from the Tring Team also spoke about work to decarbonise Bishop Wood School. Church schools play an important role in this effort, not only through improvements to buildings and energy use but also by helping to educate young people about environmental responsibility and sustainable living.

July - The deanery synod meeting, held at St Peter’s, was a joint gathering with Hemel Deanery—part of a new initiative aimed at strengthening communication and encouraging the sharing of ideas across deaneries. The meeting featured a contribution from the Rt Revd Rob Wickham, speaking on behalf of the Church Urban Fund. He highlighted the work of the organisation in supporting churches and communities in areas of deprivation, equipping local congregations to respond to issues such as poverty, social isolation and inequality. The evening also included time for informal hospitality and conversation, providing a valuable opportunity for members to build relationships and exchange experiences alongside the formal business of the synod.

November - The final of the deanery synod meetings in 2025 took place in St Peter’s and Mrs Kim Wilkinson, Ambassador for Mothers’ Union in the St Albans Diocese, spoke about the work of the MU in both this country and overseas, where it is a great provider of emergency and community funding/help. The MU works with people from all denominations of the Christian faith as well as those of not faith. As it has grass roots members working in their local communities it is able to provide quick and targeted support in times of emergency. It is a women-led Christian movement dedicated to ending poverty, violence and social injustice in the UK and around the world.

Rosemary North and Emma Upstone

Choir and Organ

This year we have continued to revive many of the pieces introduced to us by Jenny Hoare during the ten years she was our organist and choir director before moving to North Shropshire in 2021. These include Sussmayr's 'Ave Verum corpus' (the same Sussmayr who completed Mozart's Requiem as Mozart died while still composing it). We plan to sing this as part of this year's Good Friday service.

We meet for our weekly choir practises in the church from 6pm-7pm on most Fridays (except during January and August) and would warmly welcome anyone who might be interested in joining us.

We also remain very grateful to Gareth and Roger for helping out with the Sunday organ playing.

Clare Wille

St Mary’s Church Music Group

The music group continues to play for nine services/year on the second Sunday of the month (usually) for the family service. It doesn't play in April, August or November due to Easter, school holiday and Remembrance Sunday. Our numbers are quite low at the moment due to member ill-health and young people having other commitments. However, we enjoy playing and encourage the children in the congregation to enjoy the percussion instruments and streamers during the songs. It is a good opportunity to choose modern hymns and choruses which might not always be suitable for other services. If anyone of any age enjoys playing an instrument and would like to come and join in, please do get in touch. New members are always welcome. It is not a big time commitment because we just practise on the day from 9.15am ready for the service at 10am.

Rachel Gordon

Sunday Clubs

The team of Sunday Club helpers have provided a range of activities for the children on a Sunday morning in term time. The numbers can vary but the children are given time together to think about the Bible passages that we read in church and then rejoin us for communion. Activities have involved craft, drama and music. The children have also become involved in the All-Age services and help with readings and prayers. The volunteers have played a crucial role in helping the children feel valued and a special part of the church. The highlight of the year is the Nativity Service and with congregational participation the Christmas service this year was enjoyed by all.

Jonathan Gordon

Night Prayer

A little group of us end the day by following Night Prayer from St Mary’s on Facebook. It is easy listening, with subtitles for the hard of hearing. Some familiar words, a psalm, a verse from the Bible, and prayers, written by members of the group, about anything that matters to us. Night Prayer has come up on the St Mary’s Facebook page at 22.00 every night for the last 5 years; it stays there until the next day, so you can listen when it suits. Lasting less than

ten minutes, there is something special about rounding off the day, knowing that other friends from St Mary’s are praying too.

David White

Quiet Mornings in Advent and Lent

The Advent Quiet Morning proved to be more popular than it has ever been. The church doors were open from 10am until 2pm and with a constant stream of people from various churches apart from our own and the community. The time, space and quietness was enjoyed by everyone who came.

In Lent, we focus on ‘The Stations of the Cross' and the Easter story. This Lent experience is in pictures around the church with a leaflet to help follow Jesus’ journey through the whole week of Holy Week with the church open from 10am - 4pm.

Having space to just be quiet is very rare for many of us; we have to make time especially for it. They are both special times when you give time and space for just you and God.

