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← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St Giles, Pontefract

2025-12-31-accounts

ANNUAL REPORT

AND

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2025

The Benefice of Pontefract All Saints  St Giles with St Mary’s  St Michael the Archangel  St Stephen’s Strengthening Faith, Building Community

The Parochial Church Council of The Ecclesiastical Parish of St Giles, Pontefract is a charity registered in England and Wales (1135106)

Bank

Virgin Money

Independent Examiner

KJA Kilner Johnson Ltd

Objectives

St Giles has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent, The Reverend Ian Bullock, in promoting in the ecclesiastical Parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has maintenance responsibilities for St Giles Church.

Structure, governance and management

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.

The PCC held seven meetings during the year, and five meetings of the Standing Committee.

PCC Membership

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a body corporate (PCC Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2025) and registered with the Charity Commission.

PCC members are elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in accordance with the Church Representation Rules 2025 and during the year, in addition there are a number of officers who are Ex-Officio.

During 2025, the following served as members of the PCC

Incumbent The Reverend Ian Bullock (Ex-officio)_ Associate Priests The Reverend Wayne Phillips (Ex-officio) The Reverend Kate Reynolds (Ex-officio) The Reverend Rod Walker (Ex-officio) The Reverend Mark Watkins (Ex-officio) Churchwardens _Mr Bruce Dalgleish (Ex-Officio) Mrs Barbara Sessford (Ex-Officio) Mrs Karen Glynn (Ex-Officio) Vacant

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Deanery Synod

Mrs Barbara Sessford (Ex-Officio)* Mrs Jill Clapham (Ex-Officio) Mr Anthony Williams (Ex-Officio) Vacant (Ex-Officio)

Elected Members Mrs Lynne Davis (Term of Office Expires 2026) Mr Frank Ward (Term of Office Expires 2026) Vacant (Term of Office Expires 2026) Mrs Suzanna Farnham (Term of Office Expires 2027) Mr Ulric Murray (Term of Office Expires 2027) Mr Ian Wood (Term of Office Expires 2027) Dr Sonia Atkin (Term of Office Expires 2028)* Mrs Joan Taylor (Term of Office Expires 2028) Vacant (Term of Office Expires 2028)

*Names in italic denote members of the Standing Committee

**As Clergy licensed to The Benefice of Pontefract, they have the right to attend all PCC meetings, but in practice this doesn’t always happen.

Standing Committee

This is the only committee required by law. It has power to transact the business of the PCC between its meetings, subject to any directions given by the council. It also meets to discuss other matters to be put before the PCC and prepare the agenda.

It consists of the Vicar, churchwardens, PCC Secretary, and a nominated representative from the PCC

Electoral Roll

After the annual update of the Electoral Roll there were 93 people on the electoral roll at the APCM in March 2025

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Review of the Year

Some of the significant areas that the PCC has considered are:

Financial Activities

At the beginning of 2025 we appointed a new Treasurer – Mrs Samantha Hutton, who has done a significant amount of work in updating our accounting systems. She has been working closely with Fr Ian to update the way that we not only report our finances at the APCM, but also how we report to the PCC who as the Trustees, have a duty of care in respect of our finances.

Sam also meets regularly with Fr Ian so that they can ensure that the finances are monitored closely. Now that the first full year of accounting is complete, we have resolved the teething issues inherent with a change of treasurer and implementation of new systems, and expect this process to run more smoothly in the future. We are grateful for all the time she has put into our accounts as she has used her gift to support the work of the church.

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With our account at CCLA our reserves have worked harder for us this year and yielded almost a 500% increase in the interest that we had received the previous year. We also received two legacies during the year, totalling £60,000, and these were transferred across to the investment account at the end of the year, so that they can accrue some interest while we consider how best to use these gifts.

With the increased use of electronic and cashless payments, the Collectin and a new POS (Point of Sales) device were installed in church, and we have seen an increase in their usage, with both devices already covering the costs that were involved in purchasing them.

During late 2024 and early 2025 we were fortunate to have received two grants to do some significant work on our NZC Project. This in turn has had a dramatic effect on our electricity costs, and as we continue to improve the work on the building, we expect to see greater gains in the future.

In real terms, parish giving was down by 13% from 2024, and this was also reflected in the gift aid that we will be able to claim back at the end of the tax year.

After meeting with members of the Diocesan Stewardship team, as part of a new initiative, we have been able to re-negotiate our Parish Share contributions from 20262028 to enable us to be better equipped to reach them. While there is some challenge in these figures, they are achievable, and our contribution to the work of the diocese, just as every other parish is important as it helps to ensure that God’s work is carried out on a local level.

