# **PARISH CHURCH ST JOHN THE BAPTIST STAFFORD TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT INCLUDING** # **FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL** # **FOR THE ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING** **26th April 2026** ## **Incumbent:** The Revered Dr Carl Rudd The Rectory Westhead Avenue Stafford ## **Independent Examiner:** Mr Malcolm Kidd Chestnut Close Derrington Stafford ## **ST JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH, STAFFORD TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT INCLUDING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE P.C.C. FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] DECEMBER 2025** ## **List of Contents** - Administration Information - Rector’s Report - Associate Priest’s Report - Churchwardens Report - PCC Review - Electoral Roll Report - Deanery Synod Report - Fabric Report - Worship Report - Financial Review - Finance - PCC Members - Other Reports from Groups & Committees ## **Objectives and Activities** The Parochial Church Council of The Parish of St Johnn the Baptist Stafford (the PCC) has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent Rev Dr Carl Rudd, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelical, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also spiritually responsible for the maintenance of the church. The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our church and to become part of our parish community at St John the Baptist. The PCC maintains an overview of worship throughout the parish and makes suggestions on how our services can involve the many groups that live within our parish. Our services and worship put faith into practice through prayer, scripture, music and sacrament. Also, through non sacramental activities of hospitality and fellowship we aim to reach non churched members of the community. **Public Benefit** The trustees of the Charity are aware of the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit in The Advancement of Religion for the Public Benefit and have had regard to it in their administration of the Charity. The trustees believe that, by promoting the work of the Church of England in the Ecclesiastical Parish of St John the Baptist Stafford, it helps to promote the whole mission of the Church (pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical) more effectively, within the Ecclesiastical Parish, and that in doing so it provides a benefit to the public by: • Providing facilities for public worship, pastoral care and spiritual, moral and intellectual development, both for its members and for anyone who wishes to benefit from what the Church offers; and • Promoting Christian values and service by members of the Church in and to their communities, to the benefit of individuals and society as a whole. ## **Rectors Report 2025.** A year of great blessing. We built the year on the verse ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ Philippians 4v13. The church grew significantly during the year, in number and in depth. The number of people attending homegroups grew, and we can all see the numbers of adults and children have swelled through the year. Our church family relationships have grown stronger and our cultural diversity has increased. We are a church where there is unity, yet we are not about conformity and it is a joy to be part of the family. Having trialled Memories in 2024 it became a firm fixture in the events of the church each month. It reaches out serving the community and the church drawing people together to enjoy a special time of joy, through worship, games, laughter and competition. As we reached the middle of the year and the community afternoon we reached out into the community and saw many faces we have not seen before come to the afternoon. A great celebration of his church showing how the church can gather the community together. The youth went off to Limitless up at the showground, growing greatly from their time together, and as they returned spoke vibrantly of how God had met with them and they with God. Children and youth have greatly benefitted through Megan and her teams ministry on Sundays, with groups in the week and time in school. There were good encounters both at St Johns School and at Weston Road Academy. Regularly activities like Place of Welcome, M&M’s, the flower group, music, Food from the Nations, and the men’s group have continued, and encouraged us to think more about how we feed our family and reach out into the community. There are rumours of a ladies group… As we dig into the Bible, offering time to consider our faith week by week, and through courses we are so aware how we rely on God’s provision for us. We have been blessed, and yet believing there is more we are called to do we need the families support with their talents and the finances. 2025 saw us spending £126,271 and with generous giving we raised £102,021and so you will see we need to increase giving????? ## **Associate Priest's Report 2025** ## Another very busy but I believe a very fruitful year. It has been an absolute joy to see the number of those worshipping on a Sunday grow in the way it has. Seeing the number of children attending, too, is so encouraging. I can’t simply mention Sundays, though – those attending on a Wednesday have also grown in number and the service, although very different to that on a Sunday, is warm and gentle. One particularly memorable event in the year was the Community Day. Watching so many people queue at some points to come into church was just amazing and to hear their comments as they left was extraordinary. There are many things to celebrate; another Alpha course brought new people to faith and it has been so good to see people engage with the Lord at the beginning of their journey as well as to watch others’ faith deepen. This necessitated the growth of homegroups, too – to go from two to four and one on zoom has been so encouraging. Memories has continued to give me pleasure and I cannot thank the team who support me enough; the group couldn’t function without them. In October we celebrated our first anniversary and, whilst sadly we have lost a few members, we have also welcomed new ones. I have enjoyed being part of our services which offer healing prayer ministry; to see this being more commonly practised has been good. As well as these, our Services of Remembering have continued to provide comfort to those who have been bereaved. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your prayers and your love and support as I have struggled with Stuart’s health. You are an amazing church family and I feel very blessed to be a part of it with you. **Sue Cooke** ## **Church Wardens Report 2025** We continue to welcome the newcomers and rejoice in the way they have become part of the church family. We thank Carl, Sue, Megan and Readers of the Ministry team for their leadership in all the different aspects of worship. They encourage all of us to engage & use talents and skills in whatever way to enhance services and other church needs. We have also welcomed Amanda Fryatt now as an Ordinand, and pray that we can make this time of training with us as informative and friendly as possible for her. Without the dedication of the musicians, welcomers, readers, sacristy team, treasury team, sound/vision technicians, those helping with the children and the providers of refreshments for after service fellowship, we could not be the well run community we are. We say thank you to Jane Judson who manages the bookings of the hall and meeting room and to Ian Ryder for all the maintenance and fabric needs that he carries out throughout the year and welcome Kev Brady & Mick Lomas to his team. We also appreciate the work of Memories, M&M’s, Places of Welcome, World Focus Group (WFG), Food from the Nations (FftN) and the Flower group in their respective roles. Gemma Constable and weekly volunteers take good care of the church building. For keeping the garden and surrounding grassed areas neat, tidy and enjoyable to look at we are grateful to Mick & Terese Lomas along with Rajan Sambandam. Also to Jackie Palphreyman who deals with all the administrative matters for the Benefice. We meet regularly with Carl to encourage & work with him for the benefit of the congregation and the Ministry team. Although meetings with our counterparts in the Benefice has been less regular this year due to ill health and other causes, we hope to improve on this in future. We would like to thank the PCC and congregation for their support as we carry out the responsibilities of Warden’s. We appreciate the confidence placed in us and will endeavor to fulfil all that is required of us. 2 Peter 1: 5-9 ## **Anne Scott & Francis Tamba** ## **PCC Review of the Year 2025** As a PCC we have continued to meet regularly this year. We have welcomed the newly elected members, Marianne Parkes, Kev Brady & Mick Lomas to their first year of a three year term and appreciate their fresh input into discussions. Growth of the congregation both adults and children has continued & it is a joy to welcome newcomers into our church family. Credit must go to the Ministry team of Carl, Sue, Readers, Isobel, Francis & Christina. We also welcomed Amanda Fryatt an ordinand in training to the team. Thanks go to the musicians, those who pray, sing & read, also to those who handle the technical needs of worship enabling services to be seen and heard easily. Megan continues to provide for the younger members of the congregation of all age groups both in church & at St Johns Primary Academy and Weston Road Academy. The young people & Megan enjoyed time at the County Showground in August when attending ‘Limitless’ accompanied by Jamie Parkes. Through the generosity of the congregation & income realised by letting the church hall we have continued to tithe10% of our income guided by the World Focus Group who also held a very successful coffee morning for Christian Aid in May. Services of Remembering have been held during the year along with the national Service of Remembrance in November. Three Healing Services in June, August & November were much appreciated. A complete revision of the Electoral Roll was carried out in line with the Church of England requirements prior to the APCM. A follow-on Alpha ran in January and a new Alpha course began in September. Thanks go to all those in a leadership role in both these and home groups. Home groups have been successful, studying The Prodigal Son in January. February – March, Patriarchs & Prophets, then in May - August we looked at 1 Corinthians and Ephesians with a Lent course in between on The’ I am’ Statements of Christ. In November we had a reading of the complete Gospel of John enjoyed by both listeners and readers. ‘Memories’ for those living with dementia and those caring for them has continued to give fellowship and a welcome each month which is enjoyed as much by the latter as the former. Place of Welcome and M&M’s have continued throughout the year with new faces joining in with the crafts. A table of articles crafted and created by the group and others was set out during the year which raised funds for church. June saw events that were thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended including a very successful Community Afternoon, a Morning of Musical Fellowship and a Sing & Play concert. A talk was given on the latest news from the Titanic in October following the most recent fatal accident at the scene. We have hosted two Repair Café’s this year as well as enjoying another superb concert in December from Stafford Sinfonia. This month also saw a well-attended floral workshop led by the Flower Group. Let us pray that as a PCC we will continue to serve & be blessed by worship, fellowship and goodwill as we move through the year to grow in faith and love. **Anne Scott.