2025-12-31-accounts

PARISH OF THE UPPER SKERNE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL

ANNUAL REPORT

2026

St Edmund’s Church, Sedgefield

Sunday 10[th] May

11.30 am

ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING AGENDA

The Annual Parish Meeting for the Election of Churchwardens

1. Welcome and opening prayer

2. Apologies

3. Minutes of the last meeting

4. Election of Churchwardens

The Annual Parochial Church Meeting

1. Welcome by the Chair of the Meeting

2. Opening Prayer

3. Apologies for absence

4. Minutes of last meeting

5. Matters arising

6. Election of representatives of the laity to the PCC.

7. PCC membership of Licensed Lay Ministers.

8. Appointment of Independent Examiner for the PCC accounts.

9. Questions about parochial church matters.

10. Consideration of PCC reports:

11. a. Electoral Roll

12. b. Report on the proceedings of the PCC and the activities of the parish. c. Safeguarding report

13. d. Treasurer’s report and accounts for 2025

14. e. Fabric report

15. f. No report on the proceedings of the Deanery Synod

16. g. Bereavement Groups

17. Any other business

18. Date of next meeting

19. Closing Prayer

A meeting of the new PCC will follow immediately.

MINUTES

ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING MAY 11[TH ] 2025 ST EDMUND’S CHURCH, SEDGEFIELD

THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING FOR THE ELECTION OF CHURCHWARDENS

Welcome and opening prayer by Rev David Lucas

Apologies for absence

Apologies received from: Phillipa Cooper.

Those present:

Rev David Lucas, Janet Deane, Julie Robson, Anne Gray, Margaret McLellan, Michele MacCallum, Alison King, Robert Elders, Brian Mutch, Sylvia Rutter, Victoria Dobson, Edward Oswald, John Burton, Glennis Defty, Michael King, Martin King, Enne Eyley, John Burrows, Sharon Stevenson, Linda Clements, Michelle Brown, Cecil Brown, Hanna Lucas, Abbie Maddison Killen, Adam Killen, Bill Armstron, Nigel Gibson, Sam Agnew & Lise Agnew.

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Minutes of the last meeting

Proposed as a true record by Michael King Seconded by Nigel Gibson All in favour

Election of Churchwardens

Two written nominations were received for each church warden: Michele MacCallam Nigel Gibson All in favour. Rev David declared both Michele and Nigel duly elected.

THE ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING

Welcome by the Chair of the Meeting (Rev David Lucas)

Opening Prayer

Apologies for absence

(See list above)

Those present

(see list above)

Minutes of last meeting

Proposed as a true record by John Burrows Seconded by Anne Gray

Matters arising

No matters arising

Election of representatives of the laity to the Deanery Synod Not certain we sorted this issue**

Election of representatives of the laity to the PCC.

Due to issues with the paperwork, the APCM didn’t have a list of the people nominated, so it was suggested to approve those persons nominated by their DCC’s, This was proposed by Nigel Gibson and seconded by Michael King. St Albans: Sylvia Rutter and Victoria Dobson St Catherines: Phillipa Cooper and Helen Gray St Edmunds: Brian Mutch and Robert Elders

St Mary Magdalene’s: Suzanne Hopper and John Burton

St Michaels: John Burrows and Michele MacCallam All in favour.

PCC membership of Licensed Lay Ministers .

Lay ministers are not automatically ex-officio members of the PCC and so the proposal that the APCM agree to lay ministers being ex-officio members of the PCC (if they so wish) is reviewed annually

Proposed : John Burrows Seconded: Anne Gray All in favour

Appointment of Independent Examiner for the PCC accounts. Proposal to accept Gordon Fletcher as Independent Examiner for the Parish Accounts Proposed: Bill Armstrong Seconded: Michele McCallam All in favour

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Questions about parochial church matters.

There were no questions

Consideration of PCC reports:

a. Electoral Roll

• b. Report on the proceedings of the PCC and the activities of the parish.

c. Safeguarding report

All of the above reports were accepted by the APCM Proposed: John Burrows Seconded: Anne Eyley All in favour4

d. Treasurer’s report and accounts for 2024

Lise Agnew has agreed to stand down as treasurer, She will handover to Bill who will be the new treasurer.

Proposal to accept treasurers report:

Proposed: John Burrows Seconded: Nigel Gibson All in favour

e. Annual fabric report

Proposed: Ann e Gray Seconded: Michael King All in favour

f. Report on the proceedings of the Deanery Synod Proposed: John Burrows Seconded: Cecil Brown All in favour

g. Bereavement Groups

Proposed: John Burrows Seconded: Lise Agnew All in favour

Any other business

Rev Martin King wanted to thank Rev David Lucas for all their hard work in the parish

Date of next meeting

The next APCM will be held on 10[th ] May 2026 at St Edmunds

Closing Prayer

Rev David closed with the Grace and thanked everyone for their attendance favour.

