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2025-12-31-accounts

ST MARY'S CHURCH – WYKE

ANNUAL REPORT and

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS of the PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL

for the year ended 31 December 2025

Vicar: Rev. Lucy Wormsley

6 Vicarage Close Wyke Bradford BD12 8QW

Bank: Barclays Bank PLC

Independent Examiner: Mrs J Wilkinson FCCA 7 Fielding Way Morley LS27 9AB

Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of St Mary's Church, Wyke, Parochial Church Council.

I report on the accounts of the church for the year ended 31 December 2025 which are set out on pages 8 to 10.

Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and Examiner

The church’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The church's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to

Basis of Independent Examiner's Statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below

Independent Examiner's Statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

  1. which give me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements

  2. to keep accounting records in accordance with s.130 of the 2011 Act; and

  3. to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met; or;

  4. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Jacqueline Wilkinson, FCCA Signed 7 Fielding Way Morley LS27 9AB Date

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2025 Report and Accounts for the Parochial Church Council of St. Mary’s, Wyke, Bradford.

Aim and purposes

St. Mary’s Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The Revd. Lucy Wormsley is the incumbent and Vicar of Wyke.

The PCC is also specifically responsible for the maintenance of the church and hall of St. Mary’s, Wyke.

Sylvia Percival and Susan Sherwin assist in Parish ministry as Licensed Lay Ministers to the parish.

Objectives and activities.

The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our church and to become part of our parish community at St. Marys. The PCC maintains an overview of worship, giving priority to all ages worshipping together every Sunday morning. Our worship services and midweek groups seek to put faith into practice through prayer and scripture, music and sacrament.

As a registered charity, when planning our activities, we take note of the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and the advancement of religion. We try to enable people to live out their faith as part of our parish community through:

To facilitate all this work, it is important that we maintain the fabric of St Mary’s church and hall. This has been a particular challenge during 2025 due to the lack of a working heating system in the main church building. The PCC are working towards a long-term solution to this issue.

Achievements and performance

Worship and prayer

We hold worship at 10.30am each Sunday. Since October 2024, these services have been held, with licensed permission, in the church hall attached to the main church building. This is due to our church boiler being condemned in September 2024. The PCC are currently researching and seeking advice for the best way forward with this, taking into account the C of E’s commitment to going carbon net zero by 2030.

Our monthly service pattern comprises Church Family Worship on the 1[st] and 3[rd] Sundays and Church Family Communion services on the 2[nd] and 4[th] Sundays. Where there are 5 Sundays

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in the month an All-Age Communion is offered. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have offered live streamed services from the church. This has continued, because it enabled some housebound congregation members to join with us more regularly and continues to be valued by them. Prayer ministry is offered for people, following our Communion services twice a month. When possible, we offer Kids provisions as part of our Sunday services, either in the children’s area, out in a separate room or as a more integrated part of the services. We offer 4 or 5 parade services a year for our connected scouting group, in particular for Harvest and Remembrance.

Seasonal services are provided for Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, Advent & Christmas.

We hold Messy Church as a fresh expression of church, aimed at those who enjoy a more tactile, creative and informal form of worship. This also enables us to further engage with families from our schools, scouting group, and baby/toddler group with their families and build on the relationships we have made through these groups and our connections with them.

In 2025 our electoral roll comprised 50 members, 37 of whom are residents and 17 nonresidents. This is a reduction from the previous year as it was a complete renewal year rather than a revision year. The average number attending on Sundays is 37 adults (2024: 40) and 3 under 16yrs (2024: 3). Those joining us via the Facebook livestream has remained at a low number, but we continue to livestream because it enables those few to access worship where they might not have been able without this provision. The numbers also increased at the seasonal times of Easter, Harvest and Christmas. We have celebrated 5 Baptisms, 5 Confirmations, 2 Weddings and 4 church Funerals, during 2025. We also conducted 4 funerals at local crematoriums.

Deanery Synod

We are able to have 2 members to be elected to the Bradford Deanery Synod, however we have only one person currently elected (since the 2021 APCM). This year is an election year, so we hope to find another person to serve in this way going forward into 2026. Bernard Lewis continues as our elected deanery representative and is also serving as the lay chair of the synod. Synod met twice this year, once in March via zoom and once in November in person at St Cuthbert’s Church, Wrose. Topics covered were Safeguarding team updates and areas of interest/concern and Bishop Toby enabled us to have discussion groups based on Parish Share and our Parish approaches to considering it.

