2025-12-31-accounts

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ANNUAL PARISH REPORT 2026

SNAPSHOTS

Holy Trinity Church, Horfield Diocese of Bristol

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CONTENTS

APCM 2026 Agenda

APCM 2025 Minutes of the meeting held on 18[th] May 2025

Annual Report (Snapshots) from page 14, including reports from -

Churchwarden Caroline Plaice Deanery Synod Garth Baker Diocesan Synod Report (Diocese) Music and Choir Jon Crow Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Churchyard Nick Stephenson Mothers’ Union Carolyn Larcey Young People’s Pastoral Ministry Helen Currie Churches Working and Praying Together Geoff Stock Safeguarding Caroline Plaice Social and Hospitality Phil Lewis Livestreaming Hilary Maddelena Craft Club Hilary Maddelena Horfield Families Group Christine Payne Decibell Handbell Ringers Gill Wilding Horfield Theatre Company Donald Wainwright

Finance Report

Jen Douglas

Financial Statement, Annual Report and Accounts

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PARISH OF HOLY TRINITY WITH ST EDMUND, HORFIELD Annual Parochial Church Meeting Sunday, 17[th] May 2026

A G E N D A

1. Opening Prayer and Worship

2. Attendance and Apologies

3. The Annual Meeting of Parishioners

4. 3.1 Minutes of the meeting to elect Churchwardens held on 18[th] May 2025

5. 3.2 Election of Churchwardens

4. The Annual Parochial Church Meeting

• 4.1 To approve the minutes of the APCM held on 18[th] May 2025

• 4.2 Matters arising from the 2025 APCM

• 4.3 To approve the report of the Electoral Roll Officer

• 4.4 To confirm the list of PCC Members

• 4.5 To confirm the Deanery Synod Representatives

• 4.6 To receive the reports of individuals and Church Groups (Snapshots)

• 4.7 To receive and approve the Accounts for 2025 (included within Snapshots)

• 4.8 Appointment of the Independent Examiner : Hannah Cook, Mendip Accounting Solutions.

• Rector’s Report and Reflections

• Questions

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Parish of Holy Trinity with St. Edmund, Horfield Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Parishioners held on Sunday 18[th ] May 2025

MEETING FOR ELECTION OF CHURCHWARDENS

The Rector, the Reverend Canon Dr. David McGladdery (Chair) welcomed everyone and opened the meeting with a prayer of dedication

1. LIST OF ATTENDEES AND APOLOGIES – SEE APPENDIX 1.

2. MINUTES OF THE MEETING TO ELECT THE CHURCHWARDENS HELD ON 12[TH] MAY 2024

The minutes of the meeting to elect the Churchwardens held on 12[th] May 2024, were acknowledged as read by all those present as a record of the proceedings and approved.

3. ELECTION OF CHURCHWARDENS

Only one warden had been nominated: Carolyn Larcey proposed and Wanda Prosser seconded that Caroline Plaice be elected for a further year and this was unanimously agreed by all present. Caroline Plaice was duly elected for a further year as Churchwarden.

The rector expressed everyone’s gratitude for the work that Caroline does. Caroline thanked those present for showing their confidence in her being re-elected churchwarden and said she hoped she can represent all in the year ahead. She added that she had been the only warden since Nick Stephenson had to stand down last June owing to pressure of personal and work commitments. She said that there should be two wardens and it would be ideal if the other were a man. Caroline said she would be willing to talk to anyone who might be interested in becoming a churchwarden, if they contacted her or Fr David.

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Parish of Holy Trinity with St. Edmund, Horfield

Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) held on Sunday 18[th] May 2025

• 4.1 Minutes of the APCM held on 12[th] May 2024 The minutes of the APCM held on 12[th] May 2024 were acknowledged as read by all those present. With one amendment to the list of attendees – adding Helen Hinksman’s name to it, the minutes were approved.

• 4.2 Matters arising from the 2024 APCM - no matters arising.

• 4.3 Notification of any other business – none

4.4 Report of the Electoral Roll Officer

• Carolyn Larcey, the ERO reported that in most years the Electoral Roll is revised, but every six years the Church Representation Rules require that an entirely new roll must be created and everyone must apply again to be included on it. 2025 is such a year. Carolyn said she had contacted everyone on the previous roll, prepared in 2019, in early February, advising them that they would need to complete a new form if they wished to remain on the roll. The deadline for receipt of applications was the 31[st] March.

Carolyn said that the new Electoral Roll has 84 names on it – this is a very significant drop - in 2024 there had been 121 names. Carolyn felt that following Covid there were a few people who had not come back to church for various reasons and people have moved away. She hoped that over the next few years we would see the numbers increase again.

The re-appointment of Carolyn Larcey as Electoral Roll Officer for a further year was confirmed by all present.

• 4.5 To confirm the list of PCC members

Fr David confirmed the current membership of the PCC, including their specific responsibilities, as follows:

The Revd. Canon Dr. David McGladdery, SCP – Rector of Horfield

Diocesan Deliverance Ministry; Diocesan & Deanery Synods, PCC chair, Cathedral Council, Bishop’s Theological Learning and Research Team

Caroline Plaice – Churchwarden; Pastoral Assistant; HR Lead; Parish Safeguarding Officer; Diocesan Synod representative; Deanery Synod representative; Reverse Mentor to the Head of Diocesan Finance

Nick Stephenson - Inclusion, Equality and Diversity Lead; Biodiversity, Ecology and Churchyard; Sustainability and Carbon Net Zero.

Carolyn Larcey *- PCC Secretary; Electoral Roll Officer; MU; Social and Hospitality, Livestream, Warm Welcome

Garth Baker* Deanery Synod representative, Warm Welcome

Jonathan Crow – Director of Music and artistic outreach

Laura Bufton – Safeguarding administrator; Sacristan and Lead for altar serving team

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Helen Currie – Children, Youth and Families

Phil Lewis – Welcome Project Steering Group; Social and Hospitality, Livestream, Warm Welcome

Jen Douglas – Church School Liaison; Finance Advisory Board (Chair); Children, Youth and Families; Welcome Project Steering Group, Grant Funding Application Team Grace Douglas : Warden of the Children’s Chapel of the Child Jesus ; Church School Liaison

* Auxiliary Church Warden

Fr David added that from the PCC, there were delegated task groups which reported back via representation on the PCC, these are : Leadership Team: Rector; Church Warden(s)

Ministry Team: Rector; Caroline (Pastoral Assistant), Helen Hinksman (LLM, emeritus) Finance Advisory Board : Jen, Nick, Caroline (Warden) Social and Hospitality: Carolyn, Emma, Kate, Jane, Phil

Welcome Project Steering Group: Jen, Garth, Nick, Phil, Hilary, Caroline (CW), Rector Grants: Jen, Hilary, Rector

Children, Youth and Families: Geoff, Jen, Chae, Jack, Alison, Helen, (Brian – helper with Friday Youth Club)

Horfield C of E Primary School: Rector; Jen & Grace; Karen Dunmall (Chair of Governors); Helen Hinksman

Eucharistic Minister & Visitors: Laura, Donald, Nick, Vera (and to be commissioned: Helen, Fergus, Jen, David G, James K)

Live-Streaming: Carolyn, Hilary, Phil, Sally, Martin Serving Team : Laura, Donald, James K, Aaron, David G, Martin, Emma,

Green Gym & Churchyard – Caring for God’s Acre: Donald, Nick, Dennis, Hilary (also, Sexton: grave-digger)

Communications & Social media (emerging): James K

Choir (Jon) , Bell-Ringers (Bernie & Annette) and Decibells (Gill Wilding) Employees: Fees - Jon (organist & Director of Music); Paid - Andy (Caretaker); Rob (Estates Manager)

The current list of PCC members was agreed by all present.

4.6 Deanery Synod representatives

Garth Baker and Caroline Plaice agreed to continue to be representatives on Deanery Synod.

• 4.7 To receive and approve the reports of individuals and church groups (Snapshots) The reports of individuals and church groups (Snapshots) was received by all present as a valid narrative of what goes on at Holy Trinity. Fr David said it was a statement of our common life together and what we do.

The report was received and commended as a record of church life.

• 4.8 To receive and approve the Accounts for 2024 (included within Snapshots) Before the report was presented, there was a minute’s silence in memory of our late Treasurer, Christine Bufton, who had passed away in February. Fr David said that Christine had achieved so much during her time as Treasurer and had been a founder member of the Finance Advisory Board which had been established to oversee our finances.

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Jen Douglas gave a presentation with slides on the annual accounts, summarised as follows :

• 2024 accounts have shown a much smaller loss than in 2023.

• This is largely because we greatly reduced the amount that we paid in parish share in that year.

• There was a significant amount of outstanding tax due to HMRC from previous years.

• The church house has been revalued after many years and its true value reflected in the accounts.

• We have moved to a new accountant and are now making use of software to maintain the accounts throughout the year.

