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2025-12-31-accounts

St Mark’s Church, Bilton

Annual Parochial Church

Meeting 2026

To be held in Church Sunday 26[th] April 2026 at 11.30am

The meeting is preceded by 10.00am Service

Table of Content

Contents

A G E N D A - 4 -
Annual Vestry Meeting - 4 -
Annual Parochial Church Meeting - 4 -
M I N U T E S - 5 -
Annual Vestry Meeting – 11thMay 2025 at 11.15am - 5 -
Annual Parochial Meeting - 11thMay 2025 - 6 -
R E P O R T S - 9 -
Clergy Rev’d Daniel Bennett - 9 -
Churchwardens Christine Assheton - 14 -
Financial Summary Jean Stevenson - 16 -
PCC Secretary Juliette Crossin - 18 -
Electoral Roll Carmel Hyland - 18 -
Safeguarding Sarah Pick, PSO - 18 -
Rugby Deanery Synod Patsy Howes - 21 -
Worship Committee Patsy Howes - 24 -
Welcome Team Marie Daniel - 25 -
Prayer Support Group Rev’d Joy Sharpe & Heather Guppy- 26 -
Healing Prayer Team Helen Powell - 26 -
Choir and Organ Patsy Howes - 27 -
Music Group Ann Hutton - 30 -
Children and Families Worker Elisabeth Jeyasingh - 30 -
Teen Talk Tim Holton - 33 -
Wider Church Youth Work Katie Thomas - 33 -
Schools Report Sandra Bevan - 34 -
Bilton Churches Together Angela Maxwell - 34 -
Pastoral Team Angela Maxwell - 35 -
Home Groups Jasmin Dyer - 35 -
Bible Reading Fellowship Wendy Brewer - 36 -
Friends of St Mark’s Celestine Banks - 37 -
Events Team - 38 -
Bell Ringers Andrew Barker - 38 -
Churchyard Sandra Bevan - 39 -
AV Team Holly Byatt - 41 -
Cleaning Team – ‘The Holy Dusters’
Pauline Graham		 - 42 -
Christian Aid Penny Street - 43 -

The Voice – Bilton’s Parish Magazine Louise Rouledge & Alex Lover - 44 -

A G E N D A

St Mark’s Church, Bilton

Annual Parochial Church Meeting Sunday 26[th] April 2026 at 11.30am to be held in Church

Annual Vestry Meetng

(to be notified to the PCC Secretary at least 24hrs before meeting)

Annual Parochial Church Meetng

  1. Apologies

  2. Minutes of 2025 APCM & Matters Arising

  3. Elections

  4. a. PCC members – 2 members for 3 years

  5. b. Deanery Synod members – 3 members for the current term

    1. Safeguarding Officers Report Sarah Pick 5. Electoral Roll Report Carmel Hyland 6. Churchwardens Verbal Report & Comments Christine Assheton 7. Treasurer’s Verbal Report & Comments - Jean Stevenson (to be tabled at the meeting and verbal report to be given)

  7. Clergy Verbal Report & Comments - Rev’d Daniel Bennett 9. Matters Arising from Reports in Report Booklet

  8. Prepared questions or statements

(to be notified to PCC Secretary at least 24hrs before meeting)

  1. Any Other Business (to be notified to the Chairman 24hrs in advance of the meeting)

  2. 4 - | P a g e

M I N U T E S

St Mark’s Church, Bilton

Annual Vestry Meetng – 11[th] May 2025 at 11.15am

The PCC secretary has a list of all attendees and apologies given. All present were welcomed by Dan Bennett.

The minutes from the Vestry meeting held on 21[st] April 2024 were approved

Matters arising: None.

Election of 2 Churchwardens for 1 year:

Christine Assheton (Full Warden): - Proposed – Juliette Crossin Seconded – Kathryn Holton

No other nominees

Duly elected.

Election of 2 Deputy Churchwardens for 1 year: Marion Ainslow Proposed by Alex Clark Seconded – Gillie Keighley Rob Le May Proposed - Elisabeth Jeyasingh Seconded – Penny Street

Both duly elected

Any other business: - None.

Vestry Meeting Closed 11.40am.

Annual Parochial Meetng - 11[th] May 2025

Attendees

Attendees, list held by the PCC Secretary.

Apologies

Patsy Howes Christine Assheton Marie Daniel Rob Le May Alison Price

Minutes from the APCM 21[st] April 2024

The minutes were approved as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

Matters Arising

Sarah Pick has now been appointed as our Safeguarding Officer.

Elections

PCC Members - 3 year term (4 required)

Nominations received:

Penny Street Proposed by Juliette Crossin, Seconded by Alison Price Alex Lover Proposed by Juliette Crossin, (completing existing term) Seconded by Rob Le May Jean Stevenson Proposed by Juliette Crossin, Seconded by David Price Rob Le May Proposed by Juliette Crossin, Seconded by Alex Lover

All duly appointed

The APCM was advised that the PCC intended to co-opt Juliette Crossin to PCC as Secretary and Alison Price as a member of the PCC at the next PCC meeting.

DB gave thanks to Wendy Brewer and Andy Whitford for their terms as PCC members and to Marion Ainslow for her many years as Churchwarden.

Safeguarding Officers Report

Can be found on page 16 & 17 of the booklet. Sarah has done a huge amount of work since her appointment and DB gave thanks to her for that and to Juliette who has taken over as Safer Recruitment Administrator.

Electoral Roll Report

As at Feb 2025, there were 212 people on roll.

Churchwarden’s Verbal Report & Comments

Can be found on page 12 & 13 of booklet.

The Churchwardens are currently working on actions for the quinquennial inspection due next year and also looking at possible heating solutions in the event that one of the gas boilers stops working in the near future. We’re trying to be pro-active in this before it becomes a problem.

Treasurer’s Verbal Report & Comments – David Potts

Auditor appointment:

Brian Chaney Proposed by David Potts Seconded by Dan Bennett

Duly appointed.

Income this year was at about the same level as last year, circa £140K.

Expenses have been gradually going down each year (apart from big projects).

DP confirmed that the sooner we move away from gas for our heating the better form a cost and sustainability perspective.

The legacy of circa £120K is expected to be settled by the end of May.

Income was £137K 4 years ago and this year was £139K, expenses were £169K in 2021, £165K this year.

David was surprised when he came on board with how many transactions there were each month but as most are automated it makes life quite simple. He gave thanks to everyone for their giving and wished Jean the very best with the role as she takes over from him.

David was awarded with a gift of thanks.

Dan mentioned that despite the bank balance being in quite a healthy position, we do have a running deficit of £30 – 40K each year so although we have a large legacy due and a good level of income, we are still in need of more.

Clergy Verbal Report and Comments

Dan showed a video of some of the things St Mark’s has been involved in over the last year and went on to mention many of the outreach programmes that members of St Mark’s are involved with. He also thanked everyone for the wonderful welcome given to him and his family and said that he’s very excited about the future as we move forwards.

Special thanks to the Churchwardens – Marion, Christine and Rob, to Glenn who has been a huge support to Dan and also to Philip Street and Joy Sharpe for sharing the load. He also thanked Elisabeth for the work she has come here to do and Holly Byatt who runs the office so well alongside Naomi Assheton who supports her.

Matters Arising from Reports in Report Booklet: No comments

raised

Prepared Questions or Statements: None received.

Any Other Business : None notified.

The meeting concluded at 12.15pm with a prayer and The Grace.

R E P O R T S

Clergy

Rev’d Daniel Bennett

Rector’s Annual Report 2025 (year ending December 2025)

It’s a privilege to be writing my second annual report for St Mark’s as the Rector and the first one that covers an entire year!

During 2025, we have continued to work on three priority areas identified in 2024. First, a desire to see a broader worshipping community with a particular focus on engaging with children and families. Second, a concern – given the church’s location – with making our activities more visible to the local community. Third, strengthening our existing links with the local community by working with our schools and care homes, reaching out to new estates, and supporting mission work.

In terms of the first priority, we have slowly but surely begun to see some considerable growth thanks to the work of Elisabeth, our Children and Families Worker; Rev’d Glenn; and our committed group of volunteers.

We continue to develop our 2nd Sunday All Age Worship, encouraging our children and young people to be involved at every stage of the service. On the other Sundays, we have our St Mark’s Rocks Group for children (0-11) and Teen Talk (11+) (once a month). Attendance by under 16s at our 10am service is up nearly 50% in 2025 from the previous year, and we’ve been delighted to welcome several new young families.

I believe our children enjoy being in church and it’s wonderful to see the friendships that are forming between our core group of children. There are some challenges around what we are able to offer children once they reach secondary school age and having sufficient volunteers to run a separate older children/teenagers group more regularly.

Our children’s and youth work has been supported by a variety of one-off special events such as our Good Friday Messy Church and our Wildlife Count Day in the summer. In October, Elisabeth started up

Little Lions, a new stay-and-play toddler group in the church. It is still in its infancy, but it has already grown into a lovely supportive little community. In the same month, we relaunched our existing Youth Club and managed to secure funding for a Nintendo Switch console to help with this work! The annual Overslade Holiday Club in the summer once again proved very popular and I’m very grateful to Katie Thomas and her family for organising it.

There were two particular highlights at Christmas. The first was our new Carols and Christingle service where we welcomed more than 50 children from the local school choirs to sing with our own choir for the Christingle service. The second, our revamped Crib Service which was co-led by one of our young people.

In terms of the second priority - making the church more visible - we have continued to improve our website and social media offering. Heather Guppy has gradually modernised our existing website over the course of the year. We have also sought to make our communications more far-reaching with our banners, flyers and posters finding their way into a variety of locations around Bilton and beyond. A move to Canva publishing software has also transformed the appearance of our Voice magazine which goes to the local community.

A challenge for us is to be more physically present in the local community, especially in the further reaches of our ever-expanding parish! A small step in this direction was our participation in the reintroduced Remembrance Parade from Bilton Village which we were privileged to be asked to lead. Other community events we organised at church in 2025 included Snowdrop Saturday, Primrose Promenade, and an Autumn Quiz.

Regarding the third priority, we continue to have strong links with our local schools through our involvement in school assemblies and representation on the governing board of the Bilton Community Federation. During December and the Christmas period we had contact with over 1,000 children through school Christmas services, assemblies and the special festive services. Elisabeth and Glenn also worked with the Thrive youth organisation to deliver transition sessions for Year 6 pupils at Bilton Junior School. In November,

Christine Assheton organised a Community Art and Writing competition for schools in the area and the wonderful displays of art were enjoyed by many visitors to the church.

Our Pastoral Team headed up by Angela Maxwell minister to our local care homes through pastoral visiting, home communion and the provision of services. We strengthened the basis of this work with the development and publication of a new Lone Working Policy this year. Our funeral ministry is also highly valued by members of the local community who have suffered bereavement. We continue to support local and overseas mission including the work of CAP, Rugby Foodbank, Deepmore Hostel, Rugby Street Pastors, FWH Creations, Teams4U, and the Geoff and Diannah Charitable Trust.

Our provision of Christian worship in church is in itself a great service to members of the local community especially at Easter, Harvest, ‘In Loving Memory’, Remembrance and Christmas. We have seen numbers for these services growing this year with Carols by Candlelight proving especially popular as usual. I am thankful to organists Phil Johnson and Alexander Hooton; Patsy Howes for leading our choir; and to Ann Hutton and the worship band. Our Sacristan, AV and Welcome Teams are also essential to our worshipping life together. Thank you, as well, to Jasmin Dyer for faithfully leading our Sunday evening Compline service - an important time for us to pray for everything that goes on in church and for our local community.

Exploring a Vision for the Future

This year has also been a year of exploring where we need to go next – both now and in the future. In the summer, the PCC began a piece of work revisiting our vision and our values. An emerging vision is around developing our buildings to improve our options for worship, church activities, and for the benefit of the local community. This would involve the improvement of our buildings to make them more accessible, flexible, practical (additional storage!) and eco-friendly. Some work on the latter was started in 2025 with new LED lighting and draught-proofing in church.

We also re-emphasised our commitment to broadening our range of worshipping styles and deepening our communal life of prayer and discipleship. Welcoming everyone is an important value for us as a church and we continue to reflect on how we can improve our ongoing welcoming, communication and accessibility. We see plenty of scope to reach out to the local community and serve those in need, and a possible starting point is to re-establish deeper links with St Mark’s Court and Deepmore Road Hostel.

Alongside some of these future goals, we do also need to address the challenge of a significant deficit this year (60k+) and we will be looking at encouraging generous giving and increasing our fundraising in 2026.

Farewells and Thank Yous

We have said some farewells in 2025 and experienced some endings/new beginnings. At Easter, our regular Sunday organist Phil Johnson took up a new post at St James the Greater in Leicester, though we still see him for funerals, weddings and evensong!

The Rev’d Joy Sharpe, who has been part of the ministry team at St Mark’s for many years, also decided over the course of the year that she would not renew her Permission-to-Officiate. We thanked her for her licensed ministry at St Mark’s and welcomed a new phase of her ongoing ministry amongst us.

Most sadly in 2025, we mourned the loss of three regular members of our congregation - Greta Burditt, Lesleyann Sprackling and Marion Ainslow - who all made an important contribution to church life. It is worth particularly mentioning Marion, who was still deputy Churchwarden at the time of her death in August, and who had made a significant contribution to the life of St Mark’s and the wider community of Bilton over many decades. Her funeral was attended by people representing organisations from across the local community.

