2025-12-31-accounts

For the year ended 31st December 2025

Incumbent

Revd Harry Frost 2 Taxmere Close, Sandbach

Registered Charity No. 1130803

Contents

1. The P.C.C.

2. Vicar’s Report

3. Associate Minister’s Report

4. Treasurer’s Report 6. P.C.C. Report Church Wardens’ Report 7. Welcome Team Speak 8. Church Flowers Church Attendance

Church Organisations

1. Safeguarding Acorns 10. Children and Families Outreach 12. Adventurers Churchyard Team 13. Residential/Nursing Homes St Peter’s Football 14. Mission Support 15. Church Prayer Life Worship Group Book Group 16. Shoe Box Appeal Slavic Gospel Association 17. Ladies’ Events Church Choir All Age Team . Home Groups 18. Monday House Group Kairos Ezekiel 19. Monday Small Group Koinonia 20. Fuyin

Accounts

	Accounts
21	Balance Sheet
22.	Reserves Policy Notes to Financial Statement
24.	Receipts and Payments by Report Group
25.	Analysis of income and expenditure
28.	Examiner’s Statement

1

The Parochial Church Council

The Parochial Church Council Members of the P.C.C. are either ex-officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.

During the year, the following have served as members of the P.C.C.

Incumbent:	Rev. Harry Frost	(From the end of June)
Associate Minister	Rev. Anthony Rigby
Church Wardens:
	Mr Stephen Parfitt
	Mrs Helen Coppenhall
	Miss Rebecca Holland	(Assistant Warden until June)
Treasurer:	Mr Andrew Clee
Secretary:	Mr John Cargill
Elected Members
	Ms Nicole Archer
	Mr Daniel Chan
	Mr Mark Barker
	Mrs Fiona Cooper	(Co-opted - Legacy Officer)
	Mrs Catherine Edmonds
	Mrs Liz Hills
	Mrs Helen Jones	(Safeguarding Officer)
	Dr Heather Savvides	(Deanery Synod Representative)
	Mrs Margaret Taylor
	Mrs Jennie Coppenhall
	Mr David Topping	(Deanery Synod Representative)
	Mrs Lynda Wisbey
	Mr Alex Tsang
Ex-officio:
	Mr William Chapman	(Parish Evangelist and Deanery
		Synod representative)
	Mrs Kathleen Cliffe	(Deanery Synod Representative
		until June.)
	Mrs Michelle Walker	(Pastoral Worker)
	Mr Paul Savvides	(Diocesan Synod representative)
By Office:	Pastoral Workers, Lay Readers and Parish Evangelists
	are entitled to serve on the P.C.C.

2

Vicar’s Report

I was delighted to be welcomed as the new Vicar of St Peter’s Elworth on 29[th] June 2025. Since my arrival at St Peter’s, I have been able to join in continuing the work of the Church in its vision to proclaim the Gospel in word and action, encouraging growth, serving others, and by leading people into a personal relationship with Jesus. I am thankful for all God is doing at St Peter’s as we seek to follow Him and serve the community. I also look forward to what the future holds as we trust in our Sovereign Lord and hold out the hope of Jesus.

Our Sunday services have continued to be attended by a good number of people and, praise God, this number did not substantially decrease during the interregnum. Since my arrival we have looked together at several Psalms in the summer, the letter to the Philippians, Ruth and, at Christmas, the Gospel of Luke. Our Christmas services were incredibly well attended, so much so that we had to have an overflow in the hall where the service was live-streamed. It was wonderful that many got to hear about the good news of Jesus. We have also been able to return to a more regular pattern of sharing Holy Communion both in our morning and evening services. Holy Communion is an essential part of the Church of England tradition, and it is a joy that we get to celebrate it more regularly again. We held a service on Remembrance Sunday to give people the opportunity to give thanks for those who served and died to preserve our way of life. Our Light Party gave an opportunity for children to come and play light related games, enjoy food and hear about Jesus who is the light of the World. I am thankful for all the Lord has been doing at St Peter’s

Arriving at St Peter’s I was aware of the close links with the school, and it has been a partnership I have been keen to invest in, alongside the School Chaplain. We have had the opportunity to visit the school regularly, including taking one of their weekly collective worships. We have also been able to visit EYFS to share the Christmas story and speak at both KS1 and KS2 nativities, and to assist with The Hope Journey for Y2. It is a fantastic opportunity for us to meet the wider community we serve and explain the Christian faith. We have also been able to build a link with the other primary school in the parish, Elworth Hall. It was a delight to welcome their EYFS class in December to learn about a church and to read them the nativity story. A team has also been able to serve the community by leading monthly services in some of the local care homes.

I am deeply grateful to God for all the people who serve and help at St Peter’s, particularly for all their hard work during the interregnum. I am delighted to continue to partner with them as I begin my time leading and serving at St Peter’s. I am looking forward to seeing what God is going to do in 2026.

Revd Harry Frost

3

Associate Minister’s Report

This past year has been both demanding and deeply rewarding as I have continued to serve as a Self-Supporting Minister within our parish and the wider mission of the Church. The first half of 2025 was particularly significant as I undertook the ministerial lead during our period of vacancy. It was a privilege to help guide and support the congregation through this transition, and I am delighted to say that, even in this uncertain season, our congregation continued to grow, particularly within the 10:30 service, where we experienced encouraging increases in attendance and engagement.

The latter stage of the vacancy brought particular challenges, as both Jenny in the office and I navigated an exceptionally busy period, with multiple funerals each week. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all who supported us during this demanding time, those who verged, arranged flowers, cleaned the church, prepared refreshments, or quietly upheld us in prayer. Your willingness to step forward made a significant difference and allowed us to serve families with dignity, compassion, and care.