Looking forward to 2025 -

• We are regularly giving to parish share again at £3000 per month

• We will shortly claim the Gift Aid for 2024 to aid our funds

• Sharesy is showing a regular increase to the amount we’re receiving each month into our hall income account.

• We have sufficient funds to pay for the path works, although we still have 2 grant applications outstanding for £10,000 each and welcome any further gifts with thanks.

• The Financial Advisory Board are reviewing areas where we can save or make money going forwards.

Questions :

• Alison Ellis asked about Staff Costs and who were the paid roles as this figure did not show a reduction following the office administrator post becoming redundant. Jen said these were for Andy (Caretaker), Rob (Maintenance) and Jon (Music Director). She said that the office administrator had been under the heading Administration and office costs and this showed a significant reduction.

• Donald Wainwright asked who the two current grant applications had been made to. Jen said one was to the Benefactor Trust and the other to Gloucestershire History Churches Trust. She said the applications had mostly been around accessibility to our building.

Garth Baker proposed that the Financial Report for 2024 be accepted and this was seconded by Phil Lewis. The resolution to accept the Financial Report for 2024 was unanimously passed.

Fr David thanked Jen for presenting the accounts and for heading up the Finance Advisory Board which now provides a budget and oversees finance and with the help of technology makes the process a lot easier.

4.9 Appointment of the Independent Examiner :

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Hannah Cook and Mendip Accounting Solutions were appointed as Independent Examiners for the following year.

4.10 Rector’s Report 2024-25

The Rector’s Report is published in full here.

The first century church as described in the Acts of the Apostles seems to have been a church where action naturally followed from prayer:

…they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all the people.

(Acts, 2: 42-47)

The church life of the first followers of Jesus was corporate and collaborative. Togetherness was its distinguishing charism, “all who believed were together” and they “distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need”. Here, a compassionate and attentive relationship with those who need practical support is based upon taking discipleship seriously and learning from the teaching of the apostles. Intentional ministry to a wider community is based upon corporate prayer and eucharistic celebration and transcendent “awe”. It is based on having joyful hearts, the fruit of being committed to a relationship with God and all among whom they live. The church of the apostles experienced a togetherness out of which came the fruits of their collective witness to following Christ.

Over the past year, here at Holy Trinity, we have experienced a togetherness as a gathered community sharing worship and outreach through an inclusive and welcoming approach to how we live our faith in practical ways. After analysing the outcome of discussions at our Parish Conference (last October) – it became clear that our shared life here at Holy Trinity comes under three related headings – WORSHIP, HOSPITALITY, COMMUNITY .

WORSHIP – the heart of our worship is the Holy Mass – doing what Jesus commanded us to do – to break bread, pour wine and remember him in the gift of his Body and Blood. Post-Covid our Sunday average attendance was 40-50. In the last year it has risen to 60-70. Weekday Masses have an average of 30-40 across the whole week. Each Saturday morning has a distinctive, regular programme: Rosary for Peace; Sapling Saturday; Welcome Conversations and Mass with anointing for healing. For a year, now, at 4 pm on the last Sunday of each month there is a Holy Hour and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament with prayer for Peace in our fragile world. And for a year we have been able to offer the ministry of livestreaming some of our services. This has become an important way of including those who are housebound and cannot come physically to church. We have welcomed new people and those new people have offered new skills.

On your behalf, I wish to thank our altar serving team; our choir and director of music and our live stream technicians.

Donald – (retired as head server) certificate of gratitude

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Laura – succeeded Donald as Head server and Sacristan – completed her first Holy Week after the challenge of Christine’s passing.

HOSPITALITY & COMMUNITY as:

PROJECTS - The PCC identified and commissioned work on a variety of Projects – to enhance the way we offer welcome to the wider community.

Caroline Plaice then detailed the projects that were being worked on, see Appendix 2.

In the light of our first application for a Lottery Grant, which was not successful, the Welcome Project Steering Group has spent much time taking stock of what we need the project to deliver and how it can be delivered. You have heard of the 9 projects which have either been completed or continue to be developed.

LEARNING – What we have learnt over this past year is essentially all our projects are ways of delivering a united provision of welcoming, spiritual, pastoral and practical help and support for those amongst whom we live, here in Horfield. Caring for Ukrainian refugees (nine now); hosting Warm Welcome and Food Pantry, hosting concerts and being open 24/7 – 365; caring for our churchyard in an ecologically responsible way - has taught us that we do is God’s work - and we achieve this TOGETHER, by encouraging each other to use our God-given skills and gifts to achieve what we can. And much has been achieved:

Children, Youth & Families pastors – Friday club is now thriving (20+ each week); Children’s “Messy” Church (small but faithful attendees; practical links with church school (Jen and Grace).

Horfield C of E Primary School: Weekly worship; Open the Book; Prayer Space; Leavers’ (Yr 6) Bibles; School governors.

FAB – restructuring the way we operate our financial responsibilities

Welcome Project Steering Group – facilitating an Autumn Parish Conference , out of which some practical projects have been developed.

Social & Hospitality Group (eg. Burns’ Night and other social events and general hospitality)

Eucharistic ministers, readers and intercessors – all making their valuable

contribution to the common life we share.

The PCC delegated Welcome Project Steering Group learnt last week most importantly from Ruth Gofton – a Lottery Grant application advisor – two key things.

1. The work of Holy Trinity of serving our local community is achieved in three areas: Church, hall and churchyard. Our three sacred spaces, which are linked by a shared purpose – offering Welcome.

2. Our previous Lottery grant application and associated business plan are of an excellent standard and have been produced and supported by a talented and committed team.

This led to our being advised that we would benefit from augmenting the constituent parts of our Welcome Project to include church and churchyard as well as hall and,

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therefore enable us to apply for the much larger grants which we need to develop the projects needed :

• Re-developing hall, as per architect’s plans;

• refurbishing church (sustainable energy; hospitality; organ refurbishment etc)

• continuing to make our churchyard a place of encounter for all in an ecological responsible way.

It is a privilege to be part of a wide-ranging team of volunteers, who are constantly working to nurture and support the collective work of this church, welcoming, listening, including, supporting and praying with all who reach out to us.

Thank you to Caroline - our one Church Warden (let us have two, soon); Safe-guarding officer and HR manager) for the enormous amount of voluntary work she does to coordinate and facilitate what is a wide-ranging, ever-changing and complex set of tasks. Thank you to Rob and Andy – our Estates Manager and Caretaker; members of our PCC and our pastoral and project groups; FAB for overseeing our church finances through preparing budgets and monitoring income and expenditure.

Another THANK YOU – Garth Baker : Stewardship Recorder and Founder member of the FAB; also, altar server; eucharistic minister and general source of wisdom and common sense. Fr David said that Garth would be retiring as Stewardship Recorder and thanked him for his dedicated service.

Thank you to Marrianne (catering)

Final thank you – to all of you who make up our warm, welcoming, active and prayerful church community; it is a privilege to serve you as Rector and Parish Priest.

Vote of thanks received from -

Mary Hurlestone for making herself and husband Richard so welcome at Holy Trinity since they had moved into Horfield Lodge.

Caroline Plaice, on behalf of everyone, to Fr David for all he does.

The meeting closed with the Parish Prayer.

Lord, help us to love one another as you love us: Send your blessing upon this parish and community of Horfield, That your wisdom and your love may flow into our hearts, by the power of your Holy Spirit, And that your will be done, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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APPENDIX 1

LIST OF ATTENDEES AND APOLOGIES - APCM HELD ON 18[TH] MAY 2025

Present	Apologies
Fr David McGladdery Caroline Plaice Jen Douglas Carolyn Larcey Donald Wainwright Marianne Wainwright Helen Hinksman Alison Ellis Annette Martin Nicky Garth Baker Geoff Stock Mary White John White Christ Hopton Tony Hopton Luise Williams Hilary Maddelena Nigel de Bray Richard Hurlstone Marty Hurlstone Jean Fenn Janet Douglas Julienne Trotman Phil Lewis Nigel Moore Celia Wells Nicolas	Nick Stevenson Dennis Hughes Gill Wilding Penny Moynihan Judy Lee Pat Grosvenor David Grosvenor Sandra Lloyd James Pocock Margaret Smith Rob Smith Andy Cleaver Bryan Plaister James Kay Jane Lewis

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APPENDIX 2

UPDATE OF PROJECTS GIVEN BY CAROLINE PLAICE, CHURCHWARDEN, TO THE ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING – 18[TH] MAY 2025

This is a short update on our projects over the last year, and into this. Projects which you helped the PCC identify through the parish conference and ongoing conversations, all in the context of our charism for Welcome – remember our strap line – whoever you are, wherever you come from, everyone is welcome here.

The first project is that of our communications strategy – the who, why, when and how of how we communicate with wider community, and with each other. It is fundamental to how we develop.

There have been a number of developments – our live-streaming is an important part of our communication, as well as our worship. We are developing our website, a bit slower than we’d like, but it’s in train. Our WhatsApp group is really important, and our social media presence is just about to take a new step by going live with Instagram.

