2025-12-31-accounts

St Wilfrid’s Church, Grappenhall Annual Church Report 2026

Rector’s Address

It feels like only yesterday that I was being installed as your new Rector. In reality it has been almost exactly twelve months since my family and I packed our bags in St Helen’s and moved over to join you in Grappenhall. I feel that I should use the beginning of this address to say thank you to all our church community for making our family feel so at home at St Wilfrid’s and in the wider community. Thank you for your prayers and kind support of my ministry among you during this first year. Our family couldn’t have joined a more welcoming and loving church family, I thank God for you all.

During this first year and throughout 2026, we will be focusing on building solid foundations for the next five years of ministry. As we seek to deliver our church’s vision of: building a community where faith and life connect, it is important that we don’t just do this for our church family, but also for the wider Grappenhall community. With this in mind, over the next five years, our ministry team will be focusing on developing these four key areas of ministry:

• 1: Deepening discipleship

• 2: Reaching families

• 3: Growing younger and more diverse

• 4: Equipping church members for ministry

These four priorities sit alongside our church’s wider commitments towards being an inclusive and eco-friendly church that is welcome to all.

While our work together is still in its infancy, we have seen a lot of encouraging signs during this past year that should give us faith that we are on the right path as a church family. We have begun to grow younger and more diverse as we have welcomed a number of new young families both from the local community and places further afield into our church family this past year. In addition to this, we have seen the emergence of our new Kids church and the Pints & Psalm’s bible study group. We have also begun to see our links with the local schools deepen as we have welcomed our new Head of St Wilfrid’s Primary to come and preach to us. We have also begun to do ministry in Grappenhall Heys school this past few months.

However, This year has not been without its challenges. We have sadly lost a few members of our church family and have seen several people having lengthy stays in hospital. In addition to this, we have also we also have to contend with some financial challenges that our church may face if we do not begin to close our current shortfall of around £500 per week.

This year, we have begun to see changes in key leadership roles within our church community. Charles who has been our treasurer for the past eleven and a half years has stepped aside and allowed Jonathan to take up this role. We have also seen Gill White move on to a new season of employment after serving us for the past six years as our Administrator and Reader. I would like to personally thank both Charles and Gill for

their commitment to their now former roles. They leave behind legacies which will not be forgotten quickly. This year, we will also be saying goodbye to Reverend Kate who has been with us for the past three years. Having Kate as our Curate has been a real blessing to our church family, and I know that we will all miss her dearly when she does leave us at some point in 2026 for her next role.

Despite the noted challenges, I do remain confident that we have many exciting years together ahead of us at St Wilfrid’s as we continue as a church community to serve God and the people of Grappenhall together.

You all have my continued love and prayers. Reverend Mark Orrell.

Rector.

Churchwardens

Annexe

The annexe has had the fire extinguishers checked. Work is required on the outside of the doors which will take place in 2026.

Statutory Regulations

The fire extinguishers have had their annual check. PAT testing of all electrical equipment has taken place. We have also had our quinquennial inspection.

Maintenance

Church

A new gas boiler has been installed in the plant room for the church. All of the lighting in the church has been updated to LED. The North aisle has had tiles removed and been replaced with wood. The carpet has been cleaned and put back down with new underlay. Once the tiles had been lifted, ducting was installed to take new cables for the new microphone points which have been fitted. The centre aisle tiles were found to be in good condition. However, the wood at the edge of the tiles needed to be replaced. The carpet for this aisle was also replaced. There has been an intermittent leak in the roof which has been fixed

Support

As ever, the work of the churchwardens could not take place without the support of many volunteers. Also, we are supported by many sidespeople, gardeners, cleaning teams, Sunday morning coffee teams and many others who are always willing to give us their support whenever we ask. We are both eternally grateful for all the help everyone continues to give us.

Pastoral Care

Pastoral visiting increased during 2025, and although it has been hard for those attending hospital or requiring extra support and

care, it has been insightful and encouraging to have Revd Kate and Revd Mark accompany me on many of these visits. It has enabled growth and experience to take place, alongside opportunities to establish relationships with people in our community. Pastoral care, as always, is a whole church provision and many of our congregation contribute to this in a variety of ways.

Bereavement Café continues to serve a purpose and is well attended. We held a “one off” coffee morning in April for previous attendees and it has been a joy to see individuals returning to let us know how they are managing life going forward. The volunteers continue to develop and show real passion for this area of ministry, so much so that we have gained an extra volunteer in Lynn Williamson, who “shadowed” the Bereavement Café sessions held in September. The team has added valued suggestions for this provision and a craft session (not previously undertaken) was welcomed by those present. We will be looking into more of this type of offering as we continue to develop this area of ministry. There are few churches in our immediate area that offer this type of support.

Prayer Friends continue to offer their faithful prayers to all those requesting support – some requests are received by word of mouth and others via our website. Chris Hunter continues to be vital in this area of ministry, and we have gained an extra “prayer friend” to add to our team. Prayers requested confidentially are very valued, and often families wish prayer but don’t want to have intercessions read out in church. I offer my thanks to all who are involved.

The Deanery Pastoral Workers continue to meet once a month. There were changes during 2025, in that we had a period of time where most of our group were in vacancy. It has been invaluable to be able to support each other when extra work pressures arrive. I am pleased to say the Grappenhall vacancy was filled in June and Daresbury & Walton also received a new Incumbent in Autumn. As a result of our increased contact with each other, the PW from Daresbury was able to ask us to support two ladies who attended her church but were moved to the Fir Grove. They are now both regular attendees and have settled in well, having been recently granted residency.

We are all, as the result of a meeting in November with the Lay Chair and Diocesan representative, due to work in Deanery Hubs. The vision of the Diocese is that Budworth and Frodsham Deaneries work together as lay teams. There is some way to go in terms of planning, and, at the moment, this change of provision is in early stages.

Pastoral Care cont.