My ministry as chaplain to the local RAF Cadets also continues to be an important part of my vocation. Faithfully supported by Jennie Coppenhall, we gather with the cadets one Wednesday evening each month as well as for special parades. This ministry remains a valued and meaningful presence for the young people and staff.

Since October, I have also been supporting Christ Church, Alsager twice a month, alongside some evening commitments, and have occasionally covered services at Warmingham. My workplace ministry likewise continues to be predominantly pastoral, offering care and support to colleagues in their daily challenges.

Finally, I want to express my deep gratitude to my wife, Tracy, and to our family. Their ongoing support, patience, and encouragement enable me to serve across these various ministries, and I remain profoundly thankful.

“Serve one another humbly in love.” - Galatians 5:13

Revd Anthony Rigby

4

Treasurer’s Report

For 2025 the PCC recorded a deficit of £11,561. This is compared to a surplus of £1,967 recorded during 2024.

Income for the year was £195.4K, up from £187.1K in 2024. Giving and donations came to £104.5K, which was similar to last year. There has also been a slight difference noticed in the way donations are made, with the card reader seeing £18.8K pass through it compared to £6.5K in the previous year. Further large income came from gift aid returns of £20.3K and the deposit account generated interest of £8.8K. ABC continues to run profitably and had an income of £4,180. The church hall lettings were also up again raising £35.5K of income, an increase of £2.2k from 2024.

A grant of £4,301 was also kindly given by Cheshire East council to improve the AV system in church.

Expenditure for the year was £206.9K, up from £185.1K in 2024. In 2024 we did not have any major expenses, whilst in 2025 we did spend some money on improving the vicarage to make it nice and fresh for the Frost family. This cost £6.7k. Further noticeable expenses came from hall maintenance costs, with repairs to the partition wall and a boiler leak resulting in fire door issues. Overall, we spent £9.7K on hall maintenance.

Based on the budget for 2025, we estimated to make a deficit of £22.8K, so we did improve on this with a deficit of half this amount.

During 2025, we did have to withdraw £30K from the deposit account to keep the current account topped up. As a result of this, we now fall slightly short (£2.3K) of meeting our reserves policy – a policy that allows us to cover our costs and repayments for 3 months should income be zero. A large part of this remains the potential repayment of the Cheshire East loan, which can hopefully be resolved in 2026.

That said, at the end of the year, the current account contained a healthy £18.7K and the deposit account contained £136.5K.

We have made some good improvements during 2025 to streamline the whole finance process with a well set up payment and approval system. Thank you to everyone who helps with all things finance, there are more people involved in this than most realise and each one is crucial to make it all work. Thank you to everyone who donates to help keep the church running, every gift is important and gratefully received and please continue to pray that the money will be used wisely.

Please also remember that if you are a taxpayer, any donations made can be gift aided if a form is completed, which, as previously mentioned, makes a huge difference in our income.

For 2026, based on our budget, we expect to have another deficit year, again around £11.5K, however we know that God is excellent with numbers so let’s continue to pray and trust that God has this all in hand.

Thank you.

Andrew Clee

5

PCC Report

The key activity of the PCC was the recruitment of our new incumbent, the Rev. Harry Frost. Our two wardens were the parish representatives on the recruitment panel with Harry being licensed at a special service in June following the selection and interview process earlier in the year.

During the interregnum, the PCC continued to meet under the chairmanship of the wardens or our associate minister, Rev. Anthony Rigby.

The APCM was held on the 10[th] of May and in light of the arrival of our new incumbent vicar, it was decided to ask the retiring members of the PCC to remain in place to allow the PCC to retain some consistency for Harry’s first year. Permission for this was sought and received from the Diocese. In addition, Steve Parfitt, our churchwarden kindly agreed to delay his retirement from his position for a further year.

The year also saw a complete renewal of the electoral roll under the C of E rules which require this to happen every four years. The roll is now 133 and Allan Walker has kindly agreed to stay on as electoral officer.

John Cargill

Church Wardens’ Report

This year has been one of transition and shared responsibility as we navigated the vacancy at the beginning of the year together. Although change always brings a measure of uncertainty, the Church family responded with faith, resilience, and a deep commitment to sustaining our worship and ministry. We are extremely grateful for the many people who enabled worship at St. Peter’s to continue smoothly, our lay readers, worship leaders and especially our Assistant Minister Anthony.

The second half of the year has been a time of renewal and fresh energy for our parish as we welcomed our new vicar Harry and his family at the end of June. After the shared responsibilities of the vacancy, it has been a joy to enter a new chapter under their leadership.

A highlight of the year was the service of licensing and welcome, which was well attended by the church family, parishioners, community representatives and Harry’s family and friends.

The practical responsibilities of caring for our buildings and grounds has continued, with routine maintenance being carried out as required, and with this in mind we want to thank every volunteer across all areas of church life, PCC members for their continued commitment and the congregations for embracing change with openness and generosity.

As we move into a new year, we do so with optimism. We look forward to deepening our worship, strengthening our community, and continuing to serve God and our neighbours.

Helen Coppenhall and Steve Parfitt

6

Welcome Team

The Welcome Team at the 10.30am service, along with the sides-people at the 9.00am and 6.00pm service would often be the first contact for those who are new to the church, an occasional visitor and even those who come regularly a warm welcome can make a big difference.

We have continued with our twice a year ‘Welcome Tea’ in March and October for anyone who joined the church community in the previous 6 months, these have been well attended and there have been a good number of church family members present to be a support, the buffet has been very much appreciated, thank you Lucy.

The intention is to continue with these two events into 2026.

How we Welcome is much more than Sunday, we provide a welcome in many areas, by outreach with Publicity and Communication be it a Poster, our website or Facebook and other media.

Our personal and pastoral contacts, Coffee & Company, the Office Team providing a welcome to Church Hall users and the Church grounds team to those visiting the churchyard.

Pray for all who welcome in these ministries, and recognise how we are all to be welcomers and welcoming.