** ## **Electoral Roll Report for 2025** I would like to thank all those who last year re-applied to be included on the Church Electoral Roll. Being included on the Roll is a great way of being part of our church family here at St John’s. This allows you to have an input in church matters and decisions by being able to attend and vote at the Annual Parochial Church Council Meetings (APCM). The number of people on the Roll as of 31[st] December 2025 was 86. Please advise of any change of address, telephone/mobile numbers and email to maintain contact with you. As I am now stepping down as Electoral Roll Officer it can be done through Carl, Sue or the Wardens until a new officer is in place. ## **Ann Woodcock.** ## **Deanery Synod Report 2025** In June, there was a presentation from Rev David Clark on his involvement with Love Stafford, whose objective is the advancement of the Christian faith by churches of different denominations in and around Stafford working together and with the local MP and Stafford Borough Council. He asked for people to be involved on the committee as C of E was under- represented. We were also asked to share Battles, Breakthroughs and Blessings within our parish setting. In September we were given a presentation on Eco Churches by Dr Jan Firth, the Lichfield Diocese Environmental Officer. In line with the 5th mark of mission - Caring for God's Earth - the aim is for all churches to have achieved a Bronze award by 2030 which means registering by the end of 2026. An additional goal is Net Zero Carbon by 2035. Further information is to be found at www.ecochurch.arocha.org.uk Helen Emery, the newly appointed Whole Life Discipleship Officer, talked about intentional discipleship being an integration in our lives rather than an addition. She spoke about the 6 M's: model, make, minister, mould, mouthpiece and message. There will be a learning platform and further information via the Lichfield Bulletin. **Wendy Clarke, Nicola Woodhouse** ## **Fabric Report 2025** It has been another successful year with work carried out by Ian Ryder, later joined by Kev Brady & Mick Lomas. Rajan Sambandam helps in many ways and continues to keep the grounds in good order while Mick & Terese Lomas provide grass mowing & edging to a high standard. Thanks go to all of them for their willingness to use their time and talents to such good effect. In January we had some major storm damage to the roof fascia overlooking the car park which necessitated urgent temporary repair before it was fully restored along with new verges in June Also in January a new fridge was purchased for the kitchen and a laptop to provide overhead screens for worship. The church piano was tuned. We experienced problems with the drains backing up into the kitchen in March which despite rodding being carried out by Carl & Ian we had to eventually have them professionally dealt with in May. In August the lightening conductor was checked and passed. During this quieter time the hall floor was treated with new varnish, the music corner electrical socket was replaced and the boiler room lights were replaced inside and out. Gemma Constable volunteered and in August successfully repainted the toilet walls which was much appreciated. The church boiler was serviced in September. In October, the water meter was replaced. During the same period, the hall boiler underwent a service and in addition, the slightly overdue Quinquennial inspection was conducted by the Diocesan architect. With a List A permission new shelving was fitted in the ladies toilet cubicles in November to provide more space for toiletries. Bad weather in November led to more leaking from the flat roof windows in the foyer. A team of Ian, Kev & Mick have made strenuous efforts to cure this problem. Sadly for the moment a rethink of what to do next to solve the leaking is under consideration, bad weather preventing further attempts for the moment. Kev Brady will in future represent the Fabric Team on PCC, so I express my thanks to them all and hand over the paperwork role with some relief! **Anne Scott** ## **Financial Review** During the 2025 year the Church Members generously contributed £74,321 including gift aid (2024: £67,467) towards the church finances. The Statement of Assets and Liabilities record that most of the cash funds are held in CCLA deposit accounts with approximately £15K being held in the Co-Op current account for day to day operations. Although the accounts are prepared using receipts and payments accounting, certain charity collections such as the Toybox plate collection, Children’s Society plate collection, Christians against Poverty, and monies owed to the Lichfield Diocesan Board of Finance is shown as agency collections under liabilities. There are 3 types of fund categories within the accounts. These are: 1) General Funds 2) Designated Funds - 3) Restricted Funds The Restricted Funds of the Church can only be used for the purpose for which they were given. Overall, the Restricted Funds have decreased by £3,125 The Unrestricted Funds of the church consist of the Designated funds and the General Fund. The Designated Funds are fabric, office equipment and Rectors Discretionary fund. These funds saw an overall reduction of £3,575 during the year and at 31 December the balance of the Fund was £9,754 (2024 £13,329). This figure includes a physical asset of £2000 (piano) leaving cash of £7754 in the accounts. The main reason for the reduction in the account for 2025 was repairs to the church costing £4245. Although these funds have been set aside out of an unrestricted fund for a specific purpose, this would not prevent the PCC reallocating these sums for other uses or returning them to unrestricted funds. The General Fund (Unrestricted Fund) saw an overall decrease to the fund of £17,549 and had a balance at the 31 December 2025 of £43824 (2024 £61,347). Some of the reasons for this reduction include: 1) Increase of the cost of gas. 2025 cost of £16184.92 (2024 £3094). This larger amount is due to firstly a long term contract came to an end during July 2024 resulting in a large increase in the cost of gas and increased use of the church building resulting in a large gas bill during the winter of 24/25. 