The annual visit to Chester Cathedral to collect the chrism oils, plus Easter and Holy Week services were very enjoyable and

enabled our church to welcome many new people. Our church has been able to provide worship, music, wonderful flower arrangements and a welcome that is much needed in the community.

After the arrival of Revd Mark in June, we met together and updated my working agreement. My focus will be the sick and housebound, bereavement café and the encouragement of others interested in volunteering in all sort of areas that cover pastoral provision. I have started to mentor Lynn Williamson and Alexander Clarke in pastoral activities, we have one extra prayer friend, and we have a wonderful refreshments co-ordinator in Margaret Eckersley, who is also encouraging people to join in with refreshments after church services. Arranging safer recruitment and safeguarding training for volunteers working with me has also been part of my work.

After my working agreement was agreed, I completed the tasks and paperwork required to continue in ministry, and in October I received a letter from Bishop Mark confirming my license is endorsed for another three years. Thank you to Revd Mark, the PCC and the Ministry Team for their continued support.

During the early part of 2025 I assisted with visits to Summerville Care Home. Once Revd Mark was installed the care home provision is provided by Revd Mark and Revd Kate. I do assist with the monthly communion and soup lunch, which enables me to spend time with attendees from our care homes and also encourage volunteers to join in.

We all had a rather hectic time during Walking Day, Harvest Festival, Farmers Market, Creamfields and Christmas Fair & services. Pastoral conversations and working with volunteers has been a large part of all I do and helps people to feel valued and encouraged. Deliveries of harvest gifts and conversations on doorsteps have been really uplifting. Meeting people at events like the Farmers Market and School New Starters BBQ, and pack down for Creamfields, is all part of the rich patchwork we have at St Wilfrid’s Church.

I continue to attend Monday morning prayer, assist with the chalice and intercessions, lead services when requested and have input into the liturgy and delivery of key services such as “All Souls” for the bereaved. I also attend PCC Meetings, Deanery Synod and Chapter Meetings when invited and am part of the Ministry Team and Safeguarding Team.

Individual visits and listening sessions continue to take place when requested. Pastoral ministry continues to grow and although it has been a busy year, it has been a blessing to be able to serve my church family and community.

Margaret Kitchen, Pastoral Worker

Parochial Church Council (PCC)

Secretary’s Report on the Proceedings of the PCC

The notice convening the Annual Parochial Church Meeting had been displayed in the Church for the relevant period. During the year January to December 2025 there had been 6 meetings of PCC and 4 meetings of the Standing Committee. After quite a long Interregnum, in February 2025 we received Notice of Appointment of Reverend Mark Andrew Orrell to be the Rector of St Wilfrid’s and that the Bishop of Chester would institute Rev’d Mark at a service at St Wilfrid’s on 28[th] May 2025 at 7pm and the Archdeacon of Chester would induct Rev’d Mark as Rector during that service.

On 9[th] June 2025, at the first PCC meeting after the APCM the following appointments were made:

=| faci i | ij? 4 0a

Chair Rev’d Mark Orrell Vice Chair Linda Stockton Treasurer Charles Jesudason Secretary Marjorie Cassin Thanksgiving Officer Geraint Williams Deputy Wardens Vacant Electoral Roll Officer Alan Hunter Safeguarding Officer Alison Collins Data Protection Administrator and Parish Updater Gill White Trustee to Warrington CofE Educational Trust John Bygate There being no changes the sidespersons were re-elected en

bloc

This was the first PCC Meeting for our new Rector, Rev’d Mark Orrell and as usual was preceded with a service of Holy Communion with Rev’d Mark presiding, assisted by Rev’d Kate. After a short break the meeting commenced.

Rev’d Mark said how thankful he, his wife and family were for the warm welcome they had received. He gave an insight into his background. He had joined the Army at the age of 16 and after serving 9 or so years, felt God’s call to ministry. He had volunteered some of his time working with the homeless, drug addicts and the charity NDUK (Nigerian Doctors UK) as a first responder. Prior to his appointment as Rector of St Wilfrid’s, he had served as Priest/Curate in Charge of three neighbouring parishes in St Helens (Liverpool Diocese).

Parochial Church Council (PCC) cont.

The PCC usually meets bi-monthly and the Standing Committee meets in the alternative months. The meetings commence with a short act of worship followed by discussion with the focus being on a particular subject. Amongst these have been the Vacancy, Live @ St Wilfrid’s, Safeguarding, The Beacon and the next 5 years/outline/vision. We also received regular reports on the church finances, church fabric, pastoral care, Eco-church, safeguarding, Electoral Roll, Live at St Wilfrid’s and Deanery Synod.

Under the leadership of Alison Collins, Parish Safeguarding Officer, the Safeguarding Policy was updated and approved by PCC. To assist Alison, Sarah Young was appointed Assistant Parish Safeguarding Officer. A small Safeguarding Team was formed who would have regular meetings. PCC members were asked to update their Safeguard training.

We had a successful Walking Day/Summer Fair and Christmas Fayre, and it was good to see the School and Church working together, raising much needed funds which were shared equally between them.

PCC received notice from the Treasurer, Charles Jesudason, of his intended retirement from the role and, as no volunteers came forward it had been necessary to appoint an external Treasurer with the necessary expertise who would share the role with an internal Treasurer, namely Jonathan Robertson, a regular worshipper at SWC

We are always looking for volunteers to help, may be on a Sunday morning with coffee or with ideas for fundraising. Lots of things go on in the background - our church is clean and tidy, thanks mainly to only two volunteers, but we need more – can you help?

Marjorie Cassin Hon Sec - PCC

Rev’d Kate at Family Praise

Christingle Service in December 2025

Live at St Wilfrid’s

Our series of 8 concerts mixed returning favourites and first-time visitors to St Wilfrid’s. The season opened with the ever-popular classical guitarist Craig Ogden - who made a return trip from Oxfordshire on the day to deliver a beautiful programme.

Paul Vowles Trio

The March recital was given by our very own Pip Clarke, accompanied by Havilland Willshire. We were treated to less common works by de Falla, Clara Schumann and Fauré amongst others.

