## **ALL SAINTS CHURCH** ## **THELWALL** ## **ANNUAL REPORT** ## **2025-2026** **Important** **Please bring this report with you to the Annual General Meeting To be read before the meeting** **Charity number 1135426** **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ## **ALL SAINTS CHURCH THELWALL** ## **ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING** ## **AND MEETING TO ELECT CHURCHWARDENS 29th APRIL 2026** ## **MEETING TO ELECT CHURCHWARDENS** 1. Minutes of the Meeting held in 2025 2. Vote of thanks to the Churchwardens 3. Election of Churchwardens 4. Notice of the Archdeacons Visitation 5. AOB 6. Close of Meeting ## **ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING** Minutes of the last Meeting A. To receive a report on changes to the Electoral Roll since the last Annual Meeting To receive a report on the proceedings of the PCC and the activities of the parish generally To receive a report on the financial affairs of the Parish To receive the independently examined accounts of the PCC for the year ended 31[st] December, 2025 To receive a report on the Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of the Church To receive a report on the proceedings of the Deanery Synod B. To elect Representatives to the Deanery Synod To elect Representatives to the PCC C. To appoint an Independent Examiner D. Any matters of Parochial or general interest Chairman’s Report Other Reports E. Close of Meeting 1 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ## **MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING TO ELECT CHURCH WARDENS** ## **30[th] April 2025** ## **1. Minutes of Meeting held on 24th April 2024** Douglas welcomed everyone to the meeting. We opened the meeting with a hymn and short service. Minutes of the last meeting were accepted as a true record. ## **2. Vote of thanks to Church Wardens** Julie and Jon have been a great team. Meetings held in the Little Manor. Lots of thoughts/business and fun at the meetings. Jon thanked Julie for all that she had done for the Church over the last 8 years and the help Julie had given him. There was a loud round of applause. Julie was presented with flowers and gift token as Julie had served for eight years as Church Warden. Julie thanked everyone for the support that she had been given and said that it had been a privilege to be Church Warden. ## **2. Election of Church Wardens for 2025/2026** Annette Norman Proposed: Alison London; Seconded: Julie French Jon Halliday: Proposed: Jean Fisher; Seconded: Mike Horne Everyone was in favour. ## **3. Sidespeople** Sidespeople are appointed at the first PCC meeting after the APCM. ## **4. Notice of the Arch Deacons Visitation** The Archdeacons Visitation is Thursday 5th June at 7.30 pm at Whitegate. Church Wardens have to attend. ## **5. AOB** None 2 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ## **MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING** ## **30[th] April 2025** ## **1. Minutes of Meeting held at AGM 2024** These were accepted as a true record. Proposed: Ray Fisher Seconded: Jon Halliday ## **2. Report on the Electoral Roll since the last meeting** All people at this meeting must be on the Electorol Roll. A complete revision is required in 2025. The number on the Electorol Roll is 237. There are quite a few people on the Electorol Roll out of the area. Total at AGM in 2008 = 175 Total at AGM in 2009 = 177 Total at AGM in 2010 = 184 Total at AGM in 2011 = 193 Total at AGM in 2012 = 199 Total at AGM in 2013 = 204 (Full Revision) Total at AGM in 2014 = 221 Total at AGM in 2015 = 237 Total at AGM in 2016 = 248 Total at AGM in 2017 = 256 Total at AGM in 2018 = 264 Total at AGM in 2019 = 244 (Full Revision) Total at AGM in 2020 = 246 Total at AGM in 2021 = 241 Total at AGM in 2022 = 237 Total at AGM in 2023 = 231 Total at AGM in 2024 = 235 Total at AGM in 2025 = 128 (Full Revision) ## **3. Report on the Financial Affairs** Chris Monks retired as Treasurer in 2024 and Ian Hardman took over. Due to the Banking rules it took over six months for Ian to be in full control of the accounts as a signatory. Thanks to Julia for supporting Ian in the transition. Some paperwork had been lost in the change over of Treasurers. It was agreed that a support group would be formed to assist Ian with the Accounts. The Accounts had not been examined but will be done during the next few weeks and will be available in Church and on the website. Philip Young asked Douglas to comment on the Treasurer’s Financial Report which is commented below. Philip also asked did Douglas know if we were, as a parish, able to pay our way going forward, to which he replied that the increases in the parish share would be challenging - soon to be £80,000 and with 3% increases annually. Our operating costs are high and Jon has spoken to the Diocese re the finances where we have a gap in paying the Parish Share. 3 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ the Parish Share. The Parish Share is an enormous burden and it is going up each year. There have been lots of fund raising during the last year which has helped our accounts. We do get a lot of money from Weddings and Funerals. Jon Halliday has spoken to the Diocese re our finances. When we received the Gift Aid money we were able to pay some of the Parish Share. The Parish Share is going up each year due to inflation. ## **4. Election to the Deanery Synod** No election this year. Our members are: Douglas Black, Kath Mellor, Mike Horne and Bob Powell. ## **5. Election of Representatives to the PCC** Gwennant Davies Proposed: Kath Mellor; Seconded: Felicity Speed Aimee Mole Proposed:Suz Williams; Seconded: Elaine Whittaker ## **6. Appointment of Independent Examiner** Walker Begley has been asked. ## **7. Unseen Unsung Heroes** This year’s unsung hero was Alison London. Alison has worked for so many years producing the weekly notice sheet. Her main job has been the lead in the Stewardship Action Group for over 20 years and recently retired. Alison led the Stewardship Service each year with a different and enthusiastic idea to enable the congregation to know how much they are appreciated for all their work. Alison was given a money gift as Alison was going on holiday. The meeting ended with a Hymn and the Grace 4 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Contents ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION ............................................................................................................................ 6 AIMS and PURPOSES .................................................................................................................................................. 7 OBJECTIVES and ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................................... 7 STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE and MANAGEMENT .............................................................................................. 7 PARISH REPORTS – Achievements and Performance .......................................................................................... 8 Safeguarding Report 2025/26 - Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) Caroline Johnstone .................................. 9 Employment Matters 2026 .......................................................................................................................................... 10 Secretary’s Report – Kath Mellor ............................................................................................................................... 10 Deanery Synod Report 2025 ...................................................................................................................................... 11 Report on the Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of the Church (Churchwardens) ................................................. 12 Village Green ................................................................................................................................................................ 13 Worship Action Group (Action Group Chair, Douglas Black) ................................................................................ 13 Parish Hall Action Group - Philip Young ................................................................................................................... 14 Pastoral Care and Community Outreach .................................................................................................................. 