Secondly our hall re-developments. I remember Phil standing here last year, and saying that whilst we hadn’t yet been successful with a Lottery bid, we have been re-imaging all we do in the context of welcome, and that continues. But there have been developments in terms of new people joining the Grants Committee, and obtaining advice to help us move forward. Our new bid, which I hope we can report on later this year, will be encompassing of not only our hall, but our church and churchyard, too.

Our third Holy Trinity project is the path. This was identified last year as our top priority, and you’ve all seen that is finally becoming a reality, after months of hard work, and fundraising. Thank you to everyone who has sponsored a slab. The work will be finished next month, and I know it is going to look amazing.

Let’s move on to project number 4 now. These photographs show both the new letting space for small meetings and 1-1s, the Blancharde Room, and the parish resource room, incorporating the choir vestry. This was all completed last autumn, and many thanks to all who played a part in enabling these transformations. We have had lots of positive comments about both the spaces. And having the resource room closer to where people come into church has enabled many welcoming conversations.

One of the ways we have been making more use of our plant is through signing up with the online booking system, Sharesy. Our income has on average risen by £2,000 a month, and we are also reaching more people, people who didn’t even know we existed before.

Our Welcome in terms of the Warm Welcome and Warm Pantry, whilst in place for a couple of years now, has developed into a well organised 6 monthly outreach, and over the course of this last winter we made new connections in the community, and with local students, and are involved in a research project to qualitatively evaluate the impact of the initiative with the University of the West of England.

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Another of the projects you identified as of particular importance is that of developing a hospitality area at the west end of church. Members of the WPSG have been collating information and ideas on how this could take shape, and the proposal will also form part of our grant applications going forward.

What we do with our art in its widest sense has already been transformed by the work in the churchyard and promoting our newly found graves, our commonwealth graves and of course the John Frost grave. We have had interest in extending this to curating and telling the story of our art works inside the church, and of involving the school in doing this. There have been a number of concerts here in recent years. Could we offer our space to others to run concerts?

And finally, to two areas which we don’t have the resource to develop at the moment, but again are on our active list, and could form part of the bid going forward. These are the toilets and refurbishment of the Sacristy. Hope to be able to talk about these more in the future.

Thank you for your ongoing support. I hope you feel excited by our progress, and want to be part of the development of the projects over the next year and in the future. Please do feel free to ask any questions.

Caroline Plaice

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Questions :

Donald Wainwright asked whether the grant applied for included the toilets. Caroline said that they had looked at having some external toilets but cost prohibited this and they will have to be part of a bigger refurbishment.

Annette Martin asked about the last unsuccessful bid and whether we had asked for too much, and understood that we had to match the amount ourselves. She asked about the sale of S Raphael and how this would affect the Ukrainian guests currently living there. Caroline explained the house would be being put back on the market in the summer and said that the current tenancy had always been for a year. She gave a reassurance that Bristol City Council would be helping them find alternative accommodation and added that herself and Fr David were in regular contact with the guests.

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ANNUAL REPORT (SNAPSHOTS)

CHURCHWARDEN’S REPORT

Looking back at my report last year, covering the year 2024, what strikes me most is how a number of the projects at HTH – live-streaming, our online booking system, Sharesy, use of the parish resources room, continuing to offer sanctuary to our guests from Ukraine, an annual Warm Welcome - and many more – are now well-embedded and continuing to bear fruit. Thank you to all those involved, especially those who work so hard behind the scenes in our task groups, listed in Snapshots (pages 5/6) insert location, and to Carolyn Larcey, our amazing PCC secretary.

2025 saw the publication of our Quinquennial Inspection Report. This highlighted work, as expected, on the fabric of our building. Some of this work is being taken forward by Rob Brace, our Estates Manager, who continues to work joyfully to look after our building. A number of the more substantial items in the Quinquennial will form part of a bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund which is ongoing as I write.

An innovation during the year was the offering of an Open Afternoon in October: an invitation to come and see what happens in our three spaces of church, churchyard and hireable areas. It was a great success, with visitors trying out bell-ringing, organ-playing, swinging of a thurible, and a staggering selection of cakes in the hospitality area. We invited and received some really useful feedback about what people enjoy about Holy Trinity, and what they would like to see in the future. All of this is so important to our applications for funding from external organisations. Work is well underway for our 2026 Open Afternoon, and there are ‘taster’ sessions planned to showcase those who hire our Hall, Helliwell and Blancharde rooms.

One of the areas we were pleased to highlight at that Open Afternoon was the new path. This was a major project to create an accessible, safe and aesthetically pleasing external route into church and through our churchyard. This occupied a significant amount of time from the beginning of the year until it’s official opening in late summer. Enormous thanks to those who contributed to the Sponsor a Slab fund raising campaign, and to everyone who enabled the project to progress, in particular the Chair of our Finance Advisory Board, Jen Douglas. The whole project demonstrates that we continue to develop and welcome our community.

We were unable to find a second warden to work with me at the APCM, and that has been hard at times. However, I am very grateful to our auxiliary wardens who ensure that our welcome is always warm, and that the church is prepared for and tidied after major events. At the APCM this year, I will be standing for a final transition year, and I look forward to continuing to serve, and to work alongside a second warden to ensure we offer a holy and unconditional welcome.

Caroline Plaice (Warden)

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Cutting the tape and official opening of the new path

15 A selection of photos of the new Church path

DEANERY SYNOD

Deanery Synod acts as a conduit of information and counsel between the Bishop/Diocese and the ‘person in the pew’. Members have the opportunity to consider wider aspects of Church life beyond the confines of individual parishes, and from time-to-time attendance is encouraged from those outside membership with a particular interest in the matters to be discussed. Your representatives attended two meetings in 2025.

In February, we met in our own Church here. Caroline gave a presentation on our use of the ‘Sharesy’ booking system for our hall, for which we have been something of a ‘guinea pig’ for the Diocese. The system enables us to enhance our offer of welcome by making the booking of our spaces easier, to our mutual benefit. Several parishes expressed an interest. The discussion then widened into a more general consideration of our use of buildings. Did we make proper use of our buildings, given the everincreasing cost of their maintenance? Did we need all of them? Questions it is worth each parish asking from time to time.

In June we met at St Nicholas in the City Centre. Our main topic was to consider the main qualities we needed in our new Diocesan Bishop, and the main tasks we saw for them. As I write, we still await an appointment.

Elections to Deanery Synod take place every three years. It is probably time for me to retire when they next occur, and perhaps one (or more) of you might wish to think about becoming my replacement.

Garth Baker Deanery Synod Representative

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2025 Diocesan Synod Report

Diocesan Synod is the largest and most representative governing body in the Diocese. It supports the bishop in shaping the strategic direction of diocesan life by providing a forum for engagement and debate, a sounding board for emerging priorities, and a setting in which formal decisions are taken through prayerful discernment and collaborative relationships. In summary, Diocesan Synod is the place all voices and wisdom come together to discern God’s calling focus and his kingdom is the Diocese.

Below is an overview of the topics discussed and motions approved during 2025. Full Synod Minutes are available on the Governance page of the Diocesan website.

1. Living in Love and Faith (LLF)

LLF was discussed at every Synod meeting during 2025.

March : The Rt Revd Viv Faull, Bishop of Bristol, updated Synod on national discussions regarding the ordination

and licensing of individuals seeking or in same-sex marriages. Members were invited to reflect on:

• What discussions around Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF) had taken place within PCCs and Deanery Synods, and what their impact had been.

• What further information would support constructive conversations locally.

June : The Very Revd Mandy Ford, Dean of Bristol Cathedral and a member of the National Programme Board overseeing the LLF process, updated Synod on recent developments.

• The Rt Revd Martyn Snow, Bishop of Leicester, appointed in November 2023 as lead bishop for the LLF process stepped down from his role

• Over the summer, dioceses will convene to discuss and respond to the proposals, contributing to the next phase of the LLF process

• Resources to support Diocesan Synod discussion will be made available at diocesan level

• Diocesan Synod members encouraged to attend Nationally run LLF Webinars to gain clarity and opportunity to ask questions.

September: A dedicated LLF session enabled members to:

• Listen and engage with one another

• Deepen understanding of our diverse diocesan perspectives

• Reaffirm unity in Christ

• Prepare for the House of Bishops’ October 2025 decisions

No formal minutes were produced.

November : The Rt Revd Neil Warwick (Acting Bishop of Bristol) outlined the House of Bishops’ decisions:

• Prayers of Love and Faith can continue to be used within regular services of worship or privately with a couple at the discretion of the incumbent

• Standalone services will be referred to General Synod

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He also provided context, reaction, and an overview of next steps.

March 2025

2. Carbon Net Zero (CNZ)

Synod received an update confirming greater clarity surrounding carbon measurement. Bristol continues to be recognised nationally for leadership in solar installations and environmental initiatives. A list of grants and schemes awarded was shared.

3. Dissolution of DBAT

The transition of Diocesan Board of Academies Trust (DBAT) schools to other trusts concluded successfully, reinforcing long-term benefits for children, young people, schools, and communities. The Diocese of Bristol ‑ School Partnership Programme (DBSP), co constructed with trusts, will launch in September 2025.

