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StJames the Great, Dursley APCM Reports 2026

APCM Agenda 17[th] May 2026 Meetings to be held in St James the Great Church on Sunday 17[th] May 2026 at 11.30am

MEETING OF THE PARISHIONERS FOR THE ELECTION OF CHURCHWARDENS

Opening prayers
Appointment of clerk to the meetings
Apologies for absence
Minutes of previous meeting on 18[th] May 2025
Election of Churchwardens

ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING

Minutes of previous meeting on 18[th] May 2025
Matters arising from the minutes
Electoral Roll Officer’s report
Treasurer’s report to include presentation of Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] December 2024
Appointment of an Independent Examiner
Annual Report includes: Report on the fabric, goods and ornaments of the parish Report on the proceedings of the Deanery Synod Safeguarding
Trustee’s report
Other reports
Election of new PCC members
Election of Deanery Synod representatives
Election of Sidesmen and women
Matters of parochial interest

MEETING OF THE NEW PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL

Election of Vice Chairman
Appointment of PCC Secretary
Appointment of Treasurer
Appointment of Parish Safeguarding Officer
Date of next meeting: 2[nd] June at 7pm with Eucharist Venue: St James

Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting Sunday 18[th] May 2025 In St James Church

Meeting of Parishioners for the Election of Churchwardens.

Opening prayers by Revd Juliet Jensen

Appointment of clerk to the meeting – Clare White (All in favour) Present: Nigel Davies, Jan Vonberg, Sally Pearson, Sheila Gardner, Joy Pepper, Barbie Davies, Susanne Shaw, Sarah Hodge, David Vonberg, Elizabeth Oakley, Anne Orchard, Clive Orchard, Anne Shipton, Anne Ransome, Roger Ransome, David Smith, Danny Parker, Donna Pinker, Ros Attak, Bob Attak, Heather Arnold, John Crellin, Pam Crellin, Autin Meares, Valerie Meares, Ann King, Jane Bilous, Harry Atkinson, Sally Arnold, Joyce Lombarde, Sally Haynes, Elizabeth Byrne, Kathie Rebbeck, Geoff Whiley, Susan Gibson, Duncan Gibson, John Ewer, Julia Clarke, Averil Riddick, Angie Philips, Chris Philips, Clare White, Juliet Jensen, Philip Staddon, Chris Tyler, Rachel Tyler. Apologies: Christine Morgan, Ian Gardner, Gill Mather, Adrian Mather, Edwina Walton, Judith Staddon, Caroline Marrow.

Minutes of the previous meeting held on 19[th] May 2024 : signed by Revd Juliet Jensen as a true record of the meeting. Proposed by David Smith Seconded by Anne Shipton All in favour

Election of Churchwardens

Christopher Tyler Danny Parker Proposed by Jan Vonberg Proposed by Clare White Seconded by Austin Meares Seconded by Joy Pepper All in favour All in favour

Jan Vonberg was thanked for her 3 years as Churchwarden and presented with flowers by Revd Juliet.

Annual Parochial Church Meeting

Minutes of the meeting on 19[th] May 2024 were signed as a true record by Revd Juliet Jensen.

Proposed by Sally Pearson Seconded by Sarah Hodge

All in favour.

Matters Arising. There is now a good team of people mowing the churchyard.

The Electoral roll: 2025 is 103, 2023/2024 was 157. The latest roll is a renewal year.
Treasurers report: The report for 2024 is in the booklet attached. Proposed by Sally Pearson Seconded by Heather Arnold All in favour

Balances are higher because of the transfer of interest from the Omega Trust (£83K), that has finally been released by the solicitors trust fund. All the costs of the new boilers can be met. The Parish share was met in full in 2024.

In 2025 our share is £60k, it is suggested that £20-£40k will be funded. Money is available to cover the costs of the tower repairs.

The accounts are comfortable, but we must now be complacent. Revd Juliet thanked Sally for the massive amount of work she puts into her role as treasurer and her persistence in acquiring funds. Sally has said she wishes to hand on the role in the coming year, she has been treasurer for 6 years.

A volunteer will be sought to work alongside Sally and learn the role.

5. Appointment of the independent examiner: Sally Pearson

recommended that we use Davies consultants again for this year. Proposed by Sally Pearson Seconded by Heather Arnold All in Favour

6. Annual reports: JJ thanked Clare for producing the booklet.

Questions from the attendees:

Larger print for our booklets was requested by Ros Attak. Sally Haynes thanked JV & DV for their help and how she feels so included in our community.

7. Election of new members of the PCC:

Joy Pepper Heather Arnold Proposed by Sheila Gardner Proposed by Caroline Marrow Seconded by Chris Tyler Seconded by Rachel Tyler Donna Pinker Austin Meares Proposed by Jan Vonberg Proposed by Valerie Meares Seconded by Chris Tyler Seconded by Rachel Tyler

All were voted in en masse.

Election of sidespeople: All have agreed to continue and were proposed en masse Proposed by Clare White Seconded by Philip Staddon All were voted in en masse.

Meeting closed at 12.10pm

Meeting of the New Parochial Church Council

Present: Juliet Jensen, Austin Meares, Heather Arnold, Chris Tyler, Donna Pinker, Sheila Gardner, Joy Pepper, Clare White, Anne Shipton, Elizabeth Oakley, David Smith

Apologies: Edwina Walton

Appointment of Vice Chair – Secretary: Clare White Chris Tyler Proposed: Sheila Gardner Proposed: Heather Arnold Seconded: Joy Pepper Seconded: Anne Shipton All in favour All in favour.