14 Outreach Action Group (Action Group Chair, Kath Mellor) .................................................................................... 15 Open the Book – Richard Speed ............................................................................................................................... 16 The Social and Communications Action Group ....................................................................................................... 16 Fair Trade – Trish Powell ............................................................................................................................................ 17 Mission Support ............................................................................................................................................................ 19 Ecumenical relationships ............................................................................................................................................ 19 “Friends” - Jean Fisher ............................................................................................................................................... 19 Heritage Report ............................................................................................................................................................ 20 Appendix 1 – Safeguarding Policy ............................................................................................................................. 23 Appendix 2 – FY2025 Financial Statements ............................................................................................................ 24 5 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ## **ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION** All Saints Church is situated in Thelwall. It is part of the Diocese of Chester within the Church of England. The correspondence address is the Vicarage, Bell Lane, Thelwall, Warrington, Cheshire. The PCC is a body corporate (PCC Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2011) and registered as a charity on 9th April 2010 with the Charity Commission **(Charity number 1135426).** ## **PCC members during 2025/2026 were as follows** Rev Douglas Black Annette Norman (Churchwarden) Jon Halliday (Churchwarden) Pip Horne (Lay Reader) Colin Horrabin (Lay Reader) ## **Deanery Synod Elected Members** Kath Mellor Bob Powell Mike Horne John Alexander ## **PCC Members 2025** Caroline Johnstone (Safeguarding Officer) Suzanne Williams Anne Hague Linda Hutchinson James Gaffney Ian Hardman Gwennant Davies Aimiee Mole Julie French (co-opted) ## **Church Architect** Tony Barton, RIBA Donald Insall Architects, 5 Bridge Place, Chester ## **Bank** NatWest, Warrington Branch, 23 Sankey Street, Warrington, Cheshire, WA1 1XH ## **Independent Examiner** Juliet Hankey 6 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ## **AIMS and PURPOSES** All Saints' Church, Thelwall Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent, the Reverend Douglas Black, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also responsible for the Parish Hall on Bell Lane Thelwall. Our mission statement is:- Growing Up, _in our faith by engaging with the bible, prayer & worship._ Growing Together, _through team work, encouragement, fellowship & fun!_ Growing Out, _to our local and global community with practical service and generosity._ Growing More, _by sharing our faith & drawing people into the life of the church._ We aim to fulfil this in all aspects of church life. ## **OBJECTIVES and ACTIVITIES** The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our church and to become part of our parish community at All Saints. The PCC maintains an overview of worship throughout the parish and makes suggestions on how our services can involve the many groups that live within our parish. Our services and worship put faith into practice through prayer and scripture, music and sacrament. When planning our activities for the year, we have considered the Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. In particular, we try to enable ordinary people to live out their faith as part of our parish community through: - worship and prayer; - learning about the Gospel; - developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus; - providing 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 the Church and the Parish Hall. ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE and MANAGEMENT** All Saints’ Annual Parochial Meeting is held on the last Wednesday of April and it is at this meeting that church wardens and PCC members are elected. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules 2025. At All Saints the membership of the PCC consists of the incumbent (our vicar), churchwardens, lay readers and members elected by those members of the congregation who are on the electoral roll of the church. All those who attend our services/members of the congregation are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC. The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish including on how the funds of the PCC are to be spent. New members receive initial training into the workings of the PCC. Given its wide responsibilities the PCC has appointed six permanent action groups, each dealing with a particular aspect of parish life: - Worship (including Nurture and Prayer) - Parish Hall - Young People (ages birth to 18 years) - Social Events and Communications - Outreach - Stewardship 7 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ## ~~SSS~~ **PARISH REPORTS – Achievements and Performance** ~~ccc LLL! _~~ ## **Vicars Report** ~~———~~ This is my 24th year as vicar of All Saints. My opal anniversary! **GROWING UP** _in our faith by engaging with the bible, prayer and worship._ We have paused the search for a Parish Music Outreach Worker for the time being. This will allow church finances to stabilise and strengthen and give us space to work with the ‘new’ junior school head teacher to bring the role to fruition, as it was mainly shaped by the previous head teacher. However, there is short term possibility, which I will discuss with the new PCC in the coming months. In the meantime, our musicians and singers continue to do an outstanding job, for which we are deeply grateful. Our Bible study groups remain a place of fellowship and mutual support, and we are encouraging the whole congregation to deepen their personal engagement with prayer and Scripture. Recently, we have used themed ‘prayer project’ leaflets alongside the prayer cards shared at Christmas and Easter. The diocesan vision speaks of “growing braver, fuller faith”. In 2026, how might you help yourself - and others - engage more meaningfully with the Bible, prayer, and worship, and so grow in braver, fuller faith? **2. GROWING TOGETHER** _through teamwork, encouragement, fellowship and fun!_ Our social, outreach, and fundraising activities offer rich opportunities for teamwork, encouragement, fellowship, and fun. We are also blessed with two excellent buildings - the church and the parish hall - which enable us to strengthen our life together. As noted last year, social inclusion is a key priority for charitable funders, who recognise the serious impact loneliness can have on both mental and physical wellbeing. Our grant applications are often successful because we address this need for inclusion within an ageing village community. Research - and our own experience - also shows that a sense of belonging can often open the way to believing. During 2026, is there someone you might invite to join in our shared life? By helping them belong, you may also help them come to believe. The diocesan vision calls us to be “Together in Christ, sharing hope”. Why not grow together and share hope? Your invitation could make a real difference. **3. GROWING OUT** _to our local and global community with practical service and generosity._ The cost of living continues to cause economic, physical, and mental challenges for many people, both locally and worldwide. Against this backdrop, it is deeply encouraging to see the range of projects - and the generosity of spirit - flowing from our church. Food and Friendship, held in church on Mondays, has become a vital gathering for older members of our community. Once again, we have seen an outstanding response to appeals for Christian Aid, the Foodbank, The Children’s Society, Operation Christmas Child, Fairtrade, Get Warrington Talking, Macmillan, Papyrus, Church Urban Fund, Prison Fellowship and more - the list grows longer each year. Alongside these organised appeals and initiatives, there have also been