4. Transforming Church. Together (TC.T)

An update was provided, including a presentation from Holy Trinity Horfield on its use of Sharesy, which has increased bookings and improved efficiency.

5. Echo: Youth Voice

Synod watched a video on insights from trusted adults working with young people, highlighting their desire for safe and welcoming spaces.

Other business:

• Bishop’s Council reports from 10 December 2024 and 25 February 2025 were approved. Link to 22 March 2025 Minutes

June 2025

1. BDBF Annual General Meeting

2. Chair: Richard Bacon re ‑ elected

3. Vice Chair: John Sutherland elected

4. 2024 Accounts: Received and adopted by Synod. Subsequently formally approved by Trustees

5. Auditors: Haysmac appointed for the year ending 31 December 2025

7. Safeguarding Annual Report

A comprehensive audit reflected exceptionally strong safeguarding practice across the Diocese. A new national ‑ framework now enables leadership training to be completed in a one day session.

8. All Saints Roof Repair

Following an overview of the proposed works, a presentation from the Racial Justice Team, and extended Q&A, Synod reaffirmed its previous decision to proceed with the roof repairs.

Church Buildings Highlights included:

• Support for parishes across maintenance, accessibility, reordering, and housing schemes

• Increased staffing, including a dedicated fundraising adviser

• Resource Hub useful tools. An improved version will be launched in due course

• National funding pressures requiring coordinated planning

• A film showcasing reordering work at St Stephen, Southmead, and St Andrew, Castle Combe

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Other business:

• Bishop’s Council reports from 24 March and 13 May were received

• Synod approved the election arrangements for the Diocesan Board of Education for 2025–2028

• Bishop Viv’s last Synod was marked with reflections on her time in Synod, and grateful thanks for her leadership

• Link to 14 June 2025 Minutes

November 2025

9. Budget 2026

Synod reviewed the significant financial challenges facing the Diocese. Key points included:

• The 2026 Budget marks the start of essential restructuring

• Long-term sustainability planning is required

• CNZ commitments remain firm, with a new funding plan to be developed

• Parish Share methodology, expectations, and support resources were explained The budget

• presented a total 2026 deficit of £3,540,000. After round-table discussion and Q&A, Synod authorised the ‑

• BDBF to expend the sums set out in the budget. A 10 year Financial Plan will be developed during 2026.

10. Priority Communities Network (PCN)

The PCN work is cross-departmental and integrated within the broader TC.T context and workstreams. Updates included:

• PREPARED leadership development programme

• 9 of 14 lay workers recruited

• Positive signs of engagement and growth

Synod approved becoming a formal partner of the Church Urban Fund (CUF) and joining the Together Network.

Other business:

• Bishop’s Council reports from 8 July, 18 August, 14 October, and 31 October 2025 were received

• The Church Representation Rules (CRR) Scheme for Concord Church Bishops’ Mission Orders ( BMO) was approved

• Synod agreed that lay representation on Deanery Synods should remain proportionate to parish electoral roll numbers, using the formula approved by Bishop’s Council

Minutes currently in draft, will be approved at March 2026 meeting

Thinking of Joining Diocesan Synod?

‑ The current Diocesan Synod triennium ends in July 2027. If you are considering re standing or standing for the first time, now is an ideal time to begin reflecting and finding out more.

Diocesan Synod plays a vital role in shaping the life of the Diocese, and we encourage anyone passionate about the Church’s mission to consider putting themselves forward.

For further information, please contact the Governance Support Team:

[e-mail]

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MUSIC AND CHOIR

2025 was a particularly fateful year in my life with many challenges. Starting with highlights was my ever first visit to York (see picture of York Minster) with the Bristol & District Organists’ Association (BDOA); a moving Holy Week sequence with the Festival Choir as well as another uplifting Advent and Christmas season, a special Choral Evensong with soloist Sophie Kirk-Harris and another island hop around the Dodecanese islands.

Patmos holy island looking towards the Monastery of St John the Divine.

It was also good to welcome back the talented Greek duo Pavlos and Marily for a special Advent concert.

On the downside was a nasty fall at home which seems to have sparked a major hip problem which badly affected my walking and mobility. The upshot was that at end of 2025 I elected to take a sabbatical from my DoM role at HTH, handing over the reins to Martin Firth who is doing wonders with the choir.

I particularly appreciated the Festival Choir’s performance of the beautiful Passion anthem “Ah holy Jesus how hast thou offended” (Howard Helvey/Johann Heerman) and honoured by the premiere of my own “Carol of the Stars” during Advent.

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But really heartbreaking news with the sudden passing of one of our choir stalwarts David Trott just a couple of weeks ago.

I like to think that music-making is in good shape at HTH and I have enjoyed making my own contribution across 5 years, taking over from Dr Glynn Jenkins in 2021, whether as an organist, composer or choirmaster.

Jon Crow

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AND CHURCHYARD

It is with great pleasure that I submit a joint report around inclusion and Churchyard this year. Finally, the path to the church has been replaced after much hard work, especially by Caroline and Jen – thank you. This, along with improved lighting around the South Transept, has in massively improved access to the church and through the churchyard.

As ever the PCC is encouraged at every meeting to challenge themselves about how every decision taken makes our work more accessible to more people, particularly those who are unchurched or do not share Holy Trinity’s tradition. This is not just about the physical practicalities but also about how we think and make assumptions about how people take part in what we do.

Work in the churchyard goes from strength to strength – last winter however it was very wet with standing water remaining for weeks – this is the wettest it has been in the memory of longstanding members. The implication of this was that areas of the churchyard became inaccessible, and we had to undertake work on a weekly basis to ensure there was a safe route around the North side of the church. On the South side ground also became very uneven so we will continue to fill the worst dips and holes.

In the last year, as well as ongoing Green Gym and Sapling Saturday work we have two new initiatives: Tombstone Tuesday – a monthly volunteer group to make unsafe/leaning headstones safe and upright, and the Memorial recording project which is working to make a permanent record of all headstones and memorials before they deteriorate further. These new projects link seamlessly into the aims of the churchyard plan: to maintain, protect and develop the natural habitat of our churchyard, whilst ensuring access to each memorial headstone.

We have three new memorial benches and a Bench Policy, covering issues such as installation and maintenance. We consulted on and reviewed the 2024 Churchyard Management Plan and will shortly publish a revised plan to cover the next 5 years.

The Woodland Trust granted us 90 new hedge saplings which were planted with the help of Messy Church and are now thriving (this means that 120 hedge saplings have now been planted to restore the hedge). There have been several opportunities to use the Churchyard to encourage children and young people to understand the gift of creation and their part in preserving it.

The focus of work in the next year is to maintain what has been achieved so far, keep improving safety and access, to make safe 15 more headstones, complete 50% of the headstone recording and to ensure that the interment plot headstones are raised to be slightly proud of the surrounding ground level – making them easier to find, clean and maintain.

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Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to work in the churchyard and in particular the project leads: Doanld Wainwright (Green Gym), Andy Buchan (Memorial Recording), Dennis Hughes (Sapling Saturday & Tombstone Tuesday coordination) Hilary Maddelena (Sexton).

Following comments from some members that Sapling Saturday work being limited to a monthly opportunity means they cannot participate, we have this year added a further Saturday opportunity each month. It is notable that almost half of the regular volunteers in the Churchyard are not church members – some of these people give considerable and consistent time to supporting churchyard work. However, our volunteer numbers are dropping and if the church wishes to continue to have the opportunities that having a maintained churchyard offers then it needs to help find more volunteers. This does not have to be a regular commitment – just some help long the way; also, please ask your neighbours, family, and friends – this is an ideal volunteering project for someone doing DofE or who has just retired.

Please continue to visit and enjoy the Churchyard – the meadow area (North side) will be fabulous this year; the dead hedges are settling well and encouraging a much greater range of birds and insects to call the Churchyard their home. As ever, please be careful of your footing when you walk around and enjoy the Churchyard.

Nick Stephenson

Sapling Saturday volunteers and the dead hedge by the Richards’ plot.

Before and after – raising a headstone.

Nick Stephenson

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MOTHERS’ UNION

We had our Annual General Meeting on 9[th] January. We had a lovely tea after the meeting as we had not had a separate Christmas meeting as we had hosted the Deanery Advent Service in December. In February Vera Seaman, talked about her 26 years behind the Screen – the screen being a Post Office. Vera and her husband ran a Newsagent/Post Office in Lockleaze for 26 years. This was before the Horizon scandal. She had some amusing tales to tell.

We had a games afternoon in March, including some prize bingo which was very much enjoyed. In April Gill talked about her experiences with the NHS throughout her life. In May Fr David came and talked about Saints of our Time. This was interesting and we learnt a lot. The most recent “saint” Fr David talked about was Carlo Acutis. Carlo Acutis was canonised on September 7 by the Pope Leo XIV.