A MEETING OF THE NEW PCC WILL FOLLOW IMMEDIATELY

Agenda

1. Election of vice-chair

• Nomination: Brian Mutch

Proposed by Phillipa Cooper, seconded by Sylvia Rutter

2. Election of PCC secretary

• Nomination: Julie Robson Proposed by Victoria Dobson, seconded by Phillipa Cooper

3. Election of PCC treasurer (Acting) Nomination: Bill Armstrong Proposed by Robert Elders, seconded by Suzanne Hopper

4. Election of electoral roll officer

• Nomination: Julie Robson

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Proposed by Michele Maccallam, seconded by Victoria Dobson

5. Election of safeguarding officer

Nomination: Julie Robson

Proposed by Victoria Dobson, seconded by Michele Maccallam

6. Date of next meeting

The next PCC meeting will be on May 17[th] at 7pm in St Michael’s church.

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WRITTEN REPORTS FOR APCM 2026

Electoral Roll Report

The Electoral roll has increased by 13 (as shown in the table below). Many thanks to those who have helped in collating this information.

Electoral Roll 2026	Electoral Roll 2026	2025-2026
Deductions		4
Additions		15
Electoral Roll Distribution
St Alban’s		21
St Catherine’s		21
St Edmund’s		71
St Mary Magdalene’s		21
St Michael’s		38
TOTAL		172

Valerie Etherington - Electoral Roll Officer

ANNUAL REPORT ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE PCC AND THE ACTIVITIES OF THE PARISH

Aims and Purposes

The PCC of the Parish of the Upper Skerne has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent, once appointed, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has maintenance responsibilities for the Churches in the Parish.

Our Mission Statement

TOGETHER, glorify Jesus Christ, by opening spaces in which people might meet with, and go deeper with God, as part of a lifelong journey of discipleship.

Objectives

The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our churches and to become part of our parish community in the Parish of the Upper Skerne. People can live out their faith as part of our parish community through

• Worship and prayer; learning about the gospel; and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus.

• Provision of pastoral care for people living in the parish.

• Missionary and outreach work.

To facilitate this work, it is important that we maintain the fabric of our Churches.

Activities and Achievements

Since 2024 Rev David Lucas as Team Rector has established him and his family into the Parish of The Upper Skerne.

We welcomed Revd. Rachel Wilson into the parish.

We continue to pray for an associate priest to be appointed

Bible study groups have been set up in the parish and are well attended. Skerne Scriptorium has also commenced, which is a bible study group for lay people within the parish. Christian Life

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courses which include Christianity Explored and Alpha, have commenced are being well attended, these will continue to be rolled out across all the churches. People are coming to Catechism and are being confirmed

Children’s Church commenced at St Edmund’s and plans to role these out to other churches have been discussed.

Youth Provision is now up and running on a Tuesday at St Edmund’s in term time, We had POTUS group which was set up to organise events and activities for the 20[th ] anniversary celebrations, these many events went further to unite the churches, which was the aim and it was a very successful year.

The parish churches continue with their pattern of worship, and St Alban’s now hold a food with faith service. The weekly parish notice sheets continue to be delivered both in person and by email. Many thanks to all those who hand deliver the notice sheets. This has been very much appreciated for all those who are unable to attend church.

The Communications Group have introduced a new format for the monthly magazine, and the notice sheets in church have also been given a new format.

Performance

A full year of PCC meetings of the Parish of the Upper Skerne are ongoing. All meetings are held in person.

We have a Facebook page & a website, as well as individual church information on A Church Near You website.

PCC Minutes are issued to members via email.

DCC minutes are received following DCC meetings in each of the churches.

Vivienne Anderson PCC Secretary

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SAFEGUARDING REPORT

I, Valerie Etherington was officially appointed as Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) in March 2026, having undertaken the responsibilities of the role since August 2025. I am currently progressing through the required safeguarding training programme.

Updated contact details have been amended across a range of communication platforms and media. Printed documentation is also being updated on an ongoing basis as existing materials are identified and reviewed.

Safeguarding Responsibilities

The Parish continues to fulfil its legal safeguarding responsibilities. The PCC has been provided with all documentation necessary to comply with its duty to have due regard to the House of Bishops’ safeguarding guidance for children and vulnerable adults. These policies and procedures are reviewed annually.

Safeguarding Issues

During the past year there has been one safeguarding concern within the Parish. This matter remains ongoing. David and Valerie are continuing to follow the appropriate procedures and are working to achieve a satisfactory outcome for all those involved.

Safeguarding Training

The safeguarding website consists of two sections: the “Dashboard” and the “Hub”. While the Dashboard has been familiar during my time as Parish Safeguarding Officer, I have only recently become aware of the Hub section. The Hub provides a clear overview of safeguarding requirements and training records, showing what training individuals require and when renewals are due.

Although the safeguarding system was relatively straightforward when first introduced, it has expanded considerably and is now more complex to navigate. Those currently listed on the system have recently been sent links to complete their required training modules. Over the coming weeks, further work will be undertaken to identify anyone within the Parish who is not yet registered on the system, establish the level of training required for their role, and issue the appropriate links.

I am committed to ensuring that all safeguarding requirements are brought fully up to date and that there are no outstanding tasks on the system.

DBS Checks

DBS checks must be renewed every three years. Links for renewal applications have now been issued to all those due for renewal.

Applications are processed by John Burrows, our DBS Validator, once individuals have completed their online applications. Processing times are currently very lengthy. For example, my own application was submitted in December and has not yet been returned.