countless individual acts of kindness and compassion shown to people both near and far. The diocesan vision calls us to “transformative loving service”, as we “engage locally and work together in loving generosity”. As I said last year - that description fits us perfectly! **4. GROWING MORE** _by sharing our faith and drawing people into the life of the church._ Open the Book (OtB) continues to flourish in our local primary schools, with the team also leading a range of sessions and services including Remembrance, Harvest, Leavers’ Services, Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. Messy Church likewise goes from strength to strength, drawing in new families. Alongside these and other initiatives, research increasingly highlights the value of one-to-one relationships in helping people connect with faith and church. This is echoed in the diocesan vision’s call to reach and bless “the 1.5 million in the diocese, one life at a time”. The Archbishops’ Ascensiontide initiative, Thy Kingdom Come, also encourages us to pray for such one on one opportunities. Is there a neighbour, friend, or family member to whom you might reach out and bless - perhaps by inviting them to a social activity or a service? The Church of England’s Everyday Faith initiative further reminds us that faith is lived and shared from Monday to Saturday: at work, at home, and through volunteering. God is at work in all that we do. Everything above is about developing ‘missionary disciples’ and a ‘culture of invitation’. This is also the vision of the C of E, the diocese and the Bible! And this vision is steadily coming to life for us, too. 8 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ In October 2025, we rejoiced as Caroline Johnstone was licensed as a Reader at Chester cathedral. After 3 years of dedicated academic and practical training, she has now begun her valued and appreciated licensed ministry. So many people contribute to the ministry and mission of this church that it is impossible to name everyone. On behalf of us all, though, I offer sincere thanks to Jon and Nettie (wardens), Ian (treasurer), Kath (secretary), Pip, Colin, Caroline and Bob (Readers), and all our action groups for their commitment and enthusiasm. To everyone who serves: thank you, and well done, good and faithful servants. ## **- Safeguarding Report 2025/26 Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) Caroline Johnstone** We continue to work our way through the Parish Safeguarding Dashboard – it’s a little like Pandora’s Box as the more you complete, the more new things to do pop up! – but it’s all to the benefit of making sure our church is a place where people feel welcome, secure as part of our church family and in a safe space where they have a voice. We are now at level 3 of the dashboard which means we are working through things connected to the wider embedding of our safeguarding procedures beyond the immediate church community. The PCC discuss an aspect of the dashboard and approve or commission actions at each meeting. They are also presented with regular action plans for our future work to approve. We are currently developing a volunteer handbook and reviewing policies beyond Safeguarding. In June ’25 the diocese launched its ‘Speak Our Stay Safe’ campaign – with the intention of providing branded materials eg Posters, notices, information cards etc. for all the churches to use to raise awareness of the considerable work the diocese and churches are doing in the area of Safeguarding. In July we were delighted to be able to award all those who have completed their level 2 safeguarding training for their work with our children, a pin badge with the ‘Speak out’ logo to wear, especially when involved in activities, so that parents know who has been trained and add to their confidence in the CAYP team. We will be ordering other items in the near future … so look out for them around and about. We continue to follow the national training programme with an additional domestic abuse module being undertaken by all the PCC and those who work with children and vulnerable adults and we hope to run an ‘In house’ session for all involved, in the near future, so that we, as a whole church team, are all ‘on the same page’ and our good practice is fully embedded. A highlight of the past year for me, personally, was your response to the question asked on Safeguarding Sunday about how you would describe our church. It speaks volumes about our Christian family here in Thelwall and our relationships with each other and God….Thank you. 9 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ## **Employment Matters 2026** Employment within Church of England parishes is governed by the Safer Recruitment and People Management protocols. Several members of our church are now Safer Recruitment trained, enabling them to take part in the recruitment of both employees and volunteers. Although we employ only a small number of part-time and occasional staff, we are fully subject to employment law. This includes compliance with the National Living Wage and the requirement to issue contracts of employment for all employees. In certain roles - such as paid choir directors and musicians - employment is also governed by Canon (church) law. We are very grateful (and relieved!) for the ongoing support of our Diocesan HR Adviser, Liz Geddes, who provides expert guidance when needed. Each time a payment is made to an employee, we must notify HMRC. This applies not only to regular staff but also to one-off payments to vergers, organists, and gravediggers. Pensions: At present, none of our employees qualify for automatic pension enrolment, as their earnings fall below the statutory threshold. As an employer we are required to send a report to the Pensions Regulator every 3 years. The last report was sent in 2023 so the next report will be due in 2026 National Insurance: Employer National Insurance becomes payable when earnings exceed £175 per week (Tax Year 2024/25). For Tax Year 2025/26 this is reduced to £96 per week. This would apply, for example, if we were to appoint a Director of Music on increased hours. Safeguarding remains an increasing and essential responsibility. Safer Recruitment requires that anyone working with children, young people, or vulnerable adults is appropriately vetted, trained, and formally appointed, with processes reviewed and renewed every three years. ## **Secretary’s Report – Kath Mellor** The PCC meets six times a year to discuss Church life and our finances. This year we discussed creating a Finance Group to support the Treasurer, which was agreed. The Wardens would continue to look after the fabric, drawing in expertise when needed. Each meeting we discuss the Finances in detail. All members have done their Safeguarding training. We also agreed on the new portable altar and portable font which was left in a legacy from Viv Dockery and this year Viv’s daughter and husband bought candles and candlesticks for the portable alter. Jon spoke at the beginning of the new PCC year about a new audio visual system and this was installed in December 2025, which is working really well. It was also agreed to have a table near the votive candle stand with prayers available for people to take and use. ## **– Electoral Roll Report Jon Halliday Electoral Roll Officer** At the time of writing this on 1st April 2026, the Electoral Roll has been reviewed in readiness for the annual meeting. At this stage the current new roll contains a total of 141 members. The number of members at the previous AGM was 128 representing an increase of 10% increase on the roll in the past year. On the current role 92 live within the parish of Thelwall and 49 are outside of the parish. In line with the previous report and its plan to normalize the reporting period the report is written based on the declared numbers as at the 1st April 2026. The next declaration will be 1st April 2027 unless otherwise mandated. I will be able to state the current numbers for the coming year at the Annual Meeting as 141 electoral roll members. ## **Historical Reports and Future Predictions** For transparency I have included numbers for the past few years are below and this does show a trending increase in Electoral Roll. 10 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ It is anticipated, based on the historical statistics, that the number of members of the Electoral Roll will increase over time to come more in line with previous declarations before the full revision. As was previously reported Thelwall has continued