April saw a double bill of “firsts”. Grappenhall Community Voices gave us a rare public performance under effervescent Director Simon Smith. After the interval, the Paul Vowles Trio delivered a fascinating series of original musical sketches inspired and accompanied by on screen Hokusai images of Mount Fuji.

Kathryn Rudge, accompanied by Duncan Glenday, returned in May to take us through a delightful selection from the Great American Songbook.

In June, we hosted the very talented young pianist, Julie Zhang. Although still a pupil at Chethams, her programme ranging from Bach to Stephen Hough demonstrated maturity well beyond her years. ate

After the summer break, the irrepressible Leyland Brass Band filled the church with a magical mix of full band and solo pieces.

October brought a first visit to St Wilfrid’s by the Sale Gilbert & Sullivan Society. The season was brought to a resounding close in November by the Phil Shotton Big Band – a spectacular grouping of 20 of the finest jazz musicians in the Northwest together with vocalist Adee Lifshitz. t

Overall, a very successful season with both online and card ticket purchase proving increasingly popular.

Alan Hunter

Julie Zhang

Grappenhall Community Voices

St Wilfrid’s Primary School

Reflecting on a Wonderful 2025

As we look back on 2025, we do so with gratitude. It has been a year filled with joy, growth and friendship. A year in which our children have continued to “let their light shine” in so many different ways.

In July, we said a fond and heartfelt goodbye to Mrs Davies, thanking her for her dedicated and faithful service to our school and wider community as Headteacher. She has given so much to the life of the school and leaves a lasting legacy. We marked this special moment in true St Wilfrid’s style — and what fun we had at the Hoe Down!

This year we have continued to nurture and deepen our special link with St Wilfrid’s Church. We are so thankful to Rev Mark and Rev Kate, who have worked closely with school to lead weekly worship centred around a shared theme and Bible verse. These times together have been meaningful and inspiring for our children. Teachers have thoughtfully developed

beautiful reflection areas within each classroom. It has been a joy to gather in church for our Harvest, Remembrance and Christmas services. These are special moments in the rhythm of our school year that help us to reflect, remember and celebrate together.

One of the highlights of Advent was our whole-school Christmas Pause Day. Each year group explored a different aspect of the Christmas story through art, poetry and thoughtful reflection. The school was filled with creativity, stillness and a deep sense of wonder as children engaged with the true meaning of Christmas.

We were privileged this year to host two Bishops from the Solomon Islands. They visited to learn more about how we weave our school vision through daily life and worship. They also shared powerful insights about life on their islands and spoke with our Ethos Group about the impact of climate

change on their communities. Our passionate beekeeping team proudly shared the work they do and presented the Bishops with some of our own honey as a special St Wilfrid’s gift.

St Wilfrid’s Primary School Cont.

We were also delighted to welcome Bishop Mark of Chester, Bishop Sam of Stockport and Bishop Julie of Birkenhead. They led Key Stage 2 in an inspiring worship on courage. They also spent time with Year 6, who asked

thoughtful and probing questions about the Church, and visited Reception, where they were delighted to hear the children share their beautiful bubble prayers. Afterwards, the Ethos Group joined them and other church leaders for a walk around the Parish.

This year we have placed a strong focus on making good use of our outdoor spaces and beautiful school grounds. Children have enjoyed a wealth of opportunities including Forest School, gardening, orienteering, sports and outdoor learning across the curriculum.

We continue to be incredibly proud of the children’s achievements in English and Maths. In English, there has been a real focus on creative writing. The children have produced thoughtful poems inspired by World War II, atmospheric stories full of suspense, fascinating autobiographies and wonderfully humorous tales. Their imagination and developing writer’s voice have been a joy to see.

In Maths, we have been embedding the use of practical resources to deepen understanding and strengthen problem-solving skills. It has been wonderful to see the children’s confidence grow as they tackle new challenges with resilience and enthusiasm.

This year has also seen the further development of our House system. The children have designed their own house badges and democratically elected House Captains. There has been great excitement around house competitions in art, dodgeball and

writing. Children eagerly collect house points and awards, working hard to demonstrate our school values each day. The sense of belonging and friendly competition has brought real energy and unity across the school.

In so many ways, our children truly “let their light shine” every single day, through their kindness, courage, creativity, perseverance and commitment to learning.

Sustainability / Eco Church

In 2025 we focused efforts on raising awareness of what individuals and families can choose to do, to reduce their personal impact on the resources of God’s Earth. Of course, as individuals, the choices we make about our consumption will not have sufficient impact to change the climate of the whole planet. But if we won’t change, why should we expect anybody else to do so?

“Every little helps”. If lots of people make small changes, there can be large outcomes. The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 started with a child offering his small loaves and fishes to Jesus to ease his hunger. There are estimated to be over 2 billion Christians on this Earth. That is more than a quarter of all the people alive today. What if we all tried to reduce our consumption of energy from fossil fuels? What if we all tried to reduce waste?

During the year, in our regular monthly column in the Church Magazine there have been articles on practical actions to reduce the consumption of energy or natural resources like water. Some of the information for these articles came from training programmes and information networks run by the Diocese and Warrington BC.

Permission was eventually granted for us to replace our antiquated gas boilers with a much more efficient modern gas boiler, which is capable of becoming a hybrid heating system. Now the flooring by the door is flattened, Glenn has fitted door closures, to reduce heat loss. New underlay under the carpets should also reduce heat loss. Every little helps.

The loss of biodiversity is another escalating problem. St Wilfrid’s Gardeners have continued to improve conditions for plants and wildlife in our churchyard. The brilliant harvest of honey from the children’s churchyard beehive is evidence of success. Thank you to everyone who contributed nestboxes, feeders, kept feeders topped up with bird food, carefully avoided trampling on fruitful flowers and fungi in the churchyard, collected plastics and metal items in the churchyard and put them in recycling or waste bins. Everyone can play a part to improve our precious green space, but do please speak to the Gardening team, so our efforts are co-ordinated and productive. For example, a tree planted in the wrong place can destroy efforts to maintain access for people with walking difficulties. We should all be able to enjoy the peace and beauty of God’s creation in our churchyard.