Our Bradford Episcopal Area Forum Meetings also form a part of how our Deanery Synod meets, in a way which connects the Deanery into the wider Bradford Episcopal Area. To this, members of all four Deaneries in the Bradford Episcopal Area, along with members of every parish congregation, are invited to share together collaboratively and supportively of one another. During 2025 there was 1 BEAF meeting, which brought us a sneak peek at “The Bradford Carol” performances which were very successfully held at various venues around the Bradford area during the beginning of December 2025.

The Church and Church Hall

The church is open to the community on specific occasions for private prayer and other activities. We welcome our local schools into church and we visit the schools throughout the

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year on an ad-hoc basis. We both provide and host services for other organisations such as scouting groups for their Christingle and local nurseries for their nativities, although once again, this year saw less of this due to the lack of church heating and cold temperatures.

The church hall is widely used throughout the week and at weekends by groups paying rent as well as church run groups. Groups renting the hall include a weekly lunch club on Tuesdays for the elderly, Scouts, Cubs, Beavers and Squirrels, alongside other sport/activity groups. We have built up quite a full programme of regular user groups during the week and also have a number of children’s party bookings, which we welcome. The St Mary’s baby and toddler group is continuing to go from strength to strength and we are finding this a great platform for church mission with people from the community. Our craft and chatter group on Monday mornings is also thriving, starting a few years back with 6 people, now hosting over 20 people each week and exploring the local area with day trips and lunches out together as a social treat for attendees and also managing to support the church and other charities with donations too.

Pastoral care

Lucy, Sylvia and others have made regular visits to our church family, who for one reason and another, have needed home, hospital and hospice visits during the last year. We have a pastoral care list and regularly review it to make sure we are keeping in touch with those who need extra support from time to time. Our pastoral care teams continue to be reviewed and our list for pastoral care is being updated as we switch to using church suite database going into 2026. This will hopefully enable us to improve the ways in which we offer pastoral care.

The ministry team and prayer chain pray regularly for the Parish and church members. The prayer chain responding to specific requests for prayer from individuals. Sylvia keeps us circulating around the pastoral care list by area of where people live via an email prompt for prayer for the Parish and beyond.

Sylvia also continues to provide a ‘prayer needs’ page in the Weekly News sheet to help and encourage our discipline of praying for one another and for the needs of the church, community and worldwide connections (such as Diocesan links with The Sudan, our partnership with Open Doors, CMS and Latin Link Mission Partners and other matters in need of prayer).

Mission and evangelism

We have continued our support and connection with our mission partners in Guatemala and we were excited to host both of our partnership families for visits to church, speaking in our church services, during June and July.

Azaria & David Pocasangre are building a new ministry together as mission partners through the work of local church in Guatemala City. They work with CMS, especially amongst young people. We were excited to hear their news that they are expecting a baby girl in May 2026, so we pray for them and look forward to welcoming Alicia Joy in the near future.

Geoff and Cesia Baines, with their beautiful daughter, Sofia also work in Guatemala City, but on behalf of Latin Link. Geoff works with theological studies/ biblical languages and Cesia focusses her work on vulnerable women. They have taken a leap of faith this last year and followed God’s call leading them for Geoff to do further studies in Kentucky, USA. They plan

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to work remotely in particular for Cesia’s ministry back in Guatemala, and will return in a few years, but we pray for this time spent in the US.

We have also continued our support for Open Doors as one of our Mission Partnerships. We hosted a guest speaker, Emmanuel, who came from Open Doors, to share with us at our service for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church in November.

We also continue to give to the work of The Children’s Society, through our collection boxes (£858.49) and offerings from the Christingle Service (£352.33) towards their work with vulnerable children in England and Wales.

Mothers Union Report

Our Mothers Union branch at St. Mary’s Church is part of the Worldwide Mothers’ Union which is present in 84 countries around the world. The theme for 2024-27 is Join Us and Join In! This is to highlight the work of the Mothers Union around the world and to encourage new members, using our 150th Anniversary Year in 2026 as a means of publicising our work.

In 2025 we have had meetings or events in each month including midday prayers, where we pray for work in link dioceses around the world. Every diocese where Mothers Union is present is prayed for during the year and each group of link dioceses pray for each other in a special wave of prayer service at the same time as the rest of the world is praying for them. Our wave of prayer took place in January 2025.