More joyfully in December, we welcomed the new Bishop of Coventry and Warwick, Bishop Sophie, to St Mark’s for a very special and moving service of baptism and confirmation. We rejoiced with all the candidates from around the Rugby Deanery, and especially with the 4

people who were baptised and/or confirmed from St Mark’s. The fruit of a newly established baptism/confirmation course in the summer.

I feel very blessed to be supported in my work as Rector by an extraordinary team of people who are considerable in number. There are so many people who do a lot of work behind the scenes without whom many things would not happen – from the flowers, to church linen, to the church cleaning team, putting up Christmas trees etc. We are also dependent on all those who faithfully pray for St Mark’s.

I’m particularly grateful to Glenn for his ministry, wisdom, advice and reliable presence; to Elisabeth for all her work with children and families this year; and to Rev’d Philip Street for his support with services and funerals. I’m also grateful to the PCC, to churchwarden Christine Assheton and to deputy Churchwarden, Rob Le May for all their work this year. Christine’s commitment to dealing with all things buildings, trees, and faculties is particularly appreciated. A word of thanks also to Jean Stevenson for stepping into the role of Treasurer this year and whose considerable expertise has been very helpful. Sarah Pick and Juliette Crossin have done an excellent job of ensuring we meet our safeguarding obligations and that we are promoting a safer church culture.

Holly Byatt’s excellent management of the parish’s administration with support from Naomi Assheton is also vital to the smooth running of the church.

A final word of thanks to my wife, Victoria and my family, without whom much of my work as Rector would not happen!

With thanks for all that has been in 2025, we look forward to all that will be in the coming year. We pray for our emerging vision for St Mark’s at this time and that God would guide us as we continue to worship God, to welcome all, and to love our local community.

Blessings,

Rev’d Daniel Bennett Rector, St Mark’s Church

Churchwardens

Christine Assheton

The year 2025 was a busy one as usual but it was also one of great sadness after the death of our longstanding Churchwarden Marion Ainslow in August 2025. She was much loved and well known because of her work for and support of the many organisations she was involved with, not just our church but the Rotarians, the Royal British Legion and the young peoples uniformed groups. She is missed and will be remembered always.

During the last year we have had a lot of work done in the churchyard including the March 2025 Restoration of the churchyard gates thanks to a very generous donation and in April 2025 the erection of new memorial stones in the Ruth and Esther beds in the Garden of Remembrance to enable more names to be recorded.

There has been extensive tree surgery during the year such as the pollarding of the Hazel tree near the south porch in November and other trees such as the Sycamores on the edge of the carpark and Holly tree. We also had to have branches removed from the two cedars in the front area of the churchyard. Both trees are now dying and are suffering from branches breaking off which has led to the closure of parts of the car park and the main path at times. They will have a major reduction in the next few months for safety purposes.

My thanks go to the wonderful team of volunteers who give up their Saturday morning to ensure that the churchyard looks beautiful. It was good to welcome our local community to the Snowdrop Saturday in February and the Primrose Promenade in March to enjoy the beautiful display in the churchyard, the church tours and wonderful homemade cakes.

There were also projects undertaken in church. We had a Net Zero Audit paid for by the diocese in January 2025 as well as an inhouse team who had collected valuable data. Both came up with similar ideas for reducing the amount of carbon we use. We chose two ideasthe replacement of all the lighting in the church for LED lighting to reduce both the carbon footprint and the costs and had the older

external doors draughtproofed which should also help to reduce the costs of heating the church. The same doors had a fresh coat of paint this year too. Sadly that was just before the attempted break-in during August, so the main door was scratched as well as the north porch door having a piece hacked out of it.

As the Quinquennial Inspection was undertaken on March 5th, 2026, this will replace the Churchwarden’s Fabric Report for this year. If you would like to read the report it can be sent to you electronically by email.

After the success of the Poppy Cascade in 2024, we used it again during our celebrations for the 80th anniversary of VE Day in May. We needed a different idea this year to attract the community to the church so I proposed that to involve the young people in the area, we could have a poetry and writing competition and ask the schools to take part. Not all of the local schools engaged with it, but we had over 70 pieces of artwork including 5 large class-based pieces and a number of stories and poems entered in the competition. Thank you to the group of people who helped to mount all the art and then place them around the church for us all to enjoy. It was great to welcome the artists, writers and their families and friends on two Saturdays in November for the exhibition and voting for their favourites. Thank you to all the people who served the refreshments and also everyone who made the cakes. The winners in the different categories all received a gift card thanks to the sponsorship of the Rugby Arts Society and the Bilton Poor’s Land Charity. Everyone who entered received a certificate.

Many of the visitors commented that they had never visited the church before. Many of the children had been with us before with their schools for the many school services that happen throughout the year but particularly in the Christmas period. The members of the Welcome Team and other members of the congregation helped me by attending many of these services (8 in 12 days) making sure that the families who came to see their children enjoyed the experience and were made to feel welcome. During the run up to Christmas these school visits enable us to advertise our many services such as

the Christingle, the Crib service, Carols by Candlelight and the Midnight Mass. All of these were well attended and helped to significantly increase our income.

I would like to extend my thanks to all those many people who contribute in any way to make St Marks run smoothly. Without Holly and Naomi, the welcome team, readers, intercessors, chalice assistants, John and Heather for the words on screen, gardeners, deputy warden Rob and duty wardens Angela, John and Penny I would have a very much more difficult role. My thanks also go to Patsy and the choir who enhance the services with their glorious singing. And finally, none of this would be possible without the leadership and guidance of the clergy team Dan, Glenn and Philip.

THANK YOU ALL

Financial Summary[1]

Jean Stevenson

2025 Overall Performance Summary

2025
Outurn		 2024
Outurn		 (Adverse)/
Positve
Movement		 2026
forecast
£000 £000 £000 £000
Income 132 139 (7) 281
Expense 194 165
(29)		 192
Gain/(Loss) for the
year		 (62) (26) (36) 89
Restricted Assets 272 279 (7) 268
Unrestricted Assets 50 105 (55) 143
Total Assets 322 384 (62) 411

1 Throughout the Financial Summary, numbers may be rounded to the nearest £’000 where deemed appropriate

Income

At around £132,000, income is 5.1% (around £7,000) below that of the previous year. This fall is mainly because of timing differences with some income received in January 2026 that referred to the previous year. However, the downward trend in pledged giving continued, although not as significantly as previous years.

Expense

At approximately £194,000, expenses rose by 17.5% (around £29,000) year on year. There were increases in costs (e.g. parish share, salaries, energy, service costs), and some savings in other areas. Some decisions taken on expenditure early in 2025 assumed receipt of funds from a legacy before the year end, however no funds were received in 2025 which led to the large deficit.

Assets

Overall, we made a loss of just over £62,000, £36,000 more than the previous year’s loss. As a result, there was an equivalent drop overall in assets available to the PCC. These now stand at approximately £322,000. This is a healthy financial position, but a significant value of the funds available are restricted in their use and the reserves policy of maintaining at least six months of expenditure in unrestricted funds has been breached.

Future Implications

We expect to shortly receive a large bequest, so there is a large income forecast of £281,000. This means our financial position should improve in 2026, however as this is a one-off sum it should ideally be used for one off expenditure. The bequest should allow us to work on some projects, we still have a significant problem with our basic running costs exceeding our basic income by around £30,000 to £40,000 per annum which urgently needs to be addressed.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank everyone for their contributions; the former Treasurer who has continued to support me, all who work on the PCC, the Parish Office staff, those who organise the repairs, projects,

church activities and maintain links to charities we support as a church. We all join in thanking those who donate, those who organise events to raise funds and those who count the money.

PCC Secretary

Juliette Crossin

We had 6 PCC meetings and 6 Standing Committee meetings during 2025 with a wide range of items being discussed and many approvals made. For anyone wondering what happens behind the scenes in church, becoming a PCC member is a great place to start.

Electoral Roll

Carmel Hyland

A new electoral roll was prepared in 2025 and at the time of the APCM in May there were 137 names on the roll. As of the end of February 2026 there are 138 on roll with 3 added during the year and 2 removed.

Safeguarding

Sarah Pick, PSO

This was my first full year as Parish Safeguarding Officer, having taken on the role in May 2024. The highlights from 2025 for me are: -

DBS Checks

This year we have continued our ongoing programme of requesting DBS checks for new volunteers and the renewals for existing volunteers who undertake “regulated activities” for St Mark’s Church.

Each month I monitor those who may be coming up for renewal / requiring a new DBS check and action accordingly.

We have also seen a change in the DBS Application Checking Service Provider from Access APCS to Thirtyone:eight. This was unfortunately as a result of a data breach which impacted on three of our Church Officers. The contract with the DBS Application Checking Service Provider sits with the Diocese of Coventry and unfortunately the data breach was diocese wide. However, we have provided support, as far as is possible, to our 3 Church Officers who were directly impacted by the date breach.

Safeguarding Training

One of my ongoing actions is to check the Safeguarding Training matrix on a monthly basis to ensure all Church Officers are up to date with their required level of Safeguarding Training which includes the following, as applicable to the individual’s role: -

I also have oversight of the clergy’s records to be able to provide reminders to clergy when their training / DBS checks may be coming up for renewal.

There are a small number of Church Officers within non-regulated activity who, at the current point in time, are unable to complete their online Basic Safeguarding training. However, I am working with these volunteers, and any associated leaders, to provide access to face-toface training options where appropriate.

In my monthly report I report on any outstanding training that is required and seek support from peers to escalate where appropriate.

Safeguarding Dashboard

Again, on an ongoing basis I continue to monitor and update the required safeguarding actions on our Parish Safeguarding Dashboard. These actions ensure that we are up to date with all of our Safeguarding responsibilities. Any outstanding actions are always flagged in my monthly report to Clergy / Churchwardens and in the next PCC meeting report.

Once a year I circulate the action plan that is generated through the Dashboard to PCC and they approve the actions; any Church activities and any non-Church activities that we list in the dashboard. This has just been completed for 2025.

Safer Recruitment

I am delighted to advise that Juliette Crossin became the Safer Recruitment Co-ordinator during 2025 and provides ongoing support in this area. This year we have focussed on reviewing and updating the Safer Recruitment process and conducted a full audit of our safer recruitment records.

During 2025 we safer recruited 7 individuals to various voluntary roles within St Mark’s Church.

Safeguarding Sunday

We once again supported Safeguarding Sunday on 16[th] November 2025 through promoting safeguarding, the importance of training and who to contact with any safeguarding concerns.

Safeguarding Incidents

During 2025 there have been two Safeguarding concerns which required escalation to Diocese. We liaised with Diocese in terms of actions taken in both cases and they continue to be monitored locally within St Mark’s.

Patsy Howes

Rugby Deanery Synod

There are three Deanery Synod meetings held over the synodical year. The last one, generally held in February or March is often too late to be included in the yearly report; this is the case this year but the meeting from March ‘25 is included. Each meeting begins with a keynote talk or other presentation which is pertinent to the deanery as a whole. After a break the deanery business is discussed and this might include a discussion on the Parish Share and other financial matters; news of vacancies and appointments; a report on the Mission Hub or how we are progressing towards Net Zero as a Deanery plus reports from Diocesan Synod or similar. We have three Deanery Synod members: Christine Assheton, Marie Daniel and Patsy Howes.

The March meeting was held at St Gabriel’s, Houlton. The school also acts as the church. The keynote address was given by Matt Jermyn, a Parish Structures and Governance Advisor and he spoke on ‘Structures and the life of the church’. He explained what he did and set the question, ‘What do you love about your church?’ Later he asked, ‘What makes for a great PCC meeting and what makes for a terrible one’? Finally, he asked what our hopes for the future with respect to our churches were. All the way through he was likening the church to a plant which needed nurturing. His parting shot was that churches needed hope and that one should always act before you actually need to.

We were then told a little about St Gabriel’s as a worshipping community and the thing which stood out was that half of the congregation were under 16.

Continuing the theme of Young People, we were told that the proposal for Yr 6 pupils has been developed. It would focus on pupils going to Harris School and would be facilitated by Rev April Gold, Rev Alison Baxter & Helen Bryant. There would be a session in September, hopefully leading to a Worshipping Community. The Thrive Bus, a mobile youth club, was also up and running and it was available for hire.

The meeting in June was held in Holy Trinity, Churchover, part of the Revel Parish group. The group contains 6 churches and only has one

ordained minister. That means that much of the worship is lay led. Worship comes in a variety of forms including Cafe Church and Outdoor Church (sort of Messy Church but outside)

The keynote address was by Rev Neil Masih ‘Racial justice developments in Coventry Diocese &

beyond’; Neil is the Intercultural Mission Enabler for the Coventry Diocese. He explained his background and current work. A particular focus is on The CoE ‘Lament to Action’ report and its implementation in the Diocese of Coventry. Currently steps are being taken to increase participation, in particular exchange visits between parishes of differing profiles.

We then had the opportunity to discuss what we could do in our parish.

After the break Rev April Gold & Rev Alison Baxter gave an update on the ‘Stepping Up’ – Year 6 Transition Project. There would be sessions in each of the CofE schools in the Deanery, commencing on 9th June. This would be followed by a Summer Event at Harris CofE Academy on 31st August which would include the ‘Thrive’ bus as a base for activities.

Each parish was requested to provide 2 volunteers to support this event. Once a new Harris School Chaplain had been appointed it is planned to start a Christian Group in the School.

Whilst most of the costs have been covered, there was still a shortfall of £350 so each benefice with a CofE school in it was requested to provide £50 to support this innovative initiative.

Rev Alison Baxter gave an update on the Greenhouse Project which was launched on 3rd March. There are 2 meetings per year, and the first meeting was attended by 7 churches.