Jenny Pearce

Parish Centre

2025 saw a healthy increase in hall rentals. Our income from regular hirers was £22,729. We took £2,107.00 in ad hoc bookings, mostly comprised of children’s parties but with some photography shoots and an MP’s surgery adding some variety. Overall, we saw an increase of almost £2000 on 2024.

The chart below shows the income from 2025 and 2024:

Our current regular hall hirers include a playgroup, a children’s phonics group, the 3rd Grappenhall Brownies troop, a children’s drama group, as well as yoga, pilates, and meditation classes.

In addition to our hall hires, the Parish Centre proudly held it’s first Farmer’s Market in August, something which we hope to repeat this year. We made around £450 profit for the church from the event. It was also an integral part of the Christmas Fayre again, hosting 18 independent traders for a Christmas market and raising approximately £540 for school and church.

In October, we were able to have the floor resurfaced as regular use had made some areas quite tired looking and scratched. It looks renewed and hopefully will last for many years.

Sarah Young

Parish Centre Manager

Safeguarding

The parish safeguarding team comprises Rev’d Mark, Rev’d Kate, Pastoral Worker Margaret Kitchen, Parish Safeguarding Officer, Alison Collins and Assistant Parish Safeguarding Officer, Sarah Young. We meet regularly after the Family Praise service each month. The focused activities of the safeguarding team have revolved around adopting national CofE safeguarding policies and practices, as well as risk assessing church activities and identifying volunteer roles that require DBS screening and safeguarding training.

The diocese has launched a campaign to encourage people to ‘Speak Out, Stay Safe’. In September there was a dedicated Safeguarding Sunday, at which I was invited to address the congregation to talk about what safeguarding means in a parish context, how we all have part to play in being proactive in recognising and not ignoring potential safeguarding issues. I also spoke about how our church could help anybody who has concerns about a recent or past adverse experience that could be deemed to be a safeguarding incident, whether they involved the church or not.

In various places around the church, the Parish Centre, on noticeboards, on the backs of toilet doors, and within the Parish Magazine are contact details for the parish safeguarding team. There is a mobile telephone that messages can be left on. The number is 07739 383248 and it is monitored for messages daily. There is also a dedicated email address to report safeguarding concerns to the Parish Safeguarding Officer at safeguardingstwilfrids0405@btinternetcom.

Safeguarding reports tended to focus on the vulnerabilities of particular members of the congregation. We considered both what support could be offered, how it could be delivered within a safeguarding context, as well as who would be the best person to deliver it. Safeguarding is an agenda item for each PCC meeting and a report is provided to keep members up to date every month. A complaint from a member of the public was reported to the PSO and referred to the diocese for advice. Whilst they did intercede with the complainant and the person who was the subject of the complaint, it was taken no further and there are no ongoing concerns.

The diocese has rolled out revised tools via an online safeguarding dashboard which requires various policies for each parish to be reviewed and updated. This is ongoing and we are currently working towards completing level 2 of 3. The dashboard helps us to examine the safeguarding aspects of the roles and requirements of volunteers and dictates the level of checks required according to the nature of the voluntary role.

We will continue to monitor safeguarding requirements for all church activities, will continue to implement safe recruitment practices and we will be prepared to assist anybody seeking help for anything that could be deemed to be safeguarding related. Alison Collins

Parish Safeguarding Officer

Music at St Wilfrid’s

Church Choir

The choir managed adequately during the last part of the inter regnum and into the start of Rev Marks ministry. There have been some challenges as the form of music in services transitioned but things have settled down somewhat and they have been able to contribute some short pieces during the distribution. Also, we were pleased for the return of our carol service and the choir piece which was included.

We have lost 2 members, both due to health reasons but gained 1 in December. We hope to be stable for the short term and are able to call on occasional support from members of the congregation to swell our ranks.

Guy Pomfret, Organist and Musical Director

We have really enjoyed providing an alternative musical accompaniment to services again this year. Over the last 12 months, we have tried to incorporate some new songs into our worship and have received some lovely feedback. We look forward to continuing to contribute to the music at our church in the year to come.

Helen & Phil

Playing for the family worship services and for some of the special services throughout the year has been a real privilege for myself and Nikki.

We love being a part of the solemnity of the worship services and try to provide contemplative music that works with the liturgy. It is our absolute pleasure to contribute to the music programme at St Wilfrid’s and we look forward to being a part of the music team in 2026.

Pip and Nikki

Christening Team

" Last week we celebrated our daughter's Christening. It was a lovely service where family and friends gathered to share a special moment of faith, love and community ".

" We had a wonderful day having our son christened and sharing his special day with our family and friends. Thank you so much to everyone who came to celebrate with us and to St Wilfrid's Church for a lovely service ".

Christenings are always joyful services. For the 38 babies and children and 3 adults baptised at St Wilfrid's in 2025 and their families and friends, they were indeed very special occasions.

Prior to the Christenings, the monthly Christening Preparation evenings provided an opportunity for parents to think about why they wanted their children to be baptised, to look at the Christening service, to meet members of the Christening team and talk to other families whose children were also being baptised at St Wilfrid's.

The work by the team - Gill, Sarah, Linda, Phil, Carolyn, myself, Revd Kate, Revd Anita and Revd Mark - ensured that all went smoothly on the day. After the service families were invited to send a photo of their child's christening and write a few words for inclusion in the parish magazine and we're delighted that there was a good response in 2025. Those who had been baptised in 2024 received a specially designed card on the first anniversary of their christening and were invited back to church for Family Praise when they were named in the intercessions.

As always, those to be christened were named in the intercessions for that particular Sunday. And our prayer, both throughout 2025 and now, is that with the support and encouragement of our church family, these children continue to grow in faith.