St Giles continues to depend on its members for support, both practical and monetary, for its continued existence and outreach to the community.

The Church can claim an extra 25p for every £1 given if donated by a tax payer who has signed a “Gift Aid” declaration or completes and signs a one-off gift aid envelope, available from the welcome team.

This is paid by the Inland Revenue (at no extra cost to you); if you are a tax payer and would like to help boost the Church income, please have a word about gift aiding your donations.

Thank you to all who support the Parish in all your various ways; your generous giving of time and money is greatly valued.

A copy of the parish accounts is appended to the back of this report for inspection and they have been independently examined

Fabric

All the mandatory tests, that are required to allow the church to operate safely and legally, have been carried out at various stages in the year. The only issue arising was with the fire extinguishers, five of which required replacement (2 x H2O, 3three x CO2).

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Work undertaken by external contractors includes:

Work done in house includes:

Work on replacing incandescent lights with LED bulbs and fittings has continued throughout the year and is now largely complete. All that remain are the lights in the organ loft and the tower above the ringing chamber. The LED lights will lead to a noticeable reduction in our electricity bills.

A new light has been fitted at the top of the stairs by the lift, and separate emergency lights have been installed in the north and south aisles.

The secondary glazing on the east window was temporarily removed and the stained glass cleaned. All bird netting on the windows was inspected and repaired as necessary.

New taps were fitted in the toilets next to the kitchen. They prevent the loss of water due to people leaving the taps running and so reduce our water bills.

The main entrance door on the south side was sticking. It was removed and realigned.

The children’s corner was redecorated due to damp and the drains by the north door and the ramp were cleared to address the problem. The monuments, plaques and memorials were inspected to ensure that they are secure and free from damp or condensation.

The parapet was inspected and found to be secure.

The problem of damp in the tower remains. It is largely caused by the open nature of the design, leaving it exposed to the elements, particularly during high winds and heavy rain.

The battery was changed in the carbon monoxide alarm in the boiler room.

Much work was done on inspecting the roof, prior to the installation of the solar panels. *

Two slates with cracked edges were identified, but they do not present a problem.

All the in-house work has been done by our homegrown volunteer maintenance team, without whom our maintenance bills would be considerably higher. We are deeply indebted to Peter Lavine and his team of Charles Atkin, Ian Knox, David Malkin, David Roydhouse and Ian Wood.

* The installation of the solar panels will be covered in a separate report.

Bruce Dalgleish Churchwarden

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Net Zero Carbon Project

During 2025 St Giles continued its NZC journey with the installation of Solar Panels, new Nave and Chancel Lighting, and the replacement of synthetic fibre loft insulation with natural fibre insulation. All three of these were part of a project which was funded by a government scheme administered by the VCSE (Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise organisation)

While there were a few planning and red tape hiccups in the process the project was delivered by the end of March 2025 after we were graciously granted a one-month extension. Additionally, while the project went a little over budget, to a total of £1,776.08, which when you consider that the whole project was costed at a little under £100,000 is good value.

Since the Solar Panels have been installed, they have been supplying a significant amount of our electricity and in 2025 this accounted for 5.96 MWh of the total 8.79 MWh of electricity that was used, meaning that we paid for only 32% of the energy that we used in the year.

This has further been helped by the ongoing maintenance that our dedicated team have been doing, and as part of their schedule of works, they have been working through the church and replacing all the lights and fitting with more cost and energy efficient LED fittings, which has also assisted in driving down costs.

In September 2025, Fr Ian was invited to speak at the Diocesan NZC group about the project, what we had learnt and the difficulties that were experienced. The group were impressed with the work that the team at St Giles had been undertaking, and recognised that driving a project to success on a grade 2* listed building in a heritage and conservation area was no small task.

As a result of this Fr Ian was asked to lead on a pilot project funded by the Central Church looking at how the NZC agenda can be furthered in churches working together. The project was given the green light in late 2025, and work will continue in 2026.

What has been achieved has been a labour of love and hard work by a small but dedicated team, and we owe them our thanks for driving this project home, and firmly setting St Giles, and the wider Benefice on our Green Journey.

Study

During Lent 2025 St Giles joined the other parishes within the Benefice for a study course focussed upon Discipleship. The course was run over the five weeks of lent and each week there were six sessions hosted around the Benefice on different days and times to enable everyone the opportunity to engage.