Rev Steve Gold said how encouraged he was by all of the good things happening in the Deanery. Rev Diane Bussey was to be installed as Associate Minister at Brownsover on Tuesday 10th June.

The November meeting was held at St Peter’s and St John’s, Rugby.

The Keynote address was on “Going to Prison” with some insights being given by our Prison Chaplains, Rosemary Lowden and Charles Ndigirwa. They operate at Rye Hill, a Category C Prison 6 miles from Rugby with 1122 male inmates. Its nearest church is at Grandborough. It is served by a multi-faith team of 15 chaplains who are both full and part-time. Charles is from Tanzania and has been in the UK with his family since 2004. He explained his faith

journey and how he had felt called to volunteer at Leicester Prison. He proceeded to ordination and felt called to Prison Chaplaincy. He was ordained in 2024 and began work at Rye Hill.

He described his work which included the induction of new inmates, running Bible studies and Alpha Courses, baptisms, supporting bereavements and supporting staff. In short helping people to change through God. It was also important to understand the impact of prison upon prisoners’ families. Rosemary addressed the question of ‘How can we Help?’ and explained various opportunities available such as praying; volunteering to visit; sitting in on Bible studies; attending Sunday services; chatting with prisoners or becoming an official Prison Visitor to name but a few.

The presentation concluded with a recorded testimony from a released prisoner.

Rev Steve Gold explained that he had stepped down from the role of Area Dean and would be retiring from ordained ministry at Easter 2026. He would, however, continue as Deanery Treasurer until that point. Bishop Sophie has asked Rev Edmund Newey to take on the role of Acting Area Dean.

Rev Alison Baxter gave an update on the Year 6 Transition project. (Stepping Up)

The initiative was a great success and was concluded by an End of Year Reunion on 30th August and included a ‘Top Ten tips’ to adapt to the transition. The main question now is to decide upon the next steps.

Rev Baxter also provided a report on the work of the Mission Hub, which now has initiatives in 11 churches within the Deanery.

Rev Steve Gold presented the proposed Parish Share for 2026. The Diocese has held the cost of

Ministry at 2025 levels but the Deanery has a lower rebate of fees from occasional offices. Overall

there is a proposed increase of 1.6% across the Deanery which has been adjusted depending upon whether the benefice is a net contributor or beneficiary. We at Bilton are net contributors, in fact we are the biggest contributor.

Rev Edmund Newey announced that, in addition to Rev Steve Gold’s retirement, Rev Alan Hulme will be retiring at Easter 2026 and that Rev Ian Sweeney had been installed at Dunchurch, which means that (temporarily) all posts within the Deanery have been filled.

Helen Simmonds advised that she wished to progressively step down as Lay Dean.

The next meeting is in March 2026.

Worship Commitee Patsy Howes

Worship Committee have met four times since the last APCM - May 2025, July 2025, September 2025 and January 2026 and March 2026.

Standing items at Worship Committee are AV; a review of services held especially at festival times; planning ahead for the next few months, and the work of our Children and Families Worker, Elisabeth. Elisabeth, our Children and Families Worker, has joined the Worship Committee but we are keen to expand the group further.

The AV in general seems to be working with few niggles. The need for more AV operators continues and another person is being trained to be able to put services together on Presenter as Heather Guppy is moving.

The review of the services showed that numbers continue to hold up compared to previous years and that big services such as the Carols by Candlelight were approaching pre-Covid numbers. The challenge

continues to be on how to build on those numbers and to keep in touch with those who only come at Christmas or other similar times.

The review of services and what works and what could be done better has identified that when a service begins outside such as the Easter Day Communion then something needs to be on the screen as a way of connection for the those online or remaining in church due to being unable to go outside.

Reviewing the work of Elisabeth and her team shows that relationships with schools continue to be good and this year there was an afternoon Christingle service to which the Federation Schools were invited. The number of youngsters and families attending church has risen but they don’t all come on the same Sunday. The various groups are growing and it would be good to have some more helpers.

The pool of intercessors has increased; thank you to those who do such meaningful intercessions.

The big item for discussion over a number of meetings has been the Prayer Ministry of the church. How do we pray as a church? How can we expand our prayer ministry? Should we offer just prayers for healing or should it be a wider remit? When, where and how should it take place? More work needs to be done here to ensure that we get it right.

Welcome Team

Marie Daniel

We continue to have 2-3 people Welcoming at the 10.00am Sunday service and the team were there for all of the Christmas Services.

We are planning to meet on 19[th] February to think about how our welcome could be further developed and one of the first pieces of work will be to come up with ideas on what would be useful to include in a Welcome Pack, for all new members of St Marks. This could include a children and a young persons’ version.

Everyone has been reminded about the requirement to complete Basic Safeguarding Training which is required for this role and they have been supported by our Safeguarding Offer, Sarah Pick. There are face to face

training sessions, being held in Hillmorton, which two of the team are attending.

Prayer Support Group

Rev’d Joy Sharpe & Heather Guppy

The Prayer Support Group is made up of 31 people, who are committed to pray regularly for others. In the footsteps of Christ, whose ministry on earth involved many acts of healing, we pray in strictest confidence for those in need, whether that be for healing, or any other support need. Prayer requests can be urgent or long-term.

As well as individual prayer requests, we also include prayer requests for the world around us, families of the bereaved, our church groups and mission links.

The group receive fortnightly updates of current prayer requests, and where an urgent prayer is asked for, via one-off emails.

We take data protection seriously and ensure that any requests for prayer have come directly from the person concerned (or from their next of kin if the person is unable to make the request themselves.) We also only send out information strictly relevant and as provided by the person requesting our prayers. We trust that God knows about the situation being prayed for and simply hold that person in our prayers.

If you would like to make a prayer request or would like to join the Prayer Support Group, then please email:

stmarksprayersupportgroup@gmail.com

Healing Prayer Team Helen Powell

The healing team has prayed for the sick, those who are suffering in body, mind and spirit for many years. Traditionally we met on Thursdays in the Church Centre, but this ceased in 2020 and since then we have met with Beryl, first at her home and now in Woodville House on alternate Thursdays.

In Matthew 18 v20 Jesus said “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” James 5:13-14 says “Is any one of you suffering? He should pray… Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him…”. Although we were unable to continue laying on of hands in church, we have continued to meet as a small group and we know that He is with us as we pray. Recently some of us have also prayed for members of St Mark’s in their own homes.

Our group as it is now will not resume healing prayers in church in the manner that we used to do, but the private prayers after the service on 4th Sundays commencing sometime this year will replace what we used to do.

Members of the healing team are Beryl Weare, Lauren Beadle, Elaine Colin, Ann Kenyon, and Helen Powell.

Choir and Organ Patsy Howes

The year 2025 - 2026 has been another busy year for the choir. However, it has also been one of challenges. As has been said in several previous reports, the need for members of all ages and in all voice parts remains. This year we have had a number of people who have been absent long term due to illness; John Evans has retired from the choir and we thank him for all that he has given to the choir, and our Juniors ( Olivia and Jonathan) have grown up and because of school commitments they are not able to be part of the choir other than during school holidays. This has meant that on some Sunday mornings we have not been able to field four parts nor a communion motet. Sometimes, with a bit of editing and with support from the organ a communion motet has been pulled like a rabbit from a hat but this is becoming increasingly difficult. On occasions a communion motet has had to be replaced with an extra communion hymn.

This situation is something which needs addressing otherwise in the not-too-distant future there will not be a viable SATB choir. We recognise that people cannot attend every week and having a bigger pool of members means that when someone is ill, away on holiday or

visiting family we are not suddenly left with a complete voice part missing.

However, when the choir is at full strength then they have produced some memorable services such as the Advent Service of Light; Nine lessons and Carols; the Good Friday and Easter Sunday services; In Loving Memory and the Deanery Confirmation Service. Sometimes we have been supported by our friends from other churches and for the Remembrance Day Service we produce a good sound with the help of former choristers coming back from Norway and Hungary!

We have continued to welcome our friends from other churches in the area to our monthly Choral Evensongs or Parish Evensongs. Without them our choice of music would be somewhat limited. In the Parish Evensong we hope that the congregation will join us in the singing of the responses, psalm, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis as well as the hymns.

In the summer we had our annual away weekend; this time we went further afield and had a weekend at Christchurch Priory. We were joined by former choristers and friends and were able to field a very competent choir. Christchurch enjoyed our visit as did we and at the end Jonathan was paid the ultimate compliment with ‘that was one of the best solos I have heard here in a long time’. No Christchurch, you cannot have him!!

At Easter we said a sort of farewell to Phil Johnson as he moved to become part of the organist’s team at St James the Greater in Leicester. He has not completely left us and generally plays for Choral Evensong and the occasional Sunday morning service. Ben Tanner also finished around Easter as he was preparing for A levels and is now organ scholar at Chichester Cathedral. Tamsin Scammell has had to take a step back for a variety of reasons. That being said we have not been without an organist. Alexander Hooton has become our organist, and he has come on by leaps and bounds. He plays for most of our choir practices and Sunday morning services and has played for many of the big services - Nine Lessons, Advent etc. I would like to thank him for all his hard work. Alexander has been supported by

Sam Horton when he is home from university, Mel Green who has stepped in at the last minute on a number of occasions, Peter Lock who has helped out at choir practices and a new member to the team, Che Gayton, who has played for us when not playing at his home church in Wigston. What the scene will look like after August is anyone’s guess as Alexander will be off to university.

The organ generally behaves itself and it is looked after by Richard Young with the help of Peter Lock and Phil Johnson. It has required some TLC as the ivory on some of the keys has become loose and for a while it was held on by Blutac. Our organ gets a lot of use and is played as an organ but it is over 25 years since the organ was refurbished and had a good clean; an overhaul is needed and is potentially in the pipeline so that the organ remains in good shape for the next 25 years.

We do still have a small number of people who can sing at funerals during the week but they have rarely been needed in the last twelve months.

My thanks go to our small band of dedicated members of the choir as without their attendance on a Friday evening, sometimes early on a Sunday morning and at the services themselves we would not have a choir.

Looking to the future: our current Juniors have grown up. We would like to restart the Junior section but for this to happen we need a group of youngsters to join at the same time. The Juniors would practice on Friday 6.45 - 8.00 with the adults coming from 7.30 - 8.45. The Juniors receive a good musical training and receive a little bit of pocket money for their work. Music in all its forms is such a wonderful way to worship so a little plea, please help us to find some more members for all sections of the choir. We are a friendly bunch and welcome all who would like to join us. Maybe you would like to join as a family; maybe you know a family who sings and would like to be part of the choir. We need your help if the choir is to continue in any form.

Music Group

Ann Hutton

Music group continue to support the All-Age Worship Services on the 2nd Sunday of the month. The group currently consists of 4 key members Sam (vocals), John (bass), Lorna (drums) and Ann (keyboard). We have welcomed the support of Andy on Sax at some of our services. Music group usually rehearse on the Saturday before the service and would be happy to welcome more members.

Children and Families Worker

Elisabeth Jeyasingh

Little Lions Baby and Toddler group

After the closure of Lionhearts in 2024 we wanted to start a new Baby and Toddler group, and Little Lions opened in October 2025. We meet in the church on Tuesday mornings, and everyone appreciates the beautiful building and the calm atmosphere. The children love being in the big space and are fascinated by their surroundings especially the windows and the colourful lights. A group of grandparents and grandchildren quickly became ‘regulars’ and each week are joined by younger mothers. The children enjoy a morning of play and fun and we try to provide physical, emotional, and spiritual refreshment for the adults through good coffee/tea and pastries, time to talk to friends old and new, and a ‘thought for the day’. As the group grows, we need more helpers either to chat to the adults and play with the children or ‘just’ to make drinks and chat to the adults so if you are free on Tuesday mornings (not necessarily every week) please get in touch with Elisabeth.

St Mark’s Rocks

We officially marked the change of name from Junior Church to St Mark’s Rocks with a party at the beginning of January 2025. The children enjoyed craft and science activities; made their own pizzas; and then ate them along with lots of delicious cakes provided by members of the church.

The group is growing in size as we see more families with young children attending more regularly. Numbers continue to be boosted from time to time by visiting friends or grandchildren of members of the congregation. We have children in the group from the age of 3 up to the end of Year 6 and they all enjoy being part of a group where older children help the younger ones.

We meet every Sunday in term-time except the second Sunday of the month when it is our all-age service. Our leaders Catherine, Louise and Elisabeth choose activities to fit in with the church year or the lectionary so that what the children are learning fits in with the readings and sermons the adults hear in church.

Special things we have done have included cards for Mothering Sunday; making cakes and holding a cake sale to support Christian Aid week; making Advent candles at the start of Advent; and ending the year with our spectacular all-age nativity in December!

Most of the children from St Mark’s Rocks come to our All-age services and enjoy singing and joining in with the action songs, occasional dramatic roles, reading from the Bible and leading prayers.

Youth Club

The group has continued to meet on the second Friday evening of the month. We have appreciated the support of James Yates from Thrive Youth Ministries, and in late January/early February Katie Thomas and one young person attended Thrive Basecamp in Shropshire. We enjoyed a variety of activities in the Church Centre such as table tennis, Jenga, Uno and other games as well as football in the rec’. In July we had a bowling evening at Strikes in Rugby.

We had a boost in numbers in the autumn as our young people moved up to High School. A generous donation from the Mustard Seed fund enabled us to buy a Nintendo Switch and the young people enjoy using this to play games on the enormous screen in the Upper Room. We ended the year by spending an evening waiting on tables and generally helping out at Crackerteria.