Anybody who feels called to this particular ministry at any of the events or any Service in the Church please speak to one of the team, you will be most welcome.

Welcome Team: Lynda Wisbey, Martin Hathaway, Daniel Chan, Michelle Walker

Welcomers: Allan Walker, Steve & Cathryn Houghton, Jo Burton, Helen Jones, Jennie Coppenhall, Wendy Woods, Pauline Thornton

Speak

‘Speak’ is the magazine for the Church family at St Peter’s. It is distributed online via our website and as a paper copy.

Please contact the Church Office on [e-mail] for more informatiom to be put on the distribution list.

Currently it is bi-monthly with a couple of information sheets throughout the year. As a team we work hard to ensure that the articles we provide are interesting and factual.

However, without the Church family’s input providing articles, the magazine is getting smaller and smaller. We would love to talk to you if you have anything that you feel would be suitable to go into the magazine.

Bethany Jones and Jenny Drain

7

Flower Arrangers

We are a group of 25 people of all ages and abilities that work together in fellowship to purchase, arrange and maintain the flower displays used to decorate the Church and Church Hall. Flowers are used to express joy, symbolize virtues and resurrection, honour God's creation, and enhance liturgical seasons, marking celebrations like Easter with vibrant blooms after sombre periods like Lent, and reflecting the beauty and glory of faith in both worship and special events like, baptism, confirmation, wedding and funeral services.

In June, home group members joined the flower arranging team to decorate the Church and Hall with pink and purple flowers in memory of a dear friend who sadly passed as a celebration of her life. The team also came together to arrange vases of flowers used at Harry’s licensing service and welcoming refreshments afterwards for Harry, his family and members of the congregation. This year, upon request, flowers and arrangements have also been delivered to members of the church family and wider community suffering with illness.

Copies of the flower rota can be found on the notice boards in the Church and Church Hall. We are always looking for willing volunteers to join the team and no experience is necessary. Please speak to Joyce or Tracy if you would like to find out more. We also encourage people to volunteer and to sign up for an available slot on the flower rota throughout the year, and to place a small vase of flowers on the Lord’s table in the Church or on the table at the front of the Church Hall during the 10.30am service.

Tracy Rigby and Joyce Foster

Church Attendance

The attendance figures for 2025 are very similar to those for 2024 and show an even pattern throughout the year with a few peaks and troughs for special services and holiday times.

The 9.00 communion service on the second and fourth Sunday of each month averaged nearly 19 and the 6.00 gathered a regular 21 people.

The 10.30 family service in the church hall was, not surprisingly, by far the most popular, with an average of 25 under 18's - nearly all under 11 - and over 80 adults.

The average number of adults attending each week was 120. This is just for interest and is not a useful figure as some Sundays have three services, others just two, and some people go to more than one service.

Jim Watson

8

Safeguarding

St. Peter’s Church, Elworth takes its duty and obligation to protect all, extremely seriously. We have adopted the national Church of England’s robust procedures and guidelines. We are grateful to all those who have undergone Safeguarding training and completed their DBS checks in a timely manner. This enables us to feel supported and that many people recognise the importance of Safeguarding within a Church community. During 2025, Harry joined Cathryn and me as we met on a regular basis to discuss a range of matters related to Safeguarding, including training, DBS checks and role descriptions. We have been working on a robust Parish Safer Recruitment process for Volunteers as we recognise that this is an essential part of keeping everyone safe in the wide range of activities that are available for people to join in with at St. Peter’s. We have continued to attend the Diocesan Safeguarding network meetings, facilitated by Chester Diocese, which have enabled us to meet with people from other parishes and learn from their experiences. We recognise the importance of our role and ask that you would keep us in your prayers as we seek to carry it out to the best of our ability.

Helen Jones (Lead Safeguarding Officer), Cathryn Houghton (Deputy Safeguarding Officer)

Acorns

Acorns continues to be available to children aged between 3 and 6 years of age whether they attend on a regular basis or come along to a baptism service or any other special occasion. We are thrilled to share that we currently have 23 children registered with a weekly regular attendance of around 6-10 children. We continue to meet in Meeting Room 1 in the church hall and are grateful to the staff of Elworth Preschool for the loan of various toys.

Over the past year we have tried to teach the same themes followed in the 10.30 am Church service and across the Junior Church groups. We continued to use age appropriate material produced by the on line resource called Energize . Within each session we had a story, craft activities, prayer and a small snack.

There is always a minimum of two adults taking it in turns to either lead or support this Sunday morning group. Due to other commitments, Lucy has stepped back from her role in leading and supporting Acorns. Her contributions have been invaluable, and she will be greatly missed.

For any further information please contact the church office, but if anyone feels called to serve God by joining the Acorns Team, do speak to one of the current Leaders / helpers.

Written on behalf of Denise, Tracy, Lucy, Bethany and Jess

9

Children and Families Outreach

What an exciting year it has been for our Children and Families Outreach with many children, youth and families hearing the gospel as they have attended our various groups and outreach events here at St. Peter’s Church.

It has been a real privilege once again to serve the Lord Jesus in this place and to share with our children and young people the good news of Jesus.

We have done this across the past year by God’s grace and by serving alongside an amazing group of volunteers who have supported so many outreach activities.

Just to highlight a few things from the past year:

Our Baby Group and ABC groups have continued to flourish and we welcomed forty mums with their babies to our Christmas Party, and over one hundred parents/carers and toddlers to our ABC Christmas Parties. Our numbers have continued to grow this year and, more significantly, parents and carers have shown a willingness to engage in other outreach events such as Holiday Club for their older children plus Xplore and the Light Party. One main highlight of our year was our annual picnic in the park when over one hundred people came along last summer on a beautiful balmy day to enjoy food and good conversations. The relational aspect of outreach is so important, paving the way to talks about Jesus. We would appreciate prayer that seeds would be planted and the harvest grown for our Lord.