We had our Deanery Festival at St Mary’s, Shirehampton in May, it’s always nice attending Deanery events. In June June we had a tea party in memory of Maureen Wootton. Also in June some members went to the commissioning service of Sara Wyman as the Bristol Diocesan President in Bristol Cathedral.

In July Horfield hosted the Deanery Lunch, another successful deanery event and well attended. Thanks to Marianne and Donald for all their input.

In August Margaret Johnston came and set up her bell plates for us to have a go. I think overall we enjoyed this and it was a fun afternoon. Bell plates are supposed to be easier than proper handbells, but I’m not so sure.

We had our own Wave of Prayer Service in Church on the 11[th] September, following the service prepared by the MU with hymns and readings. We gave thanks for the blessings of being united in prayer with the dioceses with whom we are particularly linked: Pacong in South Sudan, Southern Nyanja in Kenya, Kutigi and Ijesha North, in Nigeria and Karnataka Central in South India.

In October Marianne had us decorate jam jars in preparation for Christmas. At our November meeting Revd Diane Simms joined us and with the aid of wonderful props that she usually uses in schools, we retold the Easter Story in the form of a film set, complete with clapper board! Lovely afternoon.

On the 11[th] December we had the Deanery Advent Service at St Peter’s Filton. The service was followed by tea and a special celebration cake as St Peter’s MU were celebrating their 90[th] Anniversary. Five of us had a very nice Christmas lunch at the White Lion in Westbury on the 19[th] December, which rounded off our year.

One of the things we did in 2025 was to draw attention to the 16 days of Activism to raise awareness of gender-based violence and domestic abuse. At Holy Trinity we promoted the Red Chair Project, where a chair is covered in red with a notice “A Place for Them” to highlight the one woman or girl who dies every 11 minutes due to violence.

I attended the Canterbury Provincial Gathering in Oxford on the 27[th] September, an opportunity to meet other MU members and listen to their stories, an interesting and informative day.

In 2026 Mothers’ Union will be celebrating 150 years and there are lots of special events planned, including a Celebratory Service in St Paul’s Cathedral on 10[th] June followed by the Annual Gathering the following day in London. There will be a global gathering in South Africa in October. Throughout

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June it is hoped that MU members will take part in local church services, sharing the story and impact of MU in their communities. We are also hoping to take part in a MU Big Picnic in the summer, connecting neighbours, sharing food and fellowship and celebrating faith in action.

The number of our members has declined over the past few years, and members are less able to get to meetings. We will be talking about the future of our branch and how we envisage going forward.

We continue to support all the ongoing projects in Bristol and if you would like more information how you can help please do contact me.

The Mary Sumner Prayer

All this day, O Lord,

Let me touch as many lives as possible for thee; and every life I touch,

Do thou by thy spirit quicken, whether through the words I speak,

the prayer I breathe, or the life I live. Amen

Carolyn Larcey Branch Leader/Secretary, MU

Some photos of our Deanery Lunch in July, and Mothering Sunday posys donated by Horfield MU Branch

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CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE’S MINISTRY

The Children and Young People’s Ministry (CYPM) has three key areas of focus: a weekly Friday Youth Club, a monthly ‘Messy Church’ session and outreach at Horfield CE Primary School. In addition to this there is a designated ‘Children’s Church’ next to the Welcome Area at the back of the church where children and families are welcome to sit during services. The CYPM team is made up of volunteers from the regular church congregation under the leadership of Mother Diane.

It has been a year of significant changes for CYPM. Geoff Stock, who had run the Horfield Young People’s Club for fifty years, stepped down as its Leader. Geoff has certainly deserved his chance to relax on Friday evenings and his final year with the Club was one full of celebrations of the Club and of Geoff’s inspirational leadership. The culmination of these celebrations was the 50[th] Anniversary party in June which was attended by Club members past and present. It was a joyful occasion with food and entertainment, an opportunity to mark an important anniversary and for members to thank Geoff for all the memories he has helped to create for the children of Horfield over the years. We are so thankful to Geoff for all his work and hope that he is enjoying his retirement. We’re also grateful that he continues to help with Messy Church every month.

Some photos from Geoff’s 50[th] Anniversary Party

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Mother Diane arrived in the parish in September and has taken on a lead role with the YPM . She has been busy developing our routines and activities at Friday Club and Messy Church, as well as developing work at Horfield Primary CE School. A particular highlight of her work with young people so far has been her organisation of the Spring Dance Company’s visit to the school and their performance in the church hall in December. The workshop they delivered at the school involved all of Years 5 and 6. The performance of The Journey of the Magi attracted an audience made up of children, parents and members of the parish, that filled the church hall. It was a moving, thought-provoking and beautiful show with plenty of funny moments besides.

As well as the welcome addition of Mother Diane to the YPPM team, we have been delighted to have Neve Wilson Join us as a Gold Duke of Edinburgh volunteer. Neve has helped run activities at the club for a year and we are grateful for her help. The young people and the leaders were very sorry to see her go but understand that she needs to focus on her A Levels now. Happily, we have gained another D of E volunteer with Dylan Briggs helping out at Messy Church every month. We have also gained several extra support members of the team to help out at Friday Club. Thanks to Victoria Terry, Fergus Currie, Phil Lewis, Carolyn Larcey and Caroline Plaice for being so happy to help.

Members of the wider parish community have made a wonderful contribution to our Friday Club and Messy Church sessions. In June John Crowe led an organ demonstration which the Friday Club members loved so much that they danced along to the music in the aisles! Nick Stephenson worked with the Messy Church youngsters as they planted saplings in the churchyard whilst Jemima Victory shared her expertise working for the RSPB and guided the children as they conducted a bird survey in the churchyard.

Helen Currie and Team

Mother Diane’s report from Horfield CE Primary School

Since September it’s been a joy to go into Horfield CE Primary to lead collective worship, including sometimes with Fr David, Helen Hinksman and more recently with Mary Hannam-Norris from Ebenezer Church. Afterwards I have been going to different classes to listen to children read. Before Christmas I supported the school in a successful bid for a grant to become a Church of England Growing Faith Learning Hub. This is two year music project sharing sacred song across the city. I will be supporting Year 3 and the school choir in this. Jen Douglas are hoping to relaunch the school prayer space from the beginning of March 2026. It is good to be part of a supportive chaplaincy team in school, led by Debs Baker, the school’s new Chaplain and Partnership Lead.

CHURCHES WORKING AND PRAYING TOGETHER

Over the past year there have been many good examples of our local churches combining in a good number of activities to the greater benefit of all, and also as a witness to our togetherness in Christ Jesus.

The World Day of Prayer 2025 held at Horfield Methodist Church on 7th March saw Horfield Methodist Church, Muller Road United Reform Church and Holy Trinity Church together focussing on the service prepared by the Women of the Cook Islands with the theme “I made you wonderful”.

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In the season of Advent, once again friends from local churches enjoyed beautiful music and readings prepared and led by Jon Crow and sung by our Festival Choir here in Holy Trinity.

A growing number of friends, including from other churches have drawn inspiration from Helen Hinksman’s beautifully prepared devotional sessions, combining art, music and chosen prayers and readings.

Lent lunches were once again arranged for Christian Aid, with four of our churches hosting this worthy initiative. ( Photo is one of the lunches at Bishopston Methodist Church)

Think it is appropriate to mention here as well, the Pilgrimage to Walsingham made jointly with members of our congregation, including Fr David, and the Union of Catholic Mothers and other local churches, which took place in July. ( See photo below which was taken on a visit to The Church of Our Lady Saint Mary South Creake)

And of course, we have been delighted to welcome the Reverend Diane Simms from Fishponds, as Assistant Priest to our Rector Father David.

Geoff Stock

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Safeguarding Report for APCM meeting of Holy Trinity, Horfield.

Statement of commitment to Safeguarding

The parish of Holy Trinity is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk.

Parish Safeguarding Officer: Caroline Plaice

Administrative Officer: Laura Bufton

Policies

The Safeguarding policy was reviewed in November 2025 and is next due for review in November 2026.

Activities

The PCC oversees the following activities for Children and Young People : Messy Church and Horfield Young People’s Club.

Safer Recruitment & DBS

The PCC is responsible for the safe recruitment of people wanting to work with vulnerable groups through the activities mentioned above.

DBS Checks

As part of the safer recruitment process, where eligible, volunteers working with vulnerable groups have been DBS checked at the level appropriate to the role. Because the parish provides activities for vulnerable groups, the PCC members are also eligible for an enhanced DBS Check. There are sixteen volunteers / PCC members who require a DBS check for their role and all of them have a current check (i.e. the check has been completed within the last 3 years).

Training

Safeguarding training at different levels is a requirement for all roles, the current situation in terms of meeting the requirements in the parish is as follows:

Basic Awareness

Basic Awareness
Number in Role	Number completed training in last 3 years	Number with no or expired training
16	16	0
**Foundation Safeguarding **
Number in Role	Number completed training in last 3 years	Number with no or expired training
16	16	0
**Leadership Safeguarding **
Number in Role	Number completed training in last 3 years	Number with no or expired training
2	2	0

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Domestic Abuse

Domestic Abuse
Number in Role	Number completed training in last 3 years	Number with no or expired training
9	9	0

Reporting to the PCC

The PCC was updated about Safeguarding matters in the parish at each meeting. It is a standard item on the PCC agenda. During the year there was one safeguarding matter which were reported on to the Diocesan Safeguarding Team.