Messy Church

Good Friday brought a busy morning celebrating Easter with over 20 children and their families. We had crafts and activities designed to help us tell the story of the first Easter from Palm Sunday to Good Friday to Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday such as palm crosses to wave, decorative crosses, ‘tomb’ made from biscuits and icing and cards to give to friends and family. There was even a pancake race in the north aisle! We also made an Easter garden for the steps to the font using rocks, moss and plants from the churchyard.

We then had drinks and hot cross buns before finishing the morning with the Easter story - the story of a real-life superhero, Jesus.

We also held ‘Wildlife Hunt and Worship’ in June. This was similar to a Messy Church event but held outdoors in the churchyard as part of ‘Love your Burial Ground week’. We had opportunities for arts and crafts, built bug hotels and looked for different forms of wildlife in the churchyard.

Schools work

Local primary schools visited the church throughout the year for services at Easter, at the end of the summer term, for Harvest and for Christmas. Harris school also held their end of summer term leavers’ service at St Mark’s.

Schools are also welcome to visit the church as part of their RE curriculum or history work. The Crescent school visited in May to learn about the history of the church and Bilton Infants School came in December. Bawnmore Infants School had a picnic in the churchyard as an end of term treat for those about to leave the school.

The clergy and Elisabeth also visit the schools to lead assemblies at Lent, Easter, harvest and Christmas. In the summer term Glenn and Elisabeth worked with James Yates from Thrive Youth Ministries to deliver a programme called ‘Stepping up’ to support transitions for the Year 6s about to leave primary school and start at high school.

Teen Talk

Tim Holton

Teen Talk meet during the 10am service on the third Sunday of the month and consists of up to 4 secondary age youngsters led by Nikki Sammon and Tim Holton. The format during 2025 has continued to be informal, group-led and relational, covering topics as diverse as Science, the Romans and Christmas.

During the year several young people have moved on for various reasons and we have welcomed others, but numbers have dropped overall. Swaraj Jeyesingh joined us to help lead. Nikki's last session as leader was in January 2026 and we will greatly miss her faithful commitment and organisational skills. The group dynamics have shifted and we are now looking at using lectionary-based materials to guide our content. Last year we reported that we would like to increase the frequency of meetings but we have not had sufficient leaders to achieve this. With Nikki's departure we particularly need a new female leader.

Please pray that we are open to God's leading as we seek to be an accessible and useful part of St Mark's Church.

Wider Church Youth Work

Katie Thomas

A Holiday club was held during the summer holidays for a week at the Overslade Community Centre. Between 40-50 children came daily to play games, do crafts, sing Christian songs, and hear bible stories. Rotary kindly provided a picnic lunch for all the children, and we were very grateful for a grant from Bilton Poor fund. A wonderful time was had, and we trust that seeds of Faith were sown in the children’s hearts. We are very grateful to the many adults and young people who volunteer their time to help.

Schools Report

Sandra Bevan

Primary school class visits in 2025

In 2025 fewer schools visited the church to learn about Christianity. During the year three local schools arranged for infant classes to visit. About 140 children came to enjoy searching for church treasures e.g. the bible, angels, stained glass etc. Gill Clark, Sandra Bevan and Elisabeth.

Bilton Churches Together

Angela Maxwell

The four churches in Bilton (St Mark’s, Bilton Evangelical Church, the Methodists Church and Sacred Heart RC Church) plan and organise the World Day of Prayer Service together under the leadership of Pat Biddle from BEC. Sandra Bevan and I represent St Marks on the organising group and we are delighted that other members of St Marks have been involved in the services. In November 2024 we attended the preparation day where we learn about the country that is the focus of the service and the resources that are needed.

The service was held at Sacred Heart RC church on the first Friday in March 2025 and was written by the women of the Cook Islands. The theme was from psalm 139 “I made you wonderful.” We met in February to make paper flowers to turn into floral headdresses for those involved in the service and the church looked very colourful with a canoe and flowers at the centre of the decorations.

We learned of the challenges for women in the Cook Islands, which came from being discouraged from speaking their language in school, having to leave their islands for higher education and the fear when covid came into the islands but doctors returning home to work helped in meeting these challenges and improved child health considerably. We learned that climate change and the global economy were broader threats as young people left for education and work and many did not return and other countries sought to buy their fishing and mineral rights. The service was well attended; we had some joyous songs to sing and tea and cake to enjoy together afterwards.

The service in 2026 is written by the women of Nigeria and we are looking forward to celebrating this country and hearing more about its challenges.

Pastoral Team

Angela Maxwell

The Pastoral Team has continued to meet regularly to discuss how to support people in the parish. We reviewed and updated a risk assessment and lone working policy which were approved by PCC so that we have a clear set of guidance that members of the team can refer to. We ensured that other safeguarding paperwork and training was up to date with the help of Sarah Pick.

We are available to visit people who need a friendly face and time to talk but also keep in touch with people in other ways. We are keen to ensure that we support the welcomers in getting to know people when they start to come to St Marks. People within the team will bring communion to those too unwell to get church to join our services. The contact details for Angela Maxwell (Pastoral Team Coordinator) are on the website and in the weekly news sheet. If there is an individual or general need that you think we might be able to help with, please get in touch.

Home Groups

Jasmin Dyer

Six home groups meet at various venues across the parish on a fortnightly basis, some meeting in the afternoons whilst others gather in the evenings. It is in these smaller groups of about ten people that we have further opportunity to forge friendships and to enjoy each other’s company.

Typically, each meeting begins with refreshments and time to chat. The study portion of the session is often centred around a passage of Scripture or a biblical theme. During the year, our studies have ranged from a discussion of the viewpoints raised in the book entitled ‘Wild, Bright Hope’ (CofE publication Lent 2005) to a series of studies within the book of Acts. Taking time to consider the formation and

practices of the early Church, we also thought about our own practices and the place of the Church within our community. Currently we are exploring aspects of St Matthew’s Gospel. The meetings close with prayer, giving us time to reflect and to thank God for his great love.

Visitors and new members are very welcome. Please speak to Dan or to Glenn for further information.

Bible Reading Fellowship Wendy Brewer

We now have 27 subscriptions. I believe the slight decrease in numbers is partly because of the availability of the notes online, which may be more convenient for some readers.

The subscription period runs from 1 May to 30 April and copies may be collected from Church or delivered (by Sue or Wendy) to those not attending, for any reason. There are three issues per year (the other two beginning in September and January). New subscribers can be added before any of the three Issues are ordered (three months before the readings begin). Different titles are available as follows:

New Daylight has a daily printed Bible passage, a commentary and prayer or reflection, written by different authors. The easy presentation is suited to people with a busy lifestyle to help them spend time with God each day (also available in large print version).

Guidelines generally offers fortnightly units on a particular theme, with an introduction, Bible references and daily notes, ending with a section with points for thought and prayer. This publication is particularly useful for those taking an active role in the ministry of the Church.

Day by Day with God provides daily a short, printed Bible passage, explained and applied especially for women, by women who have themselves found the Bible a source of strength and inspiration for life.

Our preferred subscription method is as follows. We would like payment to be made directly to the church account. Details are

contained in the May to August copy each year, where other payment methods are also described. Anyone wishing to add their name to the list of subscribers should contact Wendy Brewer or Sue Bond.

Friends of St Mark’s

Celestine Banks

The group was established to bring together members and friends of St Mark’s in fellowship and friendship by arranging social events throughout the calendar year and to use any donations raised from these events to support the work of St Mark’s Church.

In May 2025 we held our AGM and this was quickly followed by our first event of the year. Our 25th Anniversary Event was held in Church on 29 June. We contributed to the 10am service and hosted a Bring and Share Picnic afterwards which included a celebration cake and, as you can imagine, many other sweet and savoury treats! Our Welcome to Advent lunch was held in Church on 29 November and was, again, very well supported. We would like to thank the members of the Friends of St Mark’s, members of the congregation and the local community for your support this year.

The monetary donations received at our events have enabled the Friends to continue to support St Mark’s Church, most recently in the purchase of new storage for Church Centre. We have also made a commitment to fund further choir robes as and when they are needed. We are eager to finance requests from the clergy in respect of any support we can provide which would assist them in their duties or for the fabric of the Church.

Since June 2024, the key positions of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson have remained vacant. The Committee organised fewer events during 2025 but have new events planned for 2026. We move forward, working as a team, and we have been delighted to welcome Dodie and Alex onto the Committee this year. If you feel you have what it takes to fulfil either of our vacant roles, then please contact one of the members of the Committee listed below. We would be delighted to hear from you!!

Current Commitee:

Chair - Vacant Vice Chair - Vacant Secretary - Celestine Banks Treasurer - Diane Holmes Ex Officio member - Rev. Glenn Lowde Co-opted member – Dodie Montford PCC members - Christine Assheton and Alex Lover Committee members - Elizabeth Barlow, George Sherman,

Events Team

There is no longer a specific Events Team. Several social events have been organised during 2025. Please see the Churchwarden’s, Christian Aid and Friends of St Mark’s reports for information on a few of these events.

A quiz night was held in church in October it was a great evening. Lots of teams competed. Thank you to Andy Whitford for organising and hosting the quiz, to all those who helped with food and setting up and everyone who gave so generously to church funds.

Bell Ringers

Andrew Barker

Those of you who remember last year’s report will remember our attempts to ring a quarter peal of the fiendishly difficult method, Bilton Treble Place Doubles, composed by David, our Tower Captain. We did persevere, but success has eluded us! Undaunted, David presented us with a new challenge – a method based on a 17th Century inscription on the wall of the church in Imber, on Salisbury Plain. This method, Historic Imber Treble Place Doubles, was successfully rung in November.

In February we supported Snowdrop Saturday with a good number of people coming into the ringing chamber to have a go on the bells.

In April a quarter peal was rung to celebrate the 80th Birthday of one of our ringers, Gerry. The band included 4 members of his family.

In May and August we joined with ringers throughout the country by ringing our bells to celebrate the 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ day respectively.

In July a full peal (around 3 hours ringing) was rung on our bells by a band including Anthony Bulteel, who learnt to ring at Bilton in 1968.

Most of you will have heard us ringing for the 10.00 am Sunday service, which we do nearly every week – although we don’t always manage to ring all 6 bells. If you think you could help us out with this, have a word with David on a Sunday morning, or come and see us on a Monday evening between 7.30 and 9.00.

We have continued our cooperation with St Botolph’s, Newbold by supporting each other’s practice nights.

Churchyard

Sandra Bevan

It has been another busy year in the churchyard. Churchyard gardeners continue to create a beautiful setting for the church, a peaceful place where people can remember their loved ones and a space where nature has a home. The weather has not been kind to plants and wildlife with prolonged periods of drought and high temperatures in the Spring and Summer. New trees and saplings required special care but all survived.

What did we do in 2025?

Our regular jobs of mowing, sweeping, raking hay, pruning, weeding, edging flowerbeds, planting, making leaf mould, dead hedging, mulching, watering, sowing seeds, picking up litter etc.

After Christmas a big job is removing about 200 spent floral tributes. Sorting plastic from plant waste and recycling them correctly takes time and patience. Thank you to those who take their tributes home to recycle. It was pleasing to see that the number of tributes made entirely from festive greenery and tied with compostable string, using

no plastic has increased. It is moving to see how many people come to the churchyard to remember their loved ones.

We completed clearing the former dump of plastic, made a dead hedge with discarded branches next to the fence and planted a living hedge of British natives such as blackthorn in the area. We dug in big logs to provide habitat for beetles. Most of the area remains a mini wilderness of nettles, encircled by trees and favoured by such birds as tits.

We dead hedged the Church Christmas tree and broken branches from churchyard trees.

Snowdrops continued to be lifted and replanted in clumps to increase their numbers. Snowdrop Saturday on February 8th was successful despite of some earlier varieties of snowdrops just about being over. In March we introduced another open morning "Primrose Promenade". The popularity of these mornings owes much to cake, coffee, bell ringing opportunities, tours of the church and a warm welcome. Thanks to all involved.

The yellow rattle seed planted in the Eastern meadow in 2023 flowered again and more was planted in August in 2024 and this flowered in 2025. More seed was planted in August 2025 in the area to the rear of the East window making it easier to be seen by passersby. It is an unassuming plant with little hairy, rattle like leaves and is parasitic decreasing the fertility of the grass and hopefully helping wildflowers to thrive.

Broken wooden benches were repaired by a member of the team.

Trees are stressed by both very hot weather and excess rainfall and in recent years have been subject to both. Several large branches, particularly from the lovely, old cedars and sycamores at the front of the church have broken off and fallen in the car park or on the front lawn. Arborists were called in to help manage the problem.

St Mark's churchyard has been recognised as a conservation area by the National Butterfly Conservation Wild Spaces organisation. We are listed on the national Butterfly conservation WILD SPACES website and have a certificate! Butterflies that enjoy the varied habitats in the

churchyard include brimstone yellow, orange tip, meadow brown, holly blue, speckled wood, gatekeeper, red admiral and peacock and cinnabar moths. Wet weather in 2024 had drastically decreased butterfly numbers across the UK but the hot summer apparently restored them a little bit. I saw all those butterflies listed in the churchyard in 2025.

Of course, our volunteers cannot undertake all the churchyard work and from March - October there is a four-hour monthly visit from an excellent paid gardener. He is also employed to strim the meadows. The Eastern meadow is strimmed monthly from the end of AugustOctober. The Northern Spring meadow is strimmed monthly MayOctober. The churchyard gardeners rake the cut grass to make hay piles and would welcome more help with this. The extensive hedge bordering the car park is also cut by contractors.