Valerie Etherington

Parish Safeguarding Officer

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PARISH OF THE UPPER SKERNE ACCOUNTS 2025

1. Summary of Accounts

RECEIPTS/INCOME	RECEIPTS/INCOME	Parish	St A	St C	St E	St MM	St M	TOTAL
	Voluntary giving
1	Plannedgiving	£8,001.70	£438.49	£4,056.00	£27,840.78	£8,296.54	£12,450.92	£61,084.43
3	Collections at services	£296.95	£4,002.36	£5,099.11	£16,352.13	£5,625.39	£5,259.89	£36,635.83
4	All other giving and voluntary receipts, including special appeals(recurringand one-off)	£22.91	£2,774.00	£100.00		£3,015.56	£94.36	£8,095.41
6	Gift Aid recovered (planned giving and one-off donations)	£20,348.11	£1,198.61	£1,926.78	£11,213.78	£3,165.88	£5,298.26	£43,151.42
7	Legacies received(capital value)	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00	£621.67			£621.67
8	Grants(include recurringand one-off)	£0.00	£680.00				£300.00	£980.00
	Total voluntary giving	£30,758.25	£9,093.46	£11,181.89	£56,028.36	£20,103.37	£23,403.43
	Activities forgenerating funds
9	Fundraisingactivities(grossproceeds)	£0.00	£1,096.00	£1,690.00	£12,629.25	£1,054.63	£1,358.45	£17,828.33
	Income from investments
10	Dividends,interest,income frompropertyetc.	£0.00	£0.00	£160.00	£1,081.58	£53.84	£856.63	£2,152.05
	Church activities
11	Fees retained by PCC (weddings, funerals etc.)	£31,719.00	£1,135.00	£1,985.00	£7,126.00	£4,800.00	£2,858.00	£49,623.00
12	Trading activities (gross proceeds), NOT fundraising	£2,874.97	£2,760.00	£302.00	£3,485.77	£610.00	£361.00	£10,393.74
	Other incoming resources
13	Other receipts/income not already listed PLEASE NOTE BRIEF DETAILS IN BOX E	£104,172.08	£465.96	£25.00	£825.29	£175.00		£103,574.75
	Totals(from Financial Statements)
A	RECEIPTS/INCOME	£136,677.47	£5,456.96	£4,162.00	£25,147.89	£6,693.47	£5,434.08
B	COMBINED TOTAL	£167,435.72	£14,550.42	£15,343.89	£81,176.25	£26,796.84	£28,837.51	£334,140.63
	PAYMENTS/EXPENDITURE
	Costs ofgenerating funds
	Costs of fundraisingactivities				£7,405.90		£330.00	£7,735.90
	Church activities
	Missiongivingand donations	£259.65	£434.10	£811.00	£5,823.79	£1,996.40	£828.20	£10,153.14
	Diocesan parish share contribution	£78,150.00	£2,920.00	£5,830.00	£30,720.00	£18,270.00	£13,135.00	£149,025.00
	Salaries,wages and honoraria	£5,940.14	£0.00	£174.00	£3,084.00	£1,695.00		£10,893.14
	Clergyand staff expenses	£5,494.24	£0.00					£5,494.24
	Church expenses
	Mission and evangelism costs
	Church running expenses (including governance)	£21,438.44	£3,612.32	£1,329.12	£13,374.55	£2,249.10	£5,157.27	£47,160.80
	Church utilitybills		£2,313.92	£1,185.32	£8,841.53	£2,554.75	£2,351.56	£17,247.08
	Costs of trading	£1,120.00		£272.00	£999.97	£693.00	£660.00	£3,744.97
	Major capital expenditure						£1,140.00
	Major repairs to the church building	£2,570.00	£1,700.00	£2,926.32	£48,204.09	£4,470.15		£59,870.56
	Major repairs to church hall/other PCC property includingredecoration						£3,284.00	£3,284.00
	New building work to the church, church hall, clergyhousingor other PCCproperty.							£0.00
	Other expenditure
	Other payments/expenditure not already listed PLEASE NOTE BRIEF DETAILS IN BOX E	£47,839.89	£1,918.00	£1,826.00	£3,514.27	£4,450.09	£3,190.00	£62,738.25
	Totals(from Financial Statements)
	PAYMENTS/EXPENDITURE						£1,127.18
	COMBINED TOTAL	£162,812.36	£12,898.34	£14,353.76	£121,968.10	£36,378.49	£31,203.21	£379,614.26
		£4,623.36	£1,652.08	£990.13	-£40,791.85	-£9,581.65	-£2,365.70