Chris Hunter

Grants and Facilities

We were eventually granted permission in February 2025 to replace the old heating boilers which were funded in part, by a grant by Benefact Trust. Benefact Trust is funded by profits from our insurer, Ecclesiastical Insurance. It awarded £25.5 million in grants during 2024, to over 1400 applicants, many of whom were churches. Their focus is “Empowering Christian-led initiatives to make a difference where it matters most.” We certainly want to keep our church heated efficiently. As Insurers they have been very helpful as they have a specialised understanding of church buildings and the insurance risks we need to cover.

Did you know they also do household insurance and will provide what could be a very competitive quote, on request? It is a Which “Best Buy” and offers 10% discount to Charity volunteers (search for Ecclesiastical Insurance).

The Co-op Local Community Fund gave us £2,084.75 in 2025. This was to support our work in making our Churchyard a place where everyone can benefit from its green tranquillity. They also gave us opportunities to let people know about the good work we are doing through local radio and 2 local charity events.

The National Churches Trust and the Wolfson Foundation provided £3,000 and £6,000 respectively, to help us deal with the flooring crisis. We were horrified to discover that, under the carpet in the north aisle, the Victorian flooring had crumbled, to reveal gaping holes into the void beneath. We got permission to install solid wooden flooring across all of the north aisle under the carpet. This goes alongside the solid wooden flooring under the chairs. You may not be able to see the difference, but a walk along the carpet no longer feels like walking over undulations of sand, like at the seashore. We were warned that the same deterioration could be happening in the other aisles. We could see loose and broken tiles near the front porch and around the font area. A huge amount of work has been done to restore the flooring to a much safer and stable state. Thank you to Glenn and the others in the team who sorted this problem, including releasing a store of reusable Victorian tiles that can be used, in future, for timely repairs when a tile lifts or cracks in an area of high footfall.

We have now had recent grants from the 3 most significant donors of grants for church repairs. St Wilfrid’s is now not eligible to apply to them again, until time has passed. The Christmas roof repairs had to be funded by St Wilfrid’s. In 2026 the churchyard wall needs repair, as does masonry in the Tower. I hope that sales of the new Guidebook will help provide funding in 2026, as maintaining our beautiful building will need additional funds that are unlikely to be available from grants.

Jenny Pearce

Bellringers

72 services were rung for in 2025 with 2 occasions when 10 bells were not rung. With some 20 ringers on our books, getting 10 ringers on a Sunday is less of a problem. With this many ringers, the tower is always quite full on practice nights which keeps our Ringing Master (Nick Thomson) busy trying to give everyone enough rope time to practice what they are learning during the short time we have for practice. Our numbers are invariably enhanced by several visitors (usually 2 to 4) who come each week. These visitors help our band to make progress with their 10 bell repertoire. Unfortunately, several learners who started to ring have not stayed the course and fallen by the wayside. Our own less experienced ringers have made good progress into the mysteries of change ringing during the year.

We have also welcomed visiting bands coming to ring socially (usually for up to an hours ringing), or to ring Quarter Peals (QPs) (45mins of continuous ringing) or even full Peals (3hrs of continuous ringing). 3 Full Peals were successfully rung. There were 34 QPs rung in 2025, mostly by the local band. These included Quarters to welcome our new Rector and his family to Grappenhall, to mark Sybil Moseley’s 90th birthday and, on a sad note, to mark the passing our dear friend and ringer, Bernard Ongley. The church was full for his funeral with ringers attending from all over the country. A quarter was rung half muffled to mark his passing and one ‘open’ (no muffles) to celebrate his life.

Stockton Heath benefit from our ringers strengthening their band for both Sunday Service and practice night ringing. Stretton also benefit from our ringers helping out on some practice nights. Nick arranges special practices there once a month aimed at helping to progress less experienced ringers in basic method ringing. This benefits Stretton, Stockton Heath and Grappenhall bands who attend in both learner and helper roles. QPs are also arranged there, some for Stretton ringers and some for our ringers and friends to stretch their abilities. Hand bell ringing is regularly practiced by some of our band. You can read what happens up the tower in the Parish Magazine under the title Up the Spiral Staircase penned by Nick.

Bellringers Cont.

We entered two bands in the Mid Cheshire Branch Striking Contest at Hartford, one ‘Novice’ Band and one ‘Experts’ Band. Both bands were very successful, being placed 1st in their respective category. This success meant that they would represent Mid Cheshire in the Chester Guild competition held at Burton (Wirral) later in the year. Again, both bands were successful in being placed 1st in their respective category – a wonderful achievement for Grappenhall.

The tower was open to visitors on Christmas Fayre day and quite a few people made the climb up the tower to see the bells and the views from the tower top. If you didn’t make it then and would like to come and see us ringing and see the new bells, please get in touch with us. New ringers would be most welcome to come and help us keep St Wilfrid’s loudest voice heard across the parish. No experience necessary as training will be given.

Mike Thomson Tower Captain

Women’s Group

St Wilfrid’s Women’s Group continues to prosper although our membership is slightly down on previous years. This reflects the age profile of the Group as illness or the decision to stop driving affects members ability to attend. However, on the other hand, each year we seem to attract new members. Our current membership stands at 49 and attendance at most meetings is around 30 which is an encouraging number. Our Annual Lunch at Lymm Golf Club began 2025 - members were delighted with the welcome, food and venue! We had talks on a variety of subjects including Trekking the World for Charity, the Children’s Adventure Farm Trust and “How I ended up in Prison”. We reconvened in September with Holy Communion and our AGM. October and November saw us welcome Martin Gaffney speaking on “A funny thing happened happened on the way to the police station” and our own Rev Mark on the “Mother’s Union in Uganda” and his involvement in the project. 2025 drew to a close with our Christmas get together - one of our new members enlightening us on Christmas traditions. Our celebrations were complete with the traditional mince pies, mulled wine, snacks and chocolates!

Barbara Wild

Bible Study Group

From June to October 2025 we enjoyed regular viewings of episodes of the excellent film “The Chosen” (still being made) which endeavours very faithfully to relate the story of our Lord’s life and ministry as recorded in the Gospels, and includes much further material such as worship including the Psalms as it was most likely offered by various communities in those days.