In April we held our annual Holiday Club and this year the theme was ‘Starship Discovery’. Across four days we learned what it really means to ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths’ – Proverbs 3:5-6. With around fifty children attending each day there was a real opportunity to share this wonderful Bible message through songs, prayers, memory verses, craft, games and sketches. One of our parents even brought six VR headsets along so that we could experience life on board the NASA space station! It was wonderful to engage with the children in conversations about Jesus and to discuss their questions.

Lego Church has proved to be a great platform to share with our families well known Bible stories with a gospel message. This important outreach takes place once a month with families coming along to build with Lego and to hear the gospel. We have found the Go Chatter materials invaluable to this outreach. Go Chatter produces fantastic animated Lego videos of Bible truths and this year they have also produced books for families depicting the Christmas Story in Lego and also the Easter Story. We were able to give one copy of the Christmas Story to each of our families and plan to do the same at our forthcoming Easter Lego Church. We are so grateful to be able to provide these resources freely to our families and would like to thank our church family for giving generously to make outreach financially possible.

St. Peter’s children’s and young people’s groups: Xplore and Encounter continue to enjoy popularity and engagement from our local community. The aim of both groups is to share the good news of Jesus in a way that is age appropriate and accessible for all.

10

Our younger children enjoy learning about the Bible through crafts, worship and prayer while our older young people work together in smaller groups where there is opportunity to share their questions and ideas about Christianity in a more in depth way. We always seek to respond to their questions and concerns in a way which demonstrates just how relevant Jesus is in 2026.

One final highlight of the past year has to be our annual Light Party which took place at the end of October. The church hall was filled with all sorts of colourful lights and we welcomed over fifty children to join with us. Through games, a talk by Harry (involving a pumpkin which demonstrated Jesus, the light of the world), crafts, songs and party food we unpacked John 8:12:

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

What a joy it was to see the children engaging with this message.

Please pray that through 2026 we would have more opportunities to share the gospel with those we meet so that there would be a rich harvest in heaven.

Thank you to all of those who volunteer to be part of our various Children and Families outreach teams. Thanks also to Josephine Chow, my co-worker, who is a wonderful support and encouragement in the work.

If you haven’t been involved in any of the work and would like to know more, please do email me on [e-mail] or have a chat with me.

Cathryn Houghton – Children and Families Lead

11

Adventurers (Age 6 – 11)

In the first part of the year we learned about some important characters from the Old Testament, including Samson, Ruth, Samuel, David, Solomon, Jonah and Esther.

In the run up to Easter, two New Testament characters were studied: Mary Magdelene and Judas Iscariot. And after Easter we studied some different themes based on some of Jesus’ parables, including the Wise and Foolish Builders, the Sower, the Lost Sheep, the Good Samaritan, the Parable of the Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son.

After the summer break, we started again in September with a number of themes generally related to the sermon message being used in the church. These included sessions entitled “The Greatest Treasure”, “Wholly Healed!”, “Choose Life”, “Love in Dangerous Times”, and “Spare My Money”.

In the run up to Christmas, further themes were looked at, including “Poppy Fields of Remembrance”, “The Special One” and “Heavenly Messengers”.

The sessions normally involve warm-up games followed by a discussion of the day’s theme, including bible readings. Some team games or videos are often used to help explain the meaning of the themes, and a craft activity might be included at the end to help the children think about what they have learned.

We typically have between 8 and 12 children per session, and sometimes as high as 18, which is a great blessing. Whilst we have five leaders and five helpers, we would always welcome more help.

In February Libby will be stepping down while she has a baby, and Martin has kindly offered to replace her. We thank both of them for their help and support.

From the Adventurers Team .

Churchyard

We work on Saturday mornings to mow and strim the grass, trim hedges and tend the plants, pruning and weeding in the beds around the church, church hall and car park in the growing season. Keeping the churchyard and grounds tidy is a year round job and out of the growing season we maintain notice boards, fences, outdoor floodlights, clear rubbish, put up Christmas trees and many other jobs.

We want everyone to take pride in the churchyard; a place to enjoy, be quiet, remember those who have passed and maybe encounter God.

Two of our longstanding members, John and Ray retired during the year and we are grateful for all their hard work over many years. We would love to welcome new people to the team. You don’t have to be expert gardeners, just like being outdoors, doing practical work and being part of a team. Come and join us on a Saturday morning from 9 o’clock onwards.

Mark Barker on behalf of Bill, Carolyn, Glenise, Howard, John, Keith, Mark and Ray

Residential / Nursing Homes

It has been our pleasure to be able to continue visits to our local Residential / Nursing Homes, Turnpike Court, St Stephens Nursing Home and Elworth Grange.

We join with the Residents once a month for a short service of Worship, celebrate the festivals at Christmas, Easter and Harvest, also the opportunity to reconnect with familiar local and church families and we have made some delightful friendships with both Residents and Staff.

This year also came with change, along with Readers Steve Coppenhall and Paul Savvides. Helen Jones was able to lead the services on several occasions for which we were most grateful, then in July, following his induction, we were joined by Revd Harry Frost, enabling us to continue this ministry in our community, and all have been welcomed and appreciated by the Residents and Staff

If you would like to know more about our ‘visits’ please speak to Harry, Steve or myself. Michelle Walker

St Peter’s Football

The football group had a mixed year to. We initially started off really well, with good numbers and a few new faces coming along. We continued all the way to the summer holidays and then had a break until the September. The last part of the year was a real struggle to get enough numbers to get a game going on some weeks and eventually we paused the group in mid-December with the intention of trying to get this started again in Spring of 2026, should there be enough interest.

We have worked quite hard to get this group going and it would be a real shame if it had to stop, however, we want this to be something that people want to come to because they enjoy it, rather than something that people feel obliged to come to.