Treasurer: Sally Pearson Electoral Roll Officer: Austin Proposed: Clare White Meares Seconded: Austin Meares Proposed: Joy Pepper All in favour Seconded: Heather Arnold All in favour

Date of the next PCC meeting will be 4[th] June 2025, 7.30pm at St James.

Ewelme Benefice Dursley Parochial Church Council Registered Charity No. 1130972

Trustees Annual Report 2025

Dursley Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent, the Revd Juliet Jensen, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC is specifically responsible for the churches of St James the Great Dursley (the parish church) and the Parish Centre located behind the church of St James.

Our Vision

As members of the Ewelme Benefice, we will work together to share in the Diocese of Gloucester’s LIFE Vision. ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full’. John 10:10

Objectives and activities

The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our churches and be part of our community. Patterns of worship are discussed by the PCC which makes suggestions on how to improve contact with everyone within the parish. We try to enable all people to live out their faith as part of our parish community through:

Worship and prayer; hearing about the Gospel, and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus.
Provision of pastoral care for people living in the parish.
Missionary and outreach work.

To do this work it is important that we maintain the fabric of our buildings.

The Finance Report

• Basis of Accounting

These financial statements have been produced on a Receipts and Payments basis in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006.

They have been produced utilising the Diocesan cashbook, developed by the Gloucester Diocesan Board of Finance as a simple way of recording receipts and payments, for the average PCC. It uses the information entered to produce a generic Receipts and Payments Account and Finance Return.

• Accounting Policies

The financial statements include transactions and assets for which the PCC can be held responsible. They do not include the accounts of other church groups that owe affiliation to another body, nor those that are for informal gatherings of church members

During the year the PCC have agreed Financial Control Procedures to ensure the PCC meets the legal requirements and good practice recommendations set out in the Charity Commission Guidance on Internal Financial Controls for Charity.

These will be reviewed annually at the first PCC meeting following the APCM.

• Reserves Policy

This is now reflected in the Financial Controls Procedures. The purpose of a Reserves Policy is to provide a level of working capital that protects the continuity of core work. The Reserves Policy is to retain a minimum of £8k in unrestricted funds across all accounts at all times to protect 3 months of core work.

• Year End Balances

The Statement of Assets at annex 1 shows at the year end 2025 we were holding assets to the value of £381,900,40. This represents a reduction of £78,406 from last year. This is a result of significant expenditure on capital projects in the church including the replacement of the boiler and repairs to the tower roof.

• Receipts and Payments

The Receipts and Payments Account (Annex 2) shows the areas of expenditure and income across all accounts and allows comparison with last year. The key variances are; the reduction in all forms of giving (although the figure for collections, donations and other giving for 2024 includes income from the boiler campaign) the increased commitment to the Parish Share expenditure on repairs to church buildings

• Parish Share

At the beginning of the year the PCC made a commitment as our Parish Share contribution of £60k. These accounts show an expenditure of £60k against the Parish Share, but this includes a £9k payment made early in 2025 against the commitment for last year. Therefore the contribution made by this PCC in 2025 was £51k

The commitment made for 2026 is currently £62k

• Parish Finance Return

This return which is required by the Diocese, and generated from the Diocesan Cashbook, used to record all transactions across all our accounts and investments, is included at Annex 3

• Appointment of Independent Examiners

The PCC has elected to subject the financial statements to independent examination. These accounts have been examined by Davies Accountants Ltd (previously known as Davies Accountants (SW) Ltd ). Their report is included as annex 4.

Having made appropriate enquiries, the PCC propose Davies Accountants Ltd as independent examiner until the next APCM.

Structure, Governance and Management

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. The members of the PCC are listed below. All those who attend our services are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC. Elected members serve for 3 years to enable a rotation of the membership.

PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish including how the funds of the PCC are to be spent. The PCC held 5 meetings during 2025. We held a very short meeting in the Church immediately after the APCM in May to make the necessary election of PCC Officers.

Administrative information

St James the Great Church, Silver Street, Dursley The Parish of Dursley is part of the Ewelme Benefice with the parish of Uley with Owlpen and Nympsfield. The Benefice is part of the Diocese of Gloucester within the Church of England.

The correspondence address for these churches is via the Parish Office, St James Parish Centre, Silver Street, Dursley. GL11 4NA The PCC is a body corporate (PCC Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2006) and a registered charity, number 1130972

PCC members who have served at any time from 1[st] January 2025 until the date of this report are: Ex-officio members: Incumbent: The Revd Juliet Jensen

Churchwardens: Christopher Tyler (From April 2024) Danny Parker (from May 2025)

Elected members:

David Smith Deanery Synod representative Elizabeth Oakley Deanery Synod representative Clare White PCC Secretary Sally Pearson PCC Treasurer Parish Safeguarding Officer Heather Arnold Austin Meares Caroline Marrow Edwina Walton Christine Morgan Sheila Gardner Joy Pepper Anne Shipton (from May 2025)

Revd Juliet Jensen, PCC Chairman

March 2026

The Rector’s Report Revd Juliet Jensen May 2026 I am hugely grateful to God and to you all for all that we share here in Dursley.

The annual reports from the wide variety of Church life demonstrate the enormous commitment, talent and loving service of so many people in the Parish. This truly is a wonderful place to be, and I’m very grateful for your patience as I have settled into ministry here and navigated some significant personal challenges.