From October 2025 we have also met in the Ram’s Head for “Pints and Psalms”. These discussions have, without fail, been very enjoyable and fruitful. The sessions have been very well led, and we have often had different translations of the Psalms to compare. This is very practical and unhurried study; we have started at the beginning and not yet reached Psalm 20!

We must thank God for the usefulness, fruitfulness, practicality and prayerfulness of both these growing Bible study related activities, and pray that more people still may be drawn to them, and to more as we are led further to study the inexhaustible riches of the scriptures.

John Prytherch

Pre-School Praise

Pre-school Praise is held every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month. We have songs, stories, craft and snacks and lots of fun. Our services have been led by Sarah, Gill, or Rev Kate. During the past

year we have thanked God for Eyes, Books, Autumn, Bread, Harvest, Trees, Friends, Rain, Peace, Baby Jesus, Frost and Snow, Pancakes, our Mums and Easter. We enjoyed our Christmas party where we had snacks and lots of fun!

The highlight of the year was the graduation service, held in July before the whole congregation on a Sunday morning , when we present the children who are moving on to school with a memorable book and our very best wishes and prayers. The children really enjoyed singing their special songs for everyone!

Sadly, we said goodbye to Anne Young who retired from the Preschool Praise Team. Her contribution over the years has been immense and has kept many a young child happy with her innovative crafts. Thank you to Anne for all your service!

Reverend Kate & Sarah Young

Grappenhall Community Voices

Grappenhall Community Voices (GCV) meet in church every Tuesday evening (termtime only) from 7 – 9 pm.

We are a group of around 30 women and men from a variety of backgrounds. We are led by Simon Smith, who also runs a Christian youth charity called Voice, which helps children and young people to explore and express faith in Jesus through music and works at Lymm Baptist church. Simon still finds time to inspire and encourage us to sing a variety of contemporary music, some Christian and all with an inspiring message. Songs have included pieces from Tom Grennan, Rag’n’Bone Man, Ten Avenue North and For King and Country. Simon arranges music in high, middle, low and for all musical abilities. There is small termly cost of around £40.

In 2024 we did a couple of small ‘concerts’ for friends and family only but this year we branched out. In April this year we were thrilled to be asked to be part of a concert at Live at St Wilfrid’s. Despite a few nerves at our first ‘real’ performance we loved the opportunity, ending the set with our favourite piece Beggin’ by Maneskin. We also sang during St Wilfrid’s Christmas Fayre and our final outing was to take part in Seasonal Singalong organised by this year’s Rose Queen to raise awareness and funds for Claire House Hospice. This was a truly inspiring and fun filled event which perfectly rounded off our year of singing together.

Anita Raggett

Foodbank

Foodbank continues to be challenged in these difficult economic times. This has been due to the demand on the needs of more people requiring support from Foodbank with the many increasing costs that many households have to bear. Because of this greater demand there were many empty shelves in the Foodbank warehouse but, due to the generosity of our own congregation and parents of children at the school they are now being filled. We continue to receive donations being left at the back of church. Our Foodbank Sunday and Harvest Sunday donations were very generous this year. When we all have more pressure on where we spend our hard earned money it is comforting to find that our community supports Foodbank. As we are open every day this makes it easier for donations to be left. I am, as are all the people who are struggling to feed themselves and their families, grateful for any donations you are able to leave. Thank you.

Linda Stockton

Prayer Friends

"Pray for one another, so that you may be healed". James 5:16 "Pray without ceasing". 1 Thessalonians 5:17 And that was what Prayer Friends were doing in 2025.

Prayer Friends are members of St Wilfrid's congregation who pray regularly and faithfully for those who have asked for our prayers for any reason whatsoever. All information is given in strict confidence and remains confidential.

Throughout 2025 we continued to receive many requests, either personally or through St Wilfrid's Church website, from people facing health concerns or who were troubled or anxious for themselves or a loved one. Many people also left requests on the prayer tree and in the little books at the back of church as they came to light a candle for a loved one or themselves and these requests were offered on their behalf at Monday Morning Prayer.

If you feel that God is calling you to share in this particular prayer ministry then please do get in touch with Margaret Kitchen or Revd Mark.

Chris Hunter

Flower Team

Our flower team has three new ladies, so we now have a team of 12 regular members who have produced beautiful arrangements to celebrate the seasons of the church year. We are grateful for donations made in memory of loved ones or to celebrate special occasions. We are a friendly group who work in pairs and take pleasure to enhance our beautiful Church. The main events for our team are Easter, Harvest and Christmas when the whole team work together with enthusiasm. Many thanks to Anne Young for her 12 years of dedication and looking after this wonderful team. If anybody would like to join the team, male or female, just contact me.

Barbara Stewart Flower Team Co-ordinator

Admin Team

2025 heralded a lot of change within the Church Office. The arrival of Reverend Mark led to a new way of working in the office as he took back some of the responsibilities which had fallen upon the office during the vacancy. Sadly, our Church Administrator Gill had to take some leave over the summer months so Sarah Young stepped in to temporarily staff the office. We were glad to welcome Gill back in September. Our faithful volunteer Eileen Waddell stepped back from volunteering in the office in the latter part of the year after many years of providing crucial support. Our other volunteers Margaret Hale and Ken Southward continued to help out with a large variety of admin duties throughout 2025.

Sarah Young

St Wilfrid’s Gardening Team

After a lovely show of snow drops and crocuses in the churchyard, the gardening season started off well for us. With the warm spell in May, although dry, we could get ahead with developing our new flower border, a mix of wild and bee uy /butterfly oe friendly flowers. The summer bedding brightened up the front of church and the men did an amazing job of jet washing the courtyard and carrying on with some of the maintenance work in the church grounds. We continued to maintain the Garden of Remembrance and Peace Garden, keeping them as weed free as possible and keeping the paths easier to walk on. Did you notice the poppies growing in the Garden of Remembrance, such a special place to grow. Working alongside our eco church leaders and Dan, whose mulching on the flowerbeds this year has improved the soil and reduced the need to purchase compost, we feel we very much complement each other. We continue our mission to support biodiversity.