It was initially set up a couple of years ago to get people together, play football, develop friendships and hopefully trigger conversations with people in and out of the church. I believe it has done this.

Football is a wonderful sport and with this group being linked to St Peter’s and organised by the church, it makes it different from most other football groups. If that alone gets people who come along to think about Christianity more than they normally do, then it has done its job - who knows what God might do with that thought!

Please pray that God directs us in the way we should go with this group in 2026.

Andy (The Gaffer)

13

Inter Church Mission Support Group

St.Peter’s Church commits to giving 10% of its voluntary income to support Mission, communities and good causes in Sandbach, the UK and around the world. How that income is distributed is decided by the Inter-Church Mission Support Group. The total available for distribution in 2025 was £9,960, an increase of almost £800 more than last year. We decided to support the following charities as part of an ongoing long term commitment:

• Compassion, supporting specifically their Child Survival Project, Delmas Haiti : £1,000

• Dalit Freedom Network : £1,000

• Slavic Gospel Association £2,000 – £1,000 supporting Pastor Zarev in Bulgaria and £1,000 for their work in Ukraine

• SYCAM : £1,000

• Tearfund : £1,000

We also agreed to support the following charities, giving £500 to each:

• Open Doors – replacing Barnabas

• Bible Society

• Childrens Society

• Christian Aid

• Christian Vision for Men

• Sandbach Pantry

• Scripture Union

• WaterAid

The total of donations amounted to £10,000 so the additional £40 came from general funds,

Our Charity representatives are:

Bible Society: Norma Chapman Childrens’ Society: Heather Savvides Christian Aid: representative needed Christian Vision for Men: Steve Thorley Compassion: Child Survival Project, Delmas Haiti: Pat Parfitt Dalit Freedom Network: Anthony Rigby Open Doors: Mark Barker Sandbach Pantry: Kath Cliffe and Mark Barker Scripture Union: Joyce Foster Slavic Gospel Association: Bill Chapman SYCAM: Paul Savvides Tearfund: Kath Cliffe WaterAid: Mark Barker

Mark Barker

14

Church Prayer Life

There are a number of ways that the church prayer life has been encouraging this year.

People have joined in the monthly prayer meetings led by different housegroups or individuals each month. There has been a small increase in the numbers of people joining the Connect network and praying for other members of the church as well as people outside of the church community. Connect is open to all members of the church who want to support others in need and also to give thanks to the Lord for the good things that happen in their lives. People have said how supported they have felt by knowing that the church is praying for them and how helpful they have found this.

Private or group prayer is an essential part of our Christian Life in developing our relationship with God through Jesus.

Norma Chapman

Worship Group

The worship group lead the songs for the 10.30am service. We meet to practise and pray at 9.30 on Sundays in the church hall. We love singing and playing our favourite worship music together but we also enjoy a new song so please keep the suggestions coming! We are indebted to Anthony, Derek, Martyn and Allen for their help with sound and all things technical. We enjoyed meeting for a worship workshop last March and hope to do this again soon, join us if you are able, date to be confirmed. We also have spare instruments between us so please ask if you would like to learn to play. As always, musical skill is useful but a worshipping heart is essential.

Heather Savvides, on behalf of Paul, Lynda, Simon, Stephanie, Steve, Allen, Daniel, Carolyn, Bill, Martyn, Sam and Nicola.

Book Group

We are still a small group who meet in the church hall once a month on a Tuesday evening at 7.00pm to discuss fiction books. These are mostly modern, with the occasional classic novel for a bit of variety.

New members are always welcome. Contact the church office for details.

Lucy Kelly

15

Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Appeal

An enormous thank you to everyone for their support in this year’s campaign. It is wonderful to share that we collected 116 gift filled shoeboxes. Donations came from many sources across the Elworth community including St. Peter’s Church family, Elworth C.E. Primary School and Elworth Methodist church. It is terrific how many people came together from different groups to make this happen.

In addition to individually packed “shoeboxes” we ran a similar campaign to past years whereby for the 12 weeks leading up to National Collection week we encouraged members of the church family to donate specific items. These items were then prayerfully placed into a total of 13 age appropriate Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes.

Particular thanks to Bethany and Carolyn for their continued unwavering practical support and for Cathryn who always enthusiastically leads the organising, planning and collection from Elworth C.E. School. Once again the children of Elworth C.E. School had two fundraising non uniform days to fund and source the contents of their shoeboxes. It was wonderful to see members of staff and some of the School Prefects from Elworth C.E. Primary School presenting their boxes during our “Shoebox Sunday Service”.

The shoeboxes were taken to Congleton New Life Church where they were collected and transported to the Operation Christmas Child warehouse in Coventry which is a processing centre run by the charity Samaritan's Purse. The processing centre is a crucial part of the annual operation, receiving the shoeboxes and getting them ready to be sent to their final destinations. Please continue to pray for the safe travel and distribution of these shoeboxes. We lift up all those involved in the vast task of organising transportation, and we pray for the missionary partners around the world who will share the love of Jesus Christ through these gifts.

For any further information please contact Denise Shone via the church office or take a look at Samaritans Purse.org,uk

Denise Shone

Slavic Gospel Association

St. Peter's supports the Slavic Gospel Association in cross cultural mission throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia. SGA works in partnership with local churches in different countries and its core ministries are training ministers, sponsoring and supporting ministers, publishing literature and distributing aid.

SGA has supported the people of Ukraine through the church throughout the war.

St. Peter's supports Stefan and Mira Zarev in ministry in Velingrad and Rakitovo in South West Bulgaria.

Bill Chapman

16

Ladies’ Events

Ladies’ Events in the current form have been running since July 2022. This team has organised three events per year apart from one year when we had four. The events have been varied to try and appeal to a variety of people. They have included games evenings, wreath and Christmas craft mornings, a Hong Kong inspired Taste and Create event and our last summer event was ‘Build a Burger and Make a Mocktail’.

