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← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of All Saints' Church, Pontefract

2025-12-31-accounts

The Parish of All Saints, Pontefract

2s

ANNUAL REPORT

AND

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

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

The Parochial Church Council of The Ecclesiastical Parish of All Saints’ Church, Pontefract is a charity registered in England and Wales (1137872).

Bank

Lloyds Bank PLC

Independent Examiner

KJA Kilner Johnson Ltd

Objectives

All Saints PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent, The Reverend Ian Bullock in promoting in the ecclesiastical Parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has maintenance responsibilities for All Saints’ Church and its church hall.

Structure, governance and management

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

The PCC held eight meetings during the year, and four meetings of the Standing Committee.

PCC Membership

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

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

During 2025, the following served as members of the PCC

Incumbent The Reverend Ian Bullock (Ex-officio)
Associate Priests The Reverend Wayne Phillips**(Ex-officio)
The Reverend Kate Reynolds**(Ex-officio)
The Reverend Rod Walker**(Ex-officio)
The Reverend Mark Watkins**(Ex-officio)
Readers Mrs Anita Hayes (Ex-Officio)*
Churchwardens Mrs Madge Beaumont (Ex-Officio)*
Vacant
Deanery Synod Mr David Brown (Ex-Officio) (Appointed Sept 25)
Vacant (Ex-Officio)

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Elected Members

Mr Vic Maranian (Term of Office Expires 2026) ( Resigned Dec 25 Mrs Christine Brown (Term of Office Expires 2027) Mr David Brown (Term of Office Expires 2027) (Became Ex-Officio as Deanery Synod rep – Sept 25_ ) Mrs Brenda Hall (Term of Office Expires 2027) ( Died Jan 26 ) _Ms Paddy Ward (Term of Office Expires 2028) Vacant (Term of Office Expires 2028)

*Names in italic denote members of the Standing Committee

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

Standing Committee

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

It consists of the Vicar, churchwardens, PCC Secretary, and in the absence of a permanent PCC Treasurer, up to two elected members of the PCC

Electoral Roll

After the creation of the new roll there were now 40 people on it at the APCM in March 2025

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Review of the Year

Report from The Reverend Mark Watkins

2025 saw the continued consolidation of the extended Pontefract Benefice with the four Churches plus St Mary’s congregation in the Community Hall growing closer together.

Ministry has been shared across the various local churches so at All Saints we have seen a variety of Clergy and other Ministers taking part and / or leading worship over the year and we do thank them all for their work amongst us.

Our local Schools continue to visit All Saints, both as a curriculum resource and also to hold their own worship events and special times, like Easter, Harvest Festivals and of course, Christmas. Christmas in particular saw an increased attendance at most of the special services and carol services, and nearly 1000 just from the schools, as well as increased attendance at our own Community Carol Service and the Christmas Eve Torchlight Children’s service and midnight Services. Neither should we forget the Pet Service, which continues to be a popular event in October as part of the Harvest Season, and our Harvest Festival, when a substantial donation of food and etc. was able to be made to the local Foodbank this year.

Ministry to the three Care Homes - Priory Gardens, Willow Park and Millfields continues as well and those attending the services and Carol Services during the year in these Homes are an important part of our Church Family and can I please take this opportunity to ask you all to pray for this ministry and for these and other Care-Based provision in our Community and for those who work there and support what is sometimes a forgotten section of our Church Family.

During the year there have been 15 Baptisms, including 1 Adult, and just three Weddings and just over 20 funerals. These numbers are all significantly reduced over previous years for some reason.

Once again, we have run a number of Bible Studies and we also ran the second All Saints Afternoon Tea and Fun evening on All Saints Weekend and our Patronal Festival.

Finally, as very big and heartfelt thank you for your ongoing and prayerful support in the past year for me and my ongoing ministry amongst you. It is, as always, a wonderful privilege to have been amongst you and also an enormous thank you for all of you who serve All Saints and support our ministry in Pontefract in every way, and without which this fellowship could not continue to exist.

Thank you again and may I wish you all God’s Very Best Blessings now and always.

Matters discussed by the PCC

The full PCC has met throughout the year. As always, the PCC have discussed a range of issues, these have included:

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Financial Activities

2025 saw a decrease of our income by approximately £14,000, and we also saw a decrease in our expenditure by approximately £7,000 this gave us a net deficit of £4000, so while the overall outturn was a reduction in our unrestricted reserves, this still allowed us to maintain our Parish Share contribution at the same level as 2024 - £24,000

There was no movement in the restricted accounts for the Church Gates or Hall.

All Saints’ continues to depend on its members for support, both practical and monetary, for its continued existence and outreach to the community.

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

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

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

We are fortunate to have an accountant who acts as our treasurer, Mrs Sam Hutton, who during this year has made the decision to give her skills and expertise to us freely, we are grateful for her support. Fr Ian has continued to meet with her regularly, and they continue to ensure that we remain fiscally secure for the future.

A copy of the parish accounts are appended to the back of this report for inspection and have been independently examined by KJA Kilner Johnson Ltd, to whom we are grateful for their continued support.

Fabric

Downpipe above the NE corner of the Nave was re-fixed & painted by Dream Heritage.

The lightning protection system was tested and passed by PTSG Castleford.

Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) was carried out by Hawkesworth with 55 items all passing.

The SW churchyard gates were re-fixed by Wakefield Council.

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The church organ humidifier was serviced by Watkins & Watson.

The church clock was serviced by Smiths of Derby.

Fire extinguishers serviced by CFS Pontefract with one extinguisher being replaced in the South Transept & a new CO2 extinguisher fitted in the boiler room.

The sump pump in the boiler room was replaced.

The double doors leading from the nave to the office/vestry/kitchen areas were refurbished.