One thing we need to provide in 2026 is a water supply for wildlife and practical suggestions about how to do this would be appreciated.

Finally, my special thanks to all the Churchyard gardeners who donate not only their time, energy and skills but often use their own tools and donate petrol for machinery or plants or seeds for example.

If you would like to join our team of 12 members message Sandra Bevan on 07762 676654 or simply turn up at 10 am on a Saturday morning. We also need more people to survey birds, butterflies, moths, insects, wildflowers and take photos etc. It would be wonderful to have a photographic record of the churchyard through the seasons and a record of our flora and fauna. Can you help?

AV Team

Holly Byatt

Streamed and recorded services continue at St Mark’s and allow those who otherwise cannot attend in person, to stay connected with St Mark’s Church. We are grateful to Dan, Glenn, John Howes and Heather Guppy who prepare the slides for each service, this takes considerable time.

We have welcomed Bill Stevenson to the AV team who has picked things up quickly and thank him for volunteering. Bill is a regular AV operator with the rest of the team; Ian Maxwell, Tim Holton, Alex Lover, Heather Guppy and Ruby Byatt. We thank them all.

Thank you also to the Funeral/Wedding Vergers who are increasingly required to operate the equipment.

Sadly, Heather is moving away and will be missed greatly. We say thank you for everything Heather has done especially her technical expertise/wizardry with the AV equipment, the website, ChurchDesk and so much more. Alex Lover has kindly stepped in to take over preparing those slides for services which Heather would normally have done.

We welcome anyone who would like to be involved with the AV team. Please contact the office if you would like to learn more:

stmarks-bilton@outlook.com

Cleaning Team – ‘The Holy Dusters’ Pauline Graham

First of all, I would like to thank the ‘Holy Dusters’ for all their hard work.

We have had a few changes in volunteers this year. Some new faces and some shuffling of pairs due to ill health etc.

For a short time, this left us short of pairs for the rota. We changed to a three weekly clean which we found still worked well, thanks to groups using the church, continuing to clean/clear up after their meetings. For this we are very grateful and it is much appreciated.

Now we are back up to six pairs of Holy Dusters, it also means that we don’t have to call on our volunteers quite as often!

Thank you all again.

Christan Aid

Penny Street

As in 2024, the St Mark’s Christian Aid Campaign for 2025 began in February with the kind donation of the proceeds from Snowdrop Saturday, so we started the year with £343.70. This was then followed a few weeks later by the proceeds from the raffle at The Primrose Promenade which gave us another £69 and our total was increased to £412.70.

In March, as usual, the preparations started for Christian Aid Week, a special year this time because it was the 80th Anniversary Year. The resources, ie the envelopes, posters, envelope and bucket labels etc were ordered, the ‘Street Boards’ put out into church for people to sign up to deliver on their chosen road or roads, as they have become accustomed over the last few years, the collection points checked on, and things seemed to be going to plan. But then as time went by, I became a bit anxious because there was a delay in the dispatching of the resources which caused me concern about getting the envelopes prepared in time for the start of Christian Aid Week. Happily, they arrived just in time and our wonderful teams of volunteers set to with labelling and counting, as in previous years, and everything was ready.

The number of deliverers was the same as last year; we had lost a few and gained a few. 119 roads were covered, which was 1 more than last year, our highest number yet, and took in some extra ones in Cawston in the Elborow Way development, thanks to a new volunteer, and a couple of different ones on the Ashlawn Road development.

Bilton Methodist Church supported us again, Bawnmore School children took envelopes home and the collection points were the same as last year.

The online giving page or e-envelope raised £1317.50 including gift aid

The delivered envelopes raised £1693.50

And gift aid from them raised £ 264.25 St Mark’s Rocks Bake Sale raised £ 144.48

Which came to a brilliant £3420.13

So, a big thank you to everyone who was involved in any away.

This means that our contribution to the Rugby and District 2025 C A Campaign was altogether £3832.83 and was a credit to the people of St Mark’s parish for their generosity and support in another year where, once again, the general financial situation in the UK was uncertain and many people were experiencing hardship.

As usual, Rugby and District CA Coordinator Walter Goodman has sent his thanks and good wishes for our efforts and I also received a ‘thank you’ phone call from Christian Aid Central Offices expressing their gratitude for all we have done in the last year to support and promote the cause.

Once again, well done everyone.

The Voice – Bilton’s Parish Magazine Louise Rouledge & Alex Lover

The Voice is Bilton’s Parish Magazine packed with information about events in church and the wider community, reflective pieces, reviews, puzzles, activities, poems, prayers and of course, some jokes. It remains a good way for those who don’t attend church to gain an understanding of what goes on and stay connected with the parish. Ten editions of the magazine are produced each year, and we are grateful to the printers and distributers who perform this role. The magazine has recently had a new look as we’ve moved to Canva to produce the content. Thanks also to David Price, the proof-reader. Thanks also to the team of contributors who provide the content for the magazine. We are always happy for suggestions for new articles or features or to advertise events in the community.

Alex Lover continues to print the hard copies every month, which we are extremely grateful for.

The number of paper magazines being distributed fell during the year by 16 to 213. The magazines were distributed through 23 very kind and welcomed distributors.

Several advertisers continue to support the magazine through their advertisement; we thank them gratefully. This year we have been fortunate for a second advertiser to pay for a full-page advert.

ST MARK'S CHURCH, BILTON, RUGBY Charity number 1137095

Annual Financial Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2025

Rector

Rev'd. Daniel Bennett

Associate Minister Rev'd. Glenn Lowde

Bank

Lloyds Bank PLC Church Street Rugby CV21 3PH

Independent Examiner

Mr Brian Cheney 358 Newbold Road Rugby CV21 1EG

Page 1

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

Page 2 2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

Table of Contents

1
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 5
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 5
2
Financial Statement Year on Year ................................................................................. 6
2.1 Financial Statement Year on Year - Commentary .................................................. 7
3
Performance versus Budget ........................................................................................... 8
3.1 Performance versus budget - Commentary ........................................................... 9
4
Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31/12/2025 ........................................................ 10
4.1 Statement of Assets and Liabilities (Commentary) ............................................... 11
5
Movements of Funds ................................................................................................... 12
5.1 Explanation of Movements................................................................................... 13
6
Further Notes to the Accounts ...................................................................................... 14
6.1 2025 Financial Statement by Line item, for each type of income & expense ........ 15
6.2 Donations To charities ......................................................................................... 17
6.3 Payments to the Diocese for funds collected on their behalf ................................ 17
6.4 Energy Consumption ........................................................................................... 18
6.5 Accounting Policies ............................................................................................. 18
6.5.1
Accounting Conventions .................................................................................. 18
6.5.2
Reserves policy ............................................................................................... 19
6.5.3
Restricted Funds Policy ................................................................................... 19
7
2026		 Budget ................................................................................................................ 20
8
Examiners Report ........................................................................................................ 21

Page 3

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

Page 4 2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

1 Summary

2025 Overall Performance Summary

Income
Expense
Gain/(Loss) for the year
Restricted Assets
Unrestricted Assets
Total Assets		 2025
Outturn
2024
Outturn
(Adverse)/
Positive
Movement
2026
forecast
£000
£000
£000
£000
132
139
(7)
281
194
165
(29)
192
(62)
(26)
(36)
89
272
279
(7)
268
50
105
(55)
143
322
384
(62)
411

Income

At around £132,000, income is 5.1% (around £7,000) below that of the previous year. This fall is mainly because of timing differences with some income received in January 2026 that referred to the previous year. However, the downward trend in pledged giving continued, although not as significantly as previous years.

Expense

At approximately £194,000, expenses rose by 17.5% (around £29,000) year on year. There were increases in costs (e.g. parish share, salaries, energy, service costs), and some savings in other areas. Some decisions taken on expenditure early in 2025 assumed receipt of funds from a legacy before the year end, however no funds were received in 2025 which led to the large deficit.

Assets

Overall, we made a loss of just over £62,000, £36,000 more than the previous year’s loss. As a result, there was an equivalent drop overall in assets available to the PCC. These now stand at approximately £322,000. This is a healthy financial position, but a significant value of the funds available are restricted in their use and the reserves policy of maintaining at least six months of expenditure in unrestricted funds has been breached.

Future Implications

We expect to shortly receive a large bequest, so there is a large income forecast of £281,000. This means our financial position should improve in 2026, however as this is a one-off sum it should ideally be used for one off expenditure. Whilst the bequest should allow us to work on some projects, we still have a significant problem with our basic running costs exceeding our basic income by around £30,000 to £40,000 per annum which urgently needs to be addressed.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank everyone for their contributions; the former Treasurer who has continued to support me, all who work on the PCC, the Parish Office staff, those who organise the repairs, projects, church activities and maintain links to charities we support as a church. We all join in thanking those who donate, those who organise events to raise funds and those who count the money.

Page 5

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

2 Financial Statement Year on Year

As at 31 December 2025

2025
Outturn		 2024
Outturn		 (Adverse)/
Positive
Movement		 Comments
£ £ £
Income
A 94,643 98,879 (4,235) Downward trend + timing
differences
Voluntary Donations
B Income from 21,293 22,359 (1,066)
Activities
C Investment Income 15,890 14,872 1,018
D External Grants 17 2,866 (2,849) No contributions received
E Legacy - - -
Total Income 131,843 138,976 (7,133)
Expense
N
Parish Share		 82,000 78,500 (3,500) Annual increase
O
Charitable gifts		 8,200 8,000 (200)
P
Church Running
Costs		 30,557 23,557 (7,000) Timing differences and
increased costs in some
areas
R
Churchyard Running
Cost		 5,188 3,703 (1,485)
S
Church Centre Costs
inc. salaries		 64,177 44,621 (19,557) Full year impact of additional
employees, increased costs
and one off spend
T
Discretionary / Major
costs		 4,200 6,779 2,579 Smaller projects in 2025
Total Expense 194,322 165,159 (29,163)
Net Gain/(Loss) (62,479) (26,183) (36,296)

Page 6

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

2.1 Financial Statement Year on Year - Commentary

This page compares total income and expenses between 2025 and 2024, with comments explaining key trends and variances.

Income:

Total income fell from £138,976 in 2024 to £131,843 in 2025, a £7,133 drop.

Expenses:

Total expenses increased by £29,163 to £194,322.

Net Result: The deficit increased from £26,183 in 2024 to £62,479 in 2025—a worsening position by £36,296.

Note: a breakdown of the spend types A-T is shown later in section 6 for reference.

Page 7

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

3 Performance versus Budget

As at 31 December 2025

Outturn
Budget
(Adverse)/
Positive
Variance		 Comments
£
£
£
Income
A
Voluntary Donations		 94,643
98,000
(3,357)		 Timing difference on Gift Aid
B
Income from
Activities		 24,293
24,500
(3,207)
Reduced activity
C
Investment Income		 15,890
12,000
3,890		 Better return than expected
D
External Grants		 17
-
17
E
Legacy		 -
110,000
(110,000)		 Estate still being wound up
Total Income 131,843
244,500
(112,657)
Expense
N
Parish Share		 82,000
82,000
-
O
Charitable gifts		 8,200
9,000
800
P
Church Running
Costs		 30,557
24,000
(6,557)		 Various unexpected
increases in costs
R
Churchyard Running
Cost		 5,188
5,000
(188)
S
Church Centre Costs
inc. salaries		 64,177
55,000
(9,177)		 Various one-off costs
T
Discretionary / Major
costs		 4,200
35,000
30,800		 Projects did not proceed due
to legacy not being received
Total Expense 194,322
210,000
15,678
Net Gain/(Loss) (62,479)
34,500
(99,979)

Page 8

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

3.1 Performance versus budget - Commentary

This page contrasts actual results with the 2025 budget, offering insight into planning accuracy and financial discipline.

Income:

Total income was £131,843 compared to a budget of £244,500, falling short by £112,657.

Expenses:

Total expenses were under budget by £15,678, at £194,322 vs. £210,000.

Net outturn: Planned surplus was £34,500, but the actual shortfall was £62,479—a worsening of £96,979 due to the legacy not being received and higher spending than anticipated on items other than planned major projects which were deferred.

Page 9

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

4 Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31/12/2025

As at 31 December 2025

Account description 31 Dec 25
YTD		 31 Dec 24
YTD		 Variance
Assets £ £ £
Endowments (Restricted)
CBF Investment Fund - Churchyard 6,659.49 6,936.81 (277.32)
CBF Investment Fund - Repair Fund 15,494.41 16,139.64 (645.23)
22,153.90 23,076.45 (922.55)
Restricted Funds
FOSM Lloyds Bank 1,000.00 1,000.00 -
FOSM Coventry Building Society 7,500.00 7,500.00 -
CBF Deposit Account - Curacy Fund 15,000.00 15,000.00 -
CBF Deposit Account - Church Yard 197.10 162.53 34.57
CBF Deposit Account - Building Fund 117,665.36 114,212.22 3,453.14
CBF Deposit Account - Tower Fund 2,068.19 1,978.64 89.55
CBF Deposit Account - Organ Fund 6,214.92 5,945.83 269.09
CBF Deposit Account - House Fund 99,457.08 110,033.07 (10,575.99)
249,102.65 255,832.29 (6,729.64)
Unrestricted Cash/Bank
CBF Deposit Account - General Fund 30,930.65 90,123.21 (59,192.56)
9MainCurrent 21,255.91 14,481.19 6,774.72
Office PettyCash 108.87 108.87 -
52,295.43 104,713.27 (52,417.84)
Debtors
Trade Debtors 1,220.00 3,215.36 (1,995.36)
Other Debtors 1,516.01 - 1,516.01
2,736.01 3,215.36 (479.35)
Total Assets 326,287.99 386,837.37 (50,549.38)
Liabilities
O/S HMRC income tax payments 831.28 - 831.28

O/S pension/Payroll		 263.33 - 263.33
Specific Donations - 40.70 (40.70)
Draw Club 384.00 516.00 (132.00)
Bible Reading Foundation 31.63 14.25 17.38
Junior Church Fund 400.00 200.00 200.00
Little Lions Fund 200.00 - 200.00
Wedding Deposits 340.00 425.00 (85.00)
St Mark Choir Fund 2,511.86 1,836.86 675.00
Total Liabilities 4,962.10 3,032.81 1,929.29
Total Net Assets 321,325.89 383,804.56 (62,478.67)
Restricted Funds 271,256.55 278,908.74 (7,652.19)
Unrestricted Funds 50,069.34 104,895.82 (54,826.48)
Total Funds 321,325.89 383,804.56 (62,478.67)

Page 10

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

4.1 Statement of Assets and Liabilities (Commentary)

This page outlines the year-end financial position for 2025, comparing it to the prior year (2024). The balance sheet is structured to show assets, liabilities, and net assets, categorized further into restricted and unrestricted components.