The team has grown since we first came together to organise the first event. We now have a team of seven.

The aim of the group is to try and invite people who might not ever cross the threshold to a church event. But, it is also an opportunity for church family to see each other outside church on Sundays. Where appropriate we include a simple gospel message and open in prayer. At a number of our events we have given a little gift as people leave and at Easter and Christmas this includes details of the Easter and Christmas services.

We believe that these events should be inclusive and no one should be restricted because of finances, so we only ask for a donation.

If you haven’t ever been to one of our events, give it a go and invite a friend.

Lynda on behalf of Becky, Bethany, Jess, Julia, Michelle, Rebecca

Church Choir

It has been a great pleasure to welcome two new members to our choir, and I am delighted to say that with their dedication, joy and commitment, they have proved to be a very valued addition to completing our choir for the future. It was a great pleasure for all of us to join in the celebrations during the Summer when our new Vicar, Harry and his family officially joined us. It was also a particular pleasure to share these celebrations with the Worship Group, who always assist with the Sunday morning service, and speaking on behalf of the Choir, I know that we were delighted to get to know and learn some of the songs which they perform so successfully at the Sunday morning services.

Margaret Taylor

All Age Team

Over the last year, the All Age team, consisting of those named below, has met to plan and lead the All Age services which take place usually once a month. The opportunity to do this enables us to try to involve different people throughout the services and to look at different ways of engaging the range of ages of people who attend. One particular highlight was the Junior Church Celebration when all the children who have attended Junior Church at some point through the year, were presented with a Christian book to take home. We trust that in the coming year, we will continue to consider God’s Word creatively, so that each person present is able to hear the Gospel in a clear way that supports and enables them to grow in faith.

Jenny Drain, Rebecca Douglas, Nicola Hathaway, Helen Jones, Paul Savvides, Denise Shone

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Home Groups

Monday Home Group

We usually meet twice a month, providing much valued fellowship, support and prayer for each other. We have undertaken a number of Scripture based studies during the year including 2 Timothy, Psalms, Prayer: An adventure with God and an Advent series.

Apart from our meeting nights, we have also led the monthly Prayer Meeting and provided Sunday morning tea & coffee before and after the 10.30 service. Anyone who wishes to try joining a Home Group will be made welcome with us.

Mark Barker, on behalf of Anne, Bill, Carolyn, Cherie, Deon, Derek, Joyce, Michelle and Norma

Kairos

As far as possible, Kairos continued to meet fortnightly throughout the year. From February to October we covered the 9 studies of Promises Kept, The whole story of the Bible. Meetings were less frequent during the summer as members enjoyed holidays. In late autumn we began the 4 studies of Ruth. Poverty and Plenty.

Christine Saucedo

Monday evening group – Ezekiel

We continue to meet most Monday evenings, alternating between 3 group members homes. During 2025 we completed three studies. We finished our study of Timothy which had been a whole church focus. To mark the 1700[th] anniversary of the Nicene Creed we used the We Believe resources alongside the Everyday Faith App. Our final study has been on the Beatitudes. Through this study we have considered how to live as God intends both as individuals and in community.

Barbara, Cecilia, Helen, Kath, Margaret, Nicole and Rebecca

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Monday Small Group

The Monday Small Group (MSG) is aimed at those with young families and/or busy working lives. We meet fortnightly, via Zoom, thus removing the need for additional childcare arrangements. We start at a slightly later time, to allow young children to be put to bed. We currently have 13 regular attenders.

Our studies continue to be varied. For the period from January to July we made use of the Bible Society course, led by Andrew Ollerton, exploring the letter to the Romans. This included fascinating video material tracing the story through the ancient city of Rome. During the autumn term we followed the sermon series on Philippians. Occasional extra material to fill in any gaps tends to be ‘home grown’ in the form of one-off character studies. This year we have looked at Barnabas, and King David.

We always make time in our meetings to pray together. We also have a dedicated WhatsApp group for mutual support, sharing prayer requests and other information. Finally, we meet together in person a couple of times each year, with the children, for food and games.

If you want to find out more about this group, please contact us through the St Peter’s church office.

Lynda and Simon Wisbey

Koinonia Small Bible study Group (meets Monday evenings fortnightly)

The year began with pictures of penguins from an Antarctic adventure (!) but settled down with a broad run through of Luke with occasional deviations into Matthew 7 and even Genesis 1 and 2.

After the summer break we embarked on Paul Weston’s Bible study ‘Holy SpiritFilled Life: A Life Without Limits’.

During the year we said goodbye to Zoe as she moved to Leek and joined another church and enjoyed socials in the summer and at Christmas.

Paul Savvides on behalf of Heather, Anthony, Daniel, Dave, Fiona, Julia, Stephanie, Kath, Simon and Lynda.

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Fuyin

This year has held moments of joy as well as deep sorrow. The passing of our dear and beautiful friend Sue in June was felt profoundly by our group and the wider church community. Sue was a treasured founder member who shared many special times with us. She taught us so much about courage, faithfulness, and steadfast trust in the Lord. Our love and prayers remain with her husband Stas and all the family. Though we mourn her loss, we also rejoice in the assurance that Sue is now with the Lord.

We continue to meet each Wednesday morning from 9.30–11.30 in the upstairs room of St Peter’s Church Hall, where we worship, pray, and study Scripture together. There is always a warm welcome, a good brew, and plenty of tasty treats. We have enjoyed occasional breakfast outings, and we are grateful to those who on occasions have opened their homes to host our gatherings.