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2. Consolidated Accounts

		Unrestricted Funds £	Unrestricted designated Funds £	Restricted Funds £	Endowment Funds £	TOTAL 2025 £	TOTAL 2024 £
RECEIPTS/INCOME
	Voluntary giving
1	Plannedgiving	£61,084.43				£61,084.43	£58,837.11
3	Collections at services	£23,630.09		£13,005.74		£36,635.83	£19,558.57
4	All other giving and voluntary receipts, including special appeals (recurring and one-off)	£6,628.50	£2,088.58			£8,717.08	£24,341.89
6	Gift Aid recovered (planned giving and one-off donations)	£25,072.57				£25,072.57	£17,538.06
7	Legacies received(capital value)	£0.00				£0.00	£30,662.24
8	Grants(include recurringand one-off)	£0.00		£980.00		£980.00	£3,326.00
	Total voluntary giving	£116,415.59 £2,088.58 £13,985.74 £132,489.91 £154,263.87
	Activities forgenerating funds
9	Fundraisingactivities(grossproceeds)	£17,828.33				£17,828.33	£8,772.40
	Income from investments	£0.00
10	Dividends,interest,income frompropertyetc.	£2,152.05				£2,152.05	£5,568.60
	Church activities
11	Fees retained by PCC (weddings, funerals etc.)	£31,719.00				£31,719.00	£34,644.00
12	Trading activities (gross proceeds), NOT fundraising	£7,518.77				£7,518.77	£3,728.60
	Other incoming resources
13	Other receipts/income not already listed PLEASE NOTE BRIEF DETAILS IN BOX E	£4,061.25				£4,061.25	£4,836.06
	Totals(from Financial Statements)
A	RECEIPTS/INCOME	£63,279.40 £0.00 £0.00 £0.00 £63,279.40 £32,717.03
B	COMBINED TOTAL	£179,694.99 £2,088.58 £13,985.74 £0.00 £195,769.31 £186,980.90
	PAYMENTS/EXPENDITURE
	Costs ofgenerating funds
	Costs of fundraisingactivities	£1,897.72		£5,838.18		£7,735.90	£932.85
	Church activities
	Missiongivingand donations	£2,985.05		£7,168.09		£10,153.14	£9,889.80
	Diocesan parish share contribution	£78,150.00				£78,150.00	£76,125.00
	Salaries,wages and honoraria	£10,893.14				£10,893.14	£19,341.70
	Clergyand staff expenses	£5,494.24				£5,494.24	£938.43
	Church expenses
	Mission and evangelism costs
	Church running expenses (including governance)	£31,972.30	£1,277.69			£33,249.99	£29,500.09
	Church utilitybills	£17,247.08				£17,247.08	£22,689.56
	Costs of trading	£3,744.97				£3,744.97	£3,088.00
	Major capital expenditure	£0.00
	Major repairs to the church building	£10,258.65		£49,611.91		£59,870.56	£27,326.43
	Major repairs to church hall/other PCC property includingredecoration	£3,284.00				£3,284.00	£268.00
	New building work to the church, church hall, clergyhousingor other PCCproperty.	£0.00				£0.00	£38,155.43
	Other expenditure
	Other payments/expenditure not already listed PLEASE NOTE BRIEF DETAILS IN BOX E	£2,872.49				£2,872.49	£1,439.88
	Totals(from Financial Statements)
	PAYMENTS/EXPENDITURE	£168,799.64	£1,277.69	£62,618.18	£0.00	£232,695.51	£229,695.17
	COMBINED TOTAL	£10,895.35 £810.89 -£48,632.44 £0.00 -£36,926.20 -£42,714.27
						-£36,926.20	-£42,714.27

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3. Statement of Parish and Church Balances at 31[st] December2025

----- Start of picture text -----
CASH AND INVESTMENT BALANCES
Cash and deposit balances as at 31/12/25 £17,104.08 £5,628.15 £8,416.88 £2,811.59 £14,598.45 £9,641.73 £58,200.88
Investments as at 31/12/25 £15,322.68 £40,597.19 £59,052.21 £16,445.18 £17,668.51 £149,085.77
CCLA £15,322.68 £59,032.04 £11,581.19 £11,160.69 £97,096.60
DBF £26,409.59 £20.17 £8,243.85 £34,673.61
Business £1,545.82 £4,863.99 £8,141.73 £27,193.33
£12,641.79
Current £17,104.08 £5,628.15 £8,416.88 £2,811.59 £14,598.45 £1,714.24 £50,273.39
TOTALS £17,104.08 £20,950.83 £49,014.08 £61,863.80 £31,043.63 £29,260.51 £209,236.93
Restricted Funds £1,206.71 £26,409.59 £22,211.87 £8,243.85 £58,072.02
Designated Funds £710.89 £289.38 £4,863.99 £5,864.26
Endowments £3,094.35 £105.00 £1,209.29 £9,520.40 £13,929.04
PLANNED GIVERS AND LEGACIES
Number of planned givers 4 2 9 60 16 16 107
Number of new legacies received in year 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
----- End of picture text -----

4. Restricted and Designated Funds

St Catherine’s Building Fund (restricted)

Expenditure £2,784.75 Interest £1,437.68 End of year balance £62,383.68

St Edmund’s – Canon Eden Account (restricted)

Interest £5.42 End of year balance £20.17

St Edmund’s – Gordon Morris bequest (restricted)

Expenditure £47,047.91 Interest £0 End of year balance £21,191.70

St Michael’s – various Trust Funds (restricted)

Interest £400.86 End of year balance £8,243.85

PCC Account – AV equipment (restricted)

Expenditure £221.02 Account closed

PCC Account – Refugee Support (restricted)

Income £12.71 End of year balance £1,206.71

St Edmund’s – various designated funds

Income £90.43 End of year balance £289.38 PCC Account – Youth Work (designated) [redesignated from POTUS 200] Income £1,988.58 Expenditure £1,050.00 End of year balance £710.89

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5. PCC Treasurer’s Report

Income was £195,769, an increase of 4.7% over last year’s figure. However, when we take into account that the 2024 accounts included legacies of £30,662, the real increase this year is closer to 21% - a genuinely encouraging amount.