Assets:

Liabilities:

Net Assets:

This indicates a worsening state of financial stability, with healthy restricted savings, but unsustainable pressure on general, unrestricted resources. Even the expected receipt of a substantial legacy in 2026, may only restore balances back to the position at the beginning of 2024.

Page 11

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

5 Movements of Funds

Account description
Assets
Endowments (Restricted)
CBF Investment Fund - Churchyard
CBF Investment Fund - Repair Fund
Restricted Funds
FOSM Lloyds Bank
FOSM Coventry Building Society
CBF Deposit Acount - Curacy Fund
CBF Deposit Acount - Church Yard
CBF Deposit Acount - Building Fund
CBF Deposit Acount - Tower Fund
CBF Deposit Acount - Organ Fund
CBF Deposit Acount - House Fund
Unrestricted Cash/Bank
CBF Deposit Acount - General Fund
9MainCurrent
Office Petty Cash
Debtors
Trade Debtors
Other Debtors
Total Assets
Liabilities
O/S HMRC income tax payments
O/S pension/Payroll
Specific Donations
Draw Club
BIble Reading Foundation
Junior Church Fund
Little Lions Fund
Wedding Deposits
St Mark Choir Fund
Total Liabilities
Total Net Assets
Restricted Funds
Unrestricted Funds
Total Funds
As at 31 December 2025		 31 Dec 25
YTD
31 Dec 24
YTD
Variance
Investment
(Loss)/Gain
Operating
(Loss)/Gain
Transfers
FOSM
(outside
P&L)
Total
Variance
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
6,659.49
6,936.81
(277.32)
(277.32)
(277.32)
15,494.41
16,139.64
(645.23)
(645.23)
(645.23)
22,153.90
23,076.45
(922.55)
(922.55)
-
-
-
(922.55)
1,000.00
1,000.00
-
-
7,500.00
7,500.00
-
-
15,000.00
15,000.00
-
-
197.10
162.53
34.57
34.57
34.57
117,665.36 114,212.22
3,453.14
5,319.14
(1,866.00)
3,453.14
2,068.19
1,978.64
89.55
89.55
89.55
6,214.92
5,945.83
269.09
269.09
269.09
99,457.08 110,033.07 (10,575.99)
5,024.01
(15,600.00)
(10,575.99)
249,102.65 255,832.29
(6,729.64)
10,736.36
- (17,466.00)
-
(6,729.64)
30,930.65
90,123.21 (59,192.56)
3,341.44
(62,534.00)
(59,192.56)
21,255.91
14,481.19
6,774.72
(73,225.28)
80,000.00
6,774.72
108.87
108.87
-
-
52,295.43 104,713.27 (52,417.84)
3,341.44
(73,225.28)
17,466.00
- (52,417.84)
1,220.00
3,215.36
(1,995.36)
(1,995.36)
(1,995.36)
1,516.01
-
1,516.01
1,516.01
1,516.01
2,736.01
3,215.36
(479.35)
-
(479.35)
-
-
(479.35)
326,287.99 386,837.37 (60,549.38)
13,155.25
(73,704.63)
-
- (60,549.38)
-
831.28
-
831.28
831.28
831.28
263.33
-
263.33
263.33
263.33
-
40.70
(40.70)
(40.70)
(40.70)
384.00
516.00
(132.00)
(132.00)
(132.00)
31.63
14.25
17.38
17.38
17.38
400.00
200.00
200.00
200.00
200.00
200.00
-
200.00
200.00
200.00
340.00
425.00
(85.00)
(85.00)
(85.00)
2,511.86
1,836.86
675.00
675.00
675.00
4,962.10
3,032.81
1,929.29
-
1,929.29
-
-
1,929.29
321,325.89 383,804.56 (62,478.67)
13,155.25
(75,633.92)
-
-(62,478.67)
271,256.55 278,908.74
(7,652.19)
50,069.34 104,895.82 (54,826.48)
321,325.89 383,804.56 (62,478.67)

Page 12

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

5.1 Explanation of Movements

This version of the balance sheet provides a breakdown of variances including:

Investment Gains and Operating Gains

FOSM (Friends of St Marks)

Transfers of Funds

Unrestricted Funds:

Total Assets vs. Liabilities:

Page 13

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

6 Further Notes to the Accounts

This section expands on some relevant details, and relevant policies.

Page 14 2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

6.1 2025 Financial Statement by Line item, for each type of income & expense

Description 2025
Outturn		 2024
Outturn		 (Adverse)/
Positive
Movement
£ £ £
Income
A01-Green Envelopes 4,008.75 3,754.02 254.73
A01-Pledged Giving 65,906.28 66,353.90 (447.62)
A03-Collections 8,189.75 8,506.55 (316.80)
A04-Donations 3,515.15 3,967.55 (452.40)
A06-Income Tax Refunds 13,023.49 16,296.63 (3,273.14)
A Total 94,643.42 98,878.65 (4,235.23)
B09-Fund Raising 1,034.25 409.00 625.25
B10-Sales Discounts - (0.04) 0.04
B11-Fees Received - Clergy Travel 58.79 78.80 (20.01)
B11-Fees Received - PCC 9,105.00 9,723.00 (618.00)
B12-Magazine Advertising 730.00 1,170.00 (440.00)
B12-Magazine Sales 1,800.00 1,991.00 (191.00)
B12-Printing Income 122.50 345.52 (223.02)
B12-Rent 8,442.50 8,642.00 (199.50)
B Total 21,293.04 22,359.28 (1,066.24)
C10-CBF interest (restricted) 10,736.36 9,693.25 1,043.11
C10-CBF interest (unrestricted) 3,341.44 3,771.38 (429.94)
C10-Dividends Received 1,812.06 1,407.19 404.87
C Total 15,889.86 14,871.82 1,018.04
D13-Grants/FOSM - 2,230.10 (2,230.10)
D13--Other income 17.00 636.00 (619.00)
D
Total		 17.00 2,866.10 (2,849.10)
E07-Legacies - - -
E Total - - -
Total Income 131,843.32 138,975.85 (7,132.53)

Page 15

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

Description 2025
Outturn		 2024
Outturn		 (Adverse)/
Positive
Movement
£ £ £
Expenses
N19-Parish Share 82,000.00 78,500.00 (3,500.00)
N Total 82,000.00 78,500.00 (3,500.00)
O18-Grant - Other 1,200.00 1,200.00 -
O18-Grant - Overseas Relief and Development 1,250.00 1,500.00 250.00
O18-Grants - Home Mission 5,750.00 4,450.00 (1,300.00)
O18-Grants-Overseas Mission - 850.00 850.00
O Total 8,200.00 8,000.00 (200.00)
P21-Additional Clergy Expense - 297.34 297.34
P21-Fees Paid - Clergy Travel 360.42 - (360.42)
P21-Rector's Expenses 633.92 692.35 58.43
P22-Bread, Wine and Candles 151.85 - (151.85)
P22-Church Internet 356.97 431.84 74.87
P22-Church Maint - Organ/piano/AV 684.00 1,175.80 491.80
P22-Music / choir / junior choir 60.00 334.15 274.15
P22-Organ - Services 7,778.10 4,997.50 (2,780.60)
P22-Service Books and Resources 1,212.50 2,356.40 1,143.90
P23-Church Maintenance 4,843.99 2,121.49 (2,722.50)
P23-Insurance 7,328.25 7,135.23 (193.02)
P24-Church Light and Heat 7,146.73 4,014.44 (3,132.29)
P Total 30,556.73 23,556.54 (7,000.19)
R23-Churchyard Maintenance 5,187.97 3,703.12 (1,484.85)
R Total 5,187.97 3,703.12 (1,484.85)
S10-Unrealised (Gains)/Losses on Investments 922.55 (516.36) (1,438.91)
S20-Employer's Pension 1,427.45 787.46 (639.99)
S20-Office Salaries 35,786.67 23,644.65 (12,142.02)
S23-Affiliation fees/subscriptions 389.00 602.00 213.00
S23-Bank charges 452.24 344.11 (108.13)
S23-Church Centre - Cleaning 5,772.30 5,560.17 (212.13)
S23-ChurchDesk / Web site 2,203.39 171.99 (2,031.40)
S23-Equipment Leasing 3,922.89 3,748.32 (174.57)
S23-Finance system 813.60 560.40 (253.20)
S23-Independant Examiner 300.00 300.00 -
S23-Insurance 80.08 80.08 -
S23-Licences, permits, etc 1,248.69 1,204.37 (44.32)
S23-Maintenance - Church Centre 1,468.22 1,859.59 391.37
S23-Postage - 37.75 37.75
S23-Stationery 1,070.82 827.91 (242.91)
S23-Young People 603.46 - (603.46)
S24-Church Centre - Light and Heat 2,377.21 2,041.19 (336.02)
S24-Telephone and Internet 809.14 1,081.18 272.04
S25-Engraving Fees 3,604.80 701.10 (2,903.70)
S99-Other 924.78 1,584.83 660.05
S Total 64,177.29 44,620.74 (19,556.55)
T27-Ch. Yard Discretionary / Major 4,200.00 2,651.17 (1,548.83)
T27-Church Discretionary / Major - 3,147.36 3,147.36
T28-Ch. Centre Building Discretionary / Major - 980.00 980.00
T Total 4,200.00 6,778.53 2,578.53
Total Expenses 194,321.99 165,158.93 (29,163.06)

Page 16

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

6.2 Donations To charities

Several donations were made from PCC income to charities, and these are listed below:

£
Hope 4 Rugby 1,000
Rugby Foodbank 2,000
CAP 1,200
Thrive & Transitions Event 200
Rugby Street Pastors 850
The Lighthouse 1,000
Gift of Years 350
Deepmore House 350
Sub-total (UK) 6,950
FWH Creations 750
Christian Aid 500
Sub-total (international) 1,250
Total 8,200

In addition, the PCC acts as a conduit for specific fund-raising campaigns, where the donations given and monies disbursed net against each other and do not appear in the accounts. In 2025 this was £412.70 to Christian Aid, £193.90 to Rugby Foodbank, £253.62 to Myton Hospice, and £170.48 to The Children’s Society, totalling £1,030.70.

Various collections at funerals go direct to charities and are not accounted for here. Also, in 2025 the collection taken on Remembrance Sunday was banked directly by the Royal British Legion to the Poppy Appeal.

6.3 Payments to the Diocese for funds collected on their behalf

Part of the fees for wedding and funerals, plus a few other services, are due to the Diocese. In effect The PCC acts as the agents of the Diocese. The income received for this is not counted in our receipts and payments, nor do the payments to the diocese appear in expenses. Payments are made quarterly, and by convention are paid to the diocese whether the PCC has actually been paid or not.

Funerals
Weddings
2025 £
£
January to March 1,318
April to June 962
247
July to September 1,276
247
October to December 1,185
Total Paid 4,741
494
Paid in 2024 5,418
723

Page 17

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

6.4 Energy Consumption

Figures based on metered usage (not bills paid in a given time frame)

Site
Fuel
Energy Value
Church
Gas
Electricity
Total
Church Centre
Gas
Electricity
Total
Overall Total
Invoice Total
Church
Gas
Electricity
Total
Church Centre
Gas
Electricity
Total		 2024
2025
kWh
kWh
61,045
61,456
12,785
4,637
73,830
66,093
15,072
16,655
2,737
2,634
17,809
19,289
91,639
85,382
3,694
4,399
1,502
2,029
5,196
6,429
937
1,285
878
1,135
1,815
2,419
7,010
8,848

6.5 Accounting Policies

6.5.1 Accounting Conventions

With due regard to Church of England and Charity Committee rules, and our likely gross income being very unlikely to exceed £250,000 we can prepare accounts on a “Receipts and Payments Accounting” basis. In These accounts there are no accruals and no consideration of depreciation of assets. All figures in the Accounts come from transactional recording direct into the SAGE, a widely used and well-regarded Accounting Software Package, and we operate within its conventions for balance sheets and profit and loss reporting

Invoiced sums go directly into the Profit and loss accounts in the year in which the invoice is dated, and at the same time are entered as an asset as “debtors”. Payment of the invoice transfers from debtors to cash.

Money received as cash, but not the property of the PCC, e.g. Key deposits, wedding deposits, fees collected by the PCC as an agent do not go into the profit and loss. They are recorded as cash assets, and also as liabilities.