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Worship

Regular Worship at St Giles is as follows:

10.15 a.m. Holy Communion 9.30 a.m. Wednesday – Midweek Holy Communion

10.30 a.m. Friday – Midweek Holy Communion

In addition to our regular worship there have been other services conducted through the year during Holy Week and Christmas, as well as the Annual Civic Remembrance service, with many gathering together to remember those who paid the ultimate price for peace. This year also saw the return of our Christingle service on Christmas Eve, which was very well attended, and enjoyed by all.

In addition to our regular worship there have been other services conducted through the year, including our annual Commemoration of the Faithful Departed service, and during Holy Week a full schedule of services were introduced to allow everyone to fully engage and walk from Holy Monday through to Easter Day with Christ. The Nine Lessons and Carols service returned this year, and together with the Christingle service, we saw a rise in attendance.

In September we were delighted to support a member of our church who was received through the sacrament of Confirmation, along with other members of the Benefice by Bishop Malcolm, the new Bishop of Wakefield

In January last year the parish was shaken with the news that James MacDonald had unexpectedly died, and in respect of his memory the choir took a break and joined the congregation for worship for a number of weeks. As a parish we were fortunate to be able to appoint Scott Senogles as our Interim Director of Music, so as to ensure that we were able to retain our choral tradition.

Scott excelled in the new role, and later in the year his appointment was made permanent, as he brought new found vigour and energy to the choir after such a devastating loss. He continues to challenge the choir and in liaison with Fr Ian, is gently challenging the church as more recent hymns are introduced into the church’s repertoire.

Clergy

The Benefice of Pontefract is blessed with a team of clergy, which allows for a full schedule of services to be maintained, whilst also at times affording us the ability to support local parishes when there is a need.

As the new Benefice has bedded in, there is now a settled pattern of variety within the Benefice where there is the opportunity for all of the clergy to build relationships on a broader level.

Fr Ian has the responsibility of ensuring that worship happens within all our churches, and as such, their invaluable work and willingness to operate across the Benefice allows us to enjoy uninterrupted worship and we give thanks for their service.

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We are also grateful for the support of other members of the clergy The Reverend Michael Taylor is a retired member of clergy, who is Beneficed with us, and we are also fortunate to be able to call upon The Reverends Sue Hulme and Mike Marsh to supplement the team.

In addition to his duties inside the Benefice, Fr Ian also carries out his duties as the Assistant Area Dean of Pontefract, working with the diocesan Stewardship team, a mentor to other members of clergy, and a Member of the Diocesan Synod, Diocesan Board of Education, a trustee of Pontefract Civic Society, and Director and Trustee of Leeds Board and St Mary’s Project.

Lay Ministers

The Benefice of Pontefract is blessed with five Local Lay Ministers (LLM’s), Mr David Brooks (Permission to Officiate), Mrs Jill Clapham, Mrs Jackie Guest, Mrs Anita Hayes, and Ms Natalie Vause, who finished her training last year and was licenced.

In addition to this we have a Lay Worship leader, Mrs Barbara Pollard and a Lay Pastoral Minister Mr Alf Taylor at St Stephen’s

Over the year, we have begun to see LLM’s preaching and assisting in worship as the liturgical deacon, and as the Benefice develops, they are seeing more opportunity to explore their ministry. One notable way that this is happening is through their leading of Messy Church. While this is based at St Mary’s, it is a specific service which is open to any who would like to attend, as an outreach to children and their families.

Fr Ian continues to work with them, offering constructive feedback and encouraging them to explore their ministry.

We are grateful for all the work that they do, and how they enhance our churches.

Deanery Synod

Only one Deanery Synod meeting was held through the year and that was on Thursday, 11[th] September 2025. Following coffee, registration took place. Fr Ian opened the meeting with prayers followed by the introduction of the Area Dean, The Rev’d Canon Paul Cartwright.

Fr Robert Hart talked about the Walsingham Youth Pilgrimage and gave an update on the 2025 one which is for children between 11 - 18 years old. The Assistant Area Dean talked about Net-Zero/ projects/grants and highlighted what had happened at St Giles.

The date of the next meeting is yet to be announced but will be held at the following churches. June - Carleton Church, October - St Thomas.

Tony Williams

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Pastoral Care

Pastoral care is a central part of our parish’s ministry.

We have a core pastoral care team comprising Fr Ian, Jill Clapham, Pam Mercer and David Brooks. We currently provide Home Communion on a monthly basis to a few regular home communicants, as well as those who receive home communion on a temporary or one-off basis. Fr Ian also leads a communion service at Stella House each month, which comprises of a simple eucharistic liturgy and some well-known hymns. At Christmas, members of the choir accompanied him, and the residents thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

This is in addition to the pastoral visiting by our clergy, which we arrange as the need arises, including hospital and hospice visits where appropriate. We support people facing a wide variety of difficulties, including administering last rites, grief, isolation and ill health.