Safeguarding – everyone's business

A notice is put in the pew sheet each quarter reminding the gathered community of our individual and collective responsibility to maintaining and developing a ‘Healthy Church’.

Action Plan

The PCC has an action plan created by the Parish Dashboard. Progress is reported to the PCC and we are continuing to review our Level 3 actions.

Caroline Plaice

SOCIAL AND HOSPITALITY TEAM REPORT

The Social and Hospitality Team was set up in order to provide structure around the hospitality needed for both church activities and fundraising events in the future.

Drawing on the experience of what has been provided historically and in particular on the expertise of Emma and Kate and their team of helpers, it was decided to bring hospitality under the umbrella of the Welcome Project.

The teams’ terms of reference as outlined in HTH standing orders are:

• To have oversite of social and hospitality events held under the auspices of Holy Trinity

• To identify a rolling year of events

• To provide leadership and practical support for events, so that all events are adequately resourced

• To co-opt additional members to the Team as needed

• To hold regular meetings

• To liaise with the WP Steering Group in support of fundraising events

• To evaluate all events to inform future planning

• To provide a brief report to the PCC each meeting

Over the past year in addition to providing refreshments and lunches for church events (e.g APCM, festival fizz) we catered for the church BBQ in July, Harvest Lunch in September, the church open day in October and Burns Night Supper in January and well over £1000 was raised for the Welcome Project.

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As important as the fundraising is, more importantly, these were excellent opportunities to socialise together as a church family, extending our welcome invitation to everyone echoing the ethos of the Welcome Project. It was also very encouraging to see how well we were supported by the wider community, and the positive feedback received from them emphasised this.

A lot of hard work goes into putting on social events, so a big “thank you” to everyone who helps make them happen. The team is fairly small, so if anyone feels like they could help out now and then, please let a Warden know.

Phil Lewis - Social and Hospitality Team

LIVE-STREAM TEAM UPDATE

Resourcing : The Ministry of Live-streaming at Holy Trinity is supported by a very dedicated team of Live-streamers who enable those who cannot be at church in person to fully participate in Holy Mass. Carolyn, Phil, Sally and Martin are regulars on the Sunday rota arranged by Carolyn, and Carolyn Livestreams the majority of Tuesday and Thursday weekday Mass’ too, all of which is very much appreciated. There is a Live-stream WhatsApp group where information is shared on availability and cover for regular or extra Services is arranged as needed.

Resilience : All Live-Streamers are now very well versed in the use of the Live-stream system after nearly two years of running, but on occasion have been frustrated by random technical issues. A recent significant finding of a worn ethernet cable, now replaced, encourages us to believe we are entering a more stable period of Live-streaming going forwards.

Reaching out - then and now: The Holy Trinity Horfield YouTube channel was launched with its first Live-stream by Caroline on Good Friday 2024. Regular Live-stream broadcasts then began on Sundays, followed by the addition of Live-streams of Thursday 10am Mass starting in May 2024, and Tuesday noon Mass, starting in October 2024. Recently some Live-streams have been complemented by the addition of short ‘outside broadcasts’ that are posted to the HTH WhatsApp group, an example being the recording of the outside procession on Palm Sunday this year.

It isn’t easy to make month on month viewing number comparisons as previous Live-streams continue to be watched by new viewers over time. It is possible to say that there was a marked increase in HTH YouTube Live-streamed viewing numbers coming into 2025 and that that increase has been maintained. The ‘running average’ for Live-stream Sunday Mass viewings for the whole of 2025 excluding special occasions and Christmas/Easter appears to be around 54 views. For just the first four months of this year this 'running average' Live-stream viewing number for a Sunday Mass is in the region of 66 views.

Live-streams can also be requested for special occasions - Baptisms, Weddings, Requiem Masses and Funerals – there have been around 19 of these Services so far, mostly going out live via the HTH YouTube channel, though a couple have been recorded for Private viewing only. Of particular note, one Requiem Mass has had 524 views to date.

Apart from these special occasions, some of the highest viewings we see are around Easter and Christmas time, especially when our Festival Choir is singing, and here again we can get over 100 Livestream views for a Service.

The Holy Trinity YouTube Channel currently has 111 Subscribers.”

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Prayers: there are two Live-streaming prayers said at Mass.

The first is one we Live-Streamers use, inspired by St Carlo Acutis (who is popularly known as patron saint of the Internet). We pray when setting up...

"Through the intercession of St Carlo Acutis, may we be reminded that we do God's work and that we are His instruments.

O God come to our aid, O Lord make haste to help us. God's Will be done and to God be the Glory. "

The second prayer is led by the Liturgical President at Communion and is called 'An Act of Spiritual Communion', written by St. Alphonsus Liguori - it goes as follows ..

" My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen."

Feedback : Finally, here are two sets of feedback from our online community about the importance of being able to join Holy Trinity through the ministry of live-streaming.

" I am one of your devoted livestream followers. I have only been able to visit HTH once two or more years ago. My weekly viewing of Sunday services make me feel one of the congregation. Also, the videos of what is happening in the Churchyard bring me much joy and I feel as though I am there in person. In the absence of being able to attend because of partial disability, I am so grateful for modern technology enabling me to attend and worship with this amazing community of people led by Canon David and all his conscientious helpers."

" Horfield Holy Trinity Church is what we consider to be our spiritual home. When looking for a home in Devon to start our married life in 2023, we found it difficult to envisage being able to maintain our connection with our church in Bristol.

We are delighted to share with you the impact that regularly watching the livestream from our home in Brixham has had on our lives! Who would have thought that we could feel so included, valued and connected when watching and participating in a Mass, whilst sitting in our living room in front of our television?!

There are times when we have questioned the place that technology has in our spiritual lives, but this is an example of technology providing a lifeline. Although we would dearly love to be regularly worshipping in the church we love and with our church “family”, from a practical point of view, it isn’t really possible.

This will inevitably be the case for people all over the world who feel isolated and disconnected, for a variety of reasons, such as health, mobility and work/care commitments. But, engage with this fantastic opportunity provided by HTH and hopefully you will feel immersed in the Mass, as we do, from the comfort of your own home.

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We wish to highlight the excellent quality of the livestream. The team responsible for delivering this service to our homes are consistently discreet and professional in their delivery.

To still be able to hear the Gospel, pray and listen to Fr. David’s inspirational words is something that we will never take for granted. We feel engaged enough to use all of our senses to fully participate throughout, just as we did when able to attend in person. We especially appreciate Fr. David acknowledging the presence of the online congregation.

We thank all who are involved in providing this excellent service so professionally, understanding the need to respect the privacy of members of the congregation; your voluntary involvement is certainly making a difference.

Finally, we wish to convey to anyone who may feel separated from church, to consider participating in HTHs Livestream, an opportunity to feel included and connected through a shared faith.

Ian and Teresa Dye "

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Live-Stream Cameras in Church and what they show on the Laptop…

• Remote ‘PTZ’ camera at back of Church

• (controlled by a remote-control handset)

• Static camera in St Edmund Chapel

• (controlled directly via the laptop)

• One view from the remote camera at the back of church looking into the church

• View from the static camera in the St Edmund

• Chapel positioned to look across at the Baptistry

• The same view as seen on the laptop

• The same view as seen on the laptop

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CRAFT CLUB

The idea of some sort of a regular get together with crafts as a theme was broached in November 2025 and with the idea developing, 'Craft Club' was launched in early December- Advent 2025 - a new beginning! Craft Club has run alongside Monday's Warm Welcome and feels very much complementary to Warm Welcome's mission.

Over the weeks, there have been a core of regular crafters with others dropping in when they can. Numbers vary around 6 to 10 people each week and there is always a lovely casual atmosphere - sometimes lots of chatting, other times you could hear a pin drop, such is the concentration on each's chosen activity! There is always drawing and painting to do - we have one crafter who has been patiently and methodically working on a drawing, and it is thrilling to see this piece of artwork develop. Marianne leads with a fantastic knowledge of craft work which she generously shares with the group; using wool, tissue paper, weaving mats, cotton buds!... all sorts - with brilliant results! Here are a few photographs of things the Club has been doing...

Craft Club will continue to run on Monday mornings 9-10:30 at the west end of the church in the welcome area during term times. If you would like to come along, do give it a try, you would be most welcome - bring along your own craft or join in the craft of the day (materials and refreshments are provided).

Hilary Maddalena

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BELLRINGERS

We are a very happy band that many of you, sat in the congregation, never see! Next time you come into church, take a look up and see if you can see us, high above you.