Virtually all light bulbs in the church have been replaced by LED bulbs. Some areas eg Nave entrance CFL bulbs are being replaced by LED bulbs as they become faulty.

There had been a mains circuit electrical fault in the main body of the church which was repaired by Alpha Electrics.

The church boiler received its yearly service which was carried out by Ed Dale who also issued our yearly gas safety certificate. Ed is new to us at All Saints and was recommended to us by St Giles who also have their 3 boilers serviced by him.

Study

During Lent 2025 All Saints joined the other parishes within the Benefice for a study course focussed upon Discipleship. The course was run over the five weeks of lent and each week there were six sessions hosted around the Benefice on different days and times to enable everyone the opportunity to engage. Fr Mark has already talked about the other studies undertaken during the year.

Worship

Regular Worship at All Saints is as follows:

10.00 a.m. Holy Communion 6.30 p.m. Evensong (4[th] Sunday of Month Holy Communion) 9.30 a.m. Wednesday – Midweek Holy Communion

In addition to our regular worship there have been other services conducted through the year during Holy week and Christmas, as well as the memorable Pet service which was received very positively.

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

Clergy

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

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

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

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

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

Lay Ministers

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

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

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

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

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

Deanery Synod

Pontefract Deanery Synod met twice during 2025, in January and September. Sandwiched in between these meetings a joint meeting of the Wakefield Episcopal Area was held in June.

Our January meeting was hosted by St Mary’s Church, South Elmsall and led by the Area Dean Reverend Paul Cartwright. The meeting was split into three sections, a meeting of laity members, followed by a meeting including both laity and clergy and finally a meeting of clergy only.

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The meeting was mainly based around official procedural matters, the welcoming of new members to Deanery Synod and the election of laity officers. Three posts were vacant, which included post of Chair and Treasurer. There were no takers at this point.

Following the election of officers, clergy joined the meeting which began with prayers, before the licensing of Fr Ian Bullock as Assistant Area Dean took place.

Once official business had been conducted an address was made by the Archdeacon of Pontefract, Cat Thatcher, who spoke about herself and her position. Following the address, laity departed the meeting whilst clergy remained to conduct their own elections and business.

June 2025, our Joint Synod meeting within the Wakefield Episcopal Area was held in Wakefield Cathedral. Dean of Pontefract, Paul Cartwright led us in prayer before an address by Jude Smith, Director of Mission was given on the ‘Barnabas Project’ an initiative by Leeds Diocese.

The Barnabas Project is aimed at providing support to Churches where it is required. There are four main areas of support available at present, which aim to provide confidence in mission, confidence in Church Wardens, confidence in Faith and confidence in the Future, all of which are required for a church to flourish. Here at St Michael’s this initiative could be linked with our own Succession Planning initiative.

After discussions had taken place amongst those present, the evening closed with prayers and a blessing.

Our third Deanery Synod meeting of the year took place in September and was hosted by St Giles, Pontefract. The meeting opened with prayers, followed by procedural matters, the welcoming of new members, the introduction of the new Lay Chair person, Toni Crooks and the election of officers from the laity who had come forward to serve since the January meeting.

Following general procedures, the main business of the evening was to evaluate the results of a previously distributed questionnaire asking Deanery Synod members to suggest how they would wish future meetings to be conducted etc, including suggestions for future topics for discussion.

There followed an address on the Walsingham Youth Pilgrimage, an annual event which takes place in the summer. We were given an overview of the Pilgrimage, costings for the experience and the prospects for future pilgrimages. Updates were then given on our present position regarding meeting our Net Zero Carbon targets. The meeting closed with Compline.

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Outreach and Activities

Social Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Schools work

Fr Ian has continued to build a strong relationship with St Giles’, and Fr Mark has continued to work with schools within the parish.

Social Events

All Saints has again seen small number of social events.

It has been was noted at the APCM in 2024 and 2025 that there was a need to look at how we can encourage the growth of coffee on a Sunday morning after the service, as this was lacking. This is a key element to our witness as a worshipping community, and an opportunity to grow in fellowship. This remains to be a weakness and will need to remain as an outstanding item until resolved.

Refreshments after worship on a Wednesday continue to happen, which are always welcomed by people who attend worship, and offer an opportunity to speak to people who may have joined us for the first time.

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Good Causes

During 2025, All Saints was able to support the following organisation:

Safeguarding

The Church complies with Diocesan Safeguarding Policies and Practices, with regular updating of the Diocesan Safeguarding Dashboard and Safeguarding Hub. This guides the PCC in fulfilling its statutory obligations.

The PCC continues to commit to carrying out the Church of England Policy for Safeguarding; it also reaffirms that everyone is responsible for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults irrespective of their role within the church community, with any concerns being reported to the Safeguarding Officer, Clergy or a member of the PCC.

All members of All Saints Church who are, due to the nature of their post (Voluntary or otherwise) are currently in receipt of an enhanced DBS check and this information is confidentially stored with the parish administrator. Post holders and volunteers have all received the necessary clearance to fulfil their roles. All DBS checks are renewed every three years.

Actions completed:

I have not been present at Church over the last five months due to health issues but rest assured, I have dealt with all Safeguarding matters in the usual way.

I am in constant contact with Father Ian and would like to thank him for his support of Safeguarding Matters. My thanks also to Father Mark and all the Clergy, Church Wardens and anyone I’ve pestered for answers to my questions.

Safeguarding is not one person’s responsibility; it is the responsibility of all. Please be Vigilant. If at any time you have any Safeguarding Concerns, please report it as soon as possible.

Christine Brown Safeguarding Officer

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Conclusion

This Report and the Attached Accounts were approved by the PCC on 24[th] February 2026 and signed on their behalf by:

The Reverend Ian Bullock (PCC Chair) Vicar of Pontefract

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