2) The church gives a proportion of receipts to external charities. Some of the 2024 giving by the church were delayed until 2025. As a result the 2025 accounts show a higher figure than the normal 10%. - 3) A number of smaller increases such as parish share, salaries etc. ## **Conclusions** During 2025 the amount of money taken in increased over 2024 however the payments increased by a much larger amount. Whilst this is being covered by a previous endowment the situation will be monitored by the PCC. The overall aim is for the receipts into the church should cover the payments for the year. ## **Reserves Policy** It is PCC policy to try to maintain a balance on free reserves (net current assets) which equates to at least three months unrestricted payments. This is equivalent to £31,567 (2023 £25,200). It is held to smooth out fluctuations in cash flow and to meet emergencies. The balance of the free reserves at the year-end was £43,824 (2024 £61,347) which is slightly higher than this target. The Trustee feel that a higher reserve is prudent in these uncertain times with Quinquennial works. **Investment Policy** The charity is granted power to invest in suitable investments under the PCC Powers Measure 1956 and the Trustees Act 2000. As a charity, the Trustees have a duty of care to take such advice as is appropriate before investments are undertaken. This advice is sought from the Central Board of Finance (CCLA) in London. The charity’s investment policies are based on two key principles: - - Ethical Investment – this includes ensuring that investments are held in companies which have high standards of corporate governance and act in a responsible way towards stakeholders - Long-term responsibilities – the trustees are aware of their long-term responsibilities in respect of the Restricted and Unrestricted reserves and as a result follow a prudent approach to investment decisions. Investment policy for long-term funds is aimed primarily at generating a sustainable income, with due regard to the need for the preservation of capital value, and the possible need to realise investments to meet operational needs. The charity does not have a policy of generating income at excessive or high risk – known as “purchasing income”, where high returns are guaranteed at the expense of capital. In summary, the charity has an overall policy to maximise income while preserving the real value of its funds. Due to the nature of the charity, an ethical investment policy is taken into consideration when investments are made: The charity follows the Ethical Investment Advisory policy as recommended by the Lichfield Diocese which includes the following: “We aim to invest in companies that: - will develop their business in the interests of shareholders; - demonstrate responsible employment practices; - are conscientious concerning issues of corporate governance, the environment and human rights; - are sensitive to the community in which they operate. Planned giving, collections and donations are the main sources of fund raising along with tax recoverable. ## **Safeguarding** The PCC believe they have fulfilled their duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have due regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults) ## **Reporting Serious Incidents** A Serious Incident is an adverse event, whether actual or alleged, which results in or risks significant harm to the charity’s beneficiaries, employees, office holders, volunteers or to others who come into contact with the charity through its work, loss of the charity’s money or assets, damage to the charity’s property or harm to the charity’s work or reputation. The trustees are not aware of any Serious Incidents in the last year. ## **Fundraising** The PCC takes it fundraising responsibilities seriously and is very grateful to all donors – whether regular or occasional – for their support of the church and church events. PCC supporters are never taken for granted. The PCC take full responsibility for fundraising and do not use commercial organisations or professional fundraisers. All money raised is either by donations, fundraising events, special appeals or legacies for which the PCC are most grateful. Voluntw• Thè membe(8 of PCC WO￿ like to thank all tha ¥O￿nto81￿ work 80 hw(I to make our Chufch a Ir4ety and vllxant cowffiunty. Rl•k PA4nag•m•nt The Church Wardens carry cxrt rngular H8alth and Safety Revkn and regulaty nSF*Ct premlges for potenb.al hazards. We have safeguarding poli¢i88 in place chdd wotection and for wort with vulnorable adults, ￿ClUding rigcffjus OBS checklng ol staff and voluni88r8. Our insurances are rev*wed annualty to ar￿re ad8quat6 cover. An infofmal revtthy of any new ri8ks whith may impact the work of the Church in the Parish 18 ongoirvJ. StrU￿ure, Gov•rn•nc• and IAan•gThnt PCC is a Body corp￿te established by the Church of England and is a Charity regislered with the Charity Commission under regi8tratbon number 1138634 or exceptgd Charity. Th6 PCC is by the Paro¢hlal Church Council PtYtyver8 Measure {1956) 89 am•ndad that camo into effect on 2nd January 1957, and ts Church Rewesentation Rules (contained in Schedule 3 to the Synodical Government Measure 1969 as amerKJed). The method of appointment of the PCC member8 is sel oth in the ch￿th Representation Rules. The Council cowises the Incumbent. the Churchwar(lens. a representative of t Readers, th08e elected lo the Oeanery Synod, and other memt)ér8 who are elected at t Annual Parochial Church Meeting, by th088 on th8 Electoral Roll. The PCC members recebve tralning from cournes run by the Diocese. Members of the corvjregation arg always ur9•d to jorn lh8 El8ctornl Roll, and ¢0 star¥J for oloctlon to the PCC. The PCC m8mber8 resp￿8￿ for m*iThJ docision8 