We are a ringing band of 10 +, although we only require 5 ringers at any one time to be actually ringing. We ring every week before the 10 am Sunday morning service and we may also be asked to ring at special celebratory services e.g. Advent, Remembrance Sunday, as well as weddings and sometimes, funerals. We also have a practice night on Monday which enables us to learn and ring new methods which we then, once perfected, ring on Sunday mornings .

The Bell Tower

Last year, some of you may have had the chance to ring a bell and see us in action at the HTC Open Day. The overall comment was that ringing was much harder than one thought, but you all loved the experience and the opportunity to have a go yourselves. There will be another opportunity for those who didn’t manage to visit the Ringing Tower last year, to do so, at this year’s Open Day , at the end of next month. Please come and see us.

We are awaiting a very special addition to HTC Ringing Tower in the months to come ……. so do listen out

Annette Richer

Inside the Bell Tower

Some photos from the Open Day last year

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HORFIELD FAMILIES GROUP

We are a friendly group of 16 ladies with a range of interests and views. Our programme provides a mixture of speakers and activities both indoor and out. Families and friends are always welcome to join us at meetings.

In 2025 our speakers have entertained and informed us with “Tales of Derring do and desperation” – stories from the archives of the Suspension Bridge, and the story of a visit by the Scouts to Nepal. Vera Seaman from the M.U. reminisced about her 26yrs” Behind the screen” working in a Post Office, and we received practical advice on keeping our house plants happy. Frances Borroughes gave a talk entitled “Can you play Jerusalem for us? – humorous recollections of speaking to various Women ‘Institute groups, He was quite a sharp observer, and we wondered if we might be appearing in future talks,

In January we enjoyed an evening of line dancing and February saw us indoor Curling. Two more active evenings which we probably needed to help shift the pounds we all gained at Christmas.

Our June outing was a guided tour of St. Nicholas Market and Air Raid shelter located in the Corn Exchange. This was a very popular visit and attracted both members and friends and family.

We had planned our Christmas lunch for December 3[rd] but on arrival were greeted by an apologetic Landlord who explained that there was a gas leak in the kitchen and they were unable to serve our meal. After complementary coffees we decided to re-schedule for January and so welcomed in the New Year with turkey and Christmas pudding! Our Christmas meeting at the Hall went more smoothly as we puzzled over a photo quiz trying to match pictures of ourselves as toddlers with the adults. Followed as usual with mince pies and mulled wine.

Our Charity for the year was The Children’s Air Ambulance, and we presented a cheque to their representative in September. We raised in total £402.14p. this consisted of our cheque for £220 pounds from our usual fundraising and an impressive £182.14p from a collection box we kept on the serving hatch containing loose change and donations from guests. A good amount of money from a small group.

For all the various activities that we enjoy, one of the main strengths of the group is the friendship and support we give one another.

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Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month in the Parish Hall, starting at 7.30pm Our events are listed in the Church Pew sheet, if anyone would like to come along they would be very welcome

Christine Payne HFG Secretary

THE DECIBELLS HANDBELL TEAM

The Decibells team continued to meet in the church most Wednesdays in 2025 to practise playing the set of handbells donated to the church by Betty Topham in the 1980s.

We moved to practising in the church rather than the choir vestry and have found it much better with the church acoustics and the increased space and enjoy meeting people who call into the church for so many reasons.

In September we had an Open Taster afternoon when we invited anyone interested to come and join us, listen to the bells ask questions, have a go themselves and join us for refreshments. We advertised the event in local churches in Henleaze and Westbury as well as our church pew sheet. We were pleased with the response on the day, some popping in to hear us play and several had a go themselves at playing. As a result of that event, we now have a new member of the team, Chris, who hadn’t played handbells before but now joins the team on Wednesdays when she can. Sarah, who joined the team in 2024 went to the Residential National Residential Ringing week in Sheffield in August and brought back many useful tips on handball ringing technique which she shares with us at our practices, and she is planning to be at the International Symposium in Aberdeen this year.

In October we went to a regional get-together of handbell teams at Iron Acton. This is an event when local teams get together, learn from the experts, and all the teams join to play pieces of music together – a useful and enjoyable experience!

We accepted an invitation to go to Westbury Methodist Church Fellowship Group in December to play at their meeting. Handbell music is often associated with the Christmas season, so we played some Christmas music and some of their members also had the chance to play at the end of the meeting. As in previous years we also enjoyed being a part of the service of lessons and music in our church the Sunday before Christmas by playing the bells as people came in for the service.

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Barbara Martin retired from the team at the end of the year. She had been a loyal member since its early days in the late 1980s when the Decibells was then called Horfield Young Families’ Handbell Team. Barbara has given a lot to the team over the years and we shall miss her. Gill Wilding

Gill Wilding

This is my first Chairman’s report for Snapshot since taking up the role last year

This last year for Horfield Theatre Company (HTC) has been challenging and diverse. We have carried out two productions during the year starting with two one act plays in May at the Alma Tavern. These were Failed Investments by Lynn Britney and Lucy in the Sky by Tony Layton and both were Directed by Judith Claypole. These included very sensitive subjects like abuse, rape and misogyny. These were both successful and very well received by the audience.

For the October production the HTC Committee decided to advertise for a Director and were able to appoint Levi James to the role and put on the The Father by Florien Zeller. In a change this was done in the round, on the floor of the hall, with a number of new actors joining for the production. In keeping with looking at current issue the Play looked at the subject of dementia with great acting and work from the cast and backstage people. The Play was reviewed for the Rosebowl awards and received a reasonable review.

This production also highlighted the increasing problem of non-acting support for productions, particularly front of house, set building, bar, costume and props, etc, with many people having to do multiple jobs to for the shows to be put on. This being the case, the Committee made the decision to cancel the February 2026 production and concentrate on having a series of monthly play readings, commencing in February, to bring in new members and reach out previous members. At the first we did have two new people join us. We will also have two Play Production workshops looking at all aspects of this, including set design, lighting and sound, costumes front of house, etc.

The proposed Hall refurbishment is an issue we are making plans to accommodate, though we will certainly be able to use the Hall in October and, quite possibly, next February. In the meantime the Committee is looking to other venues to perform, and alternative places in which to rehearse when the hall is not available when work starts on the hall. With regard to booking of the Hall, with the online, third party system Sharesy, with the help of Caroline Plaice I have been able to make this easier for us to use. Though it has taken quite a number of back and forth emails.

Lucy, who has been a stalwart on the Committee and in the shows is having to step back for personal reasons and, at our AGM, I expressed my personal thanks for all she has done and her support for me in my first year.

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Going forward I am hoping that the play readings will provide us with a play to perform in October, along with some new members. In addition, I am hoping that we will have a better idea as to what is happening, so that we can plan with certainty.

In the last year a number of stalwarts of the Company have passed away, particularly in mind are Richard Morgan who acted as our auditor and always supported every show, and Tom Rogers who was always cheerfully in the background ensuring that shows happened either set building, behind the bar, but mostly as our official photographer.

This coming year is going to be a challenge. I like to feel that with the committee and the members we will continue to provide a community theatre in Horfield and the wider community.

Donald Wainwright Chair Horfield Theatre Company

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Finance report APCM May 2026

Overall position for 2025

Year end balances for 2025

Hall £22,779.07 Charity £587.23 Main £2,943.33

Welcome project £8,147.01

Points of note

Some headings have been updated this year – for example we now have ‘church house’ rather than curate’s house. We have added lines for youth work and CCTV.

Some of the salaries have moved position – the organist salary is now under the occasional organist line.

We have allocated some of the restricted funds for the new cottas.

There will be a new line being added in 2026 for Bell ringers funds.

Income and Outgoings

We have seen an increase in both our gifted income and hall income in 2026. The gifted income has increased, in part due to our path fund raising campaign from last year and also as we were able to claim gift aid. The hall income has risen since the change to our online booking system Sharesy and our church house income has also increased.

Our outgoings have also increased significantly, although a large part of this increase is due to the path renovation completed in 2025.

We largely funded this from funds held with the church investment which were moved across in readiness in 2024. This has led to the negative position for the year overall.

You may notice that some headings have gone up and some down this year. This is often due to cost moving around rather than significant changes.

Completed Path

The project was a huge success with award ceremony pending! Whilst a large expenditure for the church, we now have a safe, usable path to welcome the community into our churchyard. The expenditure for this can be seen within the ‘major church repairs’ heading on the accounts.

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Parish Share and Stewardship

In 2025 we were able to increase our giving to the diocese to £34,000.

We continue to rely on donations from our regular congregation to fund the welcome that we offer at Holy Trinity. We need these donations to keep the church running and appreciate everyone who contributes to the church. We would encourage everyone to review their regular giving each year.

Budget planning for 2026

FAB are meeting this year to draw up a budget plan for the various areas of spending at church so that we can be pro-active in our planning for the church finances.

Jen Douglas Finance Advisory Board

41

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF HOLY TRINITY HORFIELD

I report on the accounts of the parish of Holy Trinity, Horfield for the year ended 31 December 2025.