Our group of eleven ladies remains committed to exploring Scripture and growing in Christian faith. We began the year with the LifeBuilder Study Guide Images of God by Dale and Sandy Larsen. This was followed by a nine-week study, Promises Kept – The Whole Story of the Bible by Carl Laferton, from The Good Book Guide series. In June we worked through the Cover to Cover study The Second Coming – Living in the Light of Jesus’s Return . We then spent time in the Book of Jude. From September to November we followed the church teaching series and completed the Cover to Cover study on Philippians. Later in the year we held a standalone session on The Power and Purpose of Prayer , and in December we explored the meaning of Advent.

In May we led the monthly church prayer meeting, focusing our intercessions on the theme Names of God .

We are especially thankful for the prayers offered for one another throughout the year and for the willingness of members to serve whenever needed. Through mutual support, we have witnessed God’s hand at work in our lives—bringing hope, strength, and spiritual growth. The encouragement and genuine care within the group have been a great blessing.

May the Lord richly bless each member of Fuyin for their dedication and faithfulness. We look forward to the coming year with anticipation, trusting that God will continue to grow us in faith, love, and service to Him.

If you would like any more information please have a chat to Denise or any member of our group.

Denise on behalf of Catherine, Elsy, Helan, Julie, Mary, Nina, Pat, Rachel, Sammy Jo.

20

Balance Sheet

Balance Sheet
As at	As at
31/12/2025	31/12/2024
Current assets £	£
Bank current account 18,742	9,001
CCLA (CBF) deposit account 136,518	157,709
Fairtrade Bank Account -	890
Total Current Assets 155,261	166,701
Liabilities
Agency Collections 214	104
Accounts Payable 40	40
DBF Creditor 60	60
CEC Loan 107,540	107,540
Total Liabilities 107,854	107,744
Net Asset surplus (deficit) 47,406	58,966
Excess/(deficit) Reserves (11,561)	1,967
Starting Balances 58,966	56,998
Total Reserves 47,406	58,966
Represented by Funds
General (Unrestricted) 30,105	39,794
Designated 2,236	4,007
Restricted 11,121	11,221
Endowment 3,943	3,943
Total 47,406	56,966

Approved by the Parochial Church Council on 5th May 2026 and signed on its behalf by

The Revd Harry Frost (P.C.C. Chairman)

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Reserves Policy

It is the policy of St Peter’s Church Elworth to hold unrestricted cash in reserve for three months operating costs including salaries and parish share, anticipated building and equipment works. It will also hold restricted cash reserves for the Benevolent, Outward Giving, Church Hall Development and Endowment funds. At 31[st] December 2025, the amounts held in reserve are as follows:

Unrestricted Reserves	Item	Total
	£	£
Operating Costs	51,742
CEC Loan repayment 2016 – 2024 inc	61,600
Building Work & Equipment reserves	0	113,342
Restricted Reserves
Church Hall Development	9,060
Outward Giving	10,450
Benevolent	2,060	21,570
Endowment Funds	3,943	£3,943
Total Reserves Required		138,855
Money in Deposit Account		136,518

The cash reserves in the deposit account do not meet the Reserves requirement. Deficit of £2,337.

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2025

Accounting Policies

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 together with applicable accounting standards and the SORP 2015.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. They include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. They do not include the accounts of church groups that owe their main affiliation to another body, nor those that are informal gatherings of church members.

Funds

Endowment Funds are funds the capital of which must be maintained; only income arising from investments of the endowment may be used either as restricted or unrestricted funds depending upon the purpose for which the endowment was established.

22

Restricted funds represent (a) income from trusts or endowments which may be expended only on those restricted objects provided in the terms of the trust or bequest, and (b) donations or grants received for a specific object or invited by the PCC for a specific object. The funds may only be expended on the specific object for which they were given. Any balance remaining unspent at the end of each year must be carried forward as a balance on that fund. The PCC does not usually invest separately for each fund. Where there is no separate investment, interest is apportioned to individual funds on an average balance basis.

Unrestricted funds are general funds which can be used for P.C.C ordinary purposes.

Incoming resources

Planned giving collections and donations are recognised when received. Tax refunds are recognized when the incoming resource to which they relate is received for the year 2024-25. For tax year 2025-26 tax refunds will be recognised on receipt. Grants and legacies are accounted for when the PCC is legally entitled to the amounts due. Dividends are accounted for when receivable, interest is accrued. All other income is recognized when it is receivable. All incoming resources are accounted for gross.

Resources expended

Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding or constructive obligation on the PCC. The diocesan parish share is accounted for when due. Amounts received specifically for mission are dealt with as restricted funds. All other expenditure is generally recognised when it is incurred and is accounted for gross.

Fixed Assets

The freehold land and buildings now comprise of the Church Hall, toolstore/garage, railings, car park gates and refurbished footpath. Church and Hall equipment comprises of the Church AV system, new lights, a piano keyboard, a ride-on mower and other gardening equipment. In the Church Hall, the security system, interim PA, tables, chairs, defibrillator, acoustic panels, artificial turf, AV system, foyer furniture, replacement corridor lighting and dishwasher, a camera system in the Hall and Church with a cabled link between the two and Wi-Fi in the Church.

.

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Receipts & Payments by Report Group

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Restricted| |Unrestricted Designated|2025|2024| |£|£|£|£|£| |Income and Endowments from:| |Voluntary Donations|124,907|4,180|4,301|133,389 128,032| |Church activities|15,566|-|-|15,566|15,298| |Trading Activities|37,645|-|-|37.645|37,482| |Investments|8,808|-|-|8.808|6,295| |Total Income|186,927|4,180|4,301|195,408 187,109| |Expenditure:| |Charitable Giving|-|9,960|100|10,060|9,200| |Diocese|77,604|-|-|77,604|75,344| |Ministry|30,139|-|-|30,139|27,685| |Administration|25,527|-|-|25,527|25,796| |Mission & Evangelism|7,420|1,451|-|8,871|9,595| |Church & Churchyard|10,058|-|-|10,058|7,624| |Church Hall|31,522|-|4,301|35,823|29,895| |Major Church Work|-|-|-|-|25,871| |Total Expenditure|191,034|11,411|4,401|206,846 185,141| |Excess of Receipts over Payments|(4,230)|(7,231)|(100) (11,561)|1,967|