Peggy Sear

House Groups

Monday morning group

A group of us have made it a feature of our no-longer-professional lives and review the week ahead (and what is behind) through the lens of the Bible and Christian writers. Nothing is off the agenda. We say what we think and are allowed to change our minds. Over the last year, we have had a look at how ancient Israel ordered its society and then let a famous 19th century revolutionary offer us his critique. We listened as the Grand Inquisitor tried to set the gospel to rights; and shared Alyosha's experience both of how faith can collapse and how God can be an experience. Do you know what Jude has to say about a bunch of creeps? We discussed it. There is lots of laughter, the coffee and cakes are good and people never seem to want to go home. We usually keep going through the holidays. Anyone wanting to start the week with lively discussion will be welcome. Speak to David White or Peggy Sear for more information.

David White

The Monday Evening House Group

The Monday night meets at the Rectory in the evening. We have explored the Gospel of John and the Acts of the Apostles. The format is reading a passage and then an open discussion about what it means and how it speaks to us. It is not unusual for there to be a cake and other refreshments. It has been a great way of exploring in more depth parts of the Bible that we don't always hear in the church lectionary on Sunday mornings. There is always respect for viewpoints and the recognition of how important it is to have a safe space to talk about faith. Jonathan Gordon

Online House Group

We meet weekly on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening at 8 pm via Teams, which allows us to alter the day according to work or meeting commitments. We use a study guide to help our discussions on a book or a theme from the Bible. We would be pleased to welcome new participants.

Rosemary North

Northchurch Bell Ringers

The bell ringers of Northchurch continue to ring for the Sunday 10 o’clock service each week. And we now have a new learner who rings regularly. Our Monday practice night is generally well attended with a regular group of ringers, all of varying experience. Recently we have had two new learners join us for some practice sessions to widen their experience of ringing on different bells. There is good support between the ringers of Northchurch and the ringers of Aldbury, helping each other out at their practice nights and for special occasions when there are insufficient ringers available locally. If anyone would like to learn to ring, or may be a lapsed ringer returning to ringing, then please do get in touch as we are always looking for new recruits.

Michael Robinson, Tower Captain

Bike and Hike

The bike and hike took place, as always, on the second Saturday of September, which, last year turned out to be Saturday 13th. The day began for Brian and I at Northchurch St Mary’s, nice and early, to put up the posters and meet Gareth and Charlotte Pritchard as they set up the refreshments for all our hungry and thirsty visitors. A total of 19 people came to St Mary’s, and I thank our cheerful team of welcomers who helped to make the day so special.

We had about six people who went out to explore the surrounding area and churches by bicycle or on foot to raise much needed funding for the Beds and Herts Historic Churches Trust. If you have never taken part, I would urge you to try it out this year. It will be on Saturday 12th September and there is no need to carry food or water for lunch as several churches on the way provide lunch, afternoon tea and toilet facilities, plus, if you look old enough, you will inevitably pass several public houses, where lunch can be purchased (or in our case, not go past but call in).

We set off visiting the nine Berkhamsted churches, leaving Berkhamsted to reach Wigginton Baptist church at about 10:30, where, sadly, there was no welcome, just a form to sign in. From there we visited our sister church of St Bartholomew’s, which is the highest church in the Diocese, followed by a superb ride down the hill to Tring where we had a chance meeting with Phil James at St Peter and St Paul. We continued round the various churches until we made it to New Mill Baptist Church for a delicious lunch of sandwiches and cake. On, then to Drayton Beauchamp (a really pretty little church which is off the beaten track), Puttenham, where the usually wonderful cakes were sadly missing this year, Long Marston, Marsworth, Ivinghoe, Little Gaddesden, Nettleden and finally Potten End. In total we covered 39 miles, only two pubs, and 28 churches. The total raised by St Mary’s volunteers this year came to £2146.25 of which £927 has come back to our church for building repairs.

Thank you very much to everyone who took part, who manned the church and to our wonderful sponsors who make the whole effort so worthwhile.

Evelyn Hodgson

Wednesday puzzlers

On Wednesday afternoons a small group of about a dozen folk meet in the Parish Rooms at 14:00 for tea and cake. We call it puzzlers because it was a meeting that we took up for lent many years ago to do puzzles, and it was mainly held in the church. Nowadays we play

tabletop games, such as scrabble and dominoes, or we bring our own handicraft activities, such as knitting or crochet. Most weeks we are joined by some people who come from Hemel Hempstead and Tring to go to the Baptist Church’s evening meal and who enjoy being in a warm place and taking part in the games.

If you would like to come along for a chat and perhaps join in the games, you are very welcome as there is always room for a more people.