To help us in this work, we rely also upon the strong network of friendships that exist within church. We are thankful to be part of a church community in which people show so much love and care for one another, and are grateful for those occasions when church members have alerted us to pastoral needs on behalf of their friends.

While our pastoral ministry team takes on particular responsibilities, the task of providing support and caring for one another is shared by the whole church.

As the Parish Church, our pastoral care responsibilities extend far beyond those who attend church, and through our ministry where we are embedded, we offer support and assistance to any who ask for our help.

In summary, through our pastoral ministry, we continue to provide important spiritual and emotional support to our congregations and the wider community.

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Outreach and Activities

St Giles Management Committee

Established on the completion of the extensive internal alterations to the church over thirteen years ago, the St Giles Centre Management Committee continues to be responsible for the development and day-to-day management and promotion of the community facility which endeavours to extend the church’s mission within the community bringing benefits to local people and new initiatives to the life of the church.

The committee has met on eight occasions during what has proved to be a very busy year particularly in terms of staffing changes and subsequent operational reviews.

During 2025 there was, once again, an increase in the use of the Centre by community groups and local organisations compared to last year. Income from room rentals continues to increase and reached a record amount of £19,527 compared to £16,056 in 2024 and £14,306 in 2023.

In 2025, the Centre has continued to benefit from the two-year National Lottery Community Grant which covers the annual cost of room hire by Citizens Advice and the associated caretaking costs, and the grant period will officially end in March 2026.

Centre activities during the year:

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Room hire rates were increased by 3% from 1[st] January 2025 due to the impact of increasing levels of inflation and how this and other factors has affected the church energy and other costs.

The Centre Management Committee continues to oversee the Holiday Food Share and Food Pantry projects based at No.6 The Circle in Chequerfield. On 5[th] April, Paul Harris retired from his position as Project Leader after seven years of dedicated service for which we are most thankful.

The project started in 2018 as “Lunch on Us” and subsequently as “Foodshare” when food parcels during school holidays were distributed from St Giles church. A fledgling Food Pantry also operated from the church reception area on Wednesdays at that time. It was in February 2019 when a grant was received from WMDC to cover a weekly supply of food from Fareshare that the St Giles Food Pantry was able to expand and discussions began on finding another location from which to run both the Holiday Foodshare and Food Pantry operations. By the end 2019 all the operations were re-located from the church to the leased WDH shop premises at No. 6.

There was a lengthy suspension of this vital community service during which the committee advertised the Project Lead position on four occasions before eventually making an appointment at the end of November.

The weekly Lunch with Us meals service celebrated its 10[th] birthday in September 2025. During this 10-year period 44,679 meals were prepared for 23,398 people (a weekly average of 87 meals to 45 people) providing a vital service to disadvantaged and other members of our community.

At the end of August Ian Wood our caretaker officially retired after over 10½ years of dedicated service to the church and Centre. Ian, although continuing as an active church member, will be greatly missed in the role of caretaker and was thanked by the church congregation at a presentation held during the Sung Eucharist service on Sunday 31[st] August.

The Committee appointed Jon Kowalczyk as the new caretaker on 10[th] September having reviewed the job description, advertised the position, shortlisted and carried out interviews. We very much welcome Jon and wish him well in this role.

The committee welcomed Sonia Atkin as an observer in March and thereafter as a subsequent new member and also gave thanks to Bill Bradley a founder member who stood down from the committee at the end of the year.

Thanks also to Vivienne (Secretary) for all her help and support throughout the year. Committee Membership: Fr. Ian, Vivienne Smales (Secretary), Sonia Atkin, Bill Bradley, Ulric Murray, Barbara Sessford and Joan Taylor.

Bill Bradley

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Social Events

During 2025, we continued to build on the revitalisation of our social activities. During the year the social group have organised the following events:

There was a good amount of support from the community for these events, and the social group has worked hard on delivering all of these events and thanks must go to the dedicated team for all they have done.

Additionally, numerous members of the congregation have helped and supported in a variety of ways at these events, and others have helped to operate the café when other events have been held in church past 12.00 noon, as well as when civic events were held in the town centre.

The social group would like to say thank you to everyone who has supported this vital outreach, because it isn’t simply about bolstering funds. The more important aspect of this work is offering hospitality and a warm welcome to those who enter the church, as it reminds our community that we are not just there for them on a Sunday, rather that we are there for them when they need us.