We had a special talk about Oberammergau in June, visited the Fulneck Moravian settlement in July, and joined in with our Diocesan gatherings in June and November. Lucy spoke to us about the Power of Reconciliation in September and in November we prepared a display for the 16 Days of activism against Domestic Abuse. This included a small version of the Soles of Our Shoes display which includes quotes from people who have experienced domestic abuse liked to the type of shoes that they wore and highlighted the need for us to support the victims of domestic violence and help people trying to escape it. The support information posters in the church toilets are a continuing part of this campaign.

In 2026 we are looking forward to a lot of special services, events and challenges to raise our profile and celebrate the changes since Mary Sumner started a group in her husband’s parish to support women in their family lives.

Ecumenical relationships

We play an active role in the Wyke Christian Council of Churches (WCCC), through which we have been involved in a number of fundraising and missional outreach events throughout 2025. We also came together for our usual January and July joint services, one of which was held at St. Mary’s during 2025, with Andrew preaching from the Westfield United Reformed Church.

This year saw the Wyke Foodbank expand beyond the capacity of the WCCC and although not detached from our support, involvement and prayers, it became an independent charity in its own right, with a renewed board of trustees. We are excited by its new premises towards the year end and now have Lucy and Dawn as our church ambassadors alongside many of our church family volunteering either at The Meeting Place or The Foodbank Warehouse.

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The WCCC charity comprises of six local churches although only has 3 current remaining trustees, one of which continues to be our incumbent, Lucy. At one of our 2025 WCCC meetings the members voted to work towards closing the charity now that we are no longer running the Foodbank through it, to enable us to reconfigure and review our focus onto missional and evangelistic means for our working together in Kingdom building in new ways, whilst continuing our support for the ongoing hard work of the Wyke Foodbank.

Safeguarding

We follow the Diocesan Policy and statement for safeguarding at St. Mary’s Church. Evelyn Haigh continues as our Parish Safeguarding Officer. We continue to hold safeguarding updates each month on our PCC agendas and update all our noticeboards (in church and in the foyer area), regularly, with relevant information and contact numbers. We place high priority and focus on keeping children, young people and vulnerable adults safeguarded at all times, encouraging that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Our leadership at St. Mary’s undergo regular safeguarding training, including a newer Domestic Abuse training session as well. At a number of meetings’, we use various tools and worksheets, provided by the Diocese, to aid our discussions about how best we can build a safe and supportive environment for all in attendance at St. Marys Church.

Financial Review

General Fund:

This year our Financial Statements show a General Fund Deficit of £85, increasing our General Fund reserves to £2,508. Receipts of £58,996 are mainly derived from Voluntary Receipts, £35,780, and Church Hall Rents, £15,969. Payments amounted to £58,911 which included a contribution of £34,000 to the Diocesan Share and £19,238 for Church Activity Expenses.

Designated and Restricted Funds:

Movement during the year in these funds was minimal.

Investments:

At the end of the year the value of our investments is £120,102, a satisfactory increase over the year of £6,842 (5.7%). In the two and a half years since the original investment the funds have grown by an average of 8.0%.

Financial situation:

As reported last year, we are unable to sustain the level of spending required to support ongoing ministry and the maintenance of the church buildings from the General Fund reserves. In recent years this has impacted on our ability to pay our Diocesan Share*. This year we paid £34,000 (80%) of the £42,384 Share requested which brings the total shortfall for the last seven years to £60,944! We are reliant on the Mobile Mast designated fund, £45,622, to provide adequate reserves and to cover unexpected, but necessary, expenditure. However, it is incumbent on us to manage both the designated and invested Mobile Mast Funds (£165,724) for future generations as it derives from the lease agreement covering 50 years to the year 2072! Capital expenditure, such as a new church heating system, which will

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benefit future generations of worshippers will, by necessity, be paid for out of these funds, together with any grant funding which may be available.

Reserves Policy:

General Fund reserves are very small, £2,508, so we rely on the Designated Funds, £52,908, to provide a cashflow buffer. To this extent, the PCC has resolved that we do not require to have an official Reserves Policy.

*Diocesan Sharer is set annually based on a calculation that ensures churches are asked for a proportionate amount after taking into account the number of full or part-time clergy provided, size of the congregation and an indexed socio-economic factor for our area of Bradford. It largely provides for the stipends and housing of the clergy which currently averages £66,124 p.a. The Share requested from St Mary’s for 2025 is £42,384.

Volunteers

We would like to thank every person who works hard to make our church what it is and help with the smooth running of all services, events and the running of the church hall. We are always happy to have more people getting actively involved in the life of the church, so please speak to Lucy if you think you could volunteer, and serve in new ways.

Structure, governance and management

The Parochial Church Council is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure and is a Registered Charity.