Planned Giving across the parish increased by 3.8%, marginally above the rate of price inflation in 2025. The launch of the Parish Giving Scheme in April 2025 is changing our pattern of giving. The number of people who have signed up the scheme varies from church to church. It has had an effect on the level of Gift Aid in 2025 which has increased from £17,538 in 2024 to £25,073. This is because the PGS pays Gift Aid to the churches as soon as they receive people’s giving. It should be noted that the amount of Gift Aid received in 2026 will be much lower as we have already been paid about £7,500 of what we would normally have received this year. The response to the PGS so far has been encouraging but we need to continue encouraging people to sign up. Most of the people who signed up for the scheme agreed that their giving would increase with the rate of inflation. Our churches are already beginning to see the effect of this.

Collections at services increased by 87%. This figure includes collections at baptisms, weddings and funerals, as well as cash put in the plate on Sundays. This was despite a fall in the number of weddings which led to a fall of 8.4% in fees from weddings and funeral. Income from donations was much lower than in 2024 - £8,717 instead of £24,342. It should be noted that collections and donations are not forms of income that we can control.

Income from fundraising more than doubled to £17,828. I would ask the PCC to record its thanks to all who contributed to this increase.

Expenditure increased slightly from £229,695 in 2024 to £232,695.

Clergy expenses increased from £938 to £5,494 – the inevitable result of having both a full-time Team Rector for the first time since 2019 and a part-time curate. The other major increase was in repairs to our church buildings from £27,326 to £59,871. The largest share of the work was carried out at St Edmund’s and was financed from a recent legacy.

Parish share increased by 2.7%, in line with inflation. This was less than the figure recommended by the diocese but represented what the PCC believed we could afford. The Administrator’s salary fell by 43.7%, as a result of Julie Robson’s resignation and our search for a new permanent Administrator, as well as our decision to have the magazine printed externally. Utility bills fell by 24%, an encouraging figure.

The results of the church accounts this year varied. The PCC account, St Alban’s and St Catherine’s showed relatively small surpluses. St Edmund’s (£-40,792) to St Mary Magdalene’s (- £9,582) and St Michael’s (£2,366). It should be noted that the figure for St Edmund’s was due entirely to the building work on the church St Mary Magdalene’s also carried out some building work, but we need to recognise that the church is struggling to pay its contribution to parish share, Looking forward, there are factors which need to be considered. We need to review the formula for allocating parish share among the churches. An initial meeting of church treasurers was held in February. A further meeting will take place in July when we will look at giving across the parish and how this relates to parish share.

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ANNUAL FABRIC REPORT

The two Churchwardens attended the Swearing in Service and have attended various training events during the year.

One or both of the wardens have attended all DCC and PCC meetings along with Ministerial team meetings, Steering Group, Worship Leaders’ meetings along with a presence on Environment, Governance, Communications and Baptism Matters Groups. The five churches are generally in good condition with maintenance being carried out as necessary with all relevant approvals. The external woodwork at St Alban’s has been painted, St Catherine’s had a lot of work carried out installing a new kitchen and has recently had new heating installed in the church. Also St Edmund’s has installed new toilets in the Vestry. The Quinquennial inspection at St Edmund’s in due and the parish recently appointed a new architect as the previous one has retired. We thank Val for all her hard work as Parish Administrator.

The Wardens have worked closely with our new Rector, Rev. David Lucas, Michele McCallum & Nigel Gibson

NO REPORT ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF DEANERY SYNOD

PARISH OF THE UPPER SKERNE BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT SERVICE

BALM

At the end of May, it will be a year since the start of my husband’s final illness leading to his death on June 17[th] . Obviously, it was impossible for me to continue my work with bereaved people, so my groups and telephone sessions were suspended for several months. I directed new referrals to One Step Forward if they felt ready to join a group.

Earlier this year I have restarted the monthly group in the Ladder Centre, Ferryhill and also a few telephone sessions, though just two or three a week at the moment instead of the two full days I was doing before. I am hoping that this will grow in time as I gradually feel more able to help people with their grief.

Since Philip’s illness and death I have been overwhelmed by the kindness and understanding of my BALM clients and their referrers and, of course, the love and prayers of the parish community. A sincere thank you.

Janet Deane, May 2026

OSF (One Step Forward)

Over the last year we have continued supporting bereaved people in our area, predominantly at our Group Sessions held at St Edmund's church. In September '25 we changed these sessions from being held weekly to now only twice a month. In addition, we have continued providing daily support to regular members via our OSF WhatsApp Group. Although we're unable to commit to regular telephone support, we do provide telephone consultations on an ad hoc basis, as well as support via email or by service users messaging our OSF Facebook page.