We are always in need of additional members of the team, and if you would like to get involved with the social aspects of the church, please speak to Fr Ian.

Schools

Fr Ian continued to strengthen his relationship with our church school, as well as going in fortnightly to lead the school assembly, he has also welcomed them into St Giles for big events and gone into school to spend time with classes thinking about their faith.

After observing how the schools operated at Christmas in 2024, a decision was made to allocate a week out as ‘schools week’ where the church was stripped of its chairs to enable larger groups of children to join us for their Christmas Worship. The result was a more organised and smoother week of events during a busy period in the life of the church, and this model will be adopted in the future.

Fr Ian also spent time with other schools in the parish, and while progress is slow, building these connections will take time, and we will continue to work on establishing lasting relationships.

Baptism Ministry

Baptism services have continued to be offered twice a month at 12.15 p.m. following the Sunday morning Eucharist. Every family needs to attend a preparation meeting

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beforehand which is held on a Saturday morning, in church. This meeting is led by a member of the clergy and is also attended by the Baptism Welcomer.

This year there have been fewer baptisms, thirteen as opposed to twenty-one in 2024. Of the thirteen, six were children under the age of one year, six were between the ages of one and four years and one child was over the age of six.

Our team of Baptism Welcomers numbers seven. The administration is ably managed by Vivienne. Thanks to both Welcomers and to Vivienne in enabling this ministry to be offered.

Enquiries would be very welcome from anyone who wishes to know more about the role of Baptism Welcomers. They should speak to Father Ian, myself or a member of the Welcoming Team.

Mary Murray

Bell Ringing

It has been a year of consolidation in the bell tower. Some of the ringers we gained post COVID have now stopped ringing for one reason or another leaving us with a core of fourteen ringers. This is enough to ensure that we are able to maintain ringing at St Giles for now. Training a ringer from scratch does take several years and we would benefit from taking on new ringers now whilst the established ringers are able to support their training. If you have ever wondered if you would be a good bell ringer, give me a call and we can arrange a taster session for you.

We are very pleased to have welcomed twelve visiting bands from all over the country to the tower in 2025. They have rung short touches, quarter peals and full peals and have included Sally Brown returning to the tower where her father rang and taught so many, to ring a peal in December this year. Several of our band have joined the Leeds Branch quarter peal group and are now ringing quarter peals regularly. Jake Burns, who is one of our youngest ringers, is a member of the Yorkshire Tykes (a band of young ringers from across the whole of Yorkshire) and he recently rang his first full peal. This is a rite of passage for all ringers, that is both mentally and physically exhausting.

We have installed a ringing simulator this year to enable bell practice to go ahead without making any sound outside of the ringing chamber. This opens the door for us to teach bell handling at times that we otherwise would not be able to ring the bells out of courtesy to our neighbours. I hope to make use of this to widen the scope for teaching both new and more advanced ringers.

The chimes of the clock are still not working, and we await the funds to be able to repair them. If you want to know more about bellringing or would like to learn to ring, please contact me on 07790 956257.

Adrian Garner Tower Captain

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Flower Team

The Flower Fairies remain enthusiastic in their efforts to use God's gift of flowers to enhance our church each week. Our funding is from much welcome donations.

We would like to thank Bill Bradley for providing greenery for the arrangements each week.

Barbara, Sandra, Elaine and Margaret The Flower Team

Junior Church – St Giles 3:16

Our children and young people continued to meet upstairs every Sunday morning during the spring and summer term 2025, to explore and learn more about our faith. We continued to follow the main festivals of the church, while at the same time incorporating new ideas. Our next project was to go back to basics and focus on the life and teachings of Jesus. Unfortunately, because of numbers falling to only a couple of children a week, this has made our group unsustainable.

We had our normal summer break and after discussions with Fr Ian, decided to put 3:16 on hold until after the Benefice discussions about the way forward. At the same time, a decision was made to prepare work to hand out to children, in individually designed work bags, linked as closely as possible to the liturgy for the week.

This has had some limited success but as the number of children and families attending on Sundays is sporadic, it is hard to plan and prepare for. So, to sum up we are at this present time trying to find the best solution that we can for any children who come to church.

Lynne and Stephanie

Tiddlywinks

After the Christmas break, we met up again in church for our usual service of songs, prayers and stories but, unfortunately, we had reduced numbers with an average attendance of between four to six children. As the year progressed numbers dropped even more, partly due to more nursery places becoming available for two-year-olds, so we made the very hard decision to wind up Tiddlywinks.