Hence normally simple receipts and payments accounting in terms of cash, requires that one must also take account of not just the Profit and loss statement but the movement in assets and liabilities, and the fact that cash held in the bank account is not the same as cash owned by the PCC. This is demonstrated in the section called “Movement of Funds” in the accounts.

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2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

6.5.2 Reserves policy

At the request of the Diocese, in a previous year, the PCC reviewed its policy on the balance of free unrestricted reserves it should hold to cover any emergency situations that may arise from time to time and it was agreed that a balance equal to six months unrestricted expenditure should be held plus designated funds to cover new planned and agreed expenditure over a maximum period of five years.

It is the PCC's policy to invest the majority of our fund's balances with the CCLA Church of England Deposit Fund.

6.5.3 Restricted Funds Policy

In 2021 it was also decided by the PCC to assess spending rigorously with a view to taking funds out of restricted accounts, where it was permissible to do so. Major elements of spend (e.g. not minor repairs or maintenance are charged to relevant restricted funds.

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2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

7 2026 Budget

The 2026 budget assumes we can hold running costs back to a level similar to 2025. It relies on a large legacy falling to us in 2026.

As at 31 December 2025 and 2026 budgeted figures

2025
Outturn
2025
Budget
(Adverse)/
Positive
Variance
2026
Budget
Comments
£
£
£
£
Income
A
Voluntary Donations		 94,643
98,000
(3,357)
98,250
Assumes five
quarters of gift aid
receipts
B
Income from Activities		 20,623
24,500
(3,877)
20,050
Based on prior year
C
Investment Income		 15,890
12,000
3,890
13,000
Assumes interest on
legacy offsets falling
interest rates
D
External Grants		 17
-
17
-
E
Legacy		 -
110,000
(110,000)
150,000
Further news
awaited
Total Income 131,173
244,500
(113,327)
281,300
Expense
N
Parish Share		 82,000
82,000
-
83,500
Inflation
O
Charitable gifts		 8,200
9,000
800
8,200
Based on 2025
outturn
P
Church Running Costs		 30,557
24,000
(6,557)
30,650
Reflects increased
costs
R
Churchyard Running
Costs		 5,188
5,000
(188)
5,000
No change from
2025
S
Church Centre Costs
inc. salaries		 64,177
55,000
(9,177)
55,150
Minor increase from
2025, various
assumptions made
T
Discretionary / Major
costs
4,200
35,000
30,800
10,000
For tree works in
churchyard
Total Expense 194,322
210,000
15,678
192,500
Net Gain/(Loss) (63,149)
34,500
(97,649)
88,800

This budget is subject to revision by the PCC as circumstances change.

Page 20

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

8 Examiners Report

Page 21

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

Page 22 2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

ST MARK'S CHURCH, BILTON, RUGBY Charity number 1137095

Annual Financial Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2025

Rector

Rev'd. Daniel Bennett

Associate Minister Rev'd. Glenn Lowde

Bank

Lloyds Bank PLC Church Street Rugby CV21 3PH

Independent Examiner

Mr Brian Cheney 358 Newbold Road Rugby CV21 1EG

Page 1

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

Page 2 2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

Table of Contents

1
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 5
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 5
2
Financial Statement Year on Year ................................................................................. 6
2.1 Financial Statement Year on Year - Commentary .................................................. 7
3
Performance versus Budget ........................................................................................... 8
3.1 Performance versus budget - Commentary ........................................................... 9
4
Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31/12/2025 ........................................................ 10
4.1 Statement of Assets and Liabilities (Commentary) ............................................... 11
5
Movements of Funds ................................................................................................... 12
5.1 Explanation of Movements................................................................................... 13
6
Further Notes to the Accounts ...................................................................................... 14
6.1 2025 Financial Statement by Line item, for each type of income & expense ........ 15
6.2 Donations To charities ......................................................................................... 17
6.3 Payments to the Diocese for funds collected on their behalf ................................ 17
6.4 Energy Consumption ........................................................................................... 18
6.5 Accounting Policies ............................................................................................. 18
6.5.1
Accounting Conventions .................................................................................. 18
6.5.2
Reserves policy ............................................................................................... 19
6.5.3
Restricted Funds Policy ................................................................................... 19
7
2026		 Budget ................................................................................................................ 20
8
Examiners Report ........................................................................................................ 21

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2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

Page 4 2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

1 Summary

2025 Overall Performance Summary

Income
Expense
Gain/(Loss) for the year
Restricted Assets
Unrestricted Assets
Total Assets		 2025
Outturn
2024
Outturn
(Adverse)/
Positive
Movement
2026
forecast
£000
£000
£000
£000
132
139
(7)
281
194
165
(29)
192
(62)
(26)
(36)
89
272
279
(7)
268
50
105
(55)
143
322
384
(62)
411

Income

At around £132,000, income is 5.1% (around £7,000) below that of the previous year. This fall is mainly because of timing differences with some income received in January 2026 that referred to the previous year. However, the downward trend in pledged giving continued, although not as significantly as previous years.

Expense

At approximately £194,000, expenses rose by 17.5% (around £29,000) year on year. There were increases in costs (e.g. parish share, salaries, energy, service costs), and some savings in other areas. Some decisions taken on expenditure early in 2025 assumed receipt of funds from a legacy before the year end, however no funds were received in 2025 which led to the large deficit.

Assets

Overall, we made a loss of just over £62,000, £36,000 more than the previous year’s loss. As a result, there was an equivalent drop overall in assets available to the PCC. These now stand at approximately £322,000. This is a healthy financial position, but a significant value of the funds available are restricted in their use and the reserves policy of maintaining at least six months of expenditure in unrestricted funds has been breached.

Future Implications

We expect to shortly receive a large bequest, so there is a large income forecast of £281,000. This means our financial position should improve in 2026, however as this is a one-off sum it should ideally be used for one off expenditure. Whilst the bequest should allow us to work on some projects, we still have a significant problem with our basic running costs exceeding our basic income by around £30,000 to £40,000 per annum which urgently needs to be addressed.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank everyone for their contributions; the former Treasurer who has continued to support me, all who work on the PCC, the Parish Office staff, those who organise the repairs, projects, church activities and maintain links to charities we support as a church. We all join in thanking those who donate, those who organise events to raise funds and those who count the money.

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2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

2 Financial Statement Year on Year

As at 31 December 2025

2025
Outturn		 2024
Outturn		 (Adverse)/
Positive
Movement		 Comments
£ £ £
Income
A 94,643 98,879 (4,235) Downward trend + timing
differences
Voluntary Donations
B Income from 21,293 22,359 (1,066)
Activities
C Investment Income 15,890 14,872 1,018
D External Grants 17 2,866 (2,849) No contributions received
E Legacy - - -
Total Income 131,843 138,976 (7,133)
Expense
N
Parish Share		 82,000 78,500 (3,500) Annual increase
O
Charitable gifts		 8,200 8,000 (200)
P
Church Running
Costs		 30,557 23,557 (7,000) Timing differences and
increased costs in some
areas
R
Churchyard Running
Cost		 5,188 3,703 (1,485)
S
Church Centre Costs
inc. salaries		 64,177 44,621 (19,557) Full year impact of additional
employees, increased costs
and one off spend
T
Discretionary / Major
costs		 4,200 6,779 2,579 Smaller projects in 2025
Total Expense 194,322 165,159 (29,163)
Net Gain/(Loss) (62,479) (26,183) (36,296)

Page 6

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

2.1 Financial Statement Year on Year - Commentary

This page compares total income and expenses between 2025 and 2024, with comments explaining key trends and variances.

Income:

Total income fell from £138,976 in 2024 to £131,843 in 2025, a £7,133 drop.

Expenses:

Total expenses increased by £29,163 to £194,322.

Net Result: The deficit increased from £26,183 in 2024 to £62,479 in 2025—a worsening position by £36,296.

Note: a breakdown of the spend types A-T is shown later in section 6 for reference.

Page 7

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

3 Performance versus Budget

As at 31 December 2025

Outturn
Budget
(Adverse)/
Positive
Variance		 Comments
£
£
£
Income
A
Voluntary Donations		 94,643
98,000
(3,357)		 Timing difference on Gift Aid
B
Income from
Activities		 24,293
24,500
(3,207)
Reduced activity
C
Investment Income		 15,890
12,000
3,890		 Better return than expected
D
External Grants		 17
-
17
E
Legacy		 -
110,000
(110,000)		 Estate still being wound up
Total Income 131,843
244,500
(112,657)
Expense
N
Parish Share		 82,000
82,000
-
O
Charitable gifts		 8,200
9,000
800
P
Church Running
Costs		 30,557
24,000
(6,557)		 Various unexpected
increases in costs
R
Churchyard Running
Cost		 5,188
5,000
(188)
S
Church Centre Costs
inc. salaries		 64,177
55,000
(9,177)		 Various one-off costs
T
Discretionary / Major
costs		 4,200
35,000
30,800		 Projects did not proceed due
to legacy not being received
Total Expense 194,322
210,000
15,678
Net Gain/(Loss) (62,479)
34,500
(99,979)

Page 8

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

3.1 Performance versus budget - Commentary

This page contrasts actual results with the 2025 budget, offering insight into planning accuracy and financial discipline.

Income:

Total income was £131,843 compared to a budget of £244,500, falling short by £112,657.

Expenses:

Total expenses were under budget by £15,678, at £194,322 vs. £210,000.

Net outturn: Planned surplus was £34,500, but the actual shortfall was £62,479—a worsening of £96,979 due to the legacy not being received and higher spending than anticipated on items other than planned major projects which were deferred.

Page 9

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

4 Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31/12/2025

As at 31 December 2025

Account description 31 Dec 25
YTD		 31 Dec 24
YTD		 Variance
Assets £ £ £
Endowments (Restricted)
CBF Investment Fund - Churchyard 6,659.49 6,936.81 (277.32)
CBF Investment Fund - Repair Fund 15,494.41 16,139.64 (645.23)
22,153.90 23,076.45 (922.55)
Restricted Funds
FOSM Lloyds Bank 1,000.00 1,000.00 -
FOSM Coventry Building Society 7,500.00 7,500.00 -
CBF Deposit Account - Curacy Fund 15,000.00 15,000.00 -
CBF Deposit Account - Church Yard 197.10 162.53 34.57
CBF Deposit Account - Building Fund 117,665.36 114,212.22 3,453.14
CBF Deposit Account - Tower Fund 2,068.19 1,978.64 89.55
CBF Deposit Account - Organ Fund 6,214.92 5,945.83 269.09
CBF Deposit Account - House Fund 99,457.08 110,033.07 (10,575.99)
249,102.65 255,832.29 (6,729.64)
Unrestricted Cash/Bank
CBF Deposit Account - General Fund 30,930.65 90,123.21 (59,192.56)
9MainCurrent 21,255.91 14,481.19 6,774.72
Office PettyCash 108.87 108.87 -
52,295.43 104,713.27 (52,417.84)
Debtors
Trade Debtors 1,220.00 3,215.36 (1,995.36)
Other Debtors 1,516.01 - 1,516.01
2,736.01 3,215.36 (479.35)
Total Assets 326,287.99 386,837.37 (50,549.38)
Liabilities
O/S HMRC income tax payments 831.28 - 831.28

O/S pension/Payroll		 263.33 - 263.33
Specific Donations - 40.70 (40.70)
Draw Club 384.00 516.00 (132.00)
Bible Reading Foundation 31.63 14.25 17.38
Junior Church Fund 400.00 200.00 200.00
Little Lions Fund 200.00 - 200.00
Wedding Deposits 340.00 425.00 (85.00)
St Mark Choir Fund 2,511.86 1,836.86 675.00
Total Liabilities 4,962.10 3,032.81 1,929.29
Total Net Assets 321,325.89 383,804.56 (62,478.67)
Restricted Funds 271,256.55 278,908.74 (7,652.19)
Unrestricted Funds 50,069.34 104,895.82 (54,826.48)
Total Funds 321,325.89 383,804.56 (62,478.67)

Page 10

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

4.1 Statement of Assets and Liabilities (Commentary)

This page outlines the year-end financial position for 2025, comparing it to the prior year (2024). The balance sheet is structured to show assets, liabilities, and net assets, categorized further into restricted and unrestricted components.

Assets:

Liabilities:

Net Assets:

This indicates a worsening state of financial stability, with healthy restricted savings, but unsustainable pressure on general, unrestricted resources. Even the expected receipt of a substantial legacy in 2026, may only restore balances back to the position at the beginning of 2024.