There is so much to be thankful for.

It was a difficult start to 2025 as we said farewell to Revd Jane and not long after we had the very sad news that Tony King’s death. We are very grateful for all that they brought to the life of the parish and the wider benefice and I believe that the developments at Dursley Academy this year are in large part the result of seeds that Tony had sown over many years both as part of Open the Book team and listening to children read.

In February there was a Benefice Away day for the PCCs and retired ministers. The message from Dursley PCC is that we do lots of great things and we simply need to get the message out a bit more, so that more people come along.

Well, the message seems to be getting out, with growing numbers of people coming along on Thursdays and Saturdays and to other events too. People experience the special something, the warmth and love of St James, and some venture in for worship on a Sunday too. The quality of the care and welcome are often mentioned when I talk with people who are new or visiting church for the first time. I am hopeful that in the coming year we will get the message out about the beauty of Choral Evensong – and that Choral Singing isn’t just for Christmas, the quality and warmth of the choral music at St James is something to be shared more widely.

We didn’t come away from the day in February with a vision for how we might engage more with children and families in the parish, but it seems that God does! Over this last year we have been presented with opportunities to develop our relationship with Dursley Academy and explore worship from the perspective of families with young children. We have worked hard with safeguarding this last year and will continue to do this as we explore further how we work with children and families across the Benefice, particularly in relation to the national initiative from the RSCM, The Choir Project.

There are so many people to thank it would take a page to name everyone, you know who you are - THANK YOU!

I feel hopeful as we look ahead and trust that we will have the courage to take the little steps of faith that we are being called to this year. The One who calls us is faithful and will do more than we could possibly ask or dare to imagine – to Him be glory in the Church, now and forever!

Safeguarding report for PCC/APCM 2026 Heather Arnold

I am pleased to report that it has been a positive year for safeguarding training and DBS compliance this year. All the activity leaders that I am aware of have completed at least their Basic Safeguarding Awareness training, and have either completed the Foundation course (if needed) or are in the process of doing so. DBS checks have been completed or are progress for activity leaders.

I ran a Basic Awareness Safeguarding Awareness training session in late November. It was an interesting experience, and I will be better prepared for the next one. I will also have the venue set up in advance, along with a projector and screen, instead of an impromptu trip to the Rectory when it was realised that the Parish Centre was just too cold. I will also make sure the next time is not the day before I have 2 big services to sing at!

There was a working lunch convened in late February to discuss risk assessments and that was very successful. The plan is to have generic risk assessments for the church, Parish Centre and the balcony/belfry that can be adapted for more specific events. The PCC meeting on 9[th] September 2025 had a discussion based around promoting a healthy culture and I think we all found it thought provoking. We need to make sure that St. James’ is welcoming and safe for all, and we all have a part to play in that.

There have been bumps in the road, and I have certainly learnt some hard lessons. With the help of others I am putting in place a system which captures all the information that different organisations require, and I will also be looking at an Online Hub offered by the Diocese which might be able to send out automatic reminders (once the information is entered into it) to see if it will meet our needs. Remember – safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

Achievements and Performance Clare White, PCC Secretary The normal pattern of church services - Holy Communion at 8am monthly and 10am weekly on Sundays and Thursdays Morning Prayer at 9 am on Thursdays, and Choral Evensong at 6.30 pm on two Sundays a month, with Evening Prayer on Zoom on Wednesdays -

was maintained by the faithful service of many volunteers and a muchreduced staff team, very generously supported by retired ministers in the Benefice, with a few services taken by visiting ministers.

Shine! Children and family worship at Dursley CofE Academy School was started in September, the worship is on the third Sunday of each month, lead by Revd Juliet and a team of volunteers; plus Sportily. The Thursday morning communion congregation has doubled in the last 12 months. The PCC agreed that the communion could taken by intinction as a way of the excluded feeling that they could participate. Some Sunday services and funerals are live-streamed for the benefit of those who can’t attend in person.

Home Communion has been given regularly to housebound members of the church family, and Holy Communion is now being celebrated monthly at residential homes for the elderly in Dursley. Revd Juliet took up the role of Governor in January 2025 at Dursley C of E Academy School, our contact with the school was maintained through the weekly visits of our Open the Book team (highly praised by visiting school inspectors).

The children from Dursley Academy attended Experience Easter at St James in April 2025, this was led by members of the

congregation. The school pupils also came to a performance of “The Bizarre Bible” by4Front theatre company.

Dursley Academy held their Leavers’ Service in St James in July and the end of term Christmas assembly, with input from the Open the Book team. Shine! A monthly Sunday worship for primary school aged children and families started in September 2025, it is held each month at Dursley Academy.

St James is a member of Churches Together in Cam and Dursley, and contributed to the series of Sunday evening Lent services and the Good Friday Walk of Witness. We were represented on the Deanery Synod by two PCC members.

Light Lent Lunches were held in the Parish Centre, throughout Lent. The number on the Electoral Roll this year was 103.

Bishop Rachel attended the 7.30pm Ash Wednesday service at St James. The average attendance at normal Sunday services was 55. Attendance on Easter Sunday was 140 across 3 services, at Harvest 89, at All Souls evening service 44, the Remembrance service at 3 pm on 9th November welcomed, among others, representatives of the British Legion, uniformed organisations and civic dignitaries, the number attending was 360. The attendances at the Epiphany, Advent and Christmas carol services were 48, 76, and 220

respectively. The Crib and Christingle service at 4 pm on Christmas Eve was attended by over 250, approximately half of whom were children. Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve drew 107, and 42 attended on Christmas Day. The lack of heating meant that attendance was somewhat lower during the colder months, though ‘special’ services were not affected so much.