to see a large number of property sales and is classed as a desirable area within the Warrington area and therefore is seeing an increase in the number of new families moving to the parish. This change in demographics across the parish has resulted in the introduction of new families, lowering the average age in the parish, and an increase in population density (resulting from an increase in the average number of occupants within a home) and it is hoped we will continue to realise an increase in congregation members as some of these families look to attend a local church on a regular basis. ## **Deanery Synod Report 2025** In March, we were addressed by Rev’d Emma Speake who is the Diocesan Disability Advisor. Emma talked about inclusion and access to church and worship. Her particular area of expertise is with neurodivergent people (Emma is neurodivergent herself). Emma provides practical advice and resources, to act as a listening ear and advocate, and to help shape policy and practices across the Diocese. At the July meeting of synod, Ian Arch and the Diocesan Ministry Team from Church House talked about their work of supporting and resourcing people to live out their ministry – lay and ordained e.g. growing vocations, training courses, resourcing and supporting ministry. This is a challenging job because over 40% of clergy are due to retire in the next few years! On the 15th October at St Wilfrid’s Grappenhall, Synod was involved in a new podcast about ‘Everyday Faith’. The discussion was hosted by Ruth Bull from Transforming Lives Together. Ruth interviewed three guests about how they are being and bringing Good News in their workplace, in the community, and through volunteering. Our final synod of the year was a Zoom meeting, to discuss arrangements for parish vacancies, business matters and the programme for 2026. 11 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ## **Report on the Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of the Church (Churchwardens)** At the last Annual Parochial Church meeting Jon Haliday was re-elected for a second year and Nettie Norman was elected to the role of Church Wardens. We wish to give our thanks to our previous Church Warden Julie French for helping us to settle in and continue to assist us and by helping with taking over our roles when we have not been available to attend church services. ## **Practical aspects of the church.** The Church Audio Visual has now been authorised, purchased and installed at the beginning of Dec 2025. A complete replacement of the major elements was required which included a new sound desk, speakers, wiring and the replacement of projectors with a large TV screen. Church members feedback is they are happy with the clearer picture and improved sound quality. Last Summer 2025 we received a request from the headteacher at the Junior school, requesting that the compost mound at the back of the church yard be removed. It had increased in height and members of the public were climbing on this to climb over the school’s fence to access the school playing fields. Also the school was installing a new higher fencing and so needed to be able to erect this. Philip Young was approached with a view for insight into how this could be done. It was decided that it would be carried out during the school October ½ term when access could be arranged via the school grounds if required and when the new fencing was to start being erected. The Community Pay Back team also helped with some of the removal of the compost. Unfortunately, it was found that there were a lot of large heavy sandstone walling blocks at the bottom that will need to be removed from this area before the remaining compost and rubbish can be removed. This is an action that will be planned to be investigated this Spring. We would like to take the opportunity to thank Philip and the Countrywide team for assisting with this matter, and also for continuing to keep the gutters of the building cleared of debris and leaves throughout the year. There had been an issue with the small water boiler no longer working and a dripping tap in the vestry office. A local plumber was called in and both replaced. In October we had some volunteers to help clear away the cobwebs in the church, some were very high on the inside of the roof. Thanks were extended at the time to Mike Horne, Malcolm & Anne Hague & Malcolm’s friend. Members noticed the following Sunday what a difference this made. Last summer we were needing a volunteer to look after church memorial garden by the gate. We now have a volunteer to look after this starting this spring, local Barry “Baz” Jolley, who is happy to help the local community. The church inventory is due and still to be done. Jon and Nettie will need to sort out a time to do this in the very near future. Also this Spring we plan to be looking to investigate how to trim the overhanging branches and reduce the height of the bushes along Thelwall New Road along the top of the wall that is showing signs of bowing before any potential damage is done to the structure of the wall, although a safety assessment was done in last few years and was considered safe. We need to follow this up soon. The large main door is still an ongoing project. The door hinges connected to the sandstone wall need to be replaced, and the wood at the base of the door needs repairing. This will be a specialist job and from the July 2024 PCC minutes we had received quotes of £11K + VAT. This is a complex job as the repair of the top hinge will require the removal of significant stone work that forms the door arch. We are looking at ways to fund this, options are fund raising, obtaining grants and any other options of raising money towards this work. Once funding to cover these costs are obtained then three new quotes will need to be carried out. Feedback will be made in the future when there is anything to report. We are fortunate to have such a beautiful building to welcome people to, for church services, other services and community outreach. We will continue, with the help of the wider church, to keep our church a safe and welcoming building for our church members, visitors and our local community. 12 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ## **Village Green** The ‘Village Green’ on Thelwall New Road (o/s Gigg Lane) is the property of the church (the diocese & PCC are joint trustees). The vicar and wardens are responsible for the oversight of the land, reporting to PCC when any issues arise. We are grateful to the Grappenhall & Thelwall Parish Council (G&TPC) for including the land in their local grounds maintenance programme, which means that they are paying for the grass to be cut. Every 5 years, we are required by our insurers to employ an arborist to inspect the land, especially the trees, and produce a report for our attention and action. One of the issues we need to keep a regular eye on is ‘encroachment’ - this is when adjacent home owners try to take our land by moving their boundaries. If we do not challenge the encroachment within ten years, ownership can be transferred to the encroacher. ## **Worship Action Group (Action Group Chair, Douglas Black)** The brief of the WAGs is to develop worship, nurture and prayer in line with the church’s mission statement: growing up, growing together, growing out, growing more. **Portable altar and font:** the new portable altar and font are now in frequent use. They have given us lots of flexibility and options. As well as paying for these two items, Sarah Jayne and Martin Lovell also paid for the candles and candlesticks for the portable altar. We are very grateful to the Lovells for their generosity. **Prayer:** we continue to adapt the church’s prayer life to fit the congregation’s hectic lives. Our ideas have needed to be flexible and accessible, so that they can be used wherever people may be at the time: - Every Harvest, Advent & Lent, we’ve been publishing Prayer Project leaflets with items for prayer and include seasonal prayers written by members of WAGs. - At Easter & Christmas, we’ve been handing out prayer cards published by the Prayer Trust. - Thy Kingdom Come – we engage with the Archbishops’ Ascensiontide prayer initiative that involves praying for family, friends, neighbours & colleagues to come to faith. - Summer Prayer Project – happens every 3 years for July/August. A folded card with the names of Thelwall streets organised into the days of the week. **Explore Prayer Cards and Display Stand:** we have purchased the Explore range of 12 