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. At St Mary's the membership of the PCC consists of the incumbent (our vicar), churchwardens, Licensed Lay Ministers and members elected by those members of the congregation who are on the electoral roll of the church. All regular members of the congregation are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.

The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish, including deciding on how the funds of the PCC are to be spent.

During the year, the PCC met 10 times during the year with a pattern of alternating between business focussed meetings which include a time of prayer and mission focussed meeting where business is kept to urgent matters only, such as finance, fabric and safeguarding. In addition, we have a Standing Committee which meets where required for specific needs.

The main areas of focus for the PCC this year have been:

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We have enjoyed having Jean, Kate and Phil join us on PCC this year. We always welcome new faces standing for election to the PCC at our APCM, as this enhances and grows the leadership of St Mary’s.

Fabric

We have continued to following the Quinquennial Inspection as last year to guide us in what works are required for our building and grounds.

There have been only a few minor works during 2025, including replacement of the sink to the wall in the disabled toilet and a new timer push tap to prevent water waste. We have also installed safety chains to the walls in the central cupboard in the hall to secure the tables stored in there, following a first aid near miss.

The heating project continued in the research, advise seeking and discussion stages throughout 2025, with many avenues to be explored in finding the right solution going forward, acting with due diligence to our financial situation and also taking into account the net zero targets of the Church of England. The church internal fabric is beginning to see deterioration with the continued cold temperatures, so we are hoping for progress in this area of maintenance.

The work required on the church bells continues to be in abeyance. Funds amounting to £3,886 have been raised for this project, but it hasn’t taken precedence where major project has come in with the lack of heating system.

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Administrative Information

St Mary's church is situated in Green Lane, Wyke. It is part of the Diocese of Leeds within the Church of England. The correspondence address is 6 Vicarage Close, Wyke, Bradford, BD12 8QW. Registered Charity number 1153194.

PCC members who have served at any time from 1 January 2025 until the date this report was approved are:

Ex Officio members:

Incumbent: The Revd. Lucy Wormsley (Chair) Churchwardens: Mr Bernard Lewis (Deanery Synod member) Mrs Jean Marsh Licensed Lay Ministers: Mrs Susan Sherwin Mrs Sylvia Percival

Elected members:

Mrs Evelyn Haigh (PCC Secretary) Mr John Roberts (Treasurer) Mrs Gillian McQueen Mrs Christine Haley Mrs Dawn Moody Ms Kate Taylor Mr Philip Chadwick

Mr John Stone was invited to observe and speak at meetings, but wasn’t able to stand for election to PCC until 2026 and we thank him for his most valuable input during 2025.

Approved by the PCC on 10/02/2026 and signed on their behalf by Rev. Lucy Wormsley (Incumbent/PCC Chair)

Signed........................................................... Date............................... 10/02/2026

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PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST MARY'S CHURCH, WYKE, BRADFORD

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

Receipts and Payments Accounts

Note
RECEIPTS
Voluntary receipts
Planned giving
Collection at services
Collections - weddings, baptisms & funerals
All other giving/voluntary receipts
3(a)
Gift Aid recovered
Activities for generating funds
3(b)
Investment Income
Church Activities
3(c)
Total Receipts
PAYMENTS
Diocesan parish contribution (Share)
Fund Raising expenses
4(b)
Church activity expenses
4(c)
Missionary giving and donations
4(a)
Extra-ordinary items of expenditure
4(d)
Total Payments
Excess of receipts over payments
Tranfer to Investment Fund
2
Cash at bank at 1 January
Cash at bank at 31 December
Statement of Assets and Liabilities
Cash Funds
Barclays Current Account
Barclays Premium Deposit Account
Other monetary assets
Gift Aid recoverable
Investment assets
Collective Investment Account at market value
2		 General
Funds
£
25446
2400
227
622
7085
35780
5385
701
17130
58996
34000
673
19238
5000
0
58911
85
0
2424
2508
0
0
0		 Designated
Funds
£
0
0
0
0
0
45622
45622
0
0
120102		 Restricted
Funds
£
0
0
537
537
-537
0
7823
7286
0
0
0		 TOTALS
2025
£
25446
2400
227
622
7085
35780
5385
701
17130
58996
34000
673
19775
5000
0
59448
-452
0
55868
55416
2508
52907
55416
0
120102		 TOTALS
2024
£
24171
3186
239
1500
6856
35952
6077
903
19471
62403
33000
1382
30925
6250
7647
79204
-16801
0
72671
55870
2424
53445
55869
1858
113260