From January 2025 until Easter Church services were held in the Parish Centre because the cold became too unbearable. Worship at Sunday Parish Communion, Evensong and Carol services was much enhanced by the singing of the choir, and musical accompaniment by our organist and deputy organist was also greatly appreciated.

Three baptisms, 0 weddings and 16 funerals/thanksgiving services were held in St James, and there were 9 interments of ashes in the churchyard during 2025.

St James has welcomed many members of the wider community through its doors to the weekly free bookstall, bimonthly Bring and Take events, monthly (from April to October) ‘Coffee, Cake and Music’ organ recitals, concerts by local choirs and music groups, enabling good relationships to be forged.

Church news and messages from the clergy have been disseminated through the monthly Messenger magazine, and services and events have been advertised on our website and social media.

The churchyard has been well maintained by volunteers, and our Eco Church group ensures that certain areas are managed for the benefit of local wildlife.

It was agreed by the PCC to change to sustainable flowers to decorate the church.

The Christmas market was a huge success, held on the same evening in November that the town’s Christmas lights are switched on. It was incredibly well attended by the locals; who came through the doors to purchase items from our many and varied stall holders. In February we held a benefice away day at North Nibley Village Hall. The PCC met six times in 2025.

Electoral Roll 2024/25 Austin Meares

We had a starting figure of 155, the new roll was produced in May 2025 with the new figure of 103.

Fabric Austin Meares Progress has been made in a number of areas during 2025. Early in March, two new boilers were installed. One only is working

at present while we await an upgraded gas supply which will permit the entire system to function. Throughout the year, dehumidifiers have been at work to dry out the building after two years without heating.

The tower roof is now watertight following replacement of some rotten timbers and laying a new lead covering over the affected areas. The gutters together with downpipes have been cleared of debris which had accumulated. The church clock has been repaired and serviced. All fire extinguishers (including those in the parish centre) have received their annual service.

Some projects included in the Quinquennial have been progressed. In hand, are plans to upgrade the nave lighting, survey the plain/stained glass windows, install a new sound system and redecorate the building. It is the intention to seek grants for this work. As always, there is close collaboration with Falconer & Gilbert Scott, Architects who oversee our fabric projects.

A small sub-committee has been established to carry forward ongoing initiatives in the parish centre.

Churchwardens Chris Tyler and Danny Parker At last year's APCM Chris Tyler was relieved and delighted that Danny Parker stepped forward for election as Churchwarden. After only 1 year's experience in the role between us, we relied heavily on the everpresent support from assistant wardens Austin Meares, Christine Morgan, and Caroline Marrow, and our Treasurer, Sally Pearson. Many other people have generously shared their expertise and knowledge to maintain our regular pattern of worship and other activities. Fulfilling the role has been made considerably easier by having an incumbent. We have learned a great deal while we have helped Rev Juliet find her way around St James and its communities.

Rev Juliet has built up a fruitful relationship with Dursley Primary Academy. The new “Shine” monthly services in Dursley Primary Academy started in August - an addition to our regular worship in partnership with Sportily. Volunteers helped at the Academy's Christmas Fair. “Open the Book” has continued its weekly reenactments of narrated Bible stories. The RSCM's “Hymnpact” resources have been introduced; this will enable the children to learn a range of hymns, traditional and more modern.

Our much-anticipated annual events such as the Harvest lunch, Christmas Carvery, Christmas Market and Lent Lunches have all taken place successfully, thanks to the cheerful hard work of many volunteers

you have to get your name on the rota quickly or someone else will do it! (Special thanks here to Ann and Clive Orchard, Cynthia Martin and Anthea Fittall).

“Hardy's Christmas” replaced the live nativity this year and included the moving experience of John Ewer appearing as Thomas Hardy, only a few weeks before he moved to France. Barbie Davies worked incredibly hard to get the show on the road - costumes, lighting, music, movement, inspiration, etc. A lovely community event!

“Coffee, Cake and Music” completed its 17th (?) season. Thank you, Nigel Davies found yet another great lineup of organists, all able to find new delights in the organ. Thanks to choir members for providing the hospitality and making our many regular visitors welcome.

The Saturday bookstall has raised considerable sums, with once a month donations to various charities and the rest to the work St James’. Clive Orchard leads the team of many volunteers; Joy Bell raises extra money selling some of the books online. Thanks to you all for providing such a welcoming and inclusive event.

Many thanks to our Benefice Administrator, Clare White, without whose support the churchwardens’ lives would have been very difficult. Thanks also to the PCC for faithfully discharging their duties Thanks to Nigel Davies, Lynn James and the choir for their immense contribution to our worship. Thanks also to Joy Pepper (verger), Sheila Gardner (sacristan), Judith Staddon and Valerie Meares (“Messenger” editors), our wonderful prize-winning bell ringers, George White (and his service streaming team). Thanks also to the Church Security team (making it possible to have our church open 9-5 every day of the year), cleaners, flower arrangers, refreshment servers, readers, intercessors, sides people, Eco-church (thanks to Gill Mather), the gardeners (Paul Prodger and team), those who prepare rotas and everyone who encourages us in our shared ministry here.