As always, we are mindful that our churchyard is a place of peace for people visiting their loved one’s graves and sometimes this has given us the opportunity to have a chat with various visitors.

Thank you to the PCC for the funding we receive and other donations. Thanks also for the lovely compliments we receive. A big thank you to the team for the work they put in. The team is always there on Thursday mornings, but you will see us around at different times. Anyone is welcome to join us, for whatever time they have spare.

Carol Harrison

Magazine and Social Media

The magazine includes regular seasonally appropriate articles and contributions from our community groups, along with our regular features. Our Ministry Team continue to take on the monthly refection, offering us a variety of different reflections to lead us seasonally through the year. We welcome new contributions. Please e-mail [e-mail] if you would like to be featured.

Our social media presence has increased with Reverend Mark taking over the church Facebook page and Instagram account. We have also seen a new Parish Centre Instagram page launched (@stwilfridspc) and a Live at St Wilfrid’s Instagram page (@laswgrappenhall) so that we can reach out to the community in as many ways as possible.

Sarah Young

All out for Love

Our All Out for Love evening was a very successful and encouraging occasion. We are especially grateful to the couples who attended and to the St Wilfrid’s Wedding Team for the time, care and effort they gave in preparing and hosting the evening.

The evening began with refreshments in the Church Annexe, giving couples an opportunity to meet members of the team in a relaxed setting.

Each couple was then allocated a team member who helped them go through the final details of their wedding service, including choices of music, hymns and other practical arrangements.

Following this, Reverend Anita and I met with the couples together to talk through the order of service and to reflect on the meaning and significance of Holy Matrimony. The evening concluded in church with prayer and a blessing for each couple. It was a joy and an honour to lead the evening alongside our experienced and dedicated wedding team. We continue to

pray for all our couples and wish them God’s guidance, love and blessing as they begin their married life together.

Yours in Christ

Reverend Kate Pwaisiho

Care UK Charity

In September 2015, CARE UK Charity was established in response to the heartbreaking image of 4-year-old Aylan Kurdi, the little boy washed up on a beach, which prompted our founder to make a heartfelt plea on Facebook to send aid to refugees in camps overseas.

The overwhelming support led to our first aid shipment to Greece and spread to sending aid to regions affected by the refugee crisis including Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Uganda and Ukraine. They also provided, and are still providing clothing and toiletries to migrant hotels in the region, but that need is diminishing as hotels are closed down, with residents being relocated outside of Warrington.

Care UK Charity’s mission has adapted to needs closer to home by setting up a dedicated ‘homes’ team to help local families and individuals to set up and equip their rented homes with the basics. Their activities are self-

funded by the activities of the two charity shops, one at Riverside Retail Park and the other in Runcorn Shopping City. In 2025, your support helped 701 households, provided 3,347 essential items, and supported 600+ children across Warrington & Halton.

Behind every number is a person or family starting again with the essentials they need. Thank you for being part of it.

Jumble sales have been held recently in various locations in north Warrington. The locals have embraced them with great enthusiasm and asked for repeat visits. The receipt of good quality donations is key to the success of the retail arm of the charity, enabling them to fund the homes team to fulfil the many requests for help. We have recently appealed for more volunteers to help with the sorting of donations, to work in the shops or to help the Homes team. Please contact me if you have time to spare and would like to become a volunteer.

St Wilfrid’s supports Care UK Charity by sharing information and supporting the work of the board of trustees, who are given the use of Annex at various times for board meetings. We are currently seeking new trustees to strengthen our team, which currently has four permanent members including myself.

Alison Collins

Fair Trade Stall

Fairly traded goods provide a fair price to poorer communities in the developing world, the income from sales helping to support those communities with education provision and healthcare. We see it as part of our Christian life to support Warrington’s status as a Fair-Trade town by organising a Fair-Trade stall most Sundays of the year after the 10:00 service. The stall always attracts attention and during 2024 we sold over £1,000 of goods, including tea, coffee, chocolate and a variety of jams, honey and savoury sauces. Easter Eggs and Advent Calendars were popular items again and the stall offered the opportunity to buy a variety of Christian Christmas and Easter cards.

We would like to thank everyone who has supported us by buying from the stall or from the Warrington Fair4All stall in the market which supplies all our stock. If anyone would like to join us in running the stall on an occasional basis, please do let us know.

The Williams family

Bridgewater Churches Together (BCT)

St Wilfrid’s is a member of BCT, an umbrella group of churches of all denominations in the local area. There are 4 Ecumenical Services held throughout the year when each church takes a turn to host. These are the Week of Christian Unity held in January, Good Friday (an open-air service held on Victoria Square in Stockton Heath. Due to the closeness of dates, the Christian Aid and Pentecost service are now combined. In addition, there is also a Christmas Carol Service held in St Thomas’ Church, led by a different church each year. Also, in an attempt to attract families, it was decided to hold an open-air Carol Service which took place on Victoria Square on Monday 22[nd] December at 5pm which was well attended.

During the year, changes in clergy took place - Rev Mark Orrell was appointed Rector of St Wilfrid’s Grappenhall and Rev Jo Mackriell was appointed as Pries-inCharge at All Saints, Daresbury and Vicar of St John’s Walton. Each church makes a small annual financial contribution to BCT and collections taken at Ecumenical Services are usually donated to local charities i.e. Warrington Foodbank, St Joseph’s Centre and Christian Aid. BCT supports the Creamfields Festival and Broomfields Youth Project who work along side the High School. BYP meet in “The Shack”, a building on the Broomfields School site which serves a great demand, especially on Friday nights and due to the high attendance, they are looking for funding to add a second floor to the building. \ll,

Marjorie Cassin Aq TGETHER Hon Sec - BCT

DEANERY SYNOD

In 2025, we had an unexpected change of Rural Dean, in that Revd. Bev Jameson resigned from the incumbency of St Mary’s, Lymm. The new Rural Dean for Great Budworth Deanery is Revd. Michael Ridley, from St Thomas’s, Stockton Heath, who will be well known to many of us.