1. Referrals :

The majority of OSF service users come to us via self-referral, but some are also referred (via email or telephone) by Skerne Medical, NHS Care Co-ordinators, Social Prescribing Link Workers,

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Community Resilience Workers and other health-care professionals, based mainly at Sedgefield, Fishburn, the Trimdons & Wynyard & occasionally further afield (Spennymoor/Chilton/Chester-LeStreet). BALM sometimes put newly bereaved people in touch with us, as does Co-op Funeralcare.

2. Reasons for referral :

Most service users come to us because they feel lost/isolated/bereft after losing a partner or close relative & need to talk through their grief in a confidential, non-judgemental environment - by people who understand some of what they are going through. Third-party referrals tend to be for very similar reasons. Service users might be suffering from depression, or struggling with their mental health - or they may not have much human interaction, which only heightens their difficulties in attempting to come to terms with their grief. Some may have been bereaved very recently - others may be many years down the line when something happens which acts as a trigger, reawakening their feelings of loss & despair. New service users may first need a couple of telephone appointments before they feel ready to come along to a Group session, or they might wish to meet with the Facilitator in advance. There is no limit to the number of sessions people may attend. For some service users one session is enough to give them the confidence or lift they're seeking; others will attend each session over a period of a few months; and others continue to drop in & out as they are able, over the course of several years. A handful of 'regulars' have been coming pretty much since the group was first set up by Panny Pighills 11 years ago - although numbers in this category have decreased, as original 'regulars' have decided to move on.

3. Group sessions :

OSF meet twice a month & our sessions are held the 1st & 3rd Thursday of the month in The Welcome Room at St Ed's. Each session lasts 2 hours (2pm - 4pm) and attendance can vary between ca 5 and 15. I facilitate the group sessions, along with the help of our other 3 Listeners. Three years ago, we very tragically lost one of our original Listeners, Helen Masterman, which was an extremely difficult time for everyone, with the group seeking solace in one another. It also meant that sadly we were down to only 3 Listeners (Eileen, Jackie & myself). Fortunately, in May '23 we were able to welcome 2 new Listeners to the Group (Jo & Siiri). This meant that after the relevant Safeguarding training etc our numbers were looking healthy again, making it easier to accommodate one-to-one sessions (as part of the wider group environment) when these are requested from time to time. Unfortunately, a couple of years go both Siiri & Jo returned to full-time employment, meaning we'd lost both new Listeners, although happily they requested to remain part of the wider group at large. Luckily in September '24 one of our regulars Bill agreed to become a Listener, which he commenced after completing training in February last year - meaning we are back to 4 Listeners again now. We always ensure there are at least 2 Listeners present at Group sessions. During these sessions we have an Open Door Policy, thus ensuring that Walk-ins have access to bereavement support services too.

4. Support via WhatsApp :

One of our original Listeners suggested starting a Group on WhatsApp during Lockdown, to run alongside weekly telephone support calls (when we were unable to hold face-to-face sessions). The 'Group Chat' was originally a means for the group to keep in touch with one another, at a time when many were feeling anxious and were becoming increasingly isolated too. However, the Group proved such a popular & effective way of providing more frequent (daily) support, that it has remained in place ever since. This means that the group can have contact with each other outside of our in-person sessions if they wish & consequently several friendships have grown. It's encouraging to see how most of the group look out for one another, which has led to some getting together for lunch at weekends, joining other groups together, giving lifts to hospital appointments/the station & offers of shopping when ill etc. The Group Chat operates between the hours of 8am - 11pm & we currently have 17 members supporting one another in this way.

14

5. Finance :

OSF is a not-for-profit group & receives no funding - it is financed purely by voluntary contributions & occasional donations/fund-raising events. The group is grateful that there is no charge to use the Welcome Room - service users make a voluntary contribution (ca £1), which is then split equally between OSF funds (to provide refreshments, occasional flowers, print costs etc.) and Church funds (contributing to heating, lighting & upkeep of the church). Our balance as at the end of 2025 was ca. £290.

6. Average number of Service Users/month :

As an average monthly number, during the month of March 2026, the group totalled 23 & we held 2 Group Sessions.

7. A.O.B :

Other activities / events of note:

• Listener Meetings - continued this year, as & when required.

• Feedback Forms - distributed to any Group members deciding to leave.

• Small Expenses - continue to be submitted to Chris Rowsby 2-4 times a year.

• Governance - ongoing Checks/Training unfortunately seem to have fallen by the wayside somewhat (Safeguarding Training/DBS Renewals etc), although the Group continues to operate as effectively & safely as is possible.

• Familiarisation for new Listeners / Risk Assessments etc - no updates were required.

• Surprise 80th Celebration - a family member of one of our Regulars contacted us to invite us along in May last year - we organised a collection for him & 7 of us were able to attend.

• Additional Service-Users - OSF took on a small number in the latter half of 2025, when BALM was sadly unable to take place.

• Sedgefield News & Sedgefield Web - Group details updated to twice a month (Sep '25).

• Group Visitors - a Psychology Graduate sat in on a couple of sessions to observe how a Bereavement Support Group might function - with a view to learning how to become a Volunteer Befriender (Sep '25).

• OSF 11th Birthday - celebrated 6th Nov '25.

• Group Christmas Meal - a smaller number (6) met at the Dun Cow last year - a welcome drink for each member was paid for thanks to a kind donation from Panny, as opposed to from OSF funds, as per the norm.

• OSF Posters - updated & distributed to over 20 locations/venues at the start of 2026.

Sue Archer, 7[th] May 2026

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MISSION STATEMENT Together, glorify Jesus Christ, by opening spaces in which people might meet with, and go deeper with God, as part of the lifelong journey of discipleship.

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Parish of the Upper Skerne

Parish Accounts 2025

1. Consolidated Account

		Unrestricted Funds £	Unrestricted designated Funds £	Restricted Funds £	Endowment Funds £	TOTAL 2025 £	TOTAL 2024 £
	RECEIPTS/INCOME
	Voluntary giving
1	Plannedgiving	£61,084.43				£61,084.43	£58,837.11
3	Collections at services	£23,630.09		£13,005.74		£36,635.83	£19,558.57
4	All other giving and voluntary receipts, including special appeals (recurring and one-off)	£6,628.50	£2,088.58			£8,717.08	£24,341.89
6	Gift Aid recovered (planned giving and one-off donations)	£25,072.57				£25,072.57	£17,538.06
7	Legacies received(capital value)	£0.00				£0.00	£30,662.24
8	Grants(include recurringand one-off)	£0.00		£980.00		£980.00	£3,326.00
	Total voluntary giving	£116,415.59 £2,088.58 £13,985.74 £132,489.91 £154,263.87
	Activities forgenerating funds
9	Fundraisingactivities(grossproceeds)	£17,828.33				£17,828.33	£8,772.40
	Income from investments	£0.00
10	Dividends,interest,income frompropertyetc.	£2,152.05				£2,152.05	£5,568.60
	Church activities
11	Fees retained by PCC (weddings, funerals etc.)	£31,719.00				£31,719.00	£34,644.00
12	Trading activities (gross proceeds), NOT fundraising	£7,518.77				£7,518.77	£3,728.60
	Other incoming resources
13	Other receipts/income not already listed PLEASE NOTE BRIEF DETAILS IN BOX E	£4,061.25				£4,061.25	£4,836.06
	Totals(from Financial Statements)
A	RECEIPTS/INCOME	£63,279.40 £0.00 £0.00 £0.00 £63,279.40 £32,717.03
B	COMBINED TOTAL	£179,694.99 £2,088.58 £13,985.74 £0.00 £195,769.31 £186,980.90
	PAYMENTS/EXPENDITURE
	Costs ofgenerating funds
	Costs of fundraisingactivities	£1,897.72		£5,838.18		£7,735.90	£932.85
	Church activities
	Missiongivingand donations	£2,985.05		£7,168.09		£10,153.14	£9,889.80
	Diocesan parish share contribution	£78,150.00				£78,150.00	£76,125.00
	Salaries,wages and honoraria	£10,893.14				£10,893.14	£19,341.70
	Clergyand staff expenses	£5,494.24				£5,494.24	£938.43
	Church expenses
	Mission and evangelism costs
	Church running expenses (including governance)	£31,972.30	£1,277.69			£33,249.99	£29,500.09
	Church utilitybills	£17,247.08				£17,247.08	£22,689.56
	Costs of trading	£3,744.97				£3,744.97	£3,088.00
	Major capital expenditure	£0.00
	Major repairs to the church building	£10,258.65		£49,611.91		£59,870.56	£27,326.43
	Major repairs to church hall/other PCC property includingredecoration	£3,284.00				£3,284.00	£268.00
	New building work to the church, church hall, clergyhousingor other PCCproperty.	£0.00				£0.00	£38,155.43
	Other expenditure
	Other payments/expenditure not already listed PLEASE NOTE BRIEF DETAILS IN BOX E	£2,872.49				£2,872.49	£1,439.88
	Totals(from Financial Statements)
	PAYMENTS/EXPENDITURE	£168,799.64	£1,277.69	£62,618.18	£0.00	£232,695.51	£229,695.17
	COMBINED TOTAL	£10,895.35 £810.89 -£48,632.44 £0.00 -£36,926.20 -£42,714.27
						-£36,926.20	-£42,714.27

2. Statement of Parish and Church Balances at 31[st] December 2025

----- Start of picture text -----
CASH AND INVESTMENT BALANCES
Cash and deposit balances as at 31/12/25 £17,104.08 £5,628.15 £8,416.88 £2,811.59 £14,598.45 £9,641.73 £58,200.88
Investments as at 31/12/25 £15,322.68 £40,597.19 £59,052.21 £16,445.18 £17,668.51 £149,085.77
CCLA £15,322.68 £59,032.04 £11,581.19 £11,160.69 £97,096.60
DBF £26,409.59 £20.17 £8,243.85 £34,673.61
Business £1,545.82 £4,863.99 £8,141.73 £27,193.33
£12,641.79
Current £17,104.08 £5,628.15 £8,416.88 £2,811.59 £14,598.45 £1,714.24 £50,273.39
TOTALS £17,104.08 £20,950.83 £49,014.08 £61,863.80 £31,043.63 £29,260.51 £209,236.93
Restricted Funds £1,206.71 £26,409.59 £22,211.87 £8,243.85 £58,072.02
Designated Funds £710.89 £289.38 £4,863.99 £5,864.26
Endowments £3,094.35 £105.00 £1,209.29 £9,520.40 £13,929.04
PLANNED GIVERS AND LEGACIES
Number of planned givers 4 2 9 60 16 16 107
Number of new legacies received in year 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
----- End of picture text -----

3. Restricted and Designated Funds

St Catherine’s Building Fund (restricted)

Expenditure	£2,784.75
Interest	£1,437.68
End of year balance	£62,383.68
St Edmund’s – Canon Eden Account (restricted)
Interest	£5.42
End of year balance	£20.17
St Edmund’s – Gordon	Morris bequest (restricted)
Expenditure	£47,047.91
Interest	£0
End of year balance	£21,191.70
St Michael’s – various Trust Funds (restricted)
Interest	£400.86
End of year balance	£8,243.85
PCC Account – AV equipment (restricted)
Expenditure	£221.02
Account closed
PCC Account – Refugee Support (restricted)
Income	£12.71
End of year balance	£1,206.71
St Edmund’s – various	designated funds
Income	£90.43
End of year balance	£289.38

PCC Account – Youth Work (designated) [redesignated from POTUS 200] Income £1,988.58 Expenditure £1,050.00 End of year balance £710.89

4. PCC Treasurer’s Report

Income was £195,769, an increase of 4.7% over last year’s figure. However, when we take into account that the 2024 accounts included legacies of £30,662, the real increase this year is closer to 21% - a genuinely encouraging amount.

Planned giving across the parish increased by 3.8%, marginally above the rate of price inflation in 2025. The launch of the Parish Giving Scheme in April 2025 is changing our pattern of giving. The number of people who have signed up the scheme varies from church to church. It has had an effect on the level of Gift Aid in 2025 which has increased from £17,538 in 2024 to £25,073. This is because the PGS pays Gift Aid to the churches as soon as they receive people’s giving. It should be noted that the amount of Gift Aid received in 2026 will be much lower as we have already been paid about £7,500 of what we would normally have received this year. The response to the PGS so far has been encouraging but we need to continue encouraging people to sign up. Most of the people who signed up for the scheme agreed that their giving would increase with the rate of inflation. Our churches are already beginning to see the effect of this.

Collections at services increased by 87%. This figure includes collections at baptisms, weddings and funerals, as well as cash put in the plate on Sundays. This was despite a fall in the number of weddings which led to a fall of 8.4% in fees from weddings and funeral. Income from donations was much lower than in 2024 - £8,717 instead of £24,342. It should be noted that collections and donations are not forms of income that we can control.

Income from fundraising more than doubled to £17,828. I would ask the PCC to record its thanks to all who contributed to this increase.

Expenditure increased slightly from £229,695 in 2024 to £232,695.

Clergy expenses increased from £938 to £5,494 – the inevitable result of having both a full-time Team Rector for the first time since 2019 and a part-time curate. The other major increase was in repairs to our church buildings from £27,326 to £59,871. The largest share of the work was carried out at St Edmund’s and was financed from a recent legacy.

Parish share increased by 2.7%, in line with inflation. This was less than the figure recommended by the diocese but represented what the PCC believed we could afford. The Administrator’s salary fell by 43.7%, as a result of Julie Robson’s resignation and our search for a new permanent Administrator, as well as our decision to have the magazine printed externally. Utility bills fell by 24%, an encouraging figure.

The results of the church accounts this year varied. The PCC account, St Alban’s and St Catherine’s showed relatively small surpluses. St Edmund’s (£-40,792) to St Mary Magdalene’s (-£9,582) and St Michael’s (£2,366). It should be noted that the figure for St Edmund’s was due entirely to the building

work on the church St Mary Magdalene’s also carried out some building work, but we need to recognise that the church is struggling to pay its contribution to parish share,

Looking forward, there are factors which need to be considered. We need to review the formula for allocating parish share among the churches. An initial meeting of church treasurers was held in February. A further meeting will take place in July when we will look at giving across the parish and how this relates to parish share.

Bill Armstrong

April 2026

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examinerfs Report Report to the trusteesl members of The PCC of the Eccksiastical Parish of the Upper Skeme On accounts for the year ended 31" December 2025 Charity no lif any) 1132664 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Ihe above charty (Ihe Trusf) for the year ended Responsibilities and As the chatity trustees of the Trust. you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance wtlh the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ￿he Act"). I rep)rt in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounls carrbed out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charty Commission under se(#ion 145{51{b) of the Act. I have c(Nnpleted my examination. I confim that no material matters have come to my attent￿￿ (other than that disclosed below ") in connection with the examination which gNes me cause to believe that in, any material respect: accounting recorts were not kept in acc(ffdance wf(h section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not ￿1rd with the accounting records Independent examinerfs statement I have no COn￿M$ and have come across no other matters in connection viith the examinalion to wh￿h attention should be drawn in order to enable proper underslanding of the accounts to be reached. Please delete the words in the b￿CketS rfthey do not appty. Date: Signed: Name: Relevant professional qualificationlsl or body {if any): Address: IIIAL IER October 2018

Section B Disclosure Only complete rf the examiner needs to highlight matters of concem (see CC32. Independent examination of charty accounts.. dIr￿110nS and guidan￿ for examiners). Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER October 2018