small prayer cards and a display stand to go alongside the votive candle stand: www.cpo.org.uk/explore-resources/prayercards.html. WAGs are looking at options for locating the display stand and/or votive stand to improve accessibility. **Caroline Johnstone** was licensed as a Reader on Saturday, 11[th] October 2025 at Chester Cathedral by Bishops Mark, Julie and Sam. It was a joyous occasion and a worthy culmination and celebration of Caroline’s three years rigorous practical and academic work. The turn out from All Saints at the service was awesome! **Daily Personal Bible Reflection** : wherever possible, we try to encourage people to connect with some form of regular personal bible reflection. ‘Our Daily Bread’ is very popular in the congregation, especially with our older folk. But there are now so many new resources available - in physical and digital format – that there is something to suit everyone. A good number of our folk use the app: lectio365.com. **Audio-visual:** the new system is now installed and in use. It’ll take us a little while to adjust to its capabilities and idiosyncrasies. But once we do, it will open up a new vista of possibilities for our worship, ministry and outreach. **Choir, Music Group & Organ:** our musicians, choir / music group have risen to the challenges of leading music in our worship, choosing hymns and organising rotas. Trish arranges for the organ to be tuned and serviced every autumn by Jardine’s of Manchester. 13 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ **Parish Music Outreach Worker:** We’ve put the search for a ‘Director of Music’ (a.k.a. Parish Music Outreach Worker) on hold for now, to give time for church finances to settle and strengthen, and to work with the new junior school head teacher to take the idea forward, as the role was largely shaped by the previous head teacher. ## **- Parish Hall Action Group Philip Young** In 2025 the main project in the hall was the refurbishment of the Hall toilets. 70% of the £30,000 cost was grant funded and the work was completed on budget in June 2025. At the same time fundamental drainage issues were discovered and rectified resulting in improved hall maintenance. The equipment installed has provided simple and effective efficiency savings through the elimination of paper hand towels. The toilets themselves were decorated and lighting upgraded to improve the overall customer experience of the hall. Since the installation of the toilets the drainage beyond that from the hall toilets to the manholes outside, namely the 50m to the septic tank has been replaced This was after an excellent video demonstrated the old drains collapsing in two places. Now much improved materials, access and design will minimise any future issues with hall. The stage curtains owned by Bridgewater Players were replaced by them at the request of the hall committee as they were showing signs of age. They are part of the ongoing plans to upgrade the hall offering to all those who use it. One of the outside containers was removed and storage moved inside the hall, this allowed us the opportunity to lose unwanted baggage gathered over too many years! 2025 saw the first full year of the drop down projector screen. The external windows and doors were painted and, internally, foyer and hall areas were redecorated. Outside further bulbs have been planted, following planting in 2024, to improve the external visual appeal. Richard Speed has taken over the hall maintenance schedule and tracks monthly many areas of the hall maintenance that are unseen but essential to good stewardship. Commercially the hall again provided a surplus on the year’s trading, enabling the committee to plan for further upgrades. The process of improvement is well underway, and positive trading enables us to further this cause. Carolina has done excellent work in the booking of hall in particular to the Asian and Eastern European communities. Ray and Jean have done great work in building relationships with our hirers and holding them to account when required. In 2025 Thelwall Rose Queen day, the 1100 year celebrations and the Bonfire were major events which are much enhanced by upgrades in the hall and allow us to project a more positive image of the role All Saints and the hall plays in the life of Thelwall. Indeed, the time capsule from the 1100 yr celebrations has been located in the hall grounds for all to see. ## **Pastoral Care and Community Outreach** During 2025 there were 3 baptisms, 14 funerals at All Saints and 2 funerals at the crematorium, 0 burials and 10 burials of ashes, and 1 wedding. _**Baptism Preparation**_ – A church member visits the family before the baptism to get to know the family and explain what’s involved. This person is at the service and the baptised child is given a children’s Bible as a baptism gift from the church. _**Bereaved families**_ are visited before and after the funeral by the vicar. We have a ‘Memorial Service’ of remembrance once a year, at all Saints-tide, to which all who have been bereaved during the last year are invited. Judith Biggin sends a card to bereaved families on the first anniversary of their loss. 14 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ _**Our Counselling Referral service**_ has been able to help a good number of people again this year. We are very grateful to the Diocesan Counselling Service and the Lymm Sanctuary Hub for accepting our referrals. _**Food Bank Donations**_ are left at the church and then taken to the Warrington Distribution Point by a church member. _**Harvest Gifts**_ – the gifts of tinned and packet food are given to the Warrington Food Bank and the gifts of flowers are distributed to the sick, bereaved and elderly of the parish. ## **Outreach Action Group (Action Group Chair, Kath Mellor)** Our Lunch Group on a Monday has continued with around 22 coming each week. We have four teams and everyone who comes really enjoys their Mondays. We would love to see some new faces who will be most welcome. Friendships have developed and the group are keeping in touch with each other. We have had two lunches this year with over 70 people attending both. The first lunch was a three course dinner and the second was a harvest buffet lunch. When people are ill we send cake to them. A few of us attended Audrey Lester’s funeral recently. We have held our Remembering the Loved Ones and most people bring a flower to the service. After the service, refreshments are served which has proved very worthwhile. We continue to ensure the Church magazine is delivered to each home and are so grateful to all who deliver them each month. At our Christmas Monday lunch Father Christmas attended and everyone received a gift. At our carol service we served mulled wine and mince pies. Lots of people stayed. Next Christmas Eve we will open our church and serve hot drinks during the day and an opportunity for people to come and pray. If anyone knows of anyone who would like to come along, please let me know 01925602475 or email kathlmellor@gmail.com and I will contact them. ## **The Children and Young People Action Group (Action Group Chair, Caroline Johnstone)** We have had another successful year with our Children and Young People. We ran 6 Messy Church sessions and 4 Story Services. Attendance has steadily grown to approx. 