on all mattern of gerwral ¢oncem •nd importancé in the wish, WKI for all financi81 m•tter8. The PCC met 6 tim•8 in 2025. Rélat￿ Partl R•rnun•rallon Pa￿ to Tru•tw• NM• of tho tru81•88 have beon paid any renwneratlon Of recoivod any oth8r bonefrt8 fr￿n employm•rrt with thè PCC or dotaih of any tnjstee th•t was pakl. Exp•n808 paid to Tru•lw• Two trustee$ wer8 reimt￿r8•d £1492 (2024 £1856) for intemet. m￿le, travel ¢08ts arKI oihef actions requlred by the parish. Approv•d by th• PCC on 26 Ma￿h 2026 and s1gn•d on Its b•half by: R•v Dr Carf Rudd l•ob•l Wak•r•ll RKtor L•y Ch•lr 1ndW￿dent Ex•mln•rf• R•port to th• tru$t¢¢sJmomb•rn of IIKI PCC ol St John Th• 8•pUI4 staffofd I I•F¢AI on th••cwd8 Iw 31￿ 2fsdS •# P I I)•X•mif* 14S Aci 145(Siibl cd ch•1￿*¥ In nt Ex•m Ily w•$ In Kc4id¥K• Wih Ih•Gww* Ch•ity CcrfThY • fVrt# cl tho acc￿1￿19 11¢￿￿ d4rrty • ¢cryww tm *th¢• th* wwhj b• ￿11, Ifyj X¢CA* • Injo ¥*ff fwl • lrt•d lo i•t In th• #•l•Y*N b•lty* tn connttl1￿ w4h ry •x4min•tw, r¢ m•t•nl m11￿ hth• lo ry oiiwlth tha¢ *S•¢J)•*J ￿ Y P891'1 wlKh in •rty nw*l I IM do nc¢ x¢¢rd wth t•c¢A• I ccrn m•ttm **h th• trJ**rfh b• &•4m *¥ ch¢*n￿ Clo•• Dffjrffj. SWltyO The PCC ol St John The BaP￿St, stafford Receipts and Payment5 Account Forthe Year Ended 31st December2025 UnNstri¢t+d Fund5 D*5iwat•d Funds R•stri¢t•d Funds T4ts1 Fund5 2020 Toial Fund$2024 RECEIPTS Donatyons and Le9acies 74,1fj6 88271 129,120 Acts￿￿5 tDI GenEiabng Fund5 Ib 520 Incorntfrom In¥estmeDts 519 Chur￿￿￿eS 9,509 13,fJM TDtrI R•c•ipts 6075 PAYFAENTS Raising Funts 232 232 ChurchActhvrnes 1￿3,244 4,246 126040 100,438 Totsi Payments 103475 100.847 Exc•s5 of R•c•ipts ov•r Paym•nts 117.4001 13.7261 (24,2501 44,004 Ttansferbeiw2en Funds N•tMoY•m•htfortr*y•ar 3.57$ 24,250 004 N•tAs5•ts atlstJa 61,374 13,329 11.997 88.7 42.￿4 N•tAss•ts it31st D•B The ￿teS on the folowing pzgesfonn partofthese￿c0￿Thts Tht Pec tsf Sl John The Baptist. Stafford F(Y thg Y•ar End#d 31*t D•C#m￿r 2025 Unm*1￿¢￿￿ vltd¢wJ Tul FuNd• Fl￿th￿l4 1,4 LtrC•d RL IWik•rnl The PCC of St John The Baptlst, stafford Notes to the Flnanclal Statements For the Year Ended 31st December 2025 1 Accountin Polcies The financial slalements ol tho PCC havg been w9pared in acwrdance with the Church Accounti Regulations 20ffi using the Receipts and Payrnenls basis. Income All income is account8d forwh8n iec8iV8d. Acb"vib"e5 directly relating to the work of the Chuich The d10c￿n parish shale is accounlad for when paid Any ￿riSh shaia uwaid at 31 D8c&mbg1 would be provided lor in Ihese accounts as an operational (though not legall liability and is shown as a liability in the Slatetnent of Assets and Liabilities. There may be minor disuepancies In the lolals as the pen￿ are not being shown. 2 Tan ible and intan ible fixed assets Con58Cta18d and b8n8fic8 PtOP8rty 15 not indud8d in th8 accoun15 by s.101211a￿(cl of th8 Chariti8s Ad 2011. Moveable church fuinishings held by Vicai and Churchwaidens on special Itusl loi the PCC and which require a lacully lor disposal are inalienable property, listed in the Church's inventory, which can be Inspected lat any ieasonable litnel. Foi anything acquiied prioi to 2000 Iheie 15 in5ufficienl c05t infotmation available and Ihaiefoie such ass9ts aro not v8lu9d ID tho financial sla19menls. Other fixtsjres fittings and office equipment Equipm&nl used within the Church prgmises is dgpieGiated on a Stra￿h1 ling basis over five years foi furniture, live years with residual value lor musical instruments, and Ihree years lor computers. Individual Ilems of equipment wilh a purchase price of £50ffl 01 less a￿ written off when Ihe asset is acquirad A piano has bgan pieviously purchased and has not baen wrill&n off in the accounts. This Mll b9 Written off during 2026. 3 Descri tion of Funds Unrestricted funds Unie51icled lunds are income funds of Ihe PCC Ihal are available for spending on general purposes of the PCC. including amounts dos1gt￿tad by tho PCC foi Spondit￿ on a futur9 projoct. Restrictsd funds Donations 01 giants received for a specific obied 01 invited by the PCC foi a spe￿fiC obied. The funds may only b8 8xp8nd8d on th8 SP8cific obj8cI for which Ih8y w818 giv8n. Any balanc8 18rnaining unsp8nl al Ihg end ol each ygar musl be carried lorwaid as a balance on that fund. The PCC does not usually invest sEiparately loi each fund. Thesa accounts include all transactions, ass&È and liabililias forwhich PCC is iasponsibla in law. They do nol includg the accounts of Church groups that owe their affilk9tion lo anothgrbody 01 that ale informal galherings ol Church members. The PCC of St John The Bapiist, Stafford Note5 to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31st Decomber 2025 Tolal Fund5 2tr25 Funils 2024 Unr•5tri¢ted Desi￿at8¥ Restricted Fund5 Fund5 Fund5 RECEIPTS Don8tlons and Legaclès VoluntaryRpC￿ptr Regukprgfvl 46,778 4,120 52,898 48,940 lett￿n$81S&￿iCes 7.803 5,L7 l othergiving and volunlary re￿iptS indudiry spe£d aFveals 4.￿0 Recovered 12,636 13,621 12,61J) Leg8c*s Recelv8d 4g,970 Gr￿15 ([￿u￿n9 ￿￿0￿} 74,166 14,105 88,271 # 129.120 A¢Uvllles lorGenwatlwFutr Athvrties and Events 520 109 109 # 520 Rew"OstrombNesbnents Inleresi 519 519 io Clwr¢hA¢tfvitloS s￿lu￿ry Fees Ireialned ty PCCI 1,538 1,538 971 ChurGh AGbvibe5 1.321 2,619 Church H811 Hlte 7,971 7,971 9,414 Totsl Rec8lJts 519 1W2 021 # The PCC of St John The Baptlst, stafford Notss to tha Flnanclal Stst•monts Icontlnuodl For th8 Y8ar End8d 31st December 2025 Total Total Unrestricted Designated Restricted Funds 2025 Funds 2024 Funds Funds Funds PAYMENTS Ralslng Funds Costs ofG8nerntlngFunds Costs ol Fund Raising 232 409 232 232 409 Charltable A¢tlvltloS 5b Chur¢hActivites MISSI￿ Glvlng and Don31bns 12.OLTr) 12.000 6.276 Dl((esan Parish Share 53.069 53,069 52.031 Salaries and Wages 15.039 26.152 24.259 Clergy and Staff Expen8es 1,492 1,823 Chur¢h £¥p8nses Churth Activities Expenses 79 1,331 1,410 1.742 Chur¢h Expenses (MIS￿On ana EVangel￿mI 105 105 328 Churth Running ExpEnse5 lind Governan￿} 4,246 