We had lots of fun and laughter over the years and many lovely memories to think back on.

Barbara Lavine

Lunch With Us

Lunch with Us is now into its Eleventh year!

We continue to feed between 35 and 50 people per session. We have lost a volunteer this year so when others are on holiday it can be quite a challenge. We are a team of nine from St Giles, St Stephen’s, and St Joseph’s churches whom we thank very much.

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Thank you to all who have donated tuna, beans and soup over the last year, it is much appreciated.

Lunch with Us is an important mission in our community. Please consider if you would be able to help on an ad hoc basis.

Barbara Sessford Lunch with Us Co-Ordinator

Messy Church

Since January 2025 Messy Church has been meeting on the third Saturday of the month at St Mary’s corresponding with all the other worship which takes place there. There have been a few changes to the faces we regularly see, while some have left the area, we have also welcomed some new faces. The sessions are planned and led by three of our LLMs, Jill Clapham, Anita Hayes (All Saints) and Natalie Vause (St Michael’s), with some technical assistance from Fr Ian, which we are most grateful for.

Sessions have been varied; we have explored themes and stories from both the Old and New Testaments culminating in our first pop-up nativity which took place on the Saturday before Christmas. It was thoroughly enjoyed by both adults and the younger members of our congregation.

Thank you to everyone who continues to contribute to this important mission, especially our catering team who continue to serve our refreshments and our other regular helpers.

We would love to welcome you to our team or our congregation so if you have ever wondered what Messy Church is all about, do come and see.

Jill Clapham

Missions Committee

Once again, our main fundraising activity has been selling coffee in church on the second Saturday of each month. St. Giles benefits greatly from the work done by our dedicated team who greet their customers with a cheery disposition.

To add to the funds, we also held a successful chocolate tombola stall on the 19[th] April 2025.

The Missions Committee thanks our congregation and the wider public for their continuing support for our monthly coffee morning.

Edie Barber Treasurer and Secretary

Mothers’ Union

2025 was again a busy year. We now have 20 members.

In January we sent £200 to AFIA (Away From IT All Holidays), £200 for the upkeep of the caravans and £200 for Worldwide disasters.

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We had some very interesting speakers during the year including our MU Chaplain, Canon Philip Hobday. We also had social afternoons which are always enjoyable.

We held our ‘Stations of the Cross’ service in Lent, which is always special to us and was led by Fr Mark. We had Afternoon Tea in June and in July we had a lovely day out at Thornton le Dale and Whitby. September saw our communion service led by Fr Ian, which everyone enjoyed. Our Christmas Lunch was a little early this year taking place in November but it was enjoyed by all. Fr Rod led our Advent Service in December, which was followed by mince pies. We are now planning our meetings for 2026.

During the year, our stalls raised £1465 for church funds. So thank you to all who donated bric-a-brac items and tombola prizes.

Marjorie Laidlaw and Pat Whitaker

Open Church

Open Church is one of our most important outreach missions.

We continue to keep the church open for a period of time every day. This is thanks to a team of loyal volunteers. We have times when it is more difficult to cover sessions and occasionally the church has needed to be closed.

Please consider if you could give an hour or two to this vital mission.

Barbara Sessford

Serving Team Report

At St Giles we are very lucky to have a small group of people who Sunday after Sunday give time and energy to enhance our services. This is done in many ways. Some act as Servers at the Altar, others assist with the Chalice, whilst others prepare and lead intercessions and finally those who read the Lessons. Each group plays an important part in our Sunday worship and I am very grateful for all they do. But in certain areas we are struggling.

Servers: At the moment we have only three , Daisy, Robert and Claire, who attend every Sunday and Holy Day. Though they do sterling work throughout year they could do with your support and assistance. We desperately need more Servers to reduce the workload on our three stalwarts, Therefore, I am appealing for volunteers 10 years old or above, age is no limit; and training will be given, to join our little group.

Eucharistic Ministers : We have five who assist with the chalice at the communion in the service each Sunday, and again, we require more to assist and spread the load, and again, training will be given.

Intercessors: Again, another small number, three . Ideally, we could do with at least three more volunteers to assist in this vital task. Help will be available if you feel you could join this group.

Lectors (Lesson Readers), this is the only group that at the moment has sufficient numbers ten. I am very grateful for all they do and forever marvel at how they pronounce the tongue twisting place names and personal names they read Sunday by Sunday.

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I would like to thank every member for the way they have carried out their duties with such reverence over the past year.