30 + children and adults at Messy Church and around 15 -20 at our Story Services and it has been lovely to welcome some new families as well as building on our existing relationships with regular attendees. Our annual Children and Young People’s Celebration Service on 6th July was well attended. The young people all received a book; ‘The Story Maker’ by Jerry McCorkle and Erin Straza, which reflected the video shown in the service about the life of Jesus. We were able to present all our leaders with a Speak Out Stay Safe pin badge to recognise that they had completed the foundation level of national safeguarding training – which is great …well done to them! We have recently updated our role descriptions and risk assessments for all the activities below which feeds into our safer recruitment process and further training both ‘in house’ and national is planned for the forthcoming year. We are very conscious that our provision does not extend to our young people of secondary age and as a group we are exploring our next steps in this area. We ask for your prayers, ideas and help for the development of our work in this area. ## **Praise and Play** We have continued to meet twice a month on the first and third Thursday, apart from our break during August. Our leaders remain the same: Janet Black and Elaine Whittaker with helpers Liz Taylor and Nettie Norman. We have regular attendees with numbers of children averaging about 5. We continue have regular adverts/articles placed in the church magazine. We also take the opportunity to advertise our other family 15 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ events such as messy church and story service plus celebrate children’s birthdays. We continue to use our 4 year rolling programme drawn from Scripture Union and CPAS ‘Bible stuff’ resources, including sessions that follow the main church festivals. ## **Messy Church** We held a super hero Messy Church in May, they made superhero masks, mini figures and considered what their super powers might be, before looking at Jesus as a super hero. One child summed up a super hero ‘as an ordinary person who does extraordinary things’. In July we had a Messy Church Summer Sports from an egg and spoon race to welly throwing and we finished with an indoor picnic on rugs on the floor of the Parish Hall. We opened the new school year with Messy Harvest at the beginning of October, theme was giving thanks and the children explored the story of our food from someone growing it to us eating it. They made junk models of lorries, trains and planes that transport it, printed cogs and made and ate pizza. Janet shared their work at the harvest festival and looked at the word HARVEST and made STARVE – HAVE – SHARE to illustrate the need to give thanks for what we have and to share it with others who don’t have as much Christmas /Advent Messy Church saw the children explore all the people /things that travelled in the Nativity story. ## **Story Service** We meet almost every month on Sunday in church from 5pm -6pm from November to April. We look at different Christian values through both secular and Bible stories. We have covered Difference, both places and people, journeys, and families, rounding everything off with prayers, a song and very yummy toast and hot chocolate! Many thanks to the team of folks who make everything happen. ## **Open the Book – Richard Speed** Church continues to have very good contact with the infant and junior schools. The Open the Book team presents an assembly each half term to each school. This is very well received and many pupils look forward to our visits. To supplement this we have been able to link with the school curriculum rather than the church's year and have presented an Experience Pentecost to years 3 and 4 this half term. This has been complemented by Miracle stories for years 5 and 6. The school were very appreciative of our efforts and felt it met the needs of the pupils well. Church also hosts the Junior School end of term assembly in church which also features an Open the Book story. Thank you to all those who contribute to this project. If you would like to join us in any capacity, please have a chat. ## **The Social and Communications Action Group** 2025 was another very busy and successful year for social events in our parish. The events have two main aims: both fundraising and engaging with the wider village community, providing a witness that All Saints is very much alive and active in Thelwall. Our motto is “all welcome”. During the year we organised six Coffee Mornings at All Saints after the Thursday morning services, raising funds for Children’s Society, Transform Trade, Jump Children’s Charity, Christian Aid, Church Urban Fund Lent Appeal, Breast Cancer Now, MacMillan Cancer Support and Sanctuary Café Big Build Project at the Sanctuary Café (which is supported by Lymm and Thelwall Churches Together). In addition, a Coffee Morning specifically for church funds was held in October. These Coffee Mornings attracted between 60 and 70 attendees each time. They provide a wonderful social occasion with a warm and friendly atmosphere, and it is lovely to welcome so many people from the village into our beautiful church. We held a very enjoyable Quiz Evening in January with 70 quizzers attending a really fun evening and in April our annual Easter Egg Hunt took place on Easter Saturday. With around 300 attendees the event is growing each year and attendance from the wider village community is a real blessing. Our annual Wine Tasting took place in May; numbers were again slightly down but those who came really appreciated the evening and made it a memorable night. 16 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Members of SCAG organised the church “walking float” at the annual Thelwall Rose Queen Festival in June and it is felt to be important for the church to be represented at this very popular village event each year. We began the second half of the year with a new event, a Village Cream Tea, which was very successful it was well attended with a wonderfully warm atmosphere. We aim to repeat this in 2026. Bonfire Night (organised by a separate committee) was its usual fantastic occasion, and the Christmas Fayre was a huge success. Numbers were up, boosted by a lovely performance from the newly formed Thelwall Community Choir, and there was a vibrant mix of stalls, both old and new. We welcomed Warrington Male Voice Choir back in early December for our now annual hosting of one of their very popular Christmas concerts; it’s the start of Christmas for many people and the sound they produce under the arch in church is glorious. Finally, members of SCAG joined with the All Saints musicians and other parishioners to sing carols in both our village pubs, raising money for the Children’s Society. All of the events listed have drawn people into our church community as well as raising a lot of money for both the church and many charities. In addition to the events which we organise ourselves, we have a fantastic working relationship with the family at our local Laskey Farm Gardens, supporting their participation in the National Open Gardens Scheme by providing tea, cakes and manpower, and also running a number of our own events in the beautiful and popular venue. In 2025 we raised funds for the Creating Adventures, JUMP and Clatterbridge Cancer Charities, a total of almost £3,200. This link is much appreciated by ourselves and Laskey. Members of the SCAG spent a fair chunk of time last year sorting out the storage of all the glasses and tea sets the church now owns for use at its various events; this was a sizeable task, but the items are now easier to access and keep clean. Another task tackled was getting op top of the advertising revenue for the Parish News, which is edited by a member of SCAG and distributed free ten months of the year to every house in Thelwall by an army of volunteers. After the difficulties of the previous year the distribution process went smoothly in 2025 using a more local printer. The magazine is very much a Christian publication, with details of all the services and events as well as a Vicar’s Article and list of people to contact in church, but many local organisations and initiatives benefit too, including the Rose Queen, the Scouts Christmas Post, the Bridgewater Players, the WI, the Thelwall History Group and the local pubs. Our website is kept as up to date and relevant as it can be given our resources, along with our social media platforms, but this is an area we know we need to develop. Thank you to everyone who has supported any of our events in any way at all, from organising to advertising, baking, serving, attending and eating cake! Your support is really appreciated, and we look forward to welcoming you to our future events. Suggestions for new events are always welcome, as are new members of the Group. SCAG members: Malcolm, Anne, Judy, Trish, Pip, Di, Nettie, Joan, Suzi and Paul. ## **Fair Trade – Trish Powell** All Saints’ is a fully registered Fairtrade church and Fairtrade tea and coffee are used whenever refreshments are served. We hold a Fairtrade stall in church after both morning services every 1st and 3rd Sunday as well as on other ad hoc occasions, including Thelwall’s annual Rose Queen Festival and our Christmas Fayre. We held our annual and very well supported Fairtrade Coffee Morning on 6th March 2025, drawing in around 70 people and raising £480 for Transform Trade in addition to selling a lot of Fairtrade goods from our stall. Fairtrade Fortnight moved nationally and permanently from its March slot to September in 2024 and our main Sunday morning service on 21st September was dedicated to Fairtrade to reflect this. Four church members are also regular volunteers at Warrington’s