Deanery Synod David Smith

St James Church Dursley is part of the Wotton Deanery. A sub-committee has produced a draft Building Manual. This includes ‘a deanery-wide team of experts, suppliers and trades in order to service and maintain our buildings’.

Two sub-wardens have been installed. Their role is to support the welfare of Lay Readers in the deanery.

A Deanery Operations Officer has been appointed. Their role is to lead projects too big for individual churches. An example is the

Tyndale Trail. It is 200 years since Tyndale was martyred. The trail will link churches with a Tyndale connection.

We discussed the new system for calculating the Parish Share for each benefice. There is information on what the parish share is for and how it is spent on the Diocesan website.

It has been agreed that in future there should be more Open Meetings. PCC Secretaries and Treasurers would be invited to attend.

2026 marks the beginning of a new triennium for Deanery Synods. This means that the current Deanery lay representatives retire though they are eligible to stand for re-election. Currently Elizabeth Oakley and David Smith are the representatives. Donna Pinker stood down last year. Elizabeth and David are not standing for reelection. This means there will be 3 posts to fill.

Saturday Books Clive Orchard

When after the Christmas Market in 2009, we decided to put out a table on the grass and give away the left over books for a donation, we never could have imagined what would be happening in 2026. Books continued to be donated and from six tables once a month we moved to twelve tables twice a month and now we have forty tables every week and well over 3,000 books.

The community give us tremendous support and local musicians regularly entertain us as we browse through the books.

The Books really are free but donations are given. We have raised over £38,000 since we started. Recently we have started to support small local charities by giving them the donations we receive on the second Saturday of the month and in the first seven months have given over £1200 to six charities.

This has only been achieved by the hard work put in by a small dedicated team - Sheila Gardner who sorts and puts out the books in a way that was recently praised by a librarian, Hilary Barnett who deals with the children’s section, Anthea Fittall who deals with the charities and Joy Bell who scans books as they come in to see if they have any online value, and has raised over £2,750 so far. We are very thankful for the band of volunteers who help put out books on Friday afternoons and pack them away on Saturday mornings but would willingly and eagerly accept more help.

Music Report Nigel Davies

As ever, the members of the choir continue to give freely of their time and talents to support the worship at St James'. The number of choristers has remained pretty static and we average around 23 members for the

10.00am Eucharist which means we are able to provide a great variety of musical styles ranging from the polyphony of Palestrina to the sometimes outlandish chords of present day composers.

We were sorry to say goodbye to Hugh Whittaker (Bass) as he is no longer able to drive from Uley and we said farewell to Sue Davies (Tenor) who has moved to Cheltenham, and welcomed Sarah Nelson (Soprano) and Sue Gibson (Alto). Huw Clayton (Bass) has moved to Dursley and so is able to sing with us regularly, and Gail Guy (Alto), joins us for evening services. We are always on the lookout for singers to join our ranks – no audition, but the chance to be part of the friendly group of people who make up a choir which has an unbroken tradition.

2025 was a year of several notable events in the life of St James' choir, starting on 23[rd] June when we sang at the funeral of Lionel Jones. Lionel has figured in music reports on many occasions as he was the longest serving choir member clocking up some 88 years' unbroken service, and only retiring from his choir duties in 2022 when his voice lost its strength.

On the 29[th] June the choir underpinned a “Come and Sing” event which was a Choral Evensong featuring the music of Dr Herbert Sumsion, including the epic anthem “They that go down to the Sea in Ships” with Lynn James directing and Nigel Davies accompanying. Perhaps the most prestigious event in 2025 was the celebration of David Wood's 80 year membership of the choir. which took place on 14[th] September at the 10.00am Eucharist and included a communion motet written especially for him to the words “Lord, remember David” (taken from Psalm 132) A splendid cake was shared after the uplifting service for which David had chosen the hymns.

On 27[th] September, St James' Director of Music gave the Coffee, Cake and Music recital followed by lunch to celebrate his 75[th] birthday and it was lovely to see so many people in the church. The annual Choir Lunch took place on Sunday 2[nd] November when we were able to celebrate David Wood's achievement once again, as well as thanking those who contribute so much to our music. Special mention was made of Lynn James (who conducts the accompanied pieces); Anne Shipton who does a wonderful job of looking after our extremely large music library; Chris Tyler whose skills at the organ are much appreciated, and Geoff Whiley, a musician who is not fazed by anything (even when he's got to make up the Gospel acclamation!). As well as using their musical skills, it

is good to see that so many choir members are involved in other areas of church life.

We are fortunate to have an excellent Bluthner grand piano in church which is on permanent loan, and on Sunday 25[th] May we heard the instrument to excellent advantage in the hands of Christopher Guild (known to many as the accompanist of the Tyndale Choral Society) who performed a programme of music by the eccentric Australian composer, Percy Grainger. The piano has been used by the pupils of Kim Ward who are encouraged to play during times when the church changes into a vast book-room on a Saturday morning.

It is good to note that the church is well used for concerts, and special mention must be made of the Tyndale Choral Society's “Messiah” where the term “capacity audience” was not an exaggeration! The Coffee, Cake and Music organ recitals held on the last Saturday of the month from April to October continue to draw large audiences. No charge is made for these events, and after paying our visiting organists travelling expenses, just short of £2000 was raised for church funds in 2025.

An event of a different nature was held on 22[nd] November, kept as St Cecilia's day (she is the Patron Saint of Musicians), when the organ was open to anyone to come and play, in line with the Royal College of Organists' “Play the Organ” year. Not having an idea as to how many would take advantage of this offer, we were delighted to host nine children and twenty-two adults. We will consider doing a similar thing in 2026.