451 12,807 Churth Ullllty Bllls 17.274 1.4 18,674 5.113 103,244 4246 18,550 126,040 100,438 Total Paymonts 103475 126 271 100847 The PCC of St John The Baptist, Stsfford Not85 to the Financial Statements (Continued) For ihe Yoar End&d 31st December 2025 6 Cash atBat* and In ￿nd Unr•sffi¢ted Deslgnatsd Rèstrlctsd 2025Totsl 2024 Totsl CD4JP I￿rrent Acmunl 15,186 15,186 18,618 CBF Deposit AK(￿nt 31.062 46.565 66,39T Petty Cash 50 246 Totsl 7 Other MonetaryAssets Unrostrf¢tsd Deslgnatsd Rèstrl¢tsd 2025Totsl 2024 Totsl LDBF. Re¢tLYy Dea)rallon Fu 875 875 875 Totsl 875 875 875 8 Flxed As50ts Unrestricted Designated R05tr1cted 2025Total 2024 Total Pia 2.000 2.000 Totsl The PCC of St John The Baptist. Stafford Noto$ to tho Finan¢ial Statsmonts ICL)niinuodl For the Year Ended 31st December 2025 Liabilliès Unr•slrict•d 085ignated Restrictod 2025Total 2024 Totsl Parish Sh8reArteJs AgenGy Collectiot 2,424 2,424 1,389 TotAI 10 Swnmary ol Fund Movements Fabric -Afund which paySf￿lhe e55enlHI iepair5 and mainlenar￿of cthtth. iynce EqulFwert- Fun(ts set 8s1def￿0Ill￿eqU1￿￿n1. R•ctors- Afund vthich the Rector uses al his dlgxellon tohelp those In Away Furbj. EX￿Ssfu￿81[oM IIE thich familyfoiday5 trips. Energy Eifkfjency- Funds ieslmctedlo be used ￿ heallng. Pl￿•r- FL￿d$ reStr1d￿ foruse by the fk)wergroup. Overs￿tleS- Funds io bp used foll1￿ benefftdlhD8e over sixty. Places ofWekome- Tr￿Se fundswete detestricted dunng 2024. The fuMs weie used lofundlhe Pla of WelconE Groupwho piovlde retreshmenls anJ a watm welLyJme tolhose Sn wmmunityvtho might be lonely 01 enjoy meeting with olhei. Prolocts- Funds reskn¢tth10 start projedswithin Ihechwth. Quinqu8nnial. Funds re5tsicted lo redrfy buildi￿ re￿1[5 ￿[Trainlena￿￿fi￿i[￿3 fvotn IhequinwennHI review. Sunbeams- Funds reSthd￿ tolhe b8by 8nd l￿d￿rgroup, which gNe p¥ents and rarers a Chan￿ lo SO￿alISe whilsllhe children havelun leam through Oay. Youth Clth. Fund5 sel aside lobe used in the wotkdthe Yth Club, Zone whith ￿ter￿f0[Year &75. Youthwotknr - ReSth¢t￿ fundslo the youth ¥Mth all the chldien and Youih Glows in Ir church. The PCC of St John The Baptist, Stafford Nots5 to the Financial Statsments (Continued) For Ihe Ygar Endgd 31st Dg¢ombgr 2025 10 s￿￿mary ol Fund Movements Iconunuedl Balancoat 1stJan Balanee at Tr8nsfers 31st Dec Recelpts P8ymet)ts Unre5tiiGted Fund 61373.81 86,075 1103N751 De51gnated Funds Fabr 12.334 519 14.2461 8.608 EquIpm￿l 949 94g Re¢tois 46 150 196 13,)29 519 4,246 150 9,753 Re51rided Funds Away D8y 67 Energy Effi￿et F￿Wer 818 259 11851 892 Over Si*iies 606 606 Placesd Wdo)me Projects 61 61 Quinquennial 138 113BI Sunbeams 1,523 417 11571 1,783 Youth Club 2,719 671 18281 2,562 Youlhwotsr 17 242 Totsl Funds 102 021 126271 Thè PCC of St John Tho Baptist. St*fford Notss to thè Fin8ntial St8tsmènts Icontinutsdl Foi the Yoar Endèd 31st Dètembtsr 2025 11 Anatysls of Transf•rb•ttv••n Funds Unrèstrlctsd 0oslgnot•d R•strlctéd Tot&1 150 PCC Members who served from 2025 to the date this report was approved |Trustee name|Office (if any)|Dates acted if not for
whole period| |---|---|---| |**Ex Officio**||| |Rev’d Dr Carl Rudd|Rector|| |Rev’d Sue Cooke|Associate Priest|From March 2024 –| |Isobel Wakerell|Reader Deputy Warden|2025-2026| |Elizabeth Clarke|Deanery Synod|2023-2026| |Wendy Clark|Deanery Synod|2023-2026| |Nicola Woodhouse|Deanery Synod|2023-2026| |**Elected Members**||| |Anne Scott|Churchwarden|2025-2026| |Francis Tamba|Reader Churchwarden|2025-2026| |||| |Mrs Pam Ayre||-2027| |Mrs Naomi Blears||-2028| |Kevin Brady||-2028| |Peter Fryatt||-2027| |Mrs Christine Gawthorpe||-2026| |Tony Greaves|Treasurer|-2027| |Mick Lomas||-2028| |Mrs Marianne Parkes||-2028| |Mrs Lynda Ryder||-2027| **Charity Name:** : The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St John the Baptist, Stafford ## **Registered Charity Number:** Number 1138634 **Charity’s principal address:** St John the Baptist Church, Bedford Avenue, Stafford ST16 3LH ## **Correspondence address:** As above **Website address:** www.stjohnsstafford.org **Bank:** Co-operative Bank, 43 Greengate Street, Stafford, ST16 2JA **Investment Managers:** CCLA Investment Management 1 Angel Ln London EC4R 3AB **Independent Examiner:** Malcolm Kidd Chestnut Close, Derrington, Stafford. ## **Other Reports from Groups and Committees** ## **Worship Report 2025** Thank you to all involved in worship. There has been much to celebrate in worship this year. The continued growth of our talented musicians, as individuals and as a community who make music together Liz, Jamie, Frank, Christina, and Bowen. The adding of additional vocal leads has been a further gift to us all in sung worship, Pam, Megan and Isobel. We are thankful for all the weeks we have musicians play at our midweek communion, Alan Bancroft and Ann Bolton. This year has also seen a team grow to provide sound week by week on Sundays, and a team to do the PowerPoint slides. It is a wonderful gift to have so many bringing glory to God. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Psalm 150: 6 ## **Pastoral Care Report 2025** It has been a blessing to see the congregation growing over the last year. With this comes the need to care for each other amongst both new and established members. The Pastoral Care Team work throughout the Parishes of St John’s, Tixall and Ingestre seeking to keep in contact with all who may for whatever reason need support and care. Rev Carl Rudd, Rev Sue Cooke, Lyn Ryder, Anne Scott, Isobel Wakerell and Nicola Woodhouse met throughout the year to pray and share concerns. The team visited individually or in pairs wherever a need arose whether at home, in care, nursing/residential homes, hospitals and hospices. Holy Communion was shared if requested and for those who could no longer attend church services this was their way of still being part of the body of Christ; they are not forgotten. Services of Holy Communion were held monthly at Bradbury House, Tithe Barn Court, and Weston House. Thanks must be given