Respective responsibilities of PCC and examiner

As members of the PCC you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act'). I report in respect of my examination of the accounts carried out under section 145 of the 201 1 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Basis of independent examiner's report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or

2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Name: Hannah Cook, Accountant Date: 30/04/2026

Signed:

Relevant professional qualification or body: ICPA

Address: Mendip Accounting Solutions, 6 Hill Road, Clevedon, BS21 7NE

42

P•rothlal Chwth c￿￿Ell of HotrT￿, Horfl•ld

•rndth¥¢yNo. 1142013

Stst•m•rt of FIn￿tIll Arth￿tI For the year ended 31 De<tmlxr 2025 Funds Fwd¥ Trd T•l•l 2025 To1•1 a124 *icoMIt4G RES(Mlf((IS Vol￿￿ IKome Acti¥ilie5 IrDm 8eneralini fund IrtC4nE IrDm iffrt5tmEnts 77.M.26 s.soJ.crf) 5,476. 77.738.43 (y) o.c￿ 15.050.95 t66.￿3.$9 ISmO.9S o.(rfJ 77.768.26 5a223. o.(o s.sts).th] ssoJ.00 5,476.9) 6A91. 18 O.Lb) 77.738.43 56.817JS O.L)J 15.050.95 5,973 05 o.CQ 1113XS4 IJJ,CIM.6J 21bl 21£) 21dl Jlel o.(xi c￿¢th arti¥itieJ and inrill•ry OthEr incvniry we5￿￿[e￿ TOTAl1KOM￿ IfSOiIKES Chuiih aitivitrs ¥•1 141,67J.40 68.S63.02 I41.6n.￿ 68J6& O.(KJ 210.234A2 134.191.39 iXI 21023U2 IJ4J91J9 TOTIiIUOUACES EXPEIIDfO Ntf IPKOMING RESOURCES OEFOP OThER AECOGNISED G￿￿$ LOSSES 24.812.19 -5351107 D.LbJ .23.69918 .1.186.76 Galrts Ilossttlon io¥•hsatiM of iTrrtstsTront •5srts Slbl -6.727.f4 -6.727.66 6.OS3.08 4.727.66 -1s￿￿1J4 4J66.JI NET PknIMtAT IW FUNDS 14.•IL19 -SJJ1107 FUNDS CAAIIIED FQftWARD 51 DECIMIIft JS.256.19 8J53J9 170JOC27 24gJ41.49 Approved by the Parochial Church Council on 28 April 2026. and signed on it5 behalf by Revd. Canon Dr. David McGladderyi SCP 28th April 2026 43

t•r•d(￿lI¥ Tr4> 1131011 lJnrnstrkl•O InwJrnMt T4tl 2025 Total 1•24 I IIK(MllldG RES(X•K Pl•nnrt 8wltl8. 53,579.53 11,502.55 235.Cl) .ss&sJ 3,491.35 IX(Kl 52,STr.5J 46JbD.21 I2.501.55 235. ,55&13 11.135.36 1 3,492.35 587.48 TaKr•tvMrabl OAO ?1.76&￿ SU2105 tT•win(4m• C+£0 15mLD co 5,5QQ.fy) Gwasrn(4d offjo co 5.500m Jsiributun5 5.177. 249.A6 OAO 5.177.01 &JAI.84 294.16 109.34 D•p05rtx¢Mirt•rwt SM76. 5M76.90 6JYI.18 Fees trorn woddin65 Qic. tom• IfDm 6Uf¥ltsl Chwth w Inrom• Youth Club Aart fvomchwthmc4￿• Ojll YI4.IX> IIO2. 531XttJ 0) S?.￿L￿ 41.965.35 2,2ClklXI Om 16,303 30 12.05U.DQ 1 77,73U3 SU17.35 531X(O 57.76l13 OAD 15,3D3 30 77.73&43 (o Is￿￿.55 QUKI 1S.CfjIX95 S.SY3.US TQTAI1NCOP￿qF$OLInaS 166,483.59 ISA15￿￿5 4MI IBI.534.S4 la3Xlb4.6J

P•ntr#l Tvkndty.•Io￿￿d R••w•d ￿[￿¥ PID. 1132013 To¢•1 2025 70¢41 X24 I RÉSOIMCES EXPEXQÉD J lal Churth Ath¥ltits L872.94 1,87194 15 Prish Share 0.¢10 34.C•)thC¥I 2Q(#>). o.(K Inturttnt t4>ernes r4oD IICC fvNIs om D.IID IhLwch mamteNiic• thurch rnpairs 24J41.2S 0.￿ 67.136.19 4195.31 21?￿.62 128.54 24.141.25 6?.lJ&19 1.1g5.Ji 22.779.62 &S4 I1.1￿1.29 J.9?2. S.724. 22.W.8J water oAo E illil IS78.97 &OiS.04 9?2.￿) 4.Cb)S.l £.015.04 gY2.LX 3.74S.9S 920. LI{￿.40 iJJ.(y) 240.1$ L(MM.41 778.gD caDnal ffj¥151 san and FIDtrs Chwrtrrrf¥d m¥inleMrKt LThp Stre•rn8 Cg4 432.17 4.142.73 432.17 4,142.73 o. om DIID 1709.12 J.l?0.14 2.709.12 J.1Yth14 o. Yt4rth t1￿ SJ#.94 wrlhA{kn￿1Sty•tI drnintstrJI￿n and office costs EmFtyr Pen¥on Custs AdrnirwrtrJttyJn 5alaTIE5 Lo8#1 volt5￿#1 frées bank Char8ts A[c￿l￿ts honor•rwm IL294.82 DIIO 12.294.82 &927. 164.sj 42.1gY.17 328.80 43. th) OAA) L) 11354.13 1,101.20 12.JS4.13 2.101.20 o. 75th0) o.oD OtheronllDoryewpEW ch Mall expenthttre th h￿Se urknp 14JS.64 91. 1.43S.64 $.246.91 2.197. 18 J.6L￿. rAif 21•.2J4A2 IMIg1.J L6n.40 M,$6JA2 J Ibl F￿dIll¥¥ eosts DIID 00 TOTPI ￿E￿xI￿£t$ EXPEPIII I￿n.40 ￿.￿>.0? OXIO 210.234A2 IJ4.19A.J9 45

Fw T&ia1202S Tor￿ 2014 4STAM COSTS 41a)W¥es and￿￿1•5 12.354 14 OL Om 12.354.13 25.661.27 QD O.OD IS335.gD 51al T￿BiblE As51ts IJZ4 bllL I￿d￿ba￿d￿mth1 1Tr1024 Grwtr a ¥alu• 01 £7.7WWJ Thi r¥altsodintr%bw £so)M LaL29 S,￿.14 SJSI.IS 4.%1.31 119.621.76 121.601.14 414 l3 9.944.la IDJSB.97 .1.463 35.142.53 ]8.￿5.91 4727A6 1?WI.93 CtsF In4StffttntSuAd S311.ntsirts C14r¢d r•p*r5 ParrKNIl pwpg CIIF 1nvp5r￿￿t￿UTh C#F 441 uNr5 1Sa1.O 176.931.93 220AII.85 OAID .50£0J. 4.727.66 6￿$1.01 IXI.2N27 17&931.93 Tr￿S[￿re￿I0Cath AevabJatKffl ia PAMknVa￿•JI0K•rnb 4 DE•TIX51UWE51111cfiD Rir•si 7.914.42 Y?J4.41 46

P•roctrI￿ Chwth Councll ol Ilofy Tthy. Hopfield Reii51td Chvty ￿. 1131013 7 LIABILillES Tot•1 2025 Tot•1 2024 Audiior's HoTh)rarlum a)ants Tax&NI Ner Pa¥ Contml Pension5 Toul 750 476.60 4549.50 750 2.127.46 20.146.99 -54.66 .54.66 S.721A4 22J7J.59 8 FUNDS F￿d Fund &13Jst fvnd It )￿t Mo%ment Det 2025 Dec 2024 Bell lund Ch￿r Robè Fund 1.482.55 423.35 1.482.55 423.35 Needlèwork Fund Speclflc donailo Chancel Rep31r fund Clc<k fund Wèlcome Pfoiect Toul -368.75 368.75 -I.OS8.08 I.OS8.08 1.3S9.68 i.#tbJ.00 55.973_0S 6I465A6 1.359.6a -S2.085_24 3.kB7.8I 8,953.39 End¢xbffint Fund .727.66 170.204.27 176,931.93 9 AtIALISS OF NET ASSEfs 8Y FUND Lknrestrlcled Ae51thd EndowTrents Totsl Fimdg Totsl Funds Funds Fun Fw 2025 2024 Ta￿1*41e filed assets Investment Ilxed assets Curfeni asséts 2.554.CO 2.554.CO 2.554.(Xl 170.204_27 170.2CtsI.27 176931.93 o.cii 47J73.95 93.329.15 5.721.44 22,973.59 170,204.27 214AIO.n 249J41.49 38.420.56 5.721.44 35253.11 &953.39 Liabiiitses Totsl 8.95J.3g 47