The Deanery Synod is made up of all the clergy in the Deanery and lay representatives of each parish. The lay members are elected at Annual Parochial Church Meetings.

There were three Deanery Synod meetings in 2025 – two in person and a “virtual meeting.

The Deanery Synod met on 10th March 2025 at St Matthew’s, Stretton. We had a guest speaker, Rev’d Emma Speake from the parish of St Andrew’s, Grange, Runcorn. She talked about how to become a church more inclusive to neurodivergent people. She had personal experiences within her parish context with Lego Church and being a welcoming space to those with mental health challenges.

The July 2025 meeting was held at All Saints, Daresbury.

The main business was a presentation by the members of the Diocesan Ministry Team (Ian Arch, Karen MacMillan and Richard Walker). The work of the team is to support and resource people to live out their ministry.

The talks included elements on “growing vocations together”, discernment of vocations, and different ways to explore whether you have a vocation. If anyone feels that they are being called to serve, there are a number of events and experiences organised by the team throughout the year.

The Synod meeting planned for October was rearranged. The original date was given over to an evening event at St Wilfrid’s, in which a number of speakers (including Catherine Speed, the Head of St Wilfrid’s Primary) gave witness to their faith. There was a good turnout for this event.

The business part of the October Synod meeting was carried out by Zoom on 21[st] October. Quite a few parishes in the Deanery are either vacant or were about to be vacated. The pressure on local clergy to cover was noted, and the need for parishes bro be aware of clergy wellbeing was noted. There was a discussion on Parish Share, and what it was likely to increase by (raised by a treasurer drawing up an annual budget). The main new item was that the dates for the Episcopal Visit to the Deanery were publicised by the Rural Dean. This took place on 20[th] /21[st] January 2026, so has already happened!

Geraint Williams

Building A Community Where Faith & Life Connect

stwilfridschurch.org.uk

Printed using recycled paper in line with our commitment to the environment

St Wilfrid's Church (1131 723)

Balance Sheet detailed

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |As|at|As|at| |$<|31/12/2025|31/12/2024| |Current|assets|—| |6501: Natwest|- Church Current account|2,924.14|13,156.35| |6505: Natwest - Church Deposit account|11,045.08|-| |6510: CCLA|(CBF) Deposit account- General-CB3022947|4,680.96|26,478.28| |6511:|CCLA (CBF)|Deposit account-Investment-CB3022948|44,852.48|72,916.25| |6512: CCLA (CBF) Deposit account-LASW-CB3022949|-|-| |6513: CCLA|(CBF) Deposit account-CB&PF-CB3022950|10,005.92|23,219.03| |6591: Parish Centre Float|150.00|-| |6592: SW|Flower Team|Float|250.00|-| |6593: Gods Gardeners|Float|250.00|-| |205: Accounts|Receivable|25,000.00|-| |Total|Current|assets|99,158.58|135,769.91| |Liabilities| |6601: Loans|received|10,000.00|-| |6602: WBC Council|Rates|2,000.00|-| |6610: CCLA (CBF) Deposit account - Accrual|- CB3022947|-|-| |6612: CCLA (CBF) Deposit account|- Accrual|- CB3022949|-|-| |6613: CCLA (CBF) Deposit account - Accrual|- CB3022950|-|-| |204: Accounts|Payable|.|-| |Total|Liabilities|12,000.00|-| |Net Asset|surplus|(deficit)|87,158.58|135,769.91| |Reserves| |Excess/(deficit) to date|(49,986.15)|-| |201:|Starting balances|135,769.91|135,769.91| |202: Gains/(losses) on|investment assets|1,374.82|-| |Total|Reserves|87,158.58|135,769.91|

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

$< Current assets —

Represented by Funds

----- Start of picture text -----
||||| |---|---|---|---| |General|(Unrestricted)|87,158.58|135,769.91| |NNTotal|87,158.58|135,769.91| |aa|A de|

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

----- Start of picture text -----
/ /
//|UU / {)YL | HL Fen; 2O%e,Lo24,5
7 til
; / .
f
eee
(11 February 2026 10:30 am) Page 1 of 1
----- End of picture text -----*

----- Start of picture text -----
| _ CHARITY COMMISSION
|SE|| FOR ENGLAND AND WALES |
----- End of picture text -----

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner's Report

----- Start of picture text -----
Report to the trustees/ ) =
members of | PCC St Wilfrid's,_ Grappenhall
On accounts for the year Charity no z
ended | 31% December 2025 (if any) | 1131723
Set out on pages |
| report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above
charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended
Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation
basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act
2011 (“the Act’).
| report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts Carried out
under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, |
have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission
Independent under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
examiner's | have completed my examination. | confirm that no material matters have
statement come to my attention (other than that disclosed below ) in connection with
the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material
respect:
accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of
the Act or
e the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
| have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection
with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a
proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.
Relevant professionalName: | Mervyn Keith Roberts |
qualification(s) or body | A.C.A
(if any):
Address: | 215 Chester Road
Grappenhall
Warrington, WA4 2QB
----- End of picture text -----*

IER

1

October 2018

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the The figure reported for funds generated for finance the building of the church examiner wishes to annexe is adversely affected by the need for an adjustment to correct for the disclose. accounting of personal loans amounting to £30,000 which had been wrongly included as income in previous years. Of these loans, £20,000 was repaid during the year, leaving an outstanding balance of £10,000 carried forward.

A provision of £2,000 has been included to cover the potential cost relating to disputed council tax charges.

Accounts receivable includes £9,000 relating to promised grant funding towards major floor repair work carried out during the year, and also £16,000 estimated to be the anticipated gift aid outstanding in relation to donations received.

IER

2

October 2018