to Alan Bancroft for his keyboard skills in accompanying the singing at some of these venues. The residents really enjoyed a good sing and again for some it was their only contact with worship. Throughout the year pastoral contacts were made through weddings, baptisms, and funerals. The biannual Remembering Services in May and November were further opportunities for pastoral care following a bereavement. In this way pastoral care reached out into our wider community. The Community Day in June whilst being a fun and social event was a chance to speak with local residents and follow up any requests or needs. Pastoral care underpins all aspects of our church life; chats at Place of Welcome, conversations over coffee after a service or social events can all highlight where a deeper need for support through prayer and listening is required. The Team recognises that a lot of pastoral care support is undertaken quietly by congregation members, thank you for your love and support of each other. Please continue to contact members of the Team if you feel there is a particular need or concern. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28) As followers of Jesus may we all continue to love our neighbour, be aware of their needs, share God’s healing love and shine God’s light in our communities. **Isobel Wakerell.** ## **Prayer Chain Report** The Prayer chain now has 20 members who all pray when a prayer request comes in. Our most recent member was added on 30[th] December 2025. After a flush of messages when it first started the requests have come in more sparsely, but of course each is important. I normally receive these by text to the published telephone number, and this is preferred as I can then copy and paste it into messages to the prayer chain. Plain text is used to make it accessible to as many people as possible. I can create a message from a request received by other means, but a written form is better as sometimes tiny changes in wording, which I may not be aware that I am making, can change the nuance of the request. Anyone wishing to join the Prayer Chain should give their name and phone number to myself or one of the Wardens. ## **Lynn Eaton.** ## **Flower Group Report 2025** The Church Flower Group are a self-funding group, consisting of 11 members, over the past year we have continued to provide the flowers in the church held a Christmas workshop for 39 attendees, both church family and friends, thanks to all involved for a great time of friendship, fellowship and sharing of talents. The event raised £150 for the Church Heating Fund and an additional further donation of £200 was made, raised from previous fundraising events. We very much thank church family members for all your support especially at festival times with foliage donations, and for the privilege of being asked on occasions to arrange floral arrangements in memory of loved ones. We record our thanks to Megan and the Children’s Groups for their support at festival times with the provision of additional items for use in window dressings, and for the beautiful poppies at Remembrance. Three years ago in an effort to be more Eco Friendly as a Group, we decided to cut down on the regular weekly use of floral foam and instead use alternative medium to secure the flowers in our designs, sometimes using vases of water, on other occasions using scrunched chicken wire, florists pins, glass beads, pebbles and of course twigs and foliage, on the occasions we do use floral foam it is our practise to use the minimum amount required. It is a pleasure to work in this church ministry, if you feel you can assist, we would be pleased to welcome you into the group. ## **Barbara Maltby** ## **Place of Welcome Report 2025** This has been another excellent year for Place of welcome. We may feel the number attending Tuesday has reduced, and the numbers on Wednesday have increased but each day enables people to come and receive a friendly chat. Each day means no one needs to be on their own on those days. So if you know people who are on their own and would benefit from a chat please encourage them to come and have friendship. Growing friendship in our community will always show the church loves its neighbours, and that will always be a key part of our expression of faith. Thank you to everyone who comes and makes place of welcome possible, without all those who volunteer it just couldn’t happen. Thank you. ## **World Focus Group 2025** 2025 has seen some changes for the World Focus Group. As part of a reorganization of church groups, Carl gave Focus Group a new framework to work with for the church tithing. We are at present working through this new process. We have still however continued supporting all our usual charities. Our church has always been a generous church, tithing 10% of the congregation giving to charities. WFG role is to explore and suggest charities to the PCC, ensuring that they are on the Charity Commission register. This last winter we were tasked with providing pot noodles and chocolate drink sachets to the House of Bread to enable the homeless to easily access something to eat and drink. The congregation gave abundantly and we were able to supply HOB with all they needed. Our Christmas hamper food collection for Women’s Aid was well supported once again. The Christmas charity this year was for the Children’s Cancer and Parent’s Alliance, and we were pleased to send them £586.25. The Christingle service was well attended and raised £127.88 for the Children’s Society. Also, the Christians Against Poverty charity benefited from the Harvest collection of £254.25. These are all from the plate collection, direct from the congregation. We are so very grateful to Naomi Blears for her diligent work in organizing the collections and payments to all the charities. As the new year starts, we are already in the throes of organizing this year’s Christian Aid coffee morning and preparing for new challenges. The focus group