own Fairtrade shop, Fair4All. 17 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ## **Choir and Musicians – Trish Powell** All Saints Thelwall is blessed with a group of extremely enthusiastic and dedicated musicians, both instrumentalists and singers, who faithfully lead the worship each week. In the absence of a Musical Director, five of them (Elaine, Trish, Julia, Val and Helen) take it in turns to choose the hymns each month which leads to a good variety of music. Caroline will be taking over from Elaine in 2026, giving Elaine more time to do all the necessary reporting to CCLI regarding licences etc. Trish, Felicity and Julia share the organ/piano duties and Felicity, Julia and Elaine also play guitar when possible, not forgetting Helen on the tambourine. Trish also takes the choir practices most weeks. We choose hymns mostly from Songs of Fellowship, mixing traditional familiar ones with the more modern ones we love and this past year we again introduced a few new songs. On Easter Sunday the choir sang Three Days as an anthem and there were four choir items at the Christmas Carol Service, including Born in Bethlehem, which was written by Jean Sheppard, a former Lay Reader at All Saints, and the renowned Stephen Hough, her former pupil. Members of the church choir and singers also led the singing of carols in the two village pubs in the run up to Christmas, raising money for the Children’s Society. There are a handful of Sundays during the year when no instrumentalists are available and Trish (pianist/organist) and Jon (IT guru) have, with the help of choir members, recorded a variety of hymns which can be played through our sound system. We now have a library of well over 50 of these and continue to add more as needed. This means that there are no services without music. Our vision for the coming year is to support the PCC, the Worship Action Group and the Children and Young People’s Group in their strategies, making more use of Out of the Ark music used by the Junior School, whilst being mindful of retaining well known or easy to learn songs which are familiar from school days, to help congregation members feel included and at ease. Finally, a huge thank you to all those who contribute to the musical worship in our church in any way - it is very much appreciated. ## **Eco Church – Mike Horne** In February 2020 General Synod set the Church of England an ambitious challenge: to reach net zero carbon across parish, cathedral, diocesan and school estates by 2030. In order to achieve this, there is a target for 40% of local churches to be registered as Eco-Churches and 30% of local churches to achieve awarded standards, of which at least a third of these awards should be Silver or higher by 2026. The principles are that Eco-Church should be Based in Theology – Treasuring God’s Creation; Urgent, relevant and widely understood; Data-driven, focused and transparent, Embedded in all we do; Using less energy, and from cleaner sources; travelling sustainably; Offsetting only what we cannot reduce. In July 2024, All Saints Church PCC decided that we should apply to become an Eco-Church with a target to achieve Bronze status by the end of 2025. Through 2025 we made great strides towards our target: a) We are now on a “Green Tariff” for both Gas and Electricity b) We have installed bird boxes, bee hotels, a hedgehog house, and an insect hotel in the churchyard, some of which were installed and constructed by the local guides group, and by Thelwall Mens Shed. c) We started “No Mow May” which went on throughout the summer, and is still in place in various ‘Conservation Areas’ through the churchyard. d) There have been several mentions of the Eco-Church project from the pulpit, and encouragement for the congregation to become ‘Climate Heroes’ using an online climate calculator. While much has been achieved through 2025, we were unsuccessful in achieving he necessary standards under the “Community & Local Engagement” and the “Lifestyle” categories of the Eco-Church plan. Through 2026, we are planning to put together a specific team to address these areas and look forward to trying again to achieve the Bronze Level in 2026. 18 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Specifically the team will set out to draw up a plan to take action locally and/or nationally / globally, using the Parish News and Church Noticeboards to encourage participation; we will encourage local car sharing initiatives from pulpit and on website etc.; draw up a plan / strategy to promote ethical and environmentally aware consumption patterns by individuals and households, and encouraging the use of Fairtrade goods and materials; and encourage us all to become “Climate Heroes” using this calculator: https://climatecalculator.climatehero.org/ ## **Mission Support** _**During the year we gave grant support**_ to the following charitable organisations direct from church funds: Church Urban Fund; Papyrus; Prison Fellowship and Get Warrington Talking. We are also giving financial support to Christ Church, an adjacent parish to ours. _**Transform Trade**_ – £480.05 funds were raised at a coffee morning in March _**The Christian Aid**_ = £400.80 funds were raised at a coffee morning _**MacMillan Cancer Fund**_ –£502.65 funds were raised at a coffee morning in church _**Jump**_ £423.10 funds were raised at a coffee morning in church _**Breast Cancer Now**_ £350 raised at a coffee morning in church _**Big Build**_ £441.80 raised at a coffee morning in church _**Church funds**_ £413.55 raised at a coffee morning in church _**Samaritan’s Purse**_ was supported through the donation of 170 filled shoes boxes for Operation Christmas Child brought to our “Toy Service” in December. _**SureStart**_ was supported with the donation of 76 wrapped gifts given at the Christmas “Toy Service” and taken to SureStart, Halton where the charity distributed them to their local family centres. _**The Children’s Society**_ is supported with donations at our Christingle service and carol singing at the local pubs. This raised £813 in total. _**Warrington Food Bank**_ – we have a collection point in church for donations of food etc. These are taken to the local centre by a volunteer. Food items donated at our Harvest Festival service also go to the food bank. ## **Ecumenical relationships** _**All Saints is a member of Lymm and District Churches Together (LDCT**_ ). We had our annual prayer breakfast at the end of the week of Christian Unity. A breakfast was held during the week of Christian Aid. On the first Saturday of the month a prayer breakfast is held in the Sanctuary Café at 8am followed by prayers for the area and the Big Build. _**The Sanctuary Café**_ is a Community Interest Company that began as an idea developed by CTLD and is supported by them. On April 5[th] we celebrated 17 years. This year we will have a party and gift day towards the Big Build. We are always looking for volunteers to help, and All Saints have over the years been a great support. Members of our church make cakes for us. We have a great book shop with lots of cards and gifts available. On Tuesdays we have a “Toomuch Tuesday menu where we use surplus food from Heatley Co-Op”. We When in Lymm please call in and you will be made very welcome. ## **“Friends” - Jean Fisher** Friends have had two new members during the last twelve months bringing a total of 17 members. Friends paid for the new bird and bug boxes. Membership is renewable in April. 