----- End of picture text -----

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Analysis of income and expenditure 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025

				Restricted	Restricted	Restricted
Income	Unrestricted		Designated			2025	2024
		£	£		£	£	£
Voluntary Donations
Gift Aid: Bank		53,657	-		-	53,657	50,551
Envelopes		7.011	-		-	7,011	7,642
Other planned giving		5,970	-		-	5,970	7,777
Loose plate collections		1,800	-		-	1,800	2,834
QRcode/Electronic		18,860	-		-	18,860	6,564
One off Gift Aid gifts		16,100	-		-	16,100	21,883
Donations sundry		1,094	-		-	1,094	2,355
ABC donations		-	4,180		-	4,180	3,657
Tax recovered on Gift Aid		20,292	-		-	20,292	23,511
Legacies		-	-		-	-	1,000
Recurring grants			-		-	-	240
Non-recurring one off grants		-	-	4,301		4,301	-
Other funds generated		122	-		-	122	16
Subtotals		124,907	4,180	4,301		133,389	128,032
Income from Church Activities
Fees for weddings and funerals		4,967	-		-	4,967	4,485
Chaplaincy Elworth C of E School		7,140	-		-	7,140	6,640
Photocopying recharges		230	-		-	230	642
Heat & Light		210	-		-	210	422
Coffee Money		376	-		-	376	287
Outreach Catering Donations		2,641	-		-	2,641	2821
Subtotals		15,566	-		-	15,566	15,298
Other trading activities
Church hall lettings - fund raising		35,488	-		-	33,320	33,320
E.ON FIT Receipts		2,156	-		-	4,094	4,094
Fair Trade Sales		-	-		-	-	67
Subtotals		37,645	-		-	37,645	34,552
Investments
Bank and Building Society interest		8,808	-		-	8,808	6,295
Grand Total		186,927	4,180	4,301		195,408	187,109

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				Restricted	Restricted	Restricted
Expenditure		Unrestricted Designated				2025	2024
		£		£	£	£	£
Expenditure on Church Activities
Envelope Scheme		122		-	-	122
Outward Giving		-		9,960	-	9,960	9,200
Benevolent Donation		-		-	100	100	-
Ministry parish share etc		77,604		-	-	77,604	75,344
Curate’s expenses		115		-	-	115	-
Family & Child Worker		19,272		-	-	19,272	17,423
YouthWorker		7,689		-	-	7,689	6,497
Administration staff salaries		14,740		-	-	14,740	14,299
Payroll Administration		379		-	-	379	540
HMRC PAYE		4,446		-	-	4,446	2,851
Pension Fund		2,452		-	-	2,452	2,082
Working expenses of incumbent		81		-	-	81	450
Vicarage Council tax		1,971		-	-	1,971	2,715
Recruitment Costs		361		-	-	361	-
Vicarage Water		614		-	-	614	599
Vicar’s telephone		32		-	-	32	-
Training and Courses		39		-	-	39	-
Study Materials & Books		843		-	-	843	419
Messy Church		630		-	-	630	1,408
Holiday Clubs		643		-	-	643	686
Youth		1,906		-	-	1,906	1,838
Junior Church		328		-	-	318	236
ABC & Baby Group		-		1,451	-	1,451	1,878
Outreach Catering costs		3,037		-	-	3,037	2,566
Extra Services		-		-	-	-	560
Church running - insurance		2,143		-	-	2,143	2,107
Church office - telephone		899		-	-	899	953
Music expenses		26		-	-	26	426
Church maintenance		1,113		-	-	1,113	361
Services expenses (non-music)		1,754		-	-	1,754	1,795
Upkeep of churchyard		2,454		-	-	2,454	1,118
C/f to page 27		145,683		11,411	100	157,194	148,351

26

		Designated	Designated	Designated
Expenditure (contd.)	Unrestricted		Restricted 2025			2024
	£	£		£	£	£
B/f from page 26	145,683	11,411		100	157,194	148,351
Photocopying & Printing	2,023	-		-	2,023	2,646
Stationery	1,068	-		-	1,068	64
Publicity	193	-		-	193	143
General Expenses	1,322	-		-	1,322	2,214
Church running - electric	2,065	-		-	2,065	1,469
Church running - gas	500	-		-	500	345
Hall running - electricity	9,207	-		-	9,207	13,460
Hall running - gas	2,500	-		-	2,500	2,564
Hall running - insurance	2,143	-		-	2,143	2,107
Hall running - maintenance	9,791	-		-	9,791	7,024
Cleaning Staff	4,859	-		-	4,859	4,843
Sanitary services and cleaning	453	-		-	453	493
Hall running - water	1,650	-		-	1,650	1,383
Hall miscellaneous	916	-		4,301	5,217	474
Upkeep of Vicarage	6,762	-		-	6,763	-
Expenditure Grand totals	191,034	11,411		4,401	206,846	185,141

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Independent examiner’s report to Elworth P.C.C.

This report on the financial statements of the PCC for the year ended 31 December 2025, which are set out on pages 25 to 27 is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 (‘the Regulations’) and s.145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

Respective responsibilities of the PCC and the examiner

As members of the P.C.C. you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements; you consider that the audit requirement of the Regulations and s.43(2) of the Act does not apply. It is my responsibility to issue this report on those financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Regulations.

Basis of this report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission under s.43(7)(b) of the Act and to be found in the Church guidance, 2006 edition. That examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the P.C.C. and a comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements

a) to keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the Act; and

b) to prepare financial statements, which accord with the accounting records and comply with the requirements of the Act and the regulations have not been met; or

(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should have been drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Mr S. Valentine ACMA Independent Examiner

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