Choir members were heavily involved in “Twelfth Night with Thomas Hardy” on 6[th] January 2026 when Barbie Davies assembled a cast to re-enact some of the traditions of Christmas long ago as chronicled in “Under the Greenwood Tree”. It was another occasion when the versatility of our church came into its own with the audience surrounding the drama and joining in with the final dance. Despite illness taking eight members of the cast, and other problems, the event which included the Waterley Bottom Mummers and accompanied by an authentic folk band, was most atmospheric and raised £1000 shared between the animal charity SPANA and the work of St James' church.

At the time of writing, our musical instruments are suffering thanks to the lack of heat in what turned out to be nearly three years in both the church and the Parish Centre! The piano in the Choir Room, given recently in memory of Jo Downing, is suffering from the damp

atmosphere with sticking notes and dampers, and, after the church was once more heated, I am pleased to report that the organ is rather better than it was a few months ago. However, I noticed that the keyboards (replaced a few years ago) are no longer as even as they were, no doubt resulting from the damp atmosphere, and I know there is much internal work needed to repair the missing notes.

Eco Church Jan Vonberg & Gill Mather Bring and Take: now held on third Saturday morning every other month, alongside the book stall, and attracts large numbers of people and donations of items. Things left over after each event are rehomed via the Freegle website or taken to charity shops/Kids’ Stuff/ GARAS/ recycling centre as appropriate, with remaining items stored in cupboards and suitcases in the Parish Centre. As well as reducing waste, the event provides free second-hand goods to those with limited resources and encourages people to come into St

James to socialise. Any monetary donations are shared between the church and Freegle (towards running costs). Some new volunteers have joined us this year, for which we are very grateful.

Churchyard: areas on the north side of the church were left unmown again over the summer, allowing wild flowers such as common spotted orchid, yellow rattle and ox-eye daisy to flourish and providing habitat for insects. In the autumn, Julian Jones (son of the late Lionel) planted out some Limestone Woundwort plants he had grown from seed close to the north-east wall of the church. These rare specimens seem to be establishing well. In February, we arranged a churchyard tidying session and cleared brambles, cut back overgrown shrubs and removed ivy from the yew trees. Plans to no longer use plastic floral foam in flower arrangements: in September, Gill organised a trip for three flower arrangers and herself to attend a demonstration of sustainable flower arranging. Inspired by this, they have decided to phase out the use of nonrecyclable, non-biodegradable plastic floral foam at St James, and to use a new biodegradable type of foam instead. They use locallygrown flowers whenever possible.

Count on Nature survey: on June 13th, we carried out a survey of plant and animal species in the churchyard, assisted by volunteers from Berkeley, and submitted our findings, via the iNaturalist app, to Caring for God’s Acre’s Count on Nature project. Evidence of a visiting hedgehog was found, and species of invertebrates, flowering plants and lichens were recorded. On June 14th, we held a Nature

Day, with a Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust stand, activities for families and moth reveals by local expert Peter Cranswick. Progress towards Silver Award: Gill and Jan have studied the revised version of the Eco Church Survey to ascertain what we still need to do to achieve the Silver Award (we obtained the Bronze Award in 2021).

Monthly article in Messenger: Gill and Jan have continued to contribute an Eco News article to the Messenger each month.

Messenger Magazine Report Judith Staddon and Valerie Meares

The Messenger again continues to be a window into our Church, giving information, not only to our congregation but also anyone who visits our beautiful church. We have dates for your diary and useful contact details on the inside cover and on the back.

We continue with sales of 95-100 copies per month and online copies go out each month too.

Our advertisers continue plus one new one. No increase in prices this year. We now charge 70p per copy, £7 a year, which is a small increase. Valerie Meares and I are most grateful for the articles and photographs, people submit, the lovely front covers which Clare is now producing, with photos by Steve.

We are always open to fresh ideas to keep the Messenger value for money.

OPEN THE BOOK Joy Pepper We are now in our 18[th] year of going into Dursley Academy and have encountered many changes over this period. There have been four Headteachers, many changes of teachers as well as many changes in the Open the Book team over this during this time. We have had some sad losses over this time. Unfortunately, Tony

King passed away since my last message for the APCM. He was an enormous asset to the team and produced all our overheads as well as acting and leading the worship. He is deeply missed.

John Ewer, who occasionally took part in some of the stories, has gone onto pastures new in France.

Jennifer Kendrick also left the team for health reasons at Christmas 2025. Her acting and leading the worship was much appreciated. However, over the past year she has been our narrator for most weeks. We miss her narration as she was very good at expressing the story. Our team currently consists of myself, Liz Byrne, Edwina Walton, Anthea Fittall, Philip Staddon, Canon Richard Morgan, Pauline

Chidlaw, Joyce Lombard, Gill Mather, Sheila and Ian Gardner and Rachel Tyler.

We are still selecting stories from the new book but do change some of the wording if we feel it is not appropriate. We are thankful that we can still use the old material. We really need new people to join the team, even if you can only do one week per half term. Please speak to one of the team members if you are interested in taking part.

Bellringing

Isaac O’Shea and Elizabeth Byrne

The previous year has seen ringing at Dusley being well supported, both on practice nights and for services.

Ringing remains of a high standard, covering all levels of ability. There were 10 Quarter Peals rung on the bells and one Peal, this being the Ringing Master’s first as conductor.