Notes

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Receipts
a)
All other giving/voluntary receipts
Donations - church members and others
Other
b)
Fund Raising
Line Dancing Social Events
Refreshments
Fashion Show
Christmas Market
Craft & Chatter
Concert
Ceilidh
Sponsored Swim
Other
c)
Church Activities
Fees for Weddings and Funerals
Church Hall lettings - local community use
4
Payments
a)
Missionary giving and donations
CMS - mission partners in Guatemala
Latin Link - Mission partners in Guatemala
Open Doors
Leeds Diocesan Sudan Link
Other donation
b)
Fund Raising
Refreshments
Summer Garden Party
Brass Band Concert
Christmas Market
Wine Tasting
Concert
Ceilidh
c)
Church Activity Expenses
Clergy and staffing costs
Cost of services, licences and subscriptions
Organ and piano maintenance
Training and presentations
Electricity - all buildings
Gas - all buildings
Water - all buildings
Cleaning - all buildings
Church maintenance & security
Insurance - buildings, contents and liability
Church hall maintenance & security
Church grounds equipment and maintenance
Children and young people activities
Printing, photocopying and stationery
Telephone and internet expenses
Independent Examiner Fee
Professional Fees		 General
Funds
£
622
0
622
140
1299
700
2186
400
450
0
161
50
5385
1161
15969
17130
-1200
-1800
-2000
0
0
-5000
673
0
0
0
0
0
0
673
39
1782
262
15
2289
1965
1140
4460
214
4864
257
205
0
1107
540
100
0
19238		 Designated
Funds
£
0
0
0
0
0
0		 Restricted
Funds
£
0
0
0
0
0
0
537
537		 TOTALS
2025
£
622
0
622
140
1299
700
2186
400
450
0
161
50
5385
1161
15969
17130
-1200
-1800
-2000
0
0
-5000
673
0
0
0
0
0
0
673
39
1782
262
15
2289
1965
1140
4460
214
4864
257
205
537
1107
540
100
0
19775		 TOTALS
2024
£
1500
0
1500
215
1419
0
1643
200
783
515
1115
187
6077
2753
16718
19471
1200
1800
2000
0
1250
6250
698
0
0
59
0
175
450
1382
105
2290
239
52
3952
9522
881
4335
619
3672
690
2754
0
926
787
100
0
30924
4
Payments (continued)
d)
Extra-ordinary items of expenditure
Repairs to Church Hall floor
West Window - scaffolding, architect & repairs
Hall Roof repairs
Defibrillator
Church roof and steeple repairs
New car park lights		 General
Funds
0
0
0
0
0
0
0		 Designated
Funds
0		 Restricted
Funds
0		 TOTALS
2025
0
0
0
0
0
0
0		 TOTALS
2024
0
4840
655
400
510
1242
7647

5 DESIGNATED AND RESTRICTED FUNDS

The movement in these funds during the year were:

Restricted Funds:
Church Grounds & Graveyard Fund
Youth Club Fund
Parish Weekend Fund
Children & Young Peoples Fund
Designated Funds:
Church Bells Fund
Mobile Mast Licence Fund		 1-Jan
£
3400
2144
331
1948
7823
3886
41736
45622		 Receipts
£
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0		 Payments
£
0
0
0
-537
-537
0
0
0		 31-Dec
£
3400
2144
331
1411
7286
3886
41736
45622

Restricted Funds:

The Church Grounds & Graveyard Fund now mainly comprises a Legacy of £6000 received in 2022 specifying that it should be used for 'the upkeep and improvements to the churchyard'. £2600 has been expended to date.

The Youth Club Fund represents grants and fund raising for the running of a community Youth Club.

The Parish Weekend Fund represents funds raised in support of previous parish weekends and can only be used for a similar purpose.

The Childrens and Young Peoples Fund was created as a restricted fund in 2014 as a result of incorporating Sunday School funds into the Church Accounts. All receipts and payments relating to children and young people's activities ar channeled through this fund.

Designated Funds:

The Church Bells Fund was created by the PCC in 2020 to hold donations and grants, etc. for the purpose of repairing the church bells.

The Mobile Mast Licence Fund comprises the Fee received for a 50-year Licence. The fund is to supplement the General Fund ,where necessary, to maintain payment of the Diocesan Share, the upkeep of the church and church hall fabric; for the maintenance of the churchyard and graveyard; and for the hiring of staff to assist the vicar and the PCC in pursuit of the aforementioned aims. £100,000 from the fund has been invested to maintain the existance of the fund for as long as possible.