Evelyn Hodgson

St Mary’s Church Summer Fete

After two years of bad luck with the weather our prayers were finally answered. Our annual Summer Fete was a wonderful day and a splendid event. The sun shone and everybody had a great time. The Pimm’s Bar and BBQ were extremely popular, but also cakes sold out quickly both in the Parish Rooms and at the cake stall.

We were buoyed up by the uplifting sounds of the Hemel Hempstead Brass Band, the songs of Madalina Tudoran and the Bridgewater School Choir which performed to the delight of a packed church. The smaller children had lots of fun in the rectory garden with face painting, Princess Lucky Dip and a craft tent. There was also a Toy Tombola, Ice Creams, a Basketball and a Peg Game and a Tin Can Alley.

In the playground we had all the usual stalls offering books, stationery, plants, cakes, several jewellery stalls, gifts and toiletries, the choir raffle, a plant raffle and a bottle stall. The Brownies organised a stall selling soft toys in gift bags and the Flower Guild offered flower arrangements in mugs. On the school field football fans could test the goalie, or you could try your luck on the Coconut Shy or have a go at “soaking the rector”. We were lucky that the River Bourne had not succumbed to the heat, so the fete ended with the traditional Duck Race.

We raised a record £ 5,200 and donations went to Essex and Herts Air Ambulance, Phakamisa and our own church funds.

The Fete Committee

Christian Aid

It has been another challenging year for those less fortunate than ourselves and with 2026 showing more signs of difficulties ahead, Christian Aid, as one of the charities we support, is more important than ever. In 2025 there was a group of volunteers who kindly went out and delivered the red envelopes and some who also went door-to-door collecting as well. We raised £927 out of a Berkhamsted area total of £3,537.64.

Nick Laing

Flower Guild

The Flower Guild has a rota to arrange flowers in church throughout the year, except Lent and Advent. For major festivals, Easter, Harvest and Christmas, others interested in flower arranging join in to decorate the church more extensively with floral and candle arrangements and we hope these serve to ensure the church looks beautiful. The extra help is much appreciated, as are the contributions of greenery for the arrangements.

Mothering Sunday saw the provision of posies for distribution at the service and “Flower Mugs” were arranged for our stall at the Summer Fête which proved popular. Also, where requested, flowers were arranged for weddings and funerals.

Donations from parishioners and the PCC toward our costs are very much appreciated. We began arranging vase-based flowers this year which meant we could dispense with our use of “Oasis” floral base, except for the major festivals. This has reduced both costs and our environmental impact.

Denise Rouse

St Mary’s Playgroup

The playgroup continues to run on a Tuesday morning 09.30 - 11.30 in term time in the Parish Rooms. Barbara Gilkes supports our activities in the kitchen making tea and coffee and snacks for the children.

We offer tea, coffee & biscuits for a small fee per family, along with a craft each week or messy play and plenty of toys that we change around weekly. When the Parish rooms are free in the school holidays we sometimes meet and clean our resources, recycling where we can and ensuring all are safe.

The Playgroup continues to be run as a non-profit making group. We invest back into the weekly craft and refreshments the monies taken, as well as covering the cost of our annual Liability Insurance. Should we be blessed with good attendance and our income increase over and above our costs, we would be able to donate towards Church funds.

As the Spring Term comes to an end this week, Jonathan is holding a little service for the children in the church and we will have a couple of hymns too, followed by a picnic lunch back in the Parish Rooms.

Our resources are stored in the cupboards in the Parish Rooms and can be made available for anybody who would like to use them upon request as we are unable to leave the cupboards unlocked, for health and safety reasons.

We have lots of regular visitors, and some that come occasionally too. It is an inclusive group, with no need to book. Please share with anybody you think may wish to come along. 07765440590 heidi.n.baker@gmail.com

Heidi Baker

Time Out

We are a group of about twelve people who meet on a monthly basis (usually the first Tuesday afternoon in the month) for friendship and companionship. If the weather is poor we meet in one of our homes, but otherwise we enjoy getting out and about. In July last Summer we enjoyed a full English tea at Gill’s house and in August Leslie hosted a splendid barbecue in her garden. We have visited Tring Natural History Museum and found excellent new tea venues at Fishery Wharf, Boxmoor, and RAF Halton Tennis club. We were looked after very well at Tring Garden Centre during our Christmas lunch in December and our most recent visit

was to College Lake, where we saw the commemorative plaque for Gill, who sadly passed away last year.

