## **Christ Church with St. Marys, Old Town, Swindon** Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church meeting, Sunday 19[th] April 2026, 11.30am in Christ Church. ## **1. Opening Prayer and Worship** Revd. Norma McKemey thanked everyone for attending and opened in prayer, including our Parish Bible Verse, (Romans 13, vs 10) ## **2. Attendance and apologies** Apologies were noted for: Revd Canon Simon Stevenette, Vicar, absent and recovering from serious illness; Ian Farr, Ali Tremlett, Genny Williams, Christine Senior, Elizabeth and Anthony Breakspear-Jones, Janet French and Reg Hardwick. 34 people were noted on the attendance sheet which is attached to the file copy of the minutes. ## **Annual Vestry Meeting** ## **3. To elect two Church Wardens** Simon Giles was stepping down after 2 years as Church Warden, to follow a Formation Year for Licensed Lay Ministry. Therefore, the election was for his replacement, Paul Andrews. Sheila Wright would continue as Churchwarden for her third year. Norma led the meeting in prayer of thanks and encouragement. Paul and Sheila would be welcomed and take vows as church wardens at the Archdeacon of Malmesbury’s Visitation on 30[th] June 2026, 7.30pm at St Peter’s Church, Chippenham. |Name|Proposed by|Seconded by| |---|---|---| |Paul Andrews|Daphne Hardwick|Janet French| |Sheila Wright|Stephen Cox|Helen Hartnell| **Resolved:** The congregation elected the two persons named above to serve as Church Wardens. All assented. **Meeting ended** at 11.47am ## **Annual Parochial Church Meeting** 4. **To approve the minutes of the APCM held on the 27th of April 2025.** Resolution was proposed by Daphne Hardwick and seconded by Sarah Garrett. Norma thanked Helen for the accuracy of her work as secretary. - **Resolved** : The congregation approved the minutes of the meeting held on 27[th] April 2025. 5. **Matters arising from the 2025 APCM –** None not already actioned. 1 ## 6. **To approve the report of the Electoral Roll officer.** - Helen Hartnell reported on behalf of Ian Farr who was unable to attend this meeting. In 2025, a completely new roll had been created (following a statutory complete revision which takes place every 6 years) and 130 people were recorded Since the 2025 APCM, sadly 4 members of the roll had died, and 6 new members had joined. As of 27[th] April 2026, there were 132 names on the roll. Norma and those present noted their gratitude to Ian Farr for his diligent work and wished to pass on their thanks to him for agreeing to continue as the parish Electoral Roll Officer, although he was stepping down as PCC member. Approval of the Electoral Roll: Proposed by Paul Ng and seconded by Ailsa Palmer. All present assented. **Resolved** . ## 7. **To notify other items not covered on the agenda below –** None. 8 a **. To elect 3 representatives to the Deanery Synod** . An election was required this year. Anne Grainger had come to the end of her term, and Sarah Garrett was resigning because of her other commitments as PCC Safeguarding Lead. Anthony Slack was willing to stand for a further term of 3 years on Deanery Synod; Daniel Pitt and John Pryce were seeking election as new members. If elected, all three would serve until April 2029. Vote - To approve the election of Anthony, Daniel and John as Deanery Synod representatives Proposer: Liz Day; seconded by Giles Clarke. All present voted in favour. **Resolved** . ## b. **PCC** The 2026 PCC consisted of: Ex-Ofcio: Revd. Simon Stevenette, Revd. Norma McKemey, Paul Andrews (Church Warden until April 2029), Sheila Wright (Church Warden until April 2027), Paul Ng (Treasurer), Nitin Shinde Ex-ofcio Deanery Synod representatives: Anthony Slack, Daniel Pitt and John Pryce Ex-ofcio, non-voting members: Chris Smith (CCSOM); Alex Davies-Spratt (Verger). (Leaving the PCC at the 2026 APCM after their 3-year term: Rose Earle, Ian Farr, Ailsa Palmer, Frances Poel, Anne Grainger, Alison Tremlett, Genny Williams. Already resigned during 2025-26: Andrew Yeoward.) ## Vote to elect up to 12 lay members of the PCC (a significant number of new members this year) 1. Yvonne Andrews 2. Elizabeth Breakspear-Jones 3. Simon Giles 4. Stan Hagarty 5. Judith Hawkins 6. David Ratnam 7. Janice Titcombe 2 8. Alison Tremlett (for a 