Page 11

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

5 Movements of Funds

Account description
Assets
Endowments (Restricted)
CBF Investment Fund - Churchyard
CBF Investment Fund - Repair Fund
Restricted Funds
FOSM Lloyds Bank
FOSM Coventry Building Society
CBF Deposit Acount - Curacy Fund
CBF Deposit Acount - Church Yard
CBF Deposit Acount - Building Fund
CBF Deposit Acount - Tower Fund
CBF Deposit Acount - Organ Fund
CBF Deposit Acount - House Fund
Unrestricted Cash/Bank
CBF Deposit Acount - General Fund
9MainCurrent
Office Petty Cash
Debtors
Trade Debtors
Other Debtors
Total Assets
Liabilities
O/S HMRC income tax payments
O/S pension/Payroll
Specific Donations
Draw Club
BIble Reading Foundation
Junior Church Fund
Little Lions Fund
Wedding Deposits
St Mark Choir Fund
Total Liabilities
Total Net Assets
Restricted Funds
Unrestricted Funds
Total Funds
As at 31 December 2025		 31 Dec 25
YTD
31 Dec 24
YTD
Variance
Investment
(Loss)/Gain
Operating
(Loss)/Gain
Transfers
FOSM
(outside
P&L)
Total
Variance
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
6,659.49
6,936.81
(277.32)
(277.32)
(277.32)
15,494.41
16,139.64
(645.23)
(645.23)
(645.23)
22,153.90
23,076.45
(922.55)
(922.55)
-
-
-
(922.55)
1,000.00
1,000.00
-
-
7,500.00
7,500.00
-
-
15,000.00
15,000.00
-
-
197.10
162.53
34.57
34.57
34.57
117,665.36 114,212.22
3,453.14
5,319.14
(1,866.00)
3,453.14
2,068.19
1,978.64
89.55
89.55
89.55
6,214.92
5,945.83
269.09
269.09
269.09
99,457.08 110,033.07 (10,575.99)
5,024.01
(15,600.00)
(10,575.99)
249,102.65 255,832.29
(6,729.64)
10,736.36
- (17,466.00)
-
(6,729.64)
30,930.65
90,123.21 (59,192.56)
3,341.44
(62,534.00)
(59,192.56)
21,255.91
14,481.19
6,774.72
(73,225.28)
80,000.00
6,774.72
108.87
108.87
-
-
52,295.43 104,713.27 (52,417.84)
3,341.44
(73,225.28)
17,466.00
- (52,417.84)
1,220.00
3,215.36
(1,995.36)
(1,995.36)
(1,995.36)
1,516.01
-
1,516.01
1,516.01
1,516.01
2,736.01
3,215.36
(479.35)
-
(479.35)
-
-
(479.35)
326,287.99 386,837.37 (60,549.38)
13,155.25
(73,704.63)
-
- (60,549.38)
-
831.28
-
831.28
831.28
831.28
263.33
-
263.33
263.33
263.33
-
40.70
(40.70)
(40.70)
(40.70)
384.00
516.00
(132.00)
(132.00)
(132.00)
31.63
14.25
17.38
17.38
17.38
400.00
200.00
200.00
200.00
200.00
200.00
-
200.00
200.00
200.00
340.00
425.00
(85.00)
(85.00)
(85.00)
2,511.86
1,836.86
675.00
675.00
675.00
4,962.10
3,032.81
1,929.29
-
1,929.29
-
-
1,929.29
321,325.89 383,804.56 (62,478.67)
13,155.25
(75,633.92)
-
-(62,478.67)
271,256.55 278,908.74
(7,652.19)
50,069.34 104,895.82 (54,826.48)
321,325.89 383,804.56 (62,478.67)

Page 12

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

5.1 Explanation of Movements

This version of the balance sheet provides a breakdown of variances including:

Investment Gains and Operating Gains

FOSM (Friends of St Marks)

Transfers of Funds

Unrestricted Funds:

Total Assets vs. Liabilities:

Page 13

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

6 Further Notes to the Accounts

This section expands on some relevant details, and relevant policies.

Page 14 2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

6.1 2025 Financial Statement by Line item, for each type of income & expense

Description 2025
Outturn		 2024
Outturn		 (Adverse)/
Positive
Movement
£ £ £
Income
A01-Green Envelopes 4,008.75 3,754.02 254.73
A01-Pledged Giving 65,906.28 66,353.90 (447.62)
A03-Collections 8,189.75 8,506.55 (316.80)
A04-Donations 3,515.15 3,967.55 (452.40)
A06-Income Tax Refunds 13,023.49 16,296.63 (3,273.14)
A Total 94,643.42 98,878.65 (4,235.23)
B09-Fund Raising 1,034.25 409.00 625.25
B10-Sales Discounts - (0.04) 0.04
B11-Fees Received - Clergy Travel 58.79 78.80 (20.01)
B11-Fees Received - PCC 9,105.00 9,723.00 (618.00)
B12-Magazine Advertising 730.00 1,170.00 (440.00)
B12-Magazine Sales 1,800.00 1,991.00 (191.00)
B12-Printing Income 122.50 345.52 (223.02)
B12-Rent 8,442.50 8,642.00 (199.50)
B Total 21,293.04 22,359.28 (1,066.24)
C10-CBF interest (restricted) 10,736.36 9,693.25 1,043.11
C10-CBF interest (unrestricted) 3,341.44 3,771.38 (429.94)
C10-Dividends Received 1,812.06 1,407.19 404.87
C Total 15,889.86 14,871.82 1,018.04
D13-Grants/FOSM - 2,230.10 (2,230.10)
D13--Other income 17.00 636.00 (619.00)
D
Total		 17.00 2,866.10 (2,849.10)
E07-Legacies - - -
E Total - - -
Total Income 131,843.32 138,975.85 (7,132.53)

Page 15

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

Description 2025
Outturn		 2024
Outturn		 (Adverse)/
Positive
Movement
£ £ £
Expenses
N19-Parish Share 82,000.00 78,500.00 (3,500.00)
N Total 82,000.00 78,500.00 (3,500.00)
O18-Grant - Other 1,200.00 1,200.00 -
O18-Grant - Overseas Relief and Development 1,250.00 1,500.00 250.00
O18-Grants - Home Mission 5,750.00 4,450.00 (1,300.00)
O18-Grants-Overseas Mission - 850.00 850.00
O Total 8,200.00 8,000.00 (200.00)
P21-Additional Clergy Expense - 297.34 297.34
P21-Fees Paid - Clergy Travel 360.42 - (360.42)
P21-Rector's Expenses 633.92 692.35 58.43
P22-Bread, Wine and Candles 151.85 - (151.85)
P22-Church Internet 356.97 431.84 74.87
P22-Church Maint - Organ/piano/AV 684.00 1,175.80 491.80
P22-Music / choir / junior choir 60.00 334.15 274.15
P22-Organ - Services 7,778.10 4,997.50 (2,780.60)
P22-Service Books and Resources 1,212.50 2,356.40 1,143.90
P23-Church Maintenance 4,843.99 2,121.49 (2,722.50)
P23-Insurance 7,328.25 7,135.23 (193.02)
P24-Church Light and Heat 7,146.73 4,014.44 (3,132.29)
P Total 30,556.73 23,556.54 (7,000.19)
R23-Churchyard Maintenance 5,187.97 3,703.12 (1,484.85)
R Total 5,187.97 3,703.12 (1,484.85)
S10-Unrealised (Gains)/Losses on Investments 922.55 (516.36) (1,438.91)
S20-Employer's Pension 1,427.45 787.46 (639.99)
S20-Office Salaries 35,786.67 23,644.65 (12,142.02)
S23-Affiliation fees/subscriptions 389.00 602.00 213.00
S23-Bank charges 452.24 344.11 (108.13)
S23-Church Centre - Cleaning 5,772.30 5,560.17 (212.13)
S23-ChurchDesk / Web site 2,203.39 171.99 (2,031.40)
S23-Equipment Leasing 3,922.89 3,748.32 (174.57)
S23-Finance system 813.60 560.40 (253.20)
S23-Independant Examiner 300.00 300.00 -
S23-Insurance 80.08 80.08 -
S23-Licences, permits, etc 1,248.69 1,204.37 (44.32)
S23-Maintenance - Church Centre 1,468.22 1,859.59 391.37
S23-Postage - 37.75 37.75
S23-Stationery 1,070.82 827.91 (242.91)
S23-Young People 603.46 - (603.46)
S24-Church Centre - Light and Heat 2,377.21 2,041.19 (336.02)
S24-Telephone and Internet 809.14 1,081.18 272.04
S25-Engraving Fees 3,604.80 701.10 (2,903.70)
S99-Other 924.78 1,584.83 660.05
S Total 64,177.29 44,620.74 (19,556.55)
T27-Ch. Yard Discretionary / Major 4,200.00 2,651.17 (1,548.83)
T27-Church Discretionary / Major - 3,147.36 3,147.36
T28-Ch. Centre Building Discretionary / Major - 980.00 980.00
T Total 4,200.00 6,778.53 2,578.53
Total Expenses 194,321.99 165,158.93 (29,163.06)

Page 16

2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

6.2 Donations To charities

Several donations were made from PCC income to charities, and these are listed below:

£
Hope 4 Rugby 1,000
Rugby Foodbank 2,000
CAP 1,200
Thrive & Transitions Event 200
Rugby Street Pastors 850
The Lighthouse 1,000
Gift of Years 350
Deepmore House 350
Sub-total (UK) 6,950
FWH Creations 750
Christian Aid 500
Sub-total (international) 1,250
Total 8,200

In addition, the PCC acts as a conduit for specific fund-raising campaigns, where the donations given and monies disbursed net against each other and do not appear in the accounts. In 2025 this was £412.70 to Christian Aid, £193.90 to Rugby Foodbank, £253.62 to Myton Hospice, and £170.48 to The Children’s Society, totalling £1,030.70.

Various collections at funerals go direct to charities and are not accounted for here. Also, in 2025 the collection taken on Remembrance Sunday was banked directly by the Royal British Legion to the Poppy Appeal.

6.3 Payments to the Diocese for funds collected on their behalf

Part of the fees for wedding and funerals, plus a few other services, are due to the Diocese. In effect The PCC acts as the agents of the Diocese. The income received for this is not counted in our receipts and payments, nor do the payments to the diocese appear in expenses. Payments are made quarterly, and by convention are paid to the diocese whether the PCC has actually been paid or not.

Funerals
Weddings
2025 £
£
January to March 1,318
April to June 962
247
July to September 1,276
247
October to December 1,185
Total Paid 4,741
494
Paid in 2024 5,418
723

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6.4 Energy Consumption

Figures based on metered usage (not bills paid in a given time frame)

Site
Fuel
Energy Value
Church
Gas
Electricity
Total
Church Centre
Gas
Electricity
Total
Overall Total
Invoice Total
Church
Gas
Electricity
Total
Church Centre
Gas
Electricity
Total		 2024
2025
kWh
kWh
61,045
61,456
12,785
4,637
73,830
66,093
15,072
16,655
2,737
2,634
17,809
19,289
91,639
85,382
3,694
4,399
1,502
2,029
5,196
6,429
937
1,285
878
1,135
1,815
2,419
7,010
8,848

6.5 Accounting Policies

6.5.1 Accounting Conventions

With due regard to Church of England and Charity Committee rules, and our likely gross income being very unlikely to exceed £250,000 we can prepare accounts on a “Receipts and Payments Accounting” basis. In These accounts there are no accruals and no consideration of depreciation of assets. All figures in the Accounts come from transactional recording direct into the SAGE, a widely used and well-regarded Accounting Software Package, and we operate within its conventions for balance sheets and profit and loss reporting

Invoiced sums go directly into the Profit and loss accounts in the year in which the invoice is dated, and at the same time are entered as an asset as “debtors”. Payment of the invoice transfers from debtors to cash.

Money received as cash, but not the property of the PCC, e.g. Key deposits, wedding deposits, fees collected by the PCC as an agent do not go into the profit and loss. They are recorded as cash assets, and also as liabilities.

Hence normally simple receipts and payments accounting in terms of cash, requires that one must also take account of not just the Profit and loss statement but the movement in assets and liabilities, and the fact that cash held in the bank account is not the same as cash owned by the PCC. This is demonstrated in the section called “Movement of Funds” in the accounts.

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2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

6.5.2 Reserves policy

At the request of the Diocese, in a previous year, the PCC reviewed its policy on the balance of free unrestricted reserves it should hold to cover any emergency situations that may arise from time to time and it was agreed that a balance equal to six months unrestricted expenditure should be held plus designated funds to cover new planned and agreed expenditure over a maximum period of five years.

It is the PCC's policy to invest the majority of our fund's balances with the CCLA Church of England Deposit Fund.

6.5.3 Restricted Funds Policy

In 2021 it was also decided by the PCC to assess spending rigorously with a view to taking funds out of restricted accounts, where it was permissible to do so. Major elements of spend (e.g. not minor repairs or maintenance are charged to relevant restricted funds.

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2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

7 2026 Budget

The 2026 budget assumes we can hold running costs back to a level similar to 2025. It relies on a large legacy falling to us in 2026.

As at 31 December 2025 and 2026 budgeted figures

2025
Outturn
2025
Budget
(Adverse)/
Positive
Variance
2026
Budget
Comments
£
£
£
£
Income
A
Voluntary Donations		 94,643
98,000
(3,357)
98,250
Assumes five
quarters of gift aid
receipts
B
Income from Activities		 20,623
24,500
(3,877)
20,050
Based on prior year
C
Investment Income		 15,890
12,000
3,890
13,000
Assumes interest on
legacy offsets falling
interest rates
D
External Grants		 17
-
17
-
E
Legacy		 -
110,000
(110,000)
150,000
Further news
awaited
Total Income 131,173
244,500
(113,327)
281,300
Expense
N
Parish Share		 82,000
82,000
-
83,500
Inflation
O
Charitable gifts		 8,200
9,000
800
8,200
Based on 2025
outturn
P
Church Running Costs		 30,557
24,000
(6,557)
30,650
Reflects increased
costs
R
Churchyard Running
Costs		 5,188
5,000
(188)
5,000
No change from
2025
S
Church Centre Costs
inc. salaries		 64,177
55,000
(9,177)
55,150
Minor increase from
2025, various
assumptions made
T
Discretionary / Major
costs
4,200
35,000
30,800
10,000
For tree works in
churchyard
Total Expense 194,322
210,000
15,678
192,500
Net Gain/(Loss) (63,149)
34,500
(97,649)
88,800

This budget is subject to revision by the PCC as circumstances change.

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2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

8 Examiners Report

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2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026

Page 22 2025 Annual Accounts Final VERSION 21/06/2026