In November we organised a Soup Lunch in aid of Crisis at Christmas, which raised over £500 for the homeless. This coming November we are planning to hold a Christmas Tree Festival at St. Marys which will involve the Northchurch community and will incorporate the Crisis lunch. Our next activity will be a visit to Tulleys Tulip Fields in April, and other activities will be planned for the rest of the year shortly. We welcome new members to join us in our teas and travels.

Karen Baldwin

Prayer Breakfasts

These meetings of breakfast and prayer take place from 8 – 9 am every third Saturday in the month throughout the year and are hosted in rotation by every church in town. They are times of sharing with fellow Christians in the town and are open to everyone.

Peggy Sear

World Day of Prayer

This year’s World Day of Prayer was held on March 6[th] and was compiled by the women of Nigeria on the theme ‘I Will Give You Rest, Come’. Our local service was hosted by Sacred Heart R.C. Church and had a good attendance of c.60 people. The ladies taking part dressed in colourful African prints, and we enjoyed an uplifting service based on Matthew 11. 28-30. Afterwards we had refreshments provided by the ladies and men of the church.

Father Joseph, whose family is from Nigeria, introduced the service, and then finished with personal thoughts on his country, which strengthened the words of the 4 Nigerian ladies, whose stories heard in the service. These ladies spoke of insecurity, marginalisation, religious persecution, poverty and despair. Although Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa, with significant natural resources and a large growing population and service sector, it has high unemployment rate and infrastructure deficits in transport and power supply. Life expectancy is only about 56 and maternal and child health is a serious concern. Gender discrimination is rife, affecting women’s education, literacy and employment.

Next year’s service will be compiled by the World Day of Prayer International Committee on the theme ‘United in Prayer for Justice and Peace’. Preparation for that service will begin in Berkhamsted in January 2027. If you would like to be involved in the preparation then please contact Peggy Sear, our local organiser.

Karen Baldwin

1[st] Northchurch Rainbows

Rainbows use the parish rooms as our regular meeting place for a number of different activities, including craft, various games and understanding the world around us. We currently have a full group with a waiting list.

Julie Joseph

5[th] Berkhamsted Brownies

Once again, we have had a busy year. We have 14 Brownies at present. We try to plan a varied programme so that the Brownies gain as many different experiences as possible. We have had a visit from the Village Vet, who came to give us a talk about her work and the Brownies were able to ask questions about their pets. We continue to visit Sunnyside Rural Trust once a term. This is a popular outing and the Brownies help with some of the planting and weeding. Their favourite activity is visiting the animals. We had a talk about the solar system and the Brownies were able to gain their Space Badge.

We have someone who comes in every term and helps the Brownies with cooking, again this is a popular activity. This year the Brownies have made cakes and learnt how to make a rose using fondant icing. In the Summer we helped at the St Mary's Church summer fete.

We would like to thank everyone at St Mary's for allowing us to use their Parish rooms.

Brown Owl and Snowy Owl.

2nd Northchurch Brownies

We have been really busy at Brownies this past year.

Last summer some of us joined two other Brownie units from Berkhamsted at a sleepover at Whipsnade Zoo. We had lots of fun on the soft play and played some animal themed games. Before bed we had a hot chocolate and a bedtime snack. I’m not sure we managed to get much sleep that night as there was lots of excited chatting and many trips to the toilet. But nevertheless, it was great to make new friends. Some of which we saw later in the year at the Berkhamsted District annual Christmas Cracker Market.

In November we were lucky enough to have the Mayor of Dacorum Catherine McArevey come to visit us. She said she needed some help to decide which type of biscuits to serve in the Mayors Parlour. This involved lots of tasting, debating and voting. The Mayor felt differently about our choice but was relieved we picked at least biscuits! The important thing was that the Brownies learnt a lot about the importance of having a voice and voting.

This year Thinking Day (22[nd] February) celebrated its 100th anniversary. This is a day where we think about everyone in Girlguiding around the world. As this year’s theme was Friendship, we made cards to swap with other units around the country. In Berkhamsted we celebrated together at Bridgewater school for an afternoon of craft, dance, circus skills and, of course, cake.

It has been great to award so many badges this year especially some of the gold, silver and bronze awards. We are currently working on our Have Adventures theme, which, now the evenings are longer and, fingers crossed some sun arrives, will see us spending lots of time outside.

If anyone would like to any more information about what else we get up to at Brownies or is interested becoming a volunteer, please do not hesitate to get in touch. northchurchbrownies@yahoo.co.uk

Susan Anderson