Our learners are progressing well and continue to make steady improvements. By the end of the coming year they will be well on the way to ringing their first Quarter Peals.

We again won the Branch striking competition, retaining the Beaney Trophy.

The tower outing was a huge hit. A good time was had by all and my thanks go to Philip and Anne for organising a brilliant day out. My thanks go to all of the band for supporting ringing in the tower, and to those who have run the ringing in my absence when work has taken me away to other towers.

Sides people

Chris Morgan

Our Sides people continue to be the welcoming face of St James on a Sunday morning, evening, or whenever there are special services. They ensure that everyone is always welcomed with a smile, and in most cases, greeted by name.

They ensure worshippers have all the necessary books and other material for services, including candles over the Christmas period. They often arrange for people to do the offertory procession, or take part in it themselves, and at the end of service, after collecting in the books, they may count the collection.

They are a cheery band, and would always welcome others to their number, so if you fancy helping out at service, please let me know. It’s a great way if getting to know people.

Thanks to all our Sides people - St. James wouldn’t be as welcoming without you!

ANNEX 1

St James PCC Dursley Statement of Assets 31 December 2025

Account Opening ACTUAL Balance Transactions In ACTUAL Balance Account Name/Description Transactions Out	Account Opening ACTUAL Balance Transactions In ACTUAL Balance Account Name/Description Transactions Out
£460,302.51 £142,771.62 £381,900.40 (£221,173.73)
A £31,986.31 £99,166.25 £9,838.73 PCC DursleyTreasurers Account 02391588(cash) (£121,313.83)
B £138,473.08 £22,482.47 £75,149.31 PCC DursleyFabric Account 02391693(cash) (£85,806.24)
C £2,575.26 £3,656.62 PCC DursleyStewardshipAccount 07974395(cash) -	£6,231.88
D £6,376.44 £203.68 - St Marks Treasurers Account 02476397(cash) (£6,580.12)
E £2,784.27 £5,117.39 £539.98 St James Parish Centre 02476060(cash) (£7,361.68)
F £6,500.00 - CBF Fabric Fund 616190001D(inv) -	£6,500.00
G £13,203.15 - CBF LegacyFund 616292001D(inv) -	£13,203.15
H £2,797.85 - £2,685.99 McClavertyShares(Inv) (£111.86)
I £255,606.15 £12,145.21 CBF DursleyPCC Omega Trust CB127603-001(inv) -	£267,751.36

ANNEX 2

PCC Dursley Receipts & Payments Accounts

For the Year ended 31 December 2025

Incoming resources Voluntary income: Planned giving Collections, donations & other giving Income tax recovered Legacies Activities for generating funds Magazine/Bookstall sales/Hall Lettings etc Income from other Properties Annual Fete/events Investment income: Interest & dividends Income from charitable activities: Parochial fees Other incoming resources: Insurance claims Gain on disposal of fixed assets Loans received Other Notes	General fund £	Designat ed fund £	Restricte d fund £	2025 £	2024 £

	41,656	-	570	42,226	44,063
	9,900	269	2,442	12,611	49,758
	15,500	-	-	15,500	12,840
	10,014	-	-	10,014	-

	3,840			3,840	7,371

	16,812	127	1,477	18,416	18,249

	698	-	289	987	1,114

	-	-	-	-

	-	-	12,465	12,465	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
	8,028	-	(90)	7,938	8,554

Total incoming resources	106,448 396 17,153 123,997 141,949
Resources expended Charitable activities: Donations/Grants to charities Mission & Evangelism Parish Share Clergy expenses Church running expenses Churchyard maintenance Cost of raising funds Running costs: Support costs Administration costs (inc. staff costs) Other Governance costs Major expenditure Repairs to church buildings Repairs to other property Capital purchases/additions Loan repayments
	(929)	(527)	-	(1,456)	(1,052)
	(510)	-	-	(510)	(25)
	(60,000)			(60,000)	(25,000)
	-	-	-	-	(163)
	(19,866)	-	(1,374)	(21,240)	(26,975)
	(381)	-	-	(381)	(369)
	(755)		(496)	(1,251)	(2,870)

	-	-	-	-	(1,193)
	(23,854)	-	-	(23,854)	(21,478)
	(8,939)	(92)	-	(9,031)	(8,619)
	(432)	-	-	(432)	(432)

	-	-	(83,816)	(83,816)	(20,969)
	-	-	-	-	(2,350)



Total resources expended	(115,666) (619) (85,686) (201,971) (111,495)

Net (outgoing)/ incoming resources	(9,218) (223) (80,998) (90,439) 42,919
Transfers between funds


Net incoming/(outgoing) resources before gains Gains on investment assets	(9,218)	(223)	(80,998)	(90,439)	42,919
	12,033		-	12,033	-

Net movement in funds Funds brought forward at 1 Jan	2,815	(223)	(80,998)	(78,406)	42,919
	80,688	3,426	376,190	460,304	76,474

Funds carried forward at 31 Dec	83,503	3,203	295,192	381,898	119,393

ANNEX 3

Parish Finance Return 2025

The form below is produced by the Archbishops' Council's Statistics division, and should be submitted using their webportal at: http://parishreturns.churchofengland.org/