David Brooks Reader and Head Server

St Giles’ Food Share and Pantry Club

Two projects are run from the premises at No 6 The Circle: the weekly Pantry Club and Holiday Food Share in/during school holidays. During 2025, the Pantry Club supported a number of families with several being nominated for Holiday Food during the February half-term. Some of the food comes from regular donations at St Giles and All Saints Churches and we benefitted from donations brought to No 6 and those made through our local Morrisons and Asda. Pontefract Trussell Foodbank also passes some food on to us and we benefit from supplies of Warburton’s bread through Wakefield Street Kitchen and Pontefract Community Kitchen. Weekly deliveries from FareShare have been financed by WMDC, but this was ceased from April 2025.

On 17[th] January 2025, Paul and Ann Harris announced their retirement with effect from 5[th] April 2025. The Centre Management Committee decided there was still a strong need for this project and so on 18[th] February all stakeholders were informed of the suspension of the service from April until such time as a new project lead could be appointed.

On 17[th] November a new roller shutter door was fitted at the project’s premises (No.6 the Circle) at no cost. We are very grateful to Vico Homes and Wakefield Council for funding this.

Despite a difficult and lengthy recruitment process we were delighted to appoint Rachel Ryding as the new project lead with effect from 1[st] December 2025. All stakeholders were again duly notified of the appointment. Rachel spent December getting to grips with the project, writing new procedures and policies and building links with external agencies. It was decided that the project would be relaunched at the end of January 2026 as St Giles Foodshare and we wish her every success.

If you would like to get involved with the project, drop her an email at

St Mary’s

It is now twelve months since the initiative of SCM@4 launched. To those who are unaware of what this means, to move the Sunday service to a Saturday at 4.00pm. The services comprise contemporary worship, café church, messy church and café Communion. The worship is informal whilst at the same time maintaining reverence.

The general consensus is it is "enjoyable and joyful". Unfortunately, the numbers have not increased greatly, but we persevere, and while we have had a few people who have joined us to experience the new style, we have had one stable new person.

To Fr Ian, who provides cartoons! Thank you.

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I must take this opportunity also to thank those who open the building, set up seating, provide music and refreshments.

We now look forward to 2026 with renewed vigour.

Fr Michael

Good Causes

During 2024, St Giles was able to support the following organisations:

Social Media

Web address: http://www.cofe-pontefract.co.uk

2025 saw work continue on building our presence on the digital stage.

After moving across to one benefice platform in late 2024 which had just 2,600 unique visitors, 2025 saw the growth in web traffic reaching over 34,500 unique visitors accessing the new site.

In addition, the new Facebook pages for the five churches increased their following to 1,122 people, and with the shared information and the daily prayer focus we are seeing a good level of engagement.

Thanks to Jonathan Harris, Barbara Pollard and Natalie Vause who are all contributing to our social media feeds. We are always looking for others to become part of this team, which as we move forward will be crucial. If you are interested in getting involved, in the first instance please talk to Fr Ian.

The use of Hootsuite continues to be valuable as we set up streams of material for posting, and also for when we wish to post to all our social media to ensure that the messaging is shared far and wide. We have also seen an increase over the past year of different organisations re-posting and re-tweeting messages that we put on social media.

As always, if you have a news story or event taking place in one of our Churches and you - would like it to be promoted on social media, please email jonathan.harris@cofe pontefract.co.uk and we can put it on for you.

Safeguarding

Unfortunately, due to recent health issues I have not been at Church as much as I would like. Even so I have continued to be proactive, attending meetings either personally or by video link, answering emails, up-dating information etc.

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In the Benefice of Pontefract, I remain confident that we are doing everything we can to protect children from birth to eighteen, vulnerable children and adults, those who seek help through our Church and non-church activities and each other.

If you hear, see something or you are uncomfortable with anything, then please report this as soon as possible to either myself or Father Ian.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

The Safeguarding Dashboard has been updated; we have a confirmed 100% progression for all mandatory tasks undertaken.

Vivienne sends reminders of any outstanding training requirements to all Church Officers as necessary. Renewal of DBS checks is ongoing. My own DBS check is due in March 2026. Completion of this will take place before the end of January 2026.

I liaise regularly with Father Ian and others where necessary, on all Safeguarding matters. All Safeguarding matters are kept securely, always remain confidential and are acted upon immediately. Safeguarding Incidents are recorded both electronically and as a signed written copy. Referrals, when required, are made to outside agencies i.e. The Diocesan Safeguarding Team, Social Care Direct, West Yorkshire Police and Mental Health Service.

The Clergy and Parish Safeguarding Officer receive Confidential Diocesan Safeguarding Alerts where it is deemed necessary.