19 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ **Heritage Report** All Saints’ history, art and architecture and its digital burial ground featured in two talks and church tours for the Thelwall History Group in February, June and July 2025. Linda Bellars, Mike Horne and Mike and Maggie Taylor were glad to share their research and experience. It is hoped to arrange another tour of the church and churchyard for all comers later this year. All Saints has played a key role in the three years of the Thelwall 1100 Project, helping us publicise events through All Saints’ News and the pew sheet and acknowledging our needs in the various prayer projects. The support of members with catering and service at the Thank You Tea for T1100 volunteers at Laskey Farm in September 2025 and catering for the closing celebrations in October has been greatly appreciated. So too has the support of the Chair of Thelwall Parish Hall Committee, Philip Young, in finally securing a safe and appropriate site for the T1100 Commemorative Stone and time capsule. This will be maintained by Thelwall Guides. All Saints’ Church was the first of five Thelwall sites to install their blue heritage plaque (on the railings beside the lychgate.) This was one of the Thelwall 1100 legacy projects which has seen our local history and heritage made more visible and better explained through publications, walking trails and new heritage signage. During the year we had an approach from the South Trafford Archaeology Group to try and find evidence of King Edward the Elder’s ‘burh’ or ‘cyty’. STAG identified a couple of sites behind Baden Lodge/the Parish Hall and on Chaigeley land. Permissions have been granted for exploratory excavations now planned for the end of April/May. About 20 volunteers have come forward to take part in this community dig. I am so very grateful for all the help, prayers and practical support you have shown for the Thelwall 1100 Project. All Saints as an institution and as a community has been key to its success. Maggie Taylor Thelwall 1100 Festival 20 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ## **Finance Report** The financial position of the church is much improved from last year and is now stable. A Finance Team was formed in May 2025 to support the Treasurer, and many changes and improvements have been brought in since then, allowing us to much better understand and manage the financial position of the Church and the Parish Hall. Finance Team members are: Ian Hardman (Treasurer), Jon Halliday (Churchwarden), Mike Horne, James Gaffney, and Mike Brewer. To address the immediate problem of a lack of cash in the Church Bank Account, discussions were held with the Diocese Finance Board, and with their support we suspended payment of the Parish Share for 6 months. We have now returned to paying 100% of the monthly Parish Share and will continue to do that through 2026. We have used the retained cash to allow compliance with our Reserves Policies as stated below, and to maintain sufficient cash at bank to allow us to pay our bills throughout the year even though our biggest fundraisers are in November and December. Due to much better than expected levels of donations, the Church broke even in the year 2025, and the Parish Hall showed continued success in increasing its earnings, as are shown in the Annual Accounts. There are going to be struggles ahead as the Parish Share continues to rise, this year at 3% which means that we need to find an additional £2268 in donations in order to support the work of the Diocese, plus there will be increases in Council Tax and Utilities, which everyone is experiencing. Through 2026, we will be carrying out various new initiatives aimed at spreading the financial load to the wider Thelwall community, emphasising that even non-churchgoers may value the presence of the church within their community. We will also encourage setting up of legacies and will maximise our retrieval of money though Gift Aid from UK taxpayers. We choose to consider the Church and the Parish Hall as separate entities, but in fact they are combined into the one Charity, and from an accounting and reporting point of view, are united. This means that we are showing a good level of overall Receipts, which will be reported to Charity Commission. ## **RESERVES POLICY** The following Reserves Policies have been approved by PCC this year covering both the church and the Parish Hall. They will be kept under scrutiny and may be revised next year. 1) The Treasurer shall maintain a Reserve Fund of £12,000 in Investments and Deposit Accounts to allow the church to continue to function financially for a period of 6 months, in the event that the church has to close. 2) Consequential Loss. A sum of £15,000 shall be made available by the PCC of All Saints Thelwall as Unallocated Reserves for larger long-term projects identified as a result of the Quinquennial Inspection, which cannot be covered by Grants or Insurance Claims. 3) The above Restricted Funds for the Church can only be spent with the recommendation of the Finance Team, and with majority PCC approval. A plan for recovery of the funds shall be made within 3 months, and the funds must be returned to the above levels within 18 months, or by the end of the second Financial Year. 4) The Treasurer shall maintain a Reserve Fund of £16,700 in Investments and Deposit Accounts to allow the Parish Hall to continue to trade for a period of 6 months. 5) Consequential Loss. A sum of £33,000 shall be made available by the PCC of All Saints Thelwall as Unallocated Reserves for project requirements of the Parish Hall, identified by the Parish Hall Management Committee which cannot be covered by Grants or Insurance Claims. 6) Maintenance reserves for the Parish Hall; On an ongoing basis, funds up to a maximum of £100,000 will be held by the Parish Hall Management Committee as unallocated reserves to be used for maintaining or replacing depreciating Parish Hall assets. 7) The above Restricted Funds for the Parish Hall can only be spent with the recommendation of the Finance Team, and with majority PCC approval. A plan for recovery of the funds shall be made within 3 months, and the funds must be returned to the above levels within 18 months, or by the end of the second Financial Year. The 200 Club acts as a working reserve for the Parish Hall. 21 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ## **INVESTMENT POLICY** We invest the allocated reserves for Church and Parish Hall in the “COIF Charities Investment Fund”, managed by CCLA Investment Management Limited. This is a medium-low risk (Risk Indicator 3 out of 7) investment recommended by the Church of England. CCLA state about this Fund “We believe that the primary role of responsible investment is to drive positive change and this is best achieved by pushing companies to do more to address the major challenges facing us today. We aim to manage our clients’ investments in a way that aligns with their values and to do this we consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in our listed equity investment process and go beyond the boundaries of traditional investor engagement to drive change.” And sets its Policy as “The Fund is an actively managed, diversified portfolio of assets designed to help protect both present and future beneficiaries from the effects of inflation. It will have an emphasis on equities but will also include property, bonds and other asset classes, which may be either liquid or illiquid in nature. The Fund follows a set of client-driven, values-based investment restrictions.” Over the past 7 years of investment, the church has benefitted from 5.5% per annum growth. The Parish Hall investments were made later in 2021 and missed out on some early growth but still show an average of 2.4% growth per annum. Through 2025 though, both funds have shown a loss due to market volatility. The Finance Team will consider alternative investments, and will present these to PCC while maintaining the low risk, ethical Investment policies previously passed at PCC. All church investments will be revalued at a minimum of once per annum no later than 3 months after the end of the financial year. ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER** At the APCM in 2025 it was decided that our Independent Examiner should again be Walker Begley. As part of the Finance Team’s review, and in order to ensure that a timely and comprehensive review was completed this year so that the Accounts could be presented to APCM in 2026, it was decided to change to Juliet Hankey for the IE Review. This was agreed by PCC. Juliet has done an exceptional job this year, and we would like to propose to APCM that Juliet Hankey is asked to complete the Independent Examination in 2027. We would also like to thank Walker Begley for their support and hard work over the last few years. 22 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ## **Appendix 1 – Safeguarding Policy** 23 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ## **Appendix 2 – FY2025 Financial Statements** 24 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 25 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 26 ## **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 27 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 28 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 29 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 30 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 31 **ALL SAINTS’ THELWALL ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORT 2025/26** ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 32