would love to have new members to help us steer through this year. Please speak to either **Isobel Wakerell** or **Lyn Ryder** for information. ## **Youth and Children’s Report 2025** ## **Children’s Church** Children’s church is available for those children and young people who would like to explore and understand more about God. We meet during the Sunday morning communion services, and we usually learn about the same bible readings in the service. The session usually includes the welcome, a dance/song, a game and lesson (which usually involves an animated video), followed by a craft. Sessions are adapted based on the lesson being learnt. Once communion has started in the service, we rejoin the church family and have an activity booklet to complete at the back or with family, as well as joining in with worship. It is a joy to say we have seen an increase in numbers in children’s church, with our average now 8-12 weekly. ## **TNT** TNT is a group for Year 6 and high school-aged young people. Meeting on a Tuesday 5- 6.30pm, starting with hot chocolate, tea and toast, we tackle different and sometimes difficult topics, with help from the Bible. Prior to Limitless festival we learnt different topics such as the building of the early church, Proverbs, smaller books in the Bible and Free will. Following Limitless festival we continued learning about counter-cultural living by using the resources shared on Youtube via Limitless. This resource was challenging but inspiring and continued our understanding of what it means to be a Christian and counter-cultural in the current world. ## **Limitless** This Summer, Jamie Parkes and I took 5 young people from St John’s to Limitless – a fiveday Christian festival hosted at the Stafford showground. The theme this year was living counter-culturally, with seminars, worship and activities all based around this topic. The young people came back inspired and renewed in God’s word, which they then shared in the following All-age service. Plans for 2026 are underway with an ever-expanding group! A massive thank you to all those who support this, whether it was helping set up, providing meals for us, or praying. A special thank you to Jamie Parkes for volunteering once again. As a church family, we are now incorporating some of the Limitless songs we learnt into our own worship which is brilliant. ## **Zone** Zone a 90-minute youth club, on Wednesday evenings (6-7.30pm), for young people in years 5, 6 and 7. The first half of the session is filled with games (table tennis, table football, pool, games consoles, etc.) with the second half dedicated to a planned craft activity, or games such as pizza bagels, scavenger hunts and quiz night. We also run a tuck shop during the first half of the session and finish with a quick talk based on a bible passage (usually including a video) and prayer requests from the children. Attendance is lower than it once was but is still between 10-20. Thank you to Pam Davies, and James Hunt for your help, I couldn’t do it without you. ## **Sunbeams** Sunbeams is a baby and toddler group on Monday mornings (9.15-11am). Four sets of toys are rotated, with a different set used each week. Different messy/sensory activities are also laid out each week, such as muddy dinosaurs, snowy train tracks and pasta play. At the end, after tidying up together, we sit down for Bible story and songs before we say goodbye. Our summer goodbye party was wonderful, hiring soft play which the children loved. Our Christmas party was also a great success, thanks once again to Santa! Thank you to Vicky Huddleston, Nicola Woodhouse, Isobel Wakerell and Di Zhang for volunteering to provide much needed tea and coffee. ## **YNow** YNow is a group for Years 1 and 2 (usually) on the third Monday of each month after school until 4.30pm, held at St John’s School. The children partake in team games such as find the character (Noah’s Ark/ Nativity), over under ball game and the parachute. We also sing and dance to worship songs, with a time dedicated to teaching the children more about Jesus including a story and a short talk, followed by a snack. With the new cohort in September, our numbers for this group have increased significantly. ## **Lost and Found** Lost and Found is the 2[nd] Monday of the month at St John’s school. This is so those who leave YNOW have a group to attend once they reached year 3 and continue their learning of Jesus. The format of Lost and Found is the same as Ynow with the learning and games slightly older. ## **School Relationships** Each week I go into school to deliver worship to a phase of children (1&2, 3&4, 5&6) on a three-week rota. The rota of lessons is supplied by the school, of which I then create the worship based on the recommended bible story. This will be a short bible story, followed by a prayer and dance/song (year group depending). We also have different services throughout the year including Easter, Harvest, Christmas and end of the academic year, as well as the Year 6 leavers service. It is always a fun challenge to think of new and exciting ways to present these services in order for the children to learn and be engaged. The highlights of this year was compared Jesus to a dairy milk bar for the Year 6 leavers, and Detective Clueless for the Easter and Christmas worship (which the children loved!) Reception made a special visit to church to have a look round and learn more about what we do. They were particularly interested in the altar, the stain glass windows and the font. We then finished with a ‘Our God is a great big God’ before heading back to school. Carl and I also spend time with reception on a Monday afternoon in the Autumn term, reading to each reception class on a two-week rota. We have continued building on our relationship with Weston Road Academy by going into the schools to do assemblies when possible. In 2025 we explored friendships, relationships and the meaning of the cross. ## **Megan Morris**