Tasks Completed:

Christine Brown Safeguarding Officer

Conclusion

This Report and the Attached Accounts were approved by the PCC on 10[th] February 2026 and signed on their behalf by:

The Reverend Ian Bullock (PCC Chair) Vicar of Pontefract

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St Giles, Pontefract

Independent Examiners Report to the PCC of St Giles

Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

| report in respect of my examination of the church's accounts carried out under section in carrying out my examination | have followed all the applicable Directions Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act and the Church Guidance 2006 Edition.

Independent examiner's statement

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

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St Giles, Pontefract

Receipts and Payments Accounts for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Receipts| |Voluntary|receipts| |Collections|at services| |All other giving/voluntary|receipts| |Activities|for generating funds| |Investment income| |Church|activities| |Total|receipts| |Payments| |Church|activities| |Parish|contribution| |Ministry expenses| |Church|running expenses| |Missions|giving and donations| |Costs of generating funds| |Total|payments| |Excess|of|receipts over|payments| |Transfer|between|funds| |Cash|at|bank|and|in|hand|at|1 January| |Cash|at|bank|and|in|hand|at 31|December|

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St Giles, Pontefract

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Cash|funds| |Virgin|current account -PCC| |Investment account| |Virgin|account|-|Food|Share| |Virgin|account-|Centre| |Debtors| |Trade|debtors|

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St Giles, Pontefract Notes to the Financial Statements

1. Basis of preparation

The financial statements of the PCC have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting regulations 2006 using the

2. Movement in restricted funds

The movements in restricted funds during the year were:

----- Start of picture text -----
Restricted
Belfry
Hardship
Choir
Missions
St Giles Centre Account
Lunch with Us
St Marys
Wednesday Morning Coffee Func
Messy Church
ECO VCSE
Other collections
Donations/ sponsorships
Chorister
----- End of picture text -----

little assistance. Usually a request will be received for assistance in providing small items that they need, this is the fund we use to support them.

Missions — Money raised by the Missions Committee which is used to support external mission agencies St Giles Centre Account-— the Account which deals with the day-to-day operations of the community aspect of the church

Wednesday Morning Coffee Fund - Money Raised by The Mothers Union to promote their work, and support outreach Messy Church - Monies that were awarded to the church to allow for Messy Church to be run

Donations / Sponsorship — Monies that have been given for a particular purpose and are used for that purpose only Chorister

3. Movement in designated funds

The movements in restricted funds during the year were:

----- Start of picture text -----
Designated
Flower
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Dedicated Funds — Monies donated to church which are there to assist the operation of the church— when these funds are used, the Incumbent discusses the requirements with the people who have given these funds

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St Giles, Pontefract

----- Start of picture text -----
||||| |---|---|---|---| |Receipts| |a)|Allother|giving/voluntary|receipts| |Gift Aid Rebate| |Legacies| |Childrens society| |Appeals| |Gifts| |Bible|donations| |Savings| |Grant| |Food|Pantry Subs| |Donations| |b)|Investment income| |Income|reinvested| |Bank interest| |c)|Church|activities| |Candles| |Parochial Fees| |Printing| |Coffee| |Room|Hire| |Organ|recitals| |Concerts| |Heating| |Parish|magazine income| |Fundraising activities|- raffles/tombolas| |Payments| |Church running|expenses| |Cleaning fees| |Outreach,|Evangelism|& Discipleship| |Training costs| |Food and|materials| |Refreshments| |Working expenses| |Printing,|stationery and telephone| |Equipment/|Equipment|rental| |Church|building running expenses| |Legal and|professional fees| |Insurance| |Organ|\ Music||Licences| |Fundraising|Costs| |Staff costs| |Flowers| |Choir costs| |Hardship|supplies| |CTR Contribution| |Computer|costs| |NZC|Project| |Liturgical Supplies| |Church|repairs and|maintenance| |Mission giving and|donation| |Third|party donations|

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St Giles, Pontefract

----- Start of picture text -----
||||| |---|---|---|---| |Opening balance| |Income| |Grants| |Food|Pantry| |Bank|interest| |Transfer|to|PCC|bank| |Total|Income| |Payments| |Church|utility|bills| |Lunch|with|us| |Computer|expenses| |Food|and|materials| |Small|repairs| |Total|payments| |Closing balance|

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St Giles, Pontefract

----- Start of picture text -----
||||| |---|---|---|---| |Opening balance| |Income| |Grants| |Food|Pantry| |Bank|interest| |Transfer|to|PCC|bank| |Total|Income|

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