	Return of Parish Finance January to December 2025	Parish code:	616031	~~e form is NOT completed on behalf of the entire parish, please list below the~~ ches included:	Deanery:	Wotton
		Pih	St J Dl		Di	Glt
		ars name:	ames, ursey		ocese:	ouceser
	INCOMING RESOURCES	UNRESTRICTED (nearest £)	RESTRICTED (nearest £)	RESOURCES EXPENDED	UNRESTRICTED (nearest £)	RESTRICTED (nearest £) 496 £ - £ 1,374 £ - £ - £ 83,816 £ - £ - £ 85,686 £ RESTRICTED 33,120 £ 262,106 £ [ ] e Diocesan Cashbook v5
1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 A B C 14 15 16 100	Voluntary income/ receipts			Costs ofgeneratingincome
	Tax efficientplannedgiving	37,522 £	570 £	Costs of fund-raisingactivites	755 £	496 £
	Otherplannedgiving	4,134 £		Church activities
	Collections at services	2,303 £		Mission giving and donations	1,456 £	- £
	All other giving and voluntary receipts, including Special Appeals(recurringand one-off)	7,866 £	1,442 £	Diocesanparish share contribution	60,000 £
	Gift Aid recovered	15,500 £	- £	Salaries,wages and honararia	18,240 £
	Legacies received(capital value)	10,014 £	- £	Clergyand staff expenses	- £
	Grants[Include recurringand one-off)	- £	1,000 £	Church expenses
	TOTAL Voluntary income:	77,339 £	3,012 £	Mission and evangelism costs	510 £
	Activities forgenerating funds			Church runningexpenses	28,222 £	1,374 £
	Gross income from fundraisingactivities	16,939 £	1,477 £	Church utilitybills	6,563 £	- £
	Income from investments			Cost of trading	- £	- £
				Governance costs	432 £
	Dividends,interest,income frompropertyetc.	698 £	289 £	Major capital expenditure
	Church activities			Major repairs to the church building	- £	83,816 £
	Statutoryfees retained bythe PCC(weddings,funerals etc)	- £	- £	Major repairs to church hall or other PCC property, including redecoration	- £	- £
	Gross income from trading (e.g. hall lettings, magazine, bookstall). NOT fundraising.	3,840 £		New building work to the church, church hall, clergy housing or other PCCproperty	- £	- £
	Other incoming resources			SUB-TOTAL for Church activities & expenses	116,178 £	85,686 £
	Anyother income/receipts not alreadylisted	8,028 £	90 £
	TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES(FROM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS)			Otherpayments/expenditure not alreadylisted	107 £
	Unrestricted	106,844 £		TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED(FROM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS)
	Restricted	4,688 £		Unrestricted	116,285 £
	TOTAL	111,532 £		Restricted	85,686 £
	PLANNED GIVERS AND LEGACIES			TOTAL	201,971 £
	Number of tax efficientplannedgivers	45		Cash and Investment Balances	UNRESTRICTED	RESTRICTED
	Number of otherplannedgivers	5		Cash and deposit balances as at 31 December 2024 Investments as at 31 December 2024	58,640 £	33,120 £
	Number of new legacies received inyear	1			28,304 £	262,106 £
	WeeklyAverage Planned Giving per Planned Giver	16
	*This section needs to be completed manually as the figures are not* *recorded within the Cashbook*			Account basis: on which basis areyour accountsprepared(indicate ONE)
				Receipts and payments [ X ]	Accruals	[ ]
				*produced using th 04/03/2026 SallyPearson Treasurer v6sep@aol.com
			Date	04/03/2026
			Name	SallyPearson
			Position	Treasurer
			Telephone or email	v6sep@aol.com

Independent Examiner's Report For th• year nded 31 December 2025 Independent Examinefs Report to the PCC of Dursle Parish Church I report to the Iw5te•s on my examinal)n ol the acc(Kthts ol Durskv Parish Church (the Trust) lor the year ended 31 December 2025 ResF4)nsibililtes and ba¥"s ol report.. As the chaftty Iwstee5 Qf Ihe Twsi you are responsible lor the preparab.on of the accounts in ac¢ordan¢è wilh the requirnents of th? CharitiesAcl 20111.lhe Adl and the Chtsrch Accounlii)9 Re9vlaligTr5 20. I rèport in respect of ry exarninaiion ol Ibe Trusfs accounls carried c4Jt under $¢Cln 148 ol Ih@ 2011 Arl Anrt in rArryino ntjt fry Èxaminahon I have followed all Ihe applicable Dlrections gNen by Ihe Charity Commissi¢Ji under 5tcbon 145ISllbl ol Ihe Acl. Independent ExamNrfs slatemont.. I ha Cornptd my exarninalion.. I confifm that no matenal matters hav• come lo rny allenlion in connecbon Mth Iht •xaminatson gNing n¥J caus• to believe thal in any rii¥le¢i¥l i¥>yeLI. Accounting fecords wtre kept in re$p¢d ol Ihe Tnjsl as required ty sed.on 130 of Ihe Act.. or 2. The aecounts lo not acrd wilh tse cords. I have no ¢oftc•ms and have corre across no Olhei matters in nnectIOn the •Xaminaln lo whKh attentir should be drawn in Ihis report m order to enable a prop8r unde¥slandry oftho accounts to be reathed. Silln¢d.. N•m¢'. Rhion Dovics Davs Accounlanls Limrted Rdovanl professional walificatiort of prolessional body.. charte In51itul¢ ol Managemenl Accounlant5 Addre¥$'. 130 Aztec. Atlec Vsl Busin Park. K)nd$bUry. BS32 4U8

2025-12-31-accounts