4[th] year, until April 2027) for experience and continuity on the PCC 9. Sarah Garrett (Safeguarding Lead for PCC) 10. Genny Williams (Lay Minister representative) 11. Helen Hartnell until APCM, April 25[th] , 2027 (PCC Secretary) **Resolved:** All present voted in favour of endorsing the above people as lay members of the PCC. ## **9. a) To endorse the appointment of sides-people:** Daniel Pitt continues to coordinate the Welcomers/Side persons’ rota, alongside the Churchwardens. We have 9 sides-people: Alice Giles, Anne Grainger, Jenny Selwood, Daniel Pitt, Christine Senior, Anthony Slack, Elizabeth and Anthony Breakspear-Jones, Sam Sundar (Also Sheila Wright and Paul Andrews as Church Wardens) **Resolved** : The meeting endorsed the above people, and they were thanked for their work. ## **9 b) Independent Examiners for 2025/26** Those present affirmed the appointment of Monahan’s as Independent Examiners for the 2026-2027 accounts – proposed by Paul Ng and seconded by David Day. All assented. **Resolved.** ## **10. To receive and approve the Annual Report and Accounts, year ending December 2025** Norma hoped people had read the Annual Report. It had been a year of activity and growth as a spiritual community, particularly until the end of September 2025. However, sadly our Vicar, Simon Stevenette, had fallen seriously ill in October. We had been praying for his health to improve and were thankful that he had been gradually recovering in recent months, with a phased, planned return commencing on May 31[st] , 2026, at the Partnership Confirmation Service. It had been a very difficult time for the Stevenette family and friends, and the church family. Norma thanked the congregation, and the Staff Team for all their willingness and hard work to ensure the services and events continued as normally as possible in Simon’s absence. We would continue to pray for Simon’s return to health. **Financial Report for 2025** presented by Paul Ng, Treasurer. Summary – Income: In 2025, the budget deficit was smaller than forecast, at £10k. £57k had been received in legacy donation, with a further £100k expected in 2026. Income from activities had increased to £125k in 2025. Our general financial position was stable. Expenditure: 2025 had been a challenging year as predicted, with high running costs and lower giving set to remain in place. We should focus to encourage the congregation to increase support for the Church through regular donations or the Parish Giving Scheme. Donations / regular giving had stayed relatively static. The highest proportion of expenditure was on staff salary costs and wages. 3 Our net parish share contribution in 2025 was £106,000 (A continuing large proportion of expenditure). PCC policy was to maintain (if possible) sufficient general funds to cover four months of ‘normal’ turnover. This measured as one third of the budgeted income for the year. Situation in 2025 – This was another challenging year, with high running costs and lower/ stable level of giving set to remain in place. The Community Centre had been a great support over the years, with lettings and fundraising events consistently delivering a surplus. Depreciation of Assets – Paul said they estimated spending £50k each year in depreciation, e.g. buildings needing repair. We need to be in a better position to be able to plan our budget ahead, so improved regular giving would be welcome. Norma warmly thanked Paul for his report and his hard work throughout the past year, together with the Finance Group. Norma invited questions: - (David Austin) – Could legacies be ring-fenced? Paul replied that some legacies specify their use. We have an approved Legacy Policy which is referred to when making decisions. Only as a last resort would legacy money be used to support meeting general costs. - (David Austin) – Mission-Giving. Why was the 2k figure in the report such a very small proportion of expenditure? Could we consider giving to Christian Aid this coming year? Paul replied that this figure represented only what the congregation donated on the two allocated mission-giving Sundays in the year but did not include many other ways in which the congregation gave money to charities and good causes. We also donate a large proportion of our income to the Parish Share, giving £106k in 2025-26. Norma replied to David that: the PCC does add in money towards the amounts given to charity, underwriting a minimum amount, but could do more; that the PCC would be deciding at its next meeting in May which should be the two main charities for Mission-giving for the next few years, one a local charity and one national/ international charity. Liz Day commented that the Willows Counselling charity had been very grateful for the donation made from the parish over recent years. We have also fund-raised for the Children’s Society. - (John Pryce) – What does ‘Fund-Raising’ consist of, e.g. are these the large events such as the Beer Festival, for example, or perhaps the Burns Night Supper? John would like it to be made very explicit at each event where the funds would go. - (Moira) – While acknowledging the high costs of running the church, Moira also felt that the relatively very small slice of expenditure on Mission-Giving looked ‘shameful’ by comparison. She asked that: we consider increasing the amount we give to charities; there should be a clear system of applying to the church for grants. Moira suggested the PCC should consider Commercial/ Retail Chaplaincy as a charity for 2026. Acceptance of the 2025 Annual Report and Financial accounts was proposed by Paul Ng and seconded by Giles Clarke. All assented. **Resolved.** 4 ## **11. To receive & note the Parish Safeguarding Report** Sarah Garrett introduced herself as Safeguarding Lead for the PCC. Her report is available as part of the Annual Report. Sarah expressed gratitude for everyone’s efficiency in completing their safeguarding training. New members of the PCC would each need to undergo training. Norma thanked Sarah for her thorough and important work. Acceptance of the Safeguarding Report was proposed by Paul Ng and seconded by Moira Slack. All present voted in favour. **Resolved** . ## **12. To receive questions from the floor** (Stan Hagarty) – a. Why were there so few weddings at Christ Church and St Mary’s? Norma replied. In past years, there had been 30/ 40 weddings a year, but numbers had indeed reduced dramatically in recent times because: of the Covid pandemic; many other venues were now licensed to hold weddings and offered packages for both ceremony and reception. For funerals too, the number of civil celebrants was growing rapidly. b. - How many civil partnerships? Norma did not know the exact figure and advised him to ask Carol Simmons, the Parish Administrator. **13. Vicar’s report: Plans, priorities and strategy:** In Simon Stevenette’s absence, Norma said it had been a year of unpredictable ups and downs. In September 2025, all was going very well, but by October 4[th] , Simon suddenly fell very seriously ill. This meant considerable reorganisation. His prolonged illness, followed by gradual recovery, meant the staff and congregation put in much extra time and effort in order that we would continue to run smoothly as a church and a community. May 31[st] was the date for Simon’s return to work, on a phased 4- monthly return programme. All being well, Simon would then be full-time by October. The good, foundational goals for 2026-7 were all in the Annual Report, though Simon may add to these in due course. There were no further questions. We prayed the **Prayer for Growth** together. **14. To set a provisional date for the next APCM** (must be held no later than 31[st] May 2026) - A provisional date for the next APCM: Sunday 25[th] April 2027. (Easter Sunday 2027: March 28[th] ) ## **15. Any other business:** None **16. The meeting closed** with prayer at 12:30pm. ## **Meeting of the P.C.C.** ## **1. Election of Officers** : - a. Lay Chair: Paul Andrews, Church Warden - b. Secretary: Helen Hartnell - c. Treasurer: Paul Ng Vote to accept all 3 nominations: proposed by Simon Giles; seconded by Anthony Slack; all voted in favour. **Resolved.** 5 2. **Partnership Council Meeting:** Next date – Monday 27[th] April, at Immanuel Church, with refreshments from 7pm; start time at 7.30pm. 3. **Next PCC Meeting:** Monday May 18[th] , 7.30pm in the large meeting-room, Christ Church Community Centre 4. **Apologies** (for PCC meeting): Stan